Video Maestro Wanted!

Here at the Junkyard we pride ourselves on our outstanding written content, our mind-blowingly good podcast and our industry-leading social media streams. Hey - if we don't make those self-aggrandising claims, who else will? Anyway, you may (or may not) have noticed that we have a YouTube channel as well. It was started by Aaron 'The Gagaman' Foster, but has recently found itself being updated less often since Aaron started his own YouTube venture Lucky Hit (go there and subscribe while we're on the subject). Due to this, we're looking for somebody to come on board here at the universe's ultimate Dreamcast destination and take control of the channel, creating new video reviews and opinion pieces on Sega and Dreamcast-related topics and news.

The channel has over 2,500 subscribers already and we're keen to grow that number...but quality video content that we can also post here on the main blog is the main priority. We're big fans of Alex from Nintendo Life and his humorous video reviews, so we're looking for someone who can be on camera and record/narrate game footage in a similar fashion. This role will include free reign to produce whatever you like - as long as it's related to Sega and/or the Dreamcast in some way, naturally. If this sounds like something you'd like to do and you want to join the DCJY team as a video maestro, please send us an email explaining who you are, what you can bring to the team and a link to one of your existing videos...and we'll be in touch.

You can check out the DCJY YouTube channel here, and you can find contact details here.

Broken Dreams: The 10 Worst Dreamcast Games

I realise I touched on this subject in my recent retrospective look at the Kalisto/Konami car crash Nightmare Creatures II, but I thought it about time that we temporarily suspended the blinkered praising of our beloved Dreamcast and investigated the pungent underbelly of the system's library more thoroughly. As Dreamcast fans, I suppose it is all too easy to look back at the console from an artificially rose-tinted perspective; and while there's nothing wrong with that it doesn't help those gamers who may be new to the system or those who perhaps didn't get the exposure to online game reviews or print magazines in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

You see, we can easily recall the monumental highs of Shenmue, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi and the other genre-defining software titles that make up the star-studded top tier of the software lineup; however just like every other console, the Dreamcast has a number of sub-par titles. Games that are just plain bad for any number of reasons. Games that should really be avoided unless you're one of those 'full set' collector types (you know who you are). To this end, we thought it was about time that we looked to the other end of the spectrum and brought you a run down of the most insipid and downright reprehensible games ever to 'grace' a Dreamcast. And by 'grace,' I mean be deposited onto the console through the weeping anus of a particularly unpleasant and malodorous giant.

Yep - LJN returned from the grave for one last troll on the Dreamcast

I understand that there are other terrible games that may not be on this list, but I'm not listing titles that I can't play due to either a language barrier or a lack of functionality due to internet services being discontinued. No - I'm looking at games that were deemed fully functional by testers, but were unleashed on the games buying public in states not fit for human consumption. Horrific frame rates, terrible controls, broken game engines...these are all criteria that have helped to get the following titles onto this most unholy of lists. Now, please get comfortable and allow us to take you on a rather unsettling journey as we reveal the very worst games the Dreamcast has to offer...

ElysianVMU - A Brand New VMU Emulator From Elysian Shadows

Elysian Shadows burst on to the Dreamcast radar in 2014 with little more than a dream and a Kickstarter pitch for a revolutionary new role playing game. The project was funded in less than a week and since then lead developer Falco Girgis and his team have been working away behind the scenes to bring what is perhaps the single most ambitious independent title yet to Sega's system. Featuring graphical techniques not yet seen on the Dreamcast, and an adventure that promises to engage players for hours upon hours, Elysian Shadows is easily one of the most exciting upcoming prospects for many Dreamcast gamers.

The game is also launching on PC and Mac however, and due to the game's reliance on the humble VMU for certain aspects of the adventure, Falco took it upon himself to develop a brand new and totally bespoke VMU emulator for Elysian Shadows; thus allowing computer-based players to get the full experience. Not only that, the emulator - titled ElysianVMU - will allow gamers to take the myriad mini-games away from their computer and play them on Android and iOS devices. To this end, I'm extremely excited to allow Falco Girgis himself to explain in his own words what this new VMU emulator is all about and what it means for the Dreamcast indie dev community going forward. Falco, over to you...

Dreamkey's Hidden Video

This probably won't mean much to you if you're not familiar with the European internet browsers for Dreamcast, but allow me to explain. Dreamkey was the PAL equivalent to SegaNet and Dream Passport and represented the default method of connection to online portal Dreamarena back in the day. Now we've established that, I'll continue. I was randomly browsing YouTube t'other day when I happened across a rather strange video. Upon closer inspection, the video appeared to have been uploaded by regular Junkyard commenter and MSR aficionado RJAY63 and was actually posted in 2011...but until now I'd never seen anything about this.

Apparently, by inserting the Dreamkey 1.0 internet browser disc into your Dreamcast, going to the address box and simply typing 'about:' you can view a secret video crediting the creators of Dreamkey. The video isn't really all that special - it's basically the European 'Shave' advert with credits laid over the top and the Robbie Williams song removed, but it's an interesting discovery nonetheless. I watched intently hoping it might credit the actors in the video, thus solving the riddle of who Player One / The Barber actually is (you can read out that little quest here); but alas it does not. Enough preamble though - here's the hidden video (click 'continue reading' if on the main page):

Windows CE is Best OS and Dreamcast is Best PC?

A few days ago, the Junkyard posted a couple photos of Dreamcast consoles, highlighting the fact that Japanese systems had 'Designed for Windows CE' when PAL and US had 'Compatible with Windows CE.' Before I was (more) knowledgeable in matters Dreamcast, I assumed that particular OS was already playing a part in the system's operation

At least it's not Vista

However, simple logic shows that this is not the case, and the console operates from Sega's own software. Each game ran only the bits and bobs of the operating system that it needed. For the most part, games used the proprietary software developed by Sega.

Sonic Adventure Dreamcast Homepage Restored

Sonic Adventure is a pretty divisive game, but most will agree that it really was a great showcase for the Dreamcast when it was a console in its infancy. It had great visuals and some fantastic set pieces - who can forget the killer whale sequence in the first stage? These days the vast majority deride the game for its bugs and somewhat aimless later levels...but that's a subject for another day. The reason I bring Sonic Adventure up is that news has reached me via Liam Ashcroft of SEGAbits, that somebody has gone to the trouble of purchasing the original Sonic Adventure Dreamcast homepage and restored the site in its entirety. Just for the hell of it.

DreamPod - Episode 32

[iTunes][Stitcher][Buzzsprout][UK Podcast Directory][YouTube]

Musical interludes in this episode are supplied by Metropolis Street Racer and the UK and US Dreamcast advertising campaigns. The Xenocider Kickstarter can be found here, and the Alice Dreams article can be found here. If you'd like to read the Eurogamer article from ex-DC-UK editor Keith Stuart, go here. Our Patreon is here (feel free to pledge $1 where you can!), and if you can find it in your heart to leave us an iTunes review we'd very much appreciate it!