Sturmwind delayed till 11-11-11. Improvements being made.

Redspotgames have just revealed that Sturmwind, it's next scrolling shooter for the Dreamcast, has been delayed. The reasoning being that the developers Duranik are making some major improvements to the game including a revision of the weapon system and plenty of extra polish based on feedback they have had from beta tests and the like. The new release date is planned for 11/11/11. I like it, reminds me of 9/9/99! You can read the full statement here.

While we'll have to wait a bit longer for the game to release this can only be seen as good news as it means we will be getting a even better game that hasn't been rushed out the door! I have yet to pre-order, but that's only because i'm waiting to see if they will announce a special edition first!

Sturmwind has arrived at last! Hooray!

The wait has paid off, as my copy of the limited edition arrived this morning. Phew, I was getting worried there for a moment! Also while the box it was delivered in was a bit squashed the Sturmwind box itself was wrapped in a lot of bubble wrap and arrived safely, despite not paying out for extra special delivery and tracking. Redspotgames are still being oddly quiet on their sites, but at least I can bring you evidence that pre-orders going back to November 2011 have indeed been sent out.

Here is the full content of the box set. The game itself, a booklet listing all the bosses in the game the soundtrack and the little scale model of the spaceship. The spaceship, being a 3D printed object as far as I know feels quite odd: it's kinda fuzzy if that makes any sense. I have yet to open up and play the game yet as I am holding out until I get time to make a InsideOut unboxing and first play of the game, but I'm pretty busy this week so I can't guarantee it very soon unless I find the time to squeeze it in. Typical as I wasn't any where near as busy last week! :P

New Sturmwind screenshots. Phew!

Sega Portal has got their mitts on some new details on Sturmwind, the upcoming indie shooter from Redspotgames and Duranik, including the fact that the game box will have dual cover artwork, so if the big green octopus thingy is not your cuppa tea there is the flip side art of a pilot's helmet. Take your pick I guess!

If that's not enough they also obtained a whole slew of new screenshots, showing the newly revised hud amongst other improvements. You can check out the rest of the screens over at Sega Portal. Safe to say this game is looking rather good. I mean look at this mean fella of a boss!

Pre-rendered for sure but still massively impressive looking, especially when you see it moving. here's hoping it is fun to match! Still no solid release date yet but we'll keep you posted when we find out!

4x4 Jam, Flashback & Ganryu Head Up New Dreamcast Releases

French publisher JoshProd has finally revealed to us the details of the latest batch of titles heading to the Sega Dreamcast, and this time gamers can expect three titles that are totally new to to system. 4x4 Jam is an off-road racer featuring fully 3D visuals and sprawling open stages, while Delphine's classic 2D adventure Flashback: The Quest For Identity has been built from the ground up as a brand new, officially licensed Dreamcast port. The other games in the release line-up include Visco's Neo-Geo scrolling beat 'em up Ganryu, a new PAL-boxed version of Sturmwind, and a re-issue of Orion's retro-styled RPG Zia and the Goddesses of Magic (check out our recent review here).

4x4 Jam is actually a port of a game that has been available on both the Sony PSP and Android/iOS for some time, and is particularly interesting as it potentially opens the door for ports of similar games designed for low-powered mobile devices. The video above was recorded from an actual Dreamcast and shows off some of the sprawling landscapes and Smuggler's Run style gameplay.

Sturmwind features in latest Retro Core

Retro Core is one of my personal favourite web shows about video games and is produced by Yakumo, the same man behind the excellent website Segagaga Domain. For the latest episode he has something special for us Dreamcast fans: a exclusive preview of upcoming redspotgames release Sturmwind! We get around 10 minutes of gameplay footage here, so if you were still on the fence about pre ordering this game, now we have plenty of footage to get a gist of what it will be like!

Personal opinion: I think it looks stunning and appears to be quite a fun mix of elements from all sorts of shmups like Gradius, Thunder Force and R Type. The production values are are simply unprecedented for an indie dreamcast game. I can't wait to get my mitts on this!

New Sturmwind Footage!

We have new footage from Redspotgames of their upcoming Dreamcast shooter Sturmwind in from a German TV show interviewing the developers. Skip to the 12 minute mark to see the gameplay footage. The game is due out later this month!

Sturmwind releases tomorrow, launch trailer!

The long awaited Sturmwind from Redspotgames is the second new Dreamcast game of 2013 to release, or the first if you decide not to count Dux 1.5 as a brand new game, launching tomorrow! To hype us up there is a brand new trailer above, showing levels and bosses yet seen anywhere, and it's looking incredible. Looking forward to receiving this soon and will be bringing you a video of said arrival with an unboxing of the special edition and a first impressions look, direct feed this time, none of that pointing a camera at the screen stuff!

Falling In Love Again...

Where my Dreamcast collection was headed..

If you read my last post here at the Junkyard, you'll know that I had transitioned from an obsessive Dreamcast collector/hoarder of extreme proportions, to what one might term a 'retro dismissive.'

My retro gaming passion was not quite extinguished, but had definitely been dampened by the availability of a raft of downloadable Dreamcast titles on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. It meant I could lazily access enough Dreamcast titles from my current consoles (initially the Xbox 360, and later the PS3), to ensure that I was getting my fix of retro Sega endorphins from a different source than the undead console.

Another factor in my gradual distance from the Dreamcast, was the fact that I'd been retro gaming for a number of years by this time. I had overwhelmed myself, flooded my brain receptors with more  nostalgic video gaming than it could handle. I'd purchased dirty little 'side collections,' for the Sega Saturn, the Sega Game Gear, The Sega Master System. As well as these, I'd played a ton of PlayStation 2 games, many of them stunning and of course unavailable on the Dreamcast; with Virtua Fighter 4 and the first two Yakuza games helping me through the Shenmue wilderness years.

Not actually Father K, or Simon Early for that matter...

Top 10 Indie Dreamcast Games 2016 - As Voted By You!

The votes are in, and whilst we work feverishly away at putting the final touches to the Top 200 Dreamcast Games 2016 results, we thought it was about time to bring you the other half of our 2016 voting extravaganza. We asked you, the all-knowing Dreamcast Junkyard readership, to let us know your favourite indie releases. We left the selection criteria open, as we didn't want to just limit it to commercial releases, and now that we've counted all the votes, we can present to you the first ever Dreamcast Junkyard Top 10 Indie Games - as voted by you!

Let's start with some stats though: 46 different games ended up being voted for - a couple were discarded as they weren't actually indie games. I mean, really...who voted for Headhunter? You know who you are, you sneaky little scamp. Of these, 22 were commercial releases, and the remaining were a mixed bag of homebrew, mods and even a couple of unreleased titles getting some early praise.

For most of the voting period, it was a real fight between 3 titles to see who would come out on top, and this remained so until the last few days, where one game pulled away from the rest. Enough already though - on with the list!

10: DUX / DUX 1.5
2009 Hucast / 2013 Hucast

Hucast's horizontal shmup has seen several releases, including the reworked Redux which isn't included here, and it remains popular enough with the DC gaming community to see it sneak into the top 10. The game's distinctive look, a stylised, minimalist, futuristic design aesthetic is mixed with a decent Euro dance soundtrack, but can suffer from high difficulty. 1.5 refined rather than changed things; it switches the respawning of your craft to where you died rather than at the last checkpoint as originally designed, ironing out some bugs and putting the bullet soaking mechanic even more central to the gameplay. 1.5 is the better game here, and sticking through the games frustrating elements will be rewarded, as later stages are even better looking.

Hucast can be found here (their website re-directed to their facebook page at the time of writing), and our developer interview is here.

9: GHOST BLADE
2015 Hucast

Ghost Blade just pips fellow Hucast title Dux to the number 9 spot. It's a game which divided opinion on release, and there is no denying that there are some faults and flaws within the game. It's still an enjoyable vertical shmup, with decent aesthetics and interesting bullet patterns, and the graphics look good - but it is a bit easy, to say the least, which will turn off the hardcore shmup enthusiasts quite a bit, and that's not a particularly useful thing to do when they are the primary audience. As a non-fanatic myself, who has nevertheless put hours into all the DC shmup library, I have to say it's an enjoyable enough title which doesn't do anything particularly exciting but does enough for a few play throughs.


We did 2 in-depth reviews of the game here at the DCJY, the novice review here and the standard one here.

Hucast can be found here (their website re-directed to their Facebook page at the time of writing).

8 (JOINT):  LAST HOPE / LAST HOPE PINK BULLETS
2007 NG:DEV.TEAM / 2009 NG:DEV.TEAM

The first of 3 NG:DEV.TEAM titles in this top 10, and one of the first commercially released Indie titles, Last Hope and it's update Pink bullets is still highly regarded amongst DC fans. The initial release, ported from the Neo Geo, revels in both being old school in it's look and play, and having a difficulty level sitting somewhere between insane and evilly horrific super insanely hard. It boasts colourful, varied graphics (ranging from Geiger inspired space ports and aquatic landscapes to eruptive volcanic backdrops), excellent soundtrack and interesting level design with loads of smart little background additions, and really does play homage to Horizontal shmups of the past whilst having it's own identity. But it was just so damn tough that it was hard for pretty much anyone without the reflexes of a particularly nimble cat to make any progress. Fast forward 2 years, and NG:DEV.TEAM deserve credit for listening to initial criticism and returning with an improved version of the game. It makes the game a little easier, with your ship adorned with more powerful weaponry to begin with, meaning quick, unseen death is a little easier to avoid, and it turns enemy projectiles a little easier to see (the 'Pink Bullets' of the title) as they come hurtling towards your ship. It's still tough as old boots, but it at least feels a bit fairer now.

NG:DEV.TEAM can be found here.

8 (JOINT): BEATS OF RAGE
2004 Senile Team (original release)

Senile team developed this Streets of Rage game engine in 2003, before it was ported to the DC in 2004, and ever since there has been a steady stream of fan made games using the engine, covering practically every video game, movie and TV franchise you can think of. Some of these are great (Battletoads, Crisis Evil, Aliens vs Predator), and could stand as excellent stand alone scrolling beat em ups on their own. It's ease of use makes it a favourite amongst wannabee game makers, and the engine is robust enough to allow memories of playing Streets of Rage 2 to come flooding back to those with nostalgic memories. Several BoR mods received votes themselves in this poll, but it's the original itself, and the whole library of mods, that are ranked here.

Senile Team can be found here.

7: FAST STRIKER
2010 NG:DEV.TEAM

NG:DEV.TEAM's follow up to Last Hope was another Neo Geo port, this time an enhanced version of Fast Striker, a vertical homage to 16 bit shmups. It's a faster, more maniacal approach to the genre than Last Hope was. The difficulty levels present different forms of game, with higher levels requiring supreme reflexes and mastery of the games ship shield mechanic, whilst all levels require getting to grips with chaining. It looks good, sounds good and, as with much of the DC's indie library, has some absolutely incredible artwork on the games box art. The game feels fair throughout - death is avoidable if you're skilled enough, and not overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of colour and sound the game produces.

NG:DEV.TEAM can be found here.

6: VOLGARR THE VIKING
2015 Crazy Viking Studios / Marc Hall

Crazy Viking studios kickstarted this homage to early 80's action-platformers successfully back in 2013. It was well received, noted for it's incredibly tough difficulty level but balanced gameplay and great design. Fast forward to 2015 and 2D viking platforming action came to the DC, with the full permission of the original developers, and the talent of Marc Hall who was responsible for the DC port. For a game which received no commercial release (well, read on for a bit more about that), it's popularity is a fantastic sign that the DC scene is alive and well, and for a while in the voting it seemed like it could spring a surprise and be even higher. The DC port is still tough as nails, but it's a great addition in a genre that needs some loving in the Dreamcast indie library. There were 100 pressed copies of the game made available, by auction, on a German forum 'Circuit Board', which made the rest of us very jealous.

The Volgarr site can be found here

5: WIND AND WATER PUZZLE BATTLES
2008 Yuan Works

Narrowly missing out on the 4th place by just a couple of votes, Wind and Water Puzzle Battles recently received a re-release which no doubt helped put it back in the public eye. Actually, that's a bit mean, as the game is every bit deserving of it's position. Yuan Works puzzler made it to number 127th in the 2013 DCJY poll, and it's simple yet deep gameplay continues to gain new fans. Whilst on the surface it may appear to be just another block matching puzzle title, it offers loads of extra content;  mini games, well written story, puzzle and versus modes, and a constantly evolving gameplay that will keep you engrossed. It's full of subtle and not so subtle references to the DC, looks lovely and feels far more than just 'another' Indie title.

We recently did a developer interview with Yuan Works, which can be found here. Yuan Works blog/site can be found here.

4: RUSH RUSH RALLY RACING
2009 Senile Team

Senile team showed their versatility with the release of overhead racer Rush Rush Rally Racing. Control is key in this type of game, and the cars in RRRR drive perfectly, around well designed and varied tracks with plenty of little touches in the background to rise a smile or too. It's colourful, well presented and never takes itself too seriously, with great multiplayer options thrown in as well. Tracks need to be learnt to make progression, and the difficulty can be a tad too hard at times, but with that great soundtrack playing in the background you're not going to mind having to redo a couple of tracks. Another great, polished Indie release.

We reviewed RRRR here. Senile Team can be found here

3: GUNLORD
2012 NG:DEV.TEAM

Taking third place after an almighty tussle in the voting, Gunlord is a game which DC gamers have taken to their hearts. NG:DEV.TEAM are one of the most prolific of DC supporters,and Gunlord really is their crowning glory. This adventurous, variety packed, Neo Geo ported run and gunner wears it's Turrican influences proudly for all to see. It has expansive stages full of hidden bonuses and superbly realised enemy characters. Bosses are huge, challenging and impressive, and the platforming action is engrossing from the get go. It's tough, boy is it tough, but the enjoyment level is so high you won't mind repeated plays. The soundtrack is excellent (so many Indie games on the DC have fantastic soundtracks, we really should collectively push for a 'best of' CD from all of them), and the artwork throughout, including the packaging, is just superb.

NG:DEV.TEAM can be found here

2: STURMWIND
2013 Duranik

Highest placed Indie game in the 2013 DCJY top 200 games, it seems Sturmwind has been knocked off it's thrown as best Indie title - but it was close. Top spot beckoned for a long time for Duranik's horizontal shmup masterpiece, before slipping behind the eventual winner late on. Despite this, I cannot rate Sturmwind highly enough. It is beautiful, both in craft design and backdrops, quite possibly the most visually impressive DC title, indie or licensed inclusive. It may be 2D, but the worlds are brought to life with impeccable quality. The soundtrack is excellent, and the stages are long, impressive and always interesting. There's tons of little touches in the backgrounds, and bosses are never less than amazing. The game isn't really a 'hardcore shmup' title, but more an everyman's Shmup, as even those who don't like the genre will be impressed. The 3 weapon system ties in with the life system, so getting hit loses the currently equipped weapon, which can be restored by picking up the power up of the relevant colour - this would usually upgrade the weapon. There's plenty of depth in this system and is a far fairer one than usually used. Even though the game can claim influence from older similar titles, it's visual splendour elevates it past just being a homage to older games. I put this game on when I want to impress non DC gamers, and to a man they think it's a top level XBLA game rather than an indie release running on a nearly 20 year old machine. It even boasts support for the DC SD card reader, for goodness sake. A classic, a beautiful classic. Top spot had better be damn good...

We did a developer interview with Duranik which can be found here. Duranik can be found here.

1: PIER SOLAR AND THE GREAT ARCHITECTS
2015 Watermelon

Watermelon kept us waiting with the release of Pier Solar, but the wait was worth it. A late surge made sure of it's victory in this poll, which shows how quickly we've taken the game to our hearts. After years of shmup gluttony, a decent RPG was well overdue, and Pier Solar's HD upgrade of it's indie Megadrive release is our resulting role playing dessert. A digital love letter to old school RPG's, it can revel in some beautiful design with fantastic artwork throughout. The story is strong; criticised by some for being a weak point, I found it actually to be a rather well written plot with good dialogue, and strong character design. There's a healthy element of puzzles to work out, and the adventure itself takes you on a journey through varied locales. The battle system works well too, although it must be noted that it's not universally acclaimed. It's also another DC indie title with an outstanding soundtrack, which just adds to the games appeal.
Watermelon must also be credited for the work that went into the packaging of these games, whether it be the feature rich special collectors editions or just the choice between packaging which fits into each of the 3 regional designs. Pier Solar won't be everyone's choice of best DC indie release, let's make that perfectly clear, but RPG fans desperate for a new adventure are well serviced here.

The Pier Solar website can be found here.

(A quick mention of those titles that just missed out. NG:DEV.TEAM's shmup-tacular NEO XYX, Orion's charming platformer Alice's Mom's Rescue and Retroguru's cheap and cheery puzzler Fruit'Y were all whiskers away from making the list. Next time maybe?)

So there we have it. 10 (well, technically, 11, and that's not including updated versions) indie titles that the DCJY reading public have ranked as the best for the system. Thanks to everyone who voted, and let us know in the comments or through the usual social media channels, what you think. As always, if you don't agree with the end results, feel free to use the hashtag #DCJYmademecry and let the world know about it!

The Dreamcast Top 200 Poll: The Gagaman picks some you may have forgotten..

With the new re-count poll of everyone's favorite Dreamcast games on the move, it feels like a good time to list off some games I personally really love on the system that may not be considered obvious choices but in my opinion deserve a bit more recognition and may have been forgotten by Dreamcast fans voting on this massive poll. Call this a bit of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink-hint-hint sort of article. Looking back at the Top 100 results from 2009 I was surprised how many great games missed out from the list, which does say a lot about just how many great games are on the system but here are some of those games I think deserve a second chance this time around..

	Project Justice: Rival Schools 2
	Almost every Capcom fighting game got onto the old top 100, even the port of Street Fighter 2, but not this? This was such a inventive and massive 3D fighter, and is still to this day only available on the Dreamcast, unless you're one of those people that has the dosh to collect actual arcade boards. You could twat people with baseball bats and tennis rackets one moment, and dive into synchronized swimming the next! Pure genius.
	L.O.L - Lack of Love
	This one maybe understandably didn't get many votes last time simply because it is quite a rare game and not many people have even heard if it. I implore you to hunt this one down though, it's simply beautiful, and despite being a Japanese only release has zero language barrier as there is next to no text or dialog, just sounds and atmosphere. It's unique and kind of hard to explain, but well worth it's asking price so run off, buy it, play it and then vote for it, because once you've played it you will want to.
	Sega Marine Fishing
	Not a single fishing game made the top 100, not counting Big the cat in Sonic Adventure of course. The fishing controller is one of the most fun experiences on the Dreamcast for me, and this game in particular is by far and beyond the best fishing game of the bunch. It has so much to unlock and do, and the over the top colourful presentation is pure SEGA.
	Confidential Mission
	Light gun games were so shockingly few and far between on the Dreamcast it's pretty depressing. House of the Dead 2 is of course the one everyone bought a light gun for but near the end of Sega official run of the system they threw us this new James Bond themed spin on the Virtua Cop series, and it's fantastic. It's a pity modern TVs can't play light gun games, but at the very worst you can also use the mouse!
	Tokyo Bus Guide
	Oh come on, don't look at me like that! Tokyo Bus Guide is the ying to Crazy Taxi's yang: it's the complete opposite in tone, speed and rules but is still an arcade gem at heart. Much like getting the most money in Crazy Taxi, being able to clear a whole course in this game without making any mistakes is oh so satisfying. I'm not kidding! When this game clicks it clicks. It's not just me...is it?
	Mars Matrix
	Ok so this one was in the top 100 last time, but I just want to remind people for this time that a) this game exists and b) it is absolutely amazing. I really don;t know how to describe why I love Mars Matrix so much but something about it's game mechanics  it's crazy yet some how chill music, batshit sped up presentation and additive scoring and shop system mean I keep coming back to this one over and over again. I've been playing this more than any other DC games recently!
	Indie games!
	I also want to give a shout out to NG:DEV TEAM, Redspotgames, Hucast and Goat Store for the new indie games they have released since the last poll. Having new games released for a technically dead console feels rather special and these games hold up to some of the best official releases, my favorites being Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles, Rush Rush Rally Racing, Fast Striker, Gunlord and most recently Sturmwind. If you have played any of the indie releases and enjoyed them don't forget to vote for them! We at the DCJY love new games for our favorite old console and want them to know how much we appreciate them going to the effort to bring them to the Dreamcast!
	Cool Cool Toon
	This is another game that made the top 100 last time and I hope it stays that way this time around. Another one of those games that has yet to be ported anywhere else and it's that one time SNK decided to just escape their comfort zone of 2D fighters and really took on the best of the quirky Japanese rhythm genre that has since died out.
	Looney Tunes Space Race
	Infogrames followed up Wacky Races with this superb Looney Tunes racer, which really nailed the characters personalities in 3D and despite being quite short and easy was great fun.
	Maken X
	For all it's flaws Maken X deserves just as much cult status as many of the quirkier games in the old top 100. The Atlus fan base has really exploded in recent years so maybe this first person sword fighting game may catch a chance this time. I can think of much worse games that could reach the top 100. Yes I'm looking at you Blue Stinger.
	Gundam - E.E.F Vs Zeon DX
	Developed by Capcom despite their logo being no where on the box, this 3D robot brawler based on the original 1979 anime series not only looks and sounds the part but plays brilliantly too, with less of a tricky learning curve than Virtual On. Fans of the anime will adore this but even people knew to the series will get a lot of enjoyment of this.
	Alien Front Online
	One of the first console games to ever feature online voice chat, it's a shame this one cannot be played online anymore but even in the offline modes this is simple, fantastic fun to play. Blowing up everything in sight is such a joy, you can even go all 'Independence Day' and destroy the white house!
	Golem No Maigo / The Lost Golem
	You might remember me writing about how much I adore this hidden gem, if not go check out my article about it. This small time production that was mostly the work of one person while they were a student, this charming little puzzle game is like the Dreamcast equivalent of an Oilver Postgate childrens program.

I could think of plenty of other games too but I'll leave it at that for now. I tell you one thing: I personally voted for what must have been around 130 games that I think deserve to reach that top 200. Of course being a top 200 should prevent any good games from missing the list this time around...right?

UPDATE: added a few more, I couldn't resist especially considering some of these games are getting next to zero votes!

What are your favorite underrated Dreamcast games? Let us know in the comments and most importantly: make sure you vote for them! :)

Review: Battle Crust

There was undoubtedly a period, not too long ago, when the mention of yet another shoot 'em up for the Dreamcast would have brought a deafening sigh from the community. It seemed that for a time, every single post-mortem indie release was another vertical or horizontal shooter (I hasten to add that I'm not a fan of the term 'shmup,' just as I cringe at the term 'Metroidvania'), and even though the majority of them are pleasant, highly competent examples of the genre, overkill set in. This probably came to head in 2015 with the release of Ghost Blade - a game I personally quite enjoyed, but one which also drew derision and ultimately signalled a hiatus for shooters on the system.

Indeed, the reliance on the shoot 'em up has largely vanished from the indie Dreamcast scene, what with JoshProd stepping up to the plate and releasing a bunch of new titles for the Dreamcast with nary a spaceship in sight. That's about to change though, as the latest wave of releases from the French publisher includes a port of Picorinne Soft's well received retro-styled vertical shooter Battle Crust. The game initially launched on Steam back in 2016 and I must admit that prior to learning of the Dreamcast port, I was totally unaware of its existence.

Of all the games to bring to the Dreamcast, it's a curious choice then. Especially when you look at the other titles that are making up this third wave of new releases from JoshProd: Another World, Fade to Black, Bang Bang Busters and The Escapee. However, variety is the spice of life, and if anything JoshProd is proving that Dreamcast gamers are thirsty for a range of experiences from a range of genres; and now that the tsunami of shooters seems to have slowed to a mere trickle, it's actually refreshing to see a new title of this ilk on the Dreamcast.

Hyperbole aside though, games like Battle Crust live and die on the quality of the experience they provide, so enough with the procrastination - let's see if Battle Crust deserves a place in the Dreamcast's ever-growing indie library, and more importantly, in your collection...

Revival Solstice 2016 Show Report

The weekend of the 30th-31st July saw Revival Retro Events' Solstice take over Walsall's Bescott football stadium for the UK's largest dedicated retro gaming event. The Dreamcast Junkyard was there to spread some love for Sega's final console and the event was an outstanding success. It wasn't all about the Dreamcast though, as pretty much every retro system imaginable was on display in the large gaming hall - all fully accessible and available to play. Even extremely rare systems such as the Pippin Atmark and NUON were on offer, and I took the opportunity to experience Marathon on the Bandai/Apple console and Tempest 3000 on the VM Labs hardware.

On the subject of Marathon on the Pippin, it ran way better than I was expecting and had a silky frame rate - far better than Saturn Doom, for example. Those two games were probably the (non-Dreamcast) highlight for me, but there were plenty of arcade machines and pinball machines on offer, and retro consoles going back to the very dawn of gaming were on show.

Hucast Games Announce Redux 2

If there's one thing the Dreamcast does well, it's shmups - and Hucast Games has produced some of the best in recent times. After the success of both Dux and Redux, a sequel was always going to be an option and Hucast have confirmed that Redux 2 is indeed in development. In a post on their blog, Hucast revealed gameplay details along with some artwork and alpha screens, which we're sure you'll agree look pretty damn nice.

DreamPod - Episode 45

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

Music in this episode is from Gunlord and Wind & Water Puzzle Battles. You can find information about the Akura VGA to HDMI converter here, Matterrun is here, Dreamcastnoid is here. Information about the Postal story can be found here and the Worms World Party story is here. You can find out more on the Sturmwind reprint here. If you like what you hear, please consider leaving a review on iTunes and if you would like to support the DreamPod on Patreon you can find us here.

Please feel free to join our Facebook group, like the Facebook page or follow us on Twitter. Lastly, and most importantly - keep dreaming, and be excellent to one another.

DreamPod - Episode 35

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

Music in this episode comes from Duranik's amazing shmup Sturmwind. Yuan Works' Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles can be purchased here; the Propeller Arena petition is here; and further details on the Xbox controllers is here. As ever, if you like what you've heard please consider leaving us an iTunes review and our Patreon is located here.

Check out Back In My Play's Summer of Dreamcast series here, and there'll be a full feature on the series once the episode featuring me (Tom) is released. One last thing I forgot to mention on the podcast is that I did an interview with Adam Lundgren of Swedish Dreamcast site Dreamcast Sweden, so please go there and have a look at that too.

Developer Interview: Retro Sumus' Carlos Oliveros

Spanish indie developer Retro Sumus came to the fore in late 2014 when new Dreamcast-bound visual novel AMEBA was announced. Since then, work has been progressing steadily behind the scenes and we decided it was about time that we uncovered just what Retro Sumus is all about. In this exclusive interview with lead writer Carlos Oliveros, we find out a little more about the team, AMEBA and discover that there's another extremely promising (and previously unannounced) Dreamcast game on the horizon...

DCJY: Could you tell us a little bit about Retro Sumus? Who makes up the team and what are your roles?

Carlos Oliveros: Retro Sumus is both our name and our tag line, so to speak. It's Latin for "we are back," or "we are retro" which in my humble opinion makes for a nice Twitter hashtag, don't you think?

#Yes

Right now, the team is made up of four fine gentlemen: Daniel aka Chui, Abel, Juanjo and yours truly. Chui is like Cypher from the X-men and understands any computer language you throw at him, or like Cypher from the Matrix now that I think of it, as he seems to see the world in code. Abel is our 3D designer and the owner of the brain behind Project Q (we'll get to that). Juanjo is in charge of the sound department, and I'm the main writer/translator and the communication guy.

For our first announced project AMEBA, we're recruiting a 2D artist and two more screenwriters to help us put everything together, as it's quite a big story for such a small team.

The original AMEBA teaser artwork

But you have known and/or worked with each other for a while now, haven't you?

In short, yes. I was one of the translators for Watermelon's Pier Solar and, after the Mega Drive release and the fans asking for a PC and a Dreamcast conversion, I introduced Chui to Tulio from Watermelon, as they were looking for a capable programmer to port the original Mega Drive code to more modern platforms. Being the awesome fella that he is, and the creator (or co-creator) of so many emulators and tools for the Dreamcast and other machines, he jumped at the chance and has become Tulio's right hand since, as far as I know. I only knew Chui for his emulators and had talked to him a few times before that, but we began working closer and chatting every other day from then on, as he worked on porting the game and I translated all the new content.

I think Chui brought Abel with him to Pier Solar. There was a Mode7 level in the original game which had to be remade from scratch for the conversion, so he did the 3D for that stage. That initial work was in fact the germ for Project Q.

Juanjo had never worked on any videogame related project. He's a piano teacher and producer, and the current keyboardist for spanish bands Efecto Mariposa and Los Aslándticos. When I told him about my ideas for AMEBA, he didn't even let me finish and said he wanted in. I was honoured, as he knew I couldn't possibly pay him (for now anyway) and didn't care at all. He immediately improvised a beautiful piano tune that will become one of the main themes for the game.

1500+ subscribers on Youtube? About time I posted something!

The Dreamcast Junkyard Youtube channel has been dormant for about 9 months now, since my Gunlord inside out video, and with over 1500 subscribers still about, it's about time I updated it! So here's a quick video about all the games announced to be releasing for the Dreamcast this year, which I will be featuring on the channel as soon as they arrive in the post, starting with Sturmwind at the end of April.

For this year of new content I thought it was about time I gave the channel a new lick of paint. I updated the channel design and in the video there is a new intro featuring that Dee Cee mascot I designed a while back. I'm also thinking about something for the 15th anniversary of the Dreamcast consoles Japanese release, but it's too early to say just yet. I did leave a clue though.

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.

DCHDMI: Full Speed Gameplay Footage

It became apparent after I uploaded the review of citrus3000psi and chriz2600's internal Dreamcast mod - the DCHDMI - that the footage included in the video was actually throttled to 25fps due to the introductory part of the video (the bit with my hands). Naturally, this caused quite the drama in the comments section on YouTube. And so, as a result of the ensuing cold sweats, night terrors and feeling like a total twunt; I decided to rectify said issues by recording a load of gameplay direct from the DCHDMI, eschewing an intro, and slapping the results on YouTube.

So here, for your enjoyment, is 18 minutes of pure gameplay. Recorded in 1080p mode (which is 960p windowed...which is itself 480p doubled by the FPGA on the board) at full speed 60 frames per second where applicable. I haven't altered anything, just recorded some gameplay from a range of titles. Here you go:

The full list of games in the video is:

• Ferrari F355 Challenge
• Sonic Adventure
• Shutokou Battle 2
• Dead or Alive 2
• Sturmwind
• Daytona USA 2001
• Virtua Striker 2
• Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves
• Le Mans 24hrs
• Quake III: Arena
• V-Rally 2: Expert Edition
• Virtua Tennis
• Crazy Taxi
• Marvel Vs Capcom 2
• Metropolis Street Racer
• Sega Rally 2
• Soul Calibur

I apologise for how shit I am in some of the footage but I'm sure you can see that the DCHDMI is pumping out some seriously sharp images. I'm anticipating that people will still complain in the comments section (on YouTube) about something...but hey. What can you do?

Read our full written review here, and find the DCHDMI modification for sale at citrus3000psi's dedicated web store here. It costs $150 and will be available from mid November 2018.

Will you be getting involved in the DCHDMI? If you'd like a closer look we'll be showing it off at Play Expo Blackpool at the end of October. Let us know in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter. If you want to leave a negative comment on YouTube,  please feel free to join the other 367,000,000 people doing that daily. Cheers!