Dreamcast Magazine Issue 14

Issue 14 of Paragon Publishing's Dreamcast Magazine hit store shelves on 5th October 2000 and featured a menacing Ryo Hazuki staring out from the cover. Other big games name checked include Jet Set Radio, Le Mans 24hrs and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Unlike many previous editions, Issue 14 doesn't really showcase many unreleased gems although both Gun Valkyrie and Heroes of Might & Magic III are previewed.

One of the most interesting tidbits of news involves a referenced interview in which Yuki Naka reveals an early name for the Dreamcast that was considered by Sega was the 'Sega G-Cube,' while another mentions a patent lawsuit involving Sega and a company called Optix Media. A quick Google search reveals nothing about this patent dispute, and neither does the article.

The Unsolved Mysteries of Leona's Tricky Adventures

### WARNING! SPOILERS APPROACHING! ### WARNING! SPOILERS APPROACHING! ###
 

Here at the 'yard, we're big fans of Leona's Tricky Adventures - one of the finest and most polished indie games released on our favourite little box of tricks. You can find our review of the game here, and if you hurry, there's still time to enter our recent competition to blag yourself a free copy.

However, even in our high esteem for the game, we still recognise that it has some imperfections. One of the main criticisms leveled at the game (mainly vocalised from the bleary-eyed, pasty-skinned, obsessive-compulsive completionist shut-in minority at the back of the room, who've toiled away through sleepless nights to finish every puzzle and find every gem) is that the end of the game isn't entirely satisfactory. It seems as if KTX had big plans for Leona's Adventure, and not all of this grand vision was realised in the final product. This means the game has a kind of incomplete feeling towards the end, with a number of dead ends and mysteries left unsolved to confuse and bewilder the hapless player seeking to satisfy that itch of achieving a state of 100% complete nirvana.

Hopefully, these loose ends in the story will be addressed in a potential (and hoped for) sequel, but until then, here is a dossier of screenshots highlighting the things you can safely ignore on your quest to beat the game into total submission. This will save you the trouble of wondering around the game world aimlessly looking for that next puzzle fix (like my bleary-eyed pasty-arse did). Be warned, end of game spoilers are featured heavily.

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.

Competition: Win Leona's Tricky Adventures For Dreamcast!

Leona's Tricky Adventures hit the Dreamcast earlier this year and wowed us with its great music, endearing visuals and engaging puzzling/adventuring gameplay. We did a massive review of KTX's fantastic indie release recently, and a developer interview - tap/click the links below to find out more:

On the back of this, we've teamed up with KTX Software to offer five lucky people the chance to win a brand new, sealed copy of Leona's Tricky Adventures for the Dreamcast! Want in on this action? Just click the button below and enter the competition. And once you've done that, head over to KTX Software's website and Steam store to check out the other great games they offer!

New VMU Game Street Race Available Now

A few months ago we brought you news that Instagram/DCJY Facebook group member @guacasaurus_mex (or Tom Napiorkowski, as his human friends call him) had successfully ported Flappy Bird to the humble Dreamcast VMU. Looks like Tom's been busy since then and has just released his next game to make use of the removable storage nugget: Street Race. This is quite an ambitious title for the tiny dot matrix and humble Sanyo LC8670 CPU beating at the heart of the VMU, but somehow Tom has managed to cram 6 different tracks, grey scale graphics and rudimentary audio effects into Street Race.

There's a gameplay video below and you can download the CD image file here or the SD reader file here. Both work in a similar fashion to the Flappy Bird files in that you need to use the bundled VMU Tool software to add the Street Race file to your VMU. This is impressive stuff from Tom/Guac, and we can't wait to see what else he creates for the Dreamcast's unsung hero.

It should also be noted that the download files for Street Race contain the original Flappy Bird game too, so there are now two reasons to get those VMU battery supplies stocked up!

Get A Grip With PS4 Thumb Sticks

The standard Dreamcast controller comes in for a lot of flack whenever people struggle to find something more worthwhile to moan about. In days gone by, the youth of the day would complain about torrid working conditions down the local coal mine; or losing an arm running between looms in the textile mill where three generations of the same family lived, worked and died. These days though, it's all about the lack of dual analog sticks, where the wire protrudes, or - woe betide - that the sides of the controller are too sharp and cut into ones hands with extended use.

However, it has been brought to my attention that another complaint about the humble Dreamcast controller can henceforth be struck from the record books like the aforementioned orphan's rights to a scrap of stale bread after a 30 hour shift on the coal face: slippery analog sticks. Thanks to a gentleman by the name of James, you too can now bask in the knowledge that your convex, weathered analog stick can be replaced with the grippy, concave nubbin designed to be used in the PlayStation 4's Dual Shock 4 controller:

Fanboy Alert!

Clickbait titles are awesome aren't they? And you my friend, have fallen for that one up there. That said, this is quite interesting/dumfounding so stick around. I was looking at Etsy t'other day and I came across a Dreamcast-related peripheral that literally nobody asked for: an extra mains-powered fan that connects to the rear of the console and acts as a type of beefed up heat extractor:

I'd never seen this before, and I didn't think the Dreamcast generated enough heat to warrant an extra turbine being added to keep it running at a safe temperature...but apparently this thing exists.

A Quick Look At Propeller Arena

Alongside Half-Life, Propeller Arena is perhaps the most infamous of the Dreamcast's cancelled titles. Although both games were eventually leaked online and are freely available to download and play, the fact that these two titles never saw official releases is a bitter pill to swallow for many Dreamcast fans. And this is simply because they were both pretty much finished when they were slung into the bin with all the grace of a soiled wad of toilet paper being unceremoniously dropped into the gaping, pungent maw of a porcelain throne.

Propeller Arena has once again entered the spotlight though, as yet another Dreamcast-related online petition has surfaced - this time calling for Sega to resurrect AM2's aerial shooter and give it the opportunity it arguably deserved. At the time of writing, said petition has a paltry 37 signatures and I really do doubt that the creator of the project appreciates the Herculean effort it would take to get a game such as Propeller Arena updated for modern systems and contemporary online infrastructure. As nice an idea as it is, I think we should just appreciate what we do have - a game that was almost finished, was subsequently leaked...and turned out to be one of the greatest games the Dreamcast never officially got.

SLaVE: Another Update

It seems like only yesterday we reported on the pre-orderer's update on the status of Jay Townsend's SLaVE, the eagerly awaited Dreamcast first person shooter-cum-puzzler from Goat Store. Over the last weekend another update email was sent out to those who have already ordered their copy of this awesome-looking trip into retro-futuristic neon hell, and it details some new features that are being implemented, such as compatibility with rumble packs:

"Hey Dreamcast fans!

Jay Townsend's SLaVE is still moving! The team has been very hard at work eliminating bugs that have been found in the program and tweaking the code to get the best performance. The additional time for testing has also allowed the team to add some things to the code, such as rumble support to make the game even more polished.

At this point though, we sadly still do not have a final date for distribution of the game as we don't yet know when we will be comfortable that the bug test is done. However we intend to start putting final components of the game into production - such as the LLE coin - in the upcoming month!

Thanks so much for hanging with us and being a supporter of independent game development."

- Dan Loosen, Goat Store

This is great news and goes some way toward reassuring us that the game is still coming, however we can't help but be a little disappointed that there is still no release date for SLaVE even after all this time. Here's hoping that the final product is every bit as impressive as the game looks in video form.

Once again, SLaVE can still be pre-ordered from Goat Store here for just $20 + shipping.

Dreamcast Magazine Issue 13

Dreamcast Magazine issue 13 hit the shelves on 7th September 2000 and boasted an exclusive preview of the game every Dreamcast owner was waiting for: Half-Life. Featuring an interview with Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford (reporduced below) and world-exclusive screens taken from the game, the 7-page spread was reason enough to buy this issue, even without all of the other great content. That said, the first murmurings that developers were starting to desert the Dreamcast were reported in the news section, with information regarding the cancellation of Colin McRae Rally 2.0, Baldurs Gate, Messiah, Independence War 2, El Dorado and UEFA 2001 souring things slightly.

That said, information regarding Sega of Japan's plans for the Net@ entertainment/internet cafes is reported in the international news section, and the previews section is pretty full with news of upcoming titles Tony Hawk 2, Toy Story 2, Looney Tunes Space Race and Vanishing Point. Other news items include part 4 of the Black & White development diary, and a look at the (never released) Picassio comic book series.

Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles Re-Released

Yuan Works' Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles is one of the most highly regarded independent games on every platform it has graced, and the Dreamcast is no different. It's a charming little strategic puzzler in which blocks featuring different elements (earth, wood, fire, metal etc) must be arranged in such a fashion as to remove them from the board. There's much more to it than that though, and it features some outrageously good production values for an indie game. We have covered Puzzle Battles extensively here at the Junkyard in the past and several of our team members are actually in the game and can be accessed by way of a special code - who wouldn't want to play as Aaron, complete with sombrero; or Caleb pointing an accusatory finger?!

Caleb and Aaron - bottom row, green shirt and sombrero respectively

While Wind and Water has been available as a free download for Windows since 2011, the Dreamcast version of the game has been out of stock across the internet for some time (unless you want to pay through the nose on eBay). Recently though, it has been the subject of a much-needed reprint and can be purchased - right now - for the meagre sum of €9.99 plus postage from DragonBox. Due to the recent Brexit, that probably means that UK buyers will end up paying around £75 for it, but it's worth it. Probably. This re-issue comes with the same printed inlays and manual and for the price it's a steal.

Head over to DragonBox now to order your copy of Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles.

Source: Yuan Works Dev Blog

Famicam64 iOS App Adds VMU Filters & Frames

Famicam64 is a retro-inspired camera app for iOS devices that allows you to add all manner of cool retro gaming and computer effects to your photos. Want to give snaps of your dog an 8-bit makeover and add a pseudo NES box art frame? Famicam64 is the perfect app for you! I published a full review of Famicam64 over at RetroCollect recently and consider it to be one of the best camera apps available for the iPhone, but it just got a whole lot better with the release of update 1.3.

Why? Well, now you can turn your phone into a Dreamcast VMU! I have to admit to having a bit of a hand in the creation of this filter after suggesting it on Twitter, and I must give credit to Famicam64's creator PXL:Artificer for going to the trouble of taking me seriously and actually implementing the VMU frame and filter...

Original 1999 Xbox Controller Designs Show VMU Device

So you might have seen these images by now, as Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley tweeted them two days ago on Saturday night. As soon as I saw them I was intrigued and asked how 'genuine' they were...and my question simply received a 'favourite.' I'll be honest - I didn't actually know who Seamus was at the time so I was a bit sceptical, but it turns out these images are indeed real.

Dating from November 1999 according to Blackley, the drawings depict several prototype Xbox controllers and they all feature a VMU style memory unit very similar to the Dreamcast design. The most interesting thing here is the date - it confirms that Microsoft was planning a console as early as 1999, and was already looking at the Dreamcast as a blueprint for the Xbox.

Forbidden Planet Now Stocking Dreamcast Merchandise

Thanks to author of the DCJY Ultimate Guide/DreamPod co-host/intrepid reporter Mike Phelan for this news. Today he braved the incessant rain of the British summer and ventured to his local branch of comic book/sci-fi emporium Forbidden Planet, and was met with an awesome selection of Dreamcast-related merchandise. We knew about the Megadrive branded stuff they were selling previously, but this Dreamcast range was news to us!

Mike's Nokia 7560 camera coming to the rescue once again

T-shirts, mugs, wallets, coasters, greetings cards, travel pass and passport holders - all emblazoned with Dreamcast, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue II designs are all now available to purchase from the popular retailer. Not only are they available in store - you can also find them online. Mike went a bit overboard and literally purchased everything he could find so we'll get a full update soon on the quality of the merchandise, but if you'd like to check these out for yourself follow the links below.

Dreamcast range

Jet Set Radio range

Shenmue II range

A Short Film About Life, Love and the Dreamcast

Waiting For A Star (The Last Word - Strength To Dream) is a slightly surreal comedy short created by amateur film maker Daniel Price, and tells the story of a despondent young man who finds meaning through a love of the Dreamcast. I think. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what it's about, but there are some pretty funny monologue sections inter cut with the protagonist's piss-poor attempts at playing Sega Rally 2. It's all very arty in an 'angsty student' type of way, and I do actually know the creator in real life...so I suppose I could ask him what the fuck all this random chaos means...but I'm far, far too lazy. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be confused and amused by Waiting For A Star (The Last Word - Strength To Dream)...

If anyone knows who the German guy in the video is, please let me know. I can't be arsed doing a Google image search. I've got more important things to do, like whiten yet another yellow Dreamcast I recently picked up. Cheers. (Edit - I've been informed that it's Alex Wright, a former professional wrestler. Make perfect sense now. Um...)

Dream Trance Rez Vibrator Video Review

The PlayStation 2 famously received a small and slightly odd peripheral in the form of the Rez Trance Vibrator, which was a small USB-powered block that would pulse and shake in time with the music while playing Tetsuya Mizuguchi's psychedelic masterpiece. Sadly, the DC was already in a body bag by the time the Trance Vibrator hit, so nothing of the sort was ever released for it.

Until now, that is. Fellow DCJY member Scott Marley (aka Sega Retro's Doc Eggfan) has created the world's first - and only - Dreamcast Rez vibration unit, Dream Trance...and he sent it to me to review. Please note that the Dream Trance only really mimics the functions of a standard Dreamcast rumble pack and doesn't vibrate in time with the game music, but it's a cool little device and demonstrates what can be achieved with a little imagination and technical know-how. Here's the video:

1080p is available from the video options menu

As stated, there's only one Dream Trance unit in existence at the moment - the one in the video. However, if people wish to own their own Dream Trance, please let us know in the comments and we'll see what we can do with regards to making them a reality for other Rez fans.

You can also find Ross's Rez Infinite first look mentioned in the video above by visiting this link.

DreamPod - Episode 34: FightPod

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

Music in this episode comes from Last Blade 2, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 and Soul Calibur. You can follow Spencer on Twitter here, and find his extensive articles on various games at Hardcore Gaming 101 by tapping/clicking the links below:

Akai Katana

Dodonpachi

Ibara / Pink Sweets

Mushihime-sama

If you’d like to contribute to our Patreon then please go here, and if you’d like to submit a review or subscribe then feel free to check DreamPod out on iTunes.