Massive thanks to the lovely people at Sega Europe for the shout out, make sure you go and subscribe to the YouTube channel after reading this! Meanwhile, I'm off to go and have the Sega logo tattooed onto my forehead.
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Sega Central Features The DCJY Collectors Guide
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16ths: The Dreamcast Start-Up Theme
Hey! I started doing YouTube videos just this past year, and one of the series I do is about short pieces in video game music. The Dreamcast's boot tune is one such piece. Even though some older systems had musical start-ups, most of the others weren't as good - certainly, they probably didn't have the same caliber of composer. Anyway, prologue aside, here's the video:
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T3's Sega Dreamcast Anniversary Special
November 27th 1998 marked the Japanese release of the Dreamcast. It was a momentous occasion, and while not on the same level of notoriety as the bat-shit crazy European launch that featured drunken cameos from Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Verne Troyer, it's still an important event.
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A Quick Look At Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu
Of all the popular American sports, ice hockey is probably my favourite. I know other countries (including the UK) play ice hockey and have domestic leagues, but for me the NHL is the go-to for fast, ice-based violence/fun; and the similarities it shares with soccer make it quite easy for me to enjoy. There are two teams, two goals, two goalkeepers, and a thing that needs to be put past said 'keeper to score a point. Simple.
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At the other end of the spectrum, NFL - or American Football - is the least penetrable to me. To my stupid foreign eyes it looks like a chaotic mishmash of rugby and Gaelic football, two other sports I have very little interest in. Sandwiched betwixt these extremes like two slabs of pastrami are basketball and baseball. Basketball is alright, but it just seems like the teams take it in turn to score (yawn), and baseball is just rounders with a bigger bat and 90,000 screaming drunks lining the field (probably). Oh, and there was a film starring Kevin Costner about it once. I think it was called The Postman. But I digress.
This waffle is about baseball, a largely American pastime, but with a Japanese spin. Am I making any sense here at all? I doubt it. Baseball is very popular in Japan and so it's only natural that a baseball game based on the Japanese league would be released on the Dreamcast...and it was. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Dreamcast Edition is one such example of this (I know other games of this ilk exist) and represents Konami's solitary flirtation with the sport on Sega's console. Konami's support of the Dreamcast in the West was spotty at best (The Grinch, Deadly Skies and International Track & Field are the only games that spring to mind without going to look at Wikipedia) but in Japan Konami actually acted like at least one fuck was given and so there are plenty of text-heavy NTSC-J titles floating around eBay covered in pictures of super-deformed cartoon characters.
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Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu is actually a slight tweaking of the exceedingly popular N64 and PS1 games of the same series, known over here as Power Pro Baseball, and is a twee little game with some highly stylised visuals and over-enthusiastic play by play commentary. The game is quite text-heavy and there is virtually no English anywhere, but it isn't hard to suss out once you get going. The game was developed in part by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka (KCEO), the same team behind the International Superstar Soccer games on the N64 and this is evident once you get past the team select screen and onto the game plan screen - the very same 'bouncing face balls' from ISS64 - ISS2000 are used to represent player enthusiasm on the team selection screen. Obviously, I didn't mess around too much with this as I can't read a single letter, so I just bypassed all that and got out onto the field.
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Once the game proper begins, it's clear that Jikkyou isn't intended to be a graphical tour de force like Major League Baseball 2K1 - it's meant to be a fun take on the sport of adult rounders and unsurprisingly that's exactly what it is. Controls, either as a batter or a pitcher are extremely easy to pick up - you simply aim where you want the ball or the bat to go within the little 'hit box,' press A to pitch or swing...and that's it. I'm not going to go on about the rules of baseball as I'm sure I only know the basics, but the control scheme in Jikkyou makes it a very enjoyable experience. If you (or your opposition) hit the pitched ball, the camera zooms out and the fielding team take the spotlight. Meanwhile, the runner is represented by a little animation in the bottom corner of the screen. If you are batting, you can move the closest fielder to the ball and the different bases on the diamond are mapped to the X, Y and B buttons so you can throw the ball directly before the runner is safe. It really does make for a great and exciting game, and all the while you have the great crowd effects buzzing in the background and the most excitable commentators known to man screaming down their microphones as the action unfolds.
As a complete n00b when it comes to baseball games (OK, I've played All Star Baseball on N64 and MLB 2K1 on Dreamcast) I was totally surprised by just how much fun Jikkyou turned out to be. I must confess that I've not really investigated any of the modes other than 'exhibition match,' but it looks as if there are plenty of league and career type modes available if you can actually read Japanese. On the surface, it looks like a cartoony baseball game but if you have the inclination to dig a little deeper (and again, can read Japanese), I suspect there is probably a fantastic sports game here.
That said, even if you can't get full use out of it, it's worth picking up if you see it cheap as there's a lot of fun to be had simply from the exhibition mode and I'd wager it's also great fun with two players. Maybe one day I'll be able to manufacture a friend from all of the broken Dreamcast parts laying around the house and experience local multiplayer fun with Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu.
One day.
This waffle is about baseball, a largely American pastime, but with a Japanese spin. Am I making any sense here at all? I doubt it. Baseball is very popular in Japan and so it's only natural that a baseball game based on the Japanese league would be released on the Dreamcast...and it was. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Dreamcast Edition is one such example of this (I know other games of this ilk exist) and represents Konami's solitary flirtation with the sport on Sega's console. Konami's support of the Dreamcast in the West was spotty at best (The Grinch, Deadly Skies and International Track & Field are the only games that spring to mind without going to look at Wikipedia) but in Japan Konami actually acted like at least one fuck was given and so there are plenty of text-heavy NTSC-J titles floating around eBay covered in pictures of super-deformed cartoon characters.
As a complete n00b when it comes to baseball games (OK, I've played All Star Baseball on N64 and MLB 2K1 on Dreamcast) I was totally surprised by just how much fun Jikkyou turned out to be. I must confess that I've not really investigated any of the modes other than 'exhibition match,' but it looks as if there are plenty of league and career type modes available if you can actually read Japanese. On the surface, it looks like a cartoony baseball game but if you have the inclination to dig a little deeper (and again, can read Japanese), I suspect there is probably a fantastic sports game here.
That said, even if you can't get full use out of it, it's worth picking up if you see it cheap as there's a lot of fun to be had simply from the exhibition mode and I'd wager it's also great fun with two players. Maybe one day I'll be able to manufacture a friend from all of the broken Dreamcast parts laying around the house and experience local multiplayer fun with Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu.
One day.
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MSR Alpha Gameplay Footage
A few posts ago we looked at the newly-discovered alpha version of Bizarre Creations' exemplary Dreamcast driving sim Metropolis Street Racer. James, the owner of the GD kindly sent me some gameplay footage of this November 1999 alpha which he recorded from his TV, and so I set about creating a little video showing some of the more interesting aspects.
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Below you will find the fruits of our combined efforts, and the video highlights some interesting things from this early version of MSR that are missing from the final build. For instance, the 'lens flare' effect from the vehicle brake lights and the real-world shop front textures. Other things such as the audio placeholders, the real-life recordings of actual radio stations (complete with traffic updates for the M4 and British Telecom adverts) and a very early recording of Live Your Life as sung by Richard Jaques in what sounds like a broom cupboard. Anyway, enjoy the video.
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DreamPod - Episode 20
Stitcher
Buzzsprout
UK Podcast Directory
Massive thanks to Carlos for taking part in this episode. For further information on Xenocider and AMEBA, be sure to visit Retro Sumus'official website, Twitter and Facebook. You can also check out Dreamcast.es here and read all about Retro Barcelona here. Enjoy amigos!
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An Open Letter To Discotek Media
Congratulations on securing the rights to release Hi☆sCoool! SeHa Girls on physical media in North America (and by default, the rest of Western civilisation). As self-confessed Sega fans, we are eagerly awaiting this release and look forward to the extra content and interviews you will be including alongside the full 13 episode series.
We suspect you guys and gals may also be big Sega fans yourselves, as many of the older series you've published have ties to classic Sega titles as well, such as Fist of the North Star, Golgo 13: The Professional, and Super Dimension Century Orguss. There is certainly a lot of scope for overlap between the Sega and Anime fandoms and markets.
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| Fist of the North Star (aka Hokuto no Ken) was released as Black Belt in Western markets. |
As a publisher of non-interactive content, you are probably wondering how this benefits you. Earlier this year, one of our intrepid reporters uncovered some information about plans for an alternative disc media specifically tailored for playback on Dreamcast systems – the Dreamcast Video Disc (DcVD). The full article is available here, but essentially it's just like an old fashioned Video CD, but uses the self-booting MIL-CD format to utilise the Dreamcast's processing power to decode a modified MPEG-1 video codec known as Sofdec. This codec can provide up to 38 minutes of 704x480 quality video per disc - just a hair's breadth away from DVD quality.
With Hi☆sCoool! episodes being quite compact at 11 minutes long, you are probably starting to see what we can already see. The stars have aligned and everything is serendipitously falling into place: The Dreamcast is in vogue, the DcVD format has been uncovered, and the upcoming release of Sega Hard Girls stars an anthropomorphic Dreamcast in vignettes short enough to use the DcVD format effectively. The iron is red hot and there will never be a better opportunity to strike.
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| Image included for figurative emphasis |
Also, keep in mind that there are a number of independent Dreamcast developers out these that could freelance and assist you with this and it is unlikely to be a complicated job. A DcVD release would only requires some simple interactive menus to select and play episodes and the means to decode and playback the video files, either using a non-proprietary video codec or possibly even using the Dreamcast's native Sofdec format as was originally intended for DcVDs. We imagine it would not be too dissimilar to the recently released interactive point-and-click FMV adventures Elansar and Philia that were ported to Dreamcast earlier this year.
While there is certainly a market for the Hi☆sCoool! series to be released on physical discs, many potential customers may already be satisfied with merely watching the series via streaming services, or (heaven forbid) illegally downloading torrents. Releasing them with extra content is certainly a step in the right direction, but it may not be enough to recoup the cost of the license.
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| Elansar and Philia is available to purchase direct from our good friends at HuCast and our even gooder friends and competition sponsors Play-Asia [I expect some free stuff in the mail] |
By publishing the series in the first ever commercial DcVD release, you would most definitely make a splash in both the anime and retrogaming news media and create a buzz across social media networks. The publicity generated would be massive and would go a long way to tempting even the most reluctant of thrift conscious customers. The strategy will also pay dividends with your regular DVD and/or Blu-ray edition sales too, as consumers who purchase the 480p DcVD release for the novelty value may also double down on a 1080p Blu-ray copy for the higher definition video quality.
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| You know it makes sense. |
Please give the idea some serious thought. We are confident that if you proceed there is every chance that it would be a very successful venture. It may even generate an appetite for more DcVD releases in the future. sparking a brand new and unique revenue stream that sets you apart from your competitors.
Yours truly,
The Dreamcast Junkyard Team.
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Official Dreamcast Keyring
Last week I received a small package and inside was a random Dreamcast-related item I bought off eBay. I wasn't totally sure what it was, but after I made this video (and also contacted the seller), it became apparent that it is in fact a somewhat rare, and totally official Dreamcast branded keyring that was given exclusively to staff of Sega Europe back in the day. The seller is an ex-employee and had been using it as a keyring up until the day they decided to flog it. I've never seen a keyring of this design, hence my bafflement at the thing once it appeared in the mail, but I thought it might be cool to share some images of it. The main body is made of solid metal (I'm not sure what type) and is quite weighty, and the wire has unscrewable ends that allow you to loop it through your keys. As I said, I've never seen a keyring of this design before, and certainly not one that's branded with the Dreamcast logo (it appears to be engraved onto the metal). Do you have one of these? Do you know anything more about it? Let us know in the comments!
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Rez Infinite Coming To PS4
It is quite ironic that after all this time, we are still seeing titles that started on the Dreamcast being brought to a new audience in 2015. You can read more about Rez Infinite at the PlayStation Europe blog here. Also, thanks to Ted for the heads up on this.
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Pier Solar Sega Dreamcast Version First Look
Here's a quick look at Pier Solar on the Sega Dreamcast! As you can see the pixels are all there, but I never found out how to hunt those evil bunny rabbits. Next time they'll get what's coming to them...
Apologies for the wonky sound. My Snowball mic is on the way out. Time to get a better setup.
Apologies for the wonky sound. My Snowball mic is on the way out. Time to get a better setup.
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10th Anniversary Competition Bonus Stage - Winners!
How many did you get right? In truth, nobody got them all 100% correct but as stated in the original post, if that happened, the entrants with the next best number of correct answers would be crowned winners and recieve a prize. And so here they are:
1st Prize Winners: Mike Lodato & Alex Young
Runners Up: Yu Kajima, Ricardo Almeida & Anna Frohling
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10 Years Young!
Well, we made it. Today - the 7th December 2015 - marks a decade since this blog first started. Back in 2005 it was simply a place where I intended to document the reconstruction of the Dreamcast collection I had traded for a PlayStation 2 in 2001, but in the ensuing months it became something of a labour of love where every new game and peripheral I snagged on eBay was photographed and 'added to the 'Yard.'
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Soon after I started it, The Gagaman joined the Junkyard and it became a two man operation, with the pair of us adding the occasional post about things we'd bought or games we'd played. We became a threesome (er...) when Barry joined, adding an international flavour with his views from across the pond in the US. The team and the variety of posts continued to grow as we later welcomed Father Krishna and Caleb, and then Martin and NebachadnezzaR, both of whom are no longer on the team here at DCJY but will live on as legends in the Junkyard's hall of fame. Yes, the line-up here at the 'Yard has undergone a few changes over the course of the last decade, but we like to think that the tone has remained constant - one of true passion for Sega's final console.
Now we have a team that spans the globe and have gone from a tiny little personal blog to possibly one of the most popular Dreamcast destinations on the internet, and we owe it to the people who stop by here on a daily basis to see what new stuff we've spewed onto the page. Indeed, in the last year alone we've started a podcast (which was nominated for an award after only a few months in existence) and we've attended a games expo and brought the Dreamcast to the gaming public. We've released a Dreamcast guidebook (which incidentally Peter Moore now has a copy of!), held competitions sponsored by Sega itself and have a burgeoning Facebook group and page. When you sit back and look at what we have achieved with zero backing and no financial funding other than our own, we've not done too badly.
Ultimately, The Dreamcast Junkyard has become a part of my identity - a part of me - and looking back over the years it is apparent that these blog posts represent something of a personal journey. From writing about eating mouldy bread and Pot Noodles in a bedsit, working in mind-numbing office jobs (where a lot of posts were written!), to documenting my joining and (six years later) departure from the Royal Navy, it really does feel like this place has most of my major life events from the past ten years laid down. So it's more than a blog about the Dreamcast - it's a diary, and has also allowed me, through the comments and FaceBook group and Twitter exchanges, to forge some true friendships with people who, at first glance, I only had only one thing in common with: a love for the Dreamcast.
So on this momentous day, I'd like to personally thank the whole team here at the 'Yard, both past and present, for making this place so damn awesome. I also hope everyone reading this will join me in wishing The Dreamcast Junkyard a happy 10th birthday, and raise a glass or a beeping VMU to the next 10.
Tom
Soon after I started it, The Gagaman joined the Junkyard and it became a two man operation, with the pair of us adding the occasional post about things we'd bought or games we'd played. We became a threesome (er...) when Barry joined, adding an international flavour with his views from across the pond in the US. The team and the variety of posts continued to grow as we later welcomed Father Krishna and Caleb, and then Martin and NebachadnezzaR, both of whom are no longer on the team here at DCJY but will live on as legends in the Junkyard's hall of fame. Yes, the line-up here at the 'Yard has undergone a few changes over the course of the last decade, but we like to think that the tone has remained constant - one of true passion for Sega's final console.
Now we have a team that spans the globe and have gone from a tiny little personal blog to possibly one of the most popular Dreamcast destinations on the internet, and we owe it to the people who stop by here on a daily basis to see what new stuff we've spewed onto the page. Indeed, in the last year alone we've started a podcast (which was nominated for an award after only a few months in existence) and we've attended a games expo and brought the Dreamcast to the gaming public. We've released a Dreamcast guidebook (which incidentally Peter Moore now has a copy of!), held competitions sponsored by Sega itself and have a burgeoning Facebook group and page. When you sit back and look at what we have achieved with zero backing and no financial funding other than our own, we've not done too badly.
Ultimately, The Dreamcast Junkyard has become a part of my identity - a part of me - and looking back over the years it is apparent that these blog posts represent something of a personal journey. From writing about eating mouldy bread and Pot Noodles in a bedsit, working in mind-numbing office jobs (where a lot of posts were written!), to documenting my joining and (six years later) departure from the Royal Navy, it really does feel like this place has most of my major life events from the past ten years laid down. So it's more than a blog about the Dreamcast - it's a diary, and has also allowed me, through the comments and FaceBook group and Twitter exchanges, to forge some true friendships with people who, at first glance, I only had only one thing in common with: a love for the Dreamcast.
So on this momentous day, I'd like to personally thank the whole team here at the 'Yard, both past and present, for making this place so damn awesome. I also hope everyone reading this will join me in wishing The Dreamcast Junkyard a happy 10th birthday, and raise a glass or a beeping VMU to the next 10.
Tom
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Japanese Dreamcast Promotion Disk
What with all the writing and playing of Dreamcast games lately, I'm developing gnarled claws where my hands should be. I blame that infernal controller with it's guillotine edges. No matter how much lard I rub into my palms, I just can't rid myself of the cramp and so I decided to make a lovely video for your delectation, rather than spend ages hammering out guff on my internet-enabled steampunk typewriter, while simultaneously listening to whale song playing on an 8 track. Hipster? You don't know the half of it squire.
Anyway, a few weeks ago a chap named James sent me a rather spiffing selection of Dreamcast demos from the shores of Japan, and in amongst said collection was a GD labelled simply as a Dreamcast Promotion Disk. It also has 'not for sale' printed on it, and this piqued my interest. In all honesty, it's probably just a disk for use in shop-based demo pods and the like, but I thought it was worth investigating further. Cast your eyes downward, hit play and all will be revealed!
As ever, if you know more about this disk than I, please share the knowledge in the comments.
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Cease & Desist
If you managed to snag a Collectors Guide, you'll be pleased to know that it itself is now a collectable. That's because Sega's legal department has asked The Dreamcast Junkyard to cease sale of the guide as it isn't an official product, and naturally we will honour the request. For transparency, here's the email:
We are pleased that you support the SEGA video game console Dreamcast and we note your creation of the Dreamcast Junkyard Ultimate Collectors Guide Book. This is however an unofficial title which is not authorised nor endorsed by SEGA and for that reason, we ask that you kindly cease sale of this book on your website and/or any other online channels as soon as possible.
Please can you confirm that you have removed the book by emailing the Legal Dept.
As you will understand, in order to protect the brands within our group companies, we are only able to allow the creation of and promotion of authorised products and platforms.
Yours faithfully
Legal Department
For and on behalf of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd.
Fair enough. It's not an official product and Sega have every right to request this. After all, they own the Dreamcast copyright and all that jazz. I have replied asking if there's anything we can do to make the book available again, so we'll see what they say. In truth, the upcoming Pix'N Love Dreamcast publication has probably had something to do with this...but c'est la vie! Once again, there is no love lost here (from our side anyway!).
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Thanks to everyone who bought one and keep dreaming!
Dear Sirs,
We are pleased that you support the SEGA video game console Dreamcast and we note your creation of the Dreamcast Junkyard Ultimate Collectors Guide Book. This is however an unofficial title which is not authorised nor endorsed by SEGA and for that reason, we ask that you kindly cease sale of this book on your website and/or any other online channels as soon as possible.
Please can you confirm that you have removed the book by emailing the Legal Dept.
As you will understand, in order to protect the brands within our group companies, we are only able to allow the creation of and promotion of authorised products and platforms.
We thank you for your understanding.
Yours faithfully
Legal Department
SEGA Europe Ltd.
For and on behalf of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd.
Fair enough. It's not an official product and Sega have every right to request this. After all, they own the Dreamcast copyright and all that jazz. I have replied asking if there's anything we can do to make the book available again, so we'll see what they say. In truth, the upcoming Pix'N Love Dreamcast publication has probably had something to do with this...but c'est la vie! Once again, there is no love lost here (from our side anyway!).
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The World's Smallest Dreamcast?
This is available from Etsy seller Bricksanity for the equally minuscule price of £1.99, is based on a Lego brick, and is a pretty darn cool novelty item - even more so if you collect Lego. One of these Dreamcast bricks would look amazing in any Lego house, and it comes complete with a controller, VMU, mains plug and RGB Scart cable. Sadly this, much like the fabled cake in Portal, is a lie. In actual fact you only get a controller (of sorts):
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Unknown Tantalus Shooter Revealed
This is the latest in our series of unreleased games reveals, and to be honest we're not really sure what to call it. The game - if you can call it such - is contained on a GD with the word 'Tantalus' scribbled across it with permanent marker. That's it. No name, no version, no date. For those who don't know, Tanatalus is a developer that did several ports for the Saturn including Manx TT Superbike, Krazy Ivan and both WipEout and WipEout 2097. They also supported the Dreamcast, with the most notable game being Looney Tunes Space Race, the cell-shaded kart racer.
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According to Wikipedia, Tantalus are also working on The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD for the Wii U, which is cool. However, this post is about a game lost to the mists of time. A four player split screen demo with no name but a hell of a lot of Nazi imagery and more questions than answers. Is it the multiplayer component for a lost Dreamcast version of Return To Castle Wolfenstein? This sounds likely, but the video below will hopefully jog some memories...
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A Quick Look At Arabian Nights: Prince of Persia
I looked again for another title that could fill the void left by Delphine's spectacular adventure and eventually I landed a copy of Prince of Persia for the Mega CD. I knew that Prince was basically the grandaddy of the genre - side-on action with relentless hardcore puzzles and cruel trial and error insta-death gameplay - but I vividly remember buying it from a stall in Manchester's Arndale market, and excitedly absorbing the contents of the manual on the bus back to my squalid homestead. After getting home and slapping the CD into my Multimega, I recall that it took me about 10 minutes to realise that Prince of Persia was not a game I would be enjoying in this life, or the next. Constant deaths, shit controls, graphics that looked like something out of a Kinder egg. The CD was quickly removed from the machine, replaced with Silpheed and never spoken of again.
Anyway, let's get back on track. During the Dreamcast era, I was aware of Prince of Persia 3D/Arabian Nights but because the game never got a PAL release, I just let it pass me by. I'd heard it was shit anyway so figured I wasn't missing much. Last week though, I managed (through the kindness of a friend) to finally get my hands on a copy of this much maligned 3D platformer and my torrid affair with his Highness was rekindled. Contrary to what you may expect though, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience, and not because of his rugged good looks and legendary witty banter.
Yes, you read that right. I was expecting a total abortion of a game, but what I got was a perfectly functional 3D action adventure in the vein of the original Tomb Raider. The story is as contrived as you'd expect (you're basically a prince rescuing a princess, natch) but the execution is perfectly fine. Control of your onscreen avatar is via the analogue stick, you can crouch under objects and jump over chasms. The D-pad lets you adjust the camera or switch to first person, while the triggers act as modifiers for combat, sidestepping etc. The only odd thing I must note is that 'grabbing' ledges etc is not automatic - once you jump, you must press the 'action' button to grab a ledge. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to some form of death. And death comes very quickly, which is really my only real bugbear with Arabian Nights. I recall that the Mega CD game I played for twenty minutes all those years ago was packed full of 'instant death' moments. Be it falling down a shaft lined with spikes or having your head cut off by some arcane system of pulleys and wires - the same is true in Arabian Nights. While you have a health bar of sorts, if you come a cropper in one of the game's many, many unannounced and downright illogical traps (sometimes you literally can't tell if a door handle will kill you), then that's it - you're dead and you have to reload from the last checkpoint.
So what of the other aspects of the game? Well for a start, it looks pretty great to be honest. The environments are quite varied and well textured and the locations are nicely realised. Prisons, city streets, rooftops, caves, underwater caverns...it all looks good as far as games from the era go. Sure, it's a port of a PC game and so it doesn't make much use of the Dreamcast's dedicated hardware (as is evident in the angular character models) but apart from that it looks fine...and even better through VGA. There is no slowdown whatsoever and the engine seems perfectly at home with even the biggest of open areas...which is more than can be said of any of the Tomb Raider titles on the Dreamcast. The sound is also very good - the music is perfectly suited to the 'Arabian' setting, with lots of drums and whining horns. The voice acting is also pretty good - even NPCs you encounter have good quality dialogue.
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Pier Solar Collector's Edition Gallery
I recently received the Collector's Edition of Pier Solar for Dreamcast and thought you might like some photos.
I went with the PAL variation, it came wrapped in custom gold wrapping paper (an early Christmas present!) and it's really nicely done with gold ink on the game cover, inlay and manual. They also authentically recreated the PAL Dreamcast cases too - hopefully the plastic hinges are a little stronger though!
There are some pictures of the guide too, which comes bound in a faux leather cover embossed with the logo. I have to say they do go to some extremes for an indie developer, it's very professionally done.
Click on the little icon in the bottom left of the gallery for a fullscreen toggle.
We have to agree that it does look very nice, especially the guide book. Pier Solar is out now and available to buy from Watermelon's website and you can visit Blue Swirl's Dreamcast blog here. Also, be sure to check out Caleb's Pier Solar first look video here.
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A Rare Shenmue Prototype Appears!
This is the exact bundle my husband used when he demoed to the press, including save files from multiple points in the game so that he could easily show the various scenes. This was given to him as a gift upon completion of the Shenmue project.
Thanks to Gameboyle for the heads up. Be sure to check out his Gameboy-tastic YouTube channel!
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DreamPod - Episode 21: Christmascast
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