Unsung Dreamcast Heroes: Captain Onishima

In the first of a new series here at The Dreamcast Junkyard, we thought it was about time we took a deeper, more humanistic look at some of the unsung and lesser celebrated players in the great library of Dreamcast-related characters and creations. The personas we all know, but who we don't necessarily love. The title 'Unsung Dreamcast Heroes' is a bit of a misnomer because it won't exclusively feature protagonists - indeed, this inaugural instalment actually profiles an antagonist of sorts - but hopefully we'll do it justice by bringing some of the lesser-known but equally important supporting cast into the spotlight. Right then - on with the show!

Jet Set Radio is easily one of the Dreamcast's most iconic titles. The premise is a relatively simple one, involving gangs of youths on motorised roller blades tagging turf and trying to evade the cops in the process. However, the cel-shaded visuals mask a fairly deep and involving yarn in which some pretty sobering themes are covered. These include the corporate censorship of freedom of expression; and an almost Orwellian vision of a near-future dystopia where everything seems fine on the surface, but once the scab of uniformity is lifted a whole underclass of festering all-out gangland warfare is revealed. Maybe I'm reading way, way too far between the lines when it comes to Smilebit's seminal skate and graffiti 'em up, but the fact remains that the city of Milwaukee tried to get the game banned back in 2000 due to the negative connotations of spray painting gang tags on urban street furniture. This is all academic in the grand scheme of this article though. The reason I'm writing all of this is because we need to examine one central character in particular...

Dreamcast Shmup Ghost Blade Heading To Steam, PS4, Xbox One & Wii U

Hucast's Ghost Blade hit the Dreamcast in 2015 and was met with some fairly mixed reviews. Personally, I quite enjoyed the simplistic shooting action; while others derided the lack of options and fairly easy difficulty level. Until now, the only way to play Ghost Blade has been on Sega's final system but now the game is heading to current gen consoles with a new lick of HD paint. Here's the teaser trailer:

Slated for digital release on February 28th on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam and Wii U, Ghost Blade HD promises new visuals, online leader boards and two player modes. Apart from the new visuals and artwork though, the only other new feature I can see is the addition of trophies and achievements. That said, if you never played the original Dreamcast version the $9.99 price tag might be enough to convince you to give Ghost Blade a whirl.

Did you play the original Ghost Blade? Does a new version with HD graphics and new features interest you? Let us know in the comments!

Be sure to keep an eye on Hucast's dedicated Ghost Blade website for updates.

A Quick Look At The Dreamcast Twin Stick Controller

The Dreamcast's peripheral lineup offers plenty of oddities for the discerning collector to pore over. From the karaoke unit and maracas, to the fishing rod and the Dreameye there's something for everyone. One peripheral we've never really looked at in any real depth here at the Junkyard is the Dreamcast Twin Stick, an odd looking beast of a controller that always peaks the curiosity of the public whenever we wheel it out at live events and expos. The Twin Stick was never released outside of its native Japan, although that doesn't stop it being compatible with both NTSC-U and PAL Dreamcast systems, but the incredibly small library of games that officially make use of it renders the Twin Stick something of a luxury.

Twinned with the relative high price these controllers command in the current climate, the Twin Stick is a device that still enjoys something of an enigmatic air. Like the Arcade Stick controller, the Twin Stick is one of those peripherals that greatly enhances the experience of playing games that make use of it, but outside that small selection is pretty redundant simply because of its fairly unorthodox design. Let's take a more detailed look at the hardware itself, and some of the games that make use of the Twin Stick before investigating whether or not this is something you should consider adding to your collection...

DreamPod - Episode 46 Featuring Dreamcast Hub

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

Music in this episode comes from Wind & Water, MSR, Sturmwind and the live Shenmue orchestra. The interview about Blue Stinger and Illbleed is here at Gamasutra and it's pretty heart-wrenching so be warned if you read the whole thing (I doubt anyone will, but it's worth it). You are the people we do this for, so thanks for listening. If you have any feedback please don't hesitate to leave it in the comments or at the Facebook group - we read them all. You can find our guest host Stephen Robinson at the Facebook group Dreamcast Hub.

Feel free to leave a review on iTunes and if you want to chuck us your change on Patreon we're here.

A Quick Look At Headhunter

You are Jack Wade. You were once the ACN's top Headhunter, rounding up the most fearsome criminals on the mean streets of near-future California and bringing organised crime to its knees. However, something went horribly wrong. Waking up in an operating theatre with no memory of who you are or how you got there, you break out of the restraints and hazily escape from the mysterious facility before collapsing in an alleyway.

Once again being brought around in a hospital, you learn of your past glories as the most feared Headhunter around - a type of government funded bounty hunter - the death of your boss and the rise of crime in your absence. You're an angry man with a beard, you want answers, and you want your memory back...but first you need to re-enrol as a freelance Headhunter, get your license, your gun and your motorbike. Somebody will pay for this, but who and why? That's down to you, Wade.

Headhunter is one of the oddest games on the Dreamcast. I don't mean that in a derogatory way - I mean it from a totally bemused standpoint. That's because it is easily one of the best titles ever released for Sega's machine, but due to the incredibly late launch in November 2001 Headhunter was only given a PAL release. It sits squarely amongst games like Evil Twin and Stunt GP that were fantastic games in their own right, but for mainly financial reasons never made the leap across the pond to the United States or Japan.

Amuze, the Sweden-based developer of Headhunter only ever made two games - Headhunter (and the later PlayStation 2 port) and the PlayStation 2/Xbox sequel Headhunter: Redemption - but it's clear from the quality seeping from every pore of Jack Wade's adventure that the development team had a real grasp of the Dreamcast hardware.

Crafti: A Homebrew Minecraft Clone For Dreamcast

Minecraft. A game which looks so simple on the surface due to its basic geometric visuals and fairly relaxed gameplay, but in reality is actually incredibly complex and even lends itself to being used as an educational tool. Yes, Minecraft is a true cultural phenomenon. It also made its creator disgustingly rich when Microsoft bought the franchise from Markus 'Notch' Persson in 2014 for $2.5 billion, and the game has gone on to become the second best selling game of all time. Not bad, I'm sure you'll agree.

There are ports of Minecraft available for a multitude of different systems and they all offer the similar gameplay and mechanics found in the PC original, and many people have carved out a career simply streaming gameplay online. The power of Minecraft knowns no bounds it seems, and now the game has come to the Dreamcast. Well...sort of. Crafti is a Minecraft clone developed by DCEmulation forum member gameblabla and is now free to download and burn to a CD-R for playing in a Dreamcast. Naturally, that's exactly what I did...

HDTV Compatible Wireless Dreamcast Gun Enters Production

You may remember the LightConn wireless gun we revealed recently. It comes from hardware modder Chris Diaoglou (the man behind the other wireless peripherals currently available for the Dreamcast), and since the last update the device has undergone a rather impressive overhaul. The LightConn uses the same Bluetooth technology as the DreamConn wireless controller and the KeybConn wireless keyboard, and incorporates a pair of virtual VMUs.

Not only this, it works with modern flatscreen TVs through a reverse-engineered Wii controller which has been incorporated into the chassis of the gun, along with a Wii sensor bar which has been adapted to work with the Dreamcast. The best bit is, the new LightConn does away with the visible portion of the Nintendo hardware seen in the prototype and also adds new functionality, such as PC connectivity for save file transfer. New LightConn specs:

• Two internal virtual VMUs
• Support for VMU in-game screen indications
• Support for Rumble Pak
• PC connectivity
• Region-Free : Can be used with any game including NTSC "locked" games
• Support for any TV (including HDTVs)
• Embedded VMU menu for calibration
• Auto-reload feature