Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.
Source:Dreamcast News / JoshProd
Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.
Source:Dreamcast News / JoshProd
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Okinawa Rush Heads Up New Dreamcast Releases
Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.
Source:Dreamcast News / JoshProd
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Cross Platform Online Multiplayer Added To Doom For Dreamcast
"I looked at this and I have now added modem support for DCDoom. I have also tested to play
from my DC after dialup against my Linux machine running SDL Doom. Works fine. So the network-code is working. People just need to be careful when setting up the network variables."
- Shuouma
It's worth noting that you will need a specially modded version of DCDoom which Shuouma says will be released soon as a downloadable CDI file. We'll update this article when it's available and we've tested it out ourselves, but in the meantime you can find out more about this fascinating project by visiting the DC-Talk forum thread on the topic here. Thank's to Luiz Nai for the heads up on this.
Source: Dreamcast Talk
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New Book Documents Every Single Tony Hawk Game
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| The book includes comparisons of the Hawk games |
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| The VMU images that would be displayed while playing THPS |
"As a huge Saturn fan, particularly of Capcom fighters and the bustling shmup genre, the jump to the Dreamcast was an obvious one. Alongside countless others, 9/9/99 remains a fond memory of mine. September of '99 is also when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater launched on the PlayStation and my site (Planet Tony Hawk) had already been running for a few months by then. Treyarch's conversion of the first two Hawk games to the Dreamcast represent the best console versions, if you omit Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X, despite Sega's unwieldy shoulder buttons.
"After more than a decade running Planet Tony Hawk and a few quiet Hawk years, I wanted to go back and tell the story of every version of every Hawk game, the good, the bad and the oh-so-ugly. My goal was to detail what made every version different and the book includes the VMU messages appearing on the Dreamcast version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, screenshot comparisons to the N64 and PlayStation and also details about the cut four-player mode and demo differences in Pro Skater 2, of which there were several."
- Trevor Esposito
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| The very last game released on the Nintendo 64 |
"Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 shipped in 2001 and by then we know the Dreamcast was already getting a little weak in the knees. In addition, Treyarch, who handled both of the existing conversions to the DC, had been enlisted to work on Pro Skater 2X which also shipped in the autumn of 2001. I guess Activision felt it was better to put their chips on the impending launch of the Xbox than to work on the fading Dreamcast. In addition, the visual perks the PlayStation 2 offered might not have translated so well to the DC. With the N64 receiving Shaba's version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and not Neversoft's, I think they just opted to pull the plug.
"Oddly enough, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 on the N64 was considered canceled for a few months there. It was a weird time. Suddenly Edge of Reality was back to porting Shaba's game."
- Trevor Esposito
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| A comparison of PS1 and DC draw distances |
Recent articles:
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Reaperi Cycle - A New Indie Game For Dreamcast
The trailer doesn't really give much away bar for a few shots of surrealist landscapes and some rather intriguing dialogue, although the website hints that Reaperi Cycle will be an 'isometric alchemical tale about fire, magic, merchants, statues and a temple.' So probably an isometric puzzle game then. With light RPG elements? And some nice statues dotted about the place, maybe a tasteful pot plant? Just an educated guess on my part, and probably totally wrong like most things I hazard a guess at. Either way, it's nice to have another Dreamcast title to look forward to, however ambiguous it seems. Did I mention it's all a bit ambiguous?
Source: Pcwzrd on Twitter
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The Beginning of the End? Or the Start of the Dawn of a New Age of Junkyard?
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| Is that a Dreamcast swirl? |
1. There's nothing left to talk about.
Seriously, what else is there?
- Did we finally track down Pierre "The Barber" Santino? Check.
- Have we covered not only all things Dreamcast, but also the extended family of arcade systems based on Dreamcast hardware? Check.
- Did we publish a comprehensive Ultimate Collector's Guide detailing every Dreamcast game ever released in every major territory? Check.
- Did we get a cease and desist letter from Sega's lawyer's about said Collector's guide? Che- ... um ... (am I still allowed to talk about that Tom?).
- In any case, did we not just bring you an interview with Bernie-frigging-Stolar? We mother-flippin' did!
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| No going back now, we've hung a banner. |
2. We're sick to bloody death of the Dreamcast!
You try and get excited about talking about the same thing over and over again for more than a decade. Believe it or not, it does wear thin after a while, no matter how much you loved the topic to begin with.
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| Thrown straight out of the window. No regrets. |
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| Make sure your caves are blocked shut, so Jesus doesn't escape this time. |
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| *sniger* virgin depths *snigger* |
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Red vs. Blue: The Definitive SG-1000 hardware guide
Did you know that Sega's logo used to be red? Back in the 60's and 70's, it used to look like this, and was proudly displayed on their early electro-mechanical arcade machines.
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While the blue Sega logo we all know and love would be introduced in the late 70's and early 80's, the first version of the SG-1000 would eschew a blue colour scheme, and instead featured a bold black, red and yellow motif.
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The original run of games and software were sold in bold black boxes with yellow lettering, although the manuals would be printed in monochrome white and blue, which foreshadowed changes to come.
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There are two subtly different blue striped SG-1000 revisions. The first features a protruding player 2 control port, while the second revision is flush with the casing. The protruding port is the rarer variant, and could possibly be considered a manufacturing defect. It is likely that both revisions were released in the later half of 1983. Motherboards from all three versions have been shown to be date-stamped ©1983. It is possible that the last revision may have been first sold in early 1984, but it is more likely to have been on shelves before Christmas 1983.
The packaging for the new blue stripe model was also updated to reflect the changes to the machine, though it is unclear if this was done for the first or second revision. There has been examples of blue stripe models being sold in boxes with the original black stripe model design, but it is unclear if it was originally purchased in this combination or if a mix up has occurred in the intervening 30 years.
Also note that the SG-1000 logo for the blue stripe model is subtly different from the black-stripe model.
All three revisions would retain the hardwired joystick for player 1. Unfortunately, the original SJ-200 controller is notoriously horrible, but Sega was quick to issue a remedy. The JC-100 cable was sold as a replacement for the hardwired joystick, and involved the user having to unscrew and open up their SG-1000 to replace the joystick with a short cable that enabled other joysticks and joypads to be connected to the system.
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When purchasing systems today, you will find some with the original joystick still attached, and others with the JC-100 cable instead. These are not hardware revisions, but a very early example of an officially-sanctioned hardware mod.
Almost exactly 12 months after the first SG-1000 went on sale, Sega would release the completely redesigned SG-1000 II (Mark 2) in July 1984, which took many cues from the more successful Famicom. The horrible hardwired joystick was relegated to the dustbin of history, replaced with detachable SJ-150 joypads which closely mimicked the Famicom control pads, even slotting into the side of the machine for easy storage, just like the Famicom.
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The SG-1000 II might have lost the blue stripe of its immediate predecessor, bearing a more refined black, white and silver look, but the soon to be introduced Sega MyCard software would bring the blue hue back to the fore.
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Blue would be the characteristic colour for all future SG-1000 titles, even the late release cartridges. When Sega released the more advanced Mark III hardware in 1985, its software would be differently colour coded to - you guessed it - red! This was done in order to avoid confusion with the first gen blue software.
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Before we wrap this up, one final whirlwind tour of the remaining SG-1000 hardware variants:
Grandstand released a version of the blue-striped original model in New Zealand, re-titled simply as the 'Sega 1000.'
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Aaronix released at least two versions of the SG-1000 II in Taiwan: the 'Sega-1000' and the 'TTL-1000.'
This design featured in the early promotional material, and first went on sale on 15th July 1983 (although it was rumoured to have been test-marketed in isolated prefectures as early as 1981). The original SJ-200 joystick originally came hardwired to the console for player 1, with a port for a second joystick for Player 2 (sold separately).
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| The original packaging for the first black-stripe model |
Before the end of 1983, the SG-1000 design would be revised to feature a blue stripe instead, which was more inline with Sega's corporate branding. This decision to go blue was possibly also in response to the Nintendo Famicom (which happened to be released on the same day as the SG-1000) as a way to better differentiate from their red coloured competitor.
Vs.
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| This model has the protruding control port |
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| Packaging for the revised blue-stripe model |
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| The earlier black-stripe model logo |
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| The later blue-stripe model logo |
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| Black stripe model fitted with the JC-100 cable |
Grandstand released a version of the blue-striped original model in New Zealand, re-titled simply as the 'Sega 1000.'
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| Aaronix Sega-1000 |
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| Aaronix TTL-1000 |
Tsukuda Original released an officially licensed clone of the SG-1000 hardware in Japan called the Othello Multivision. Perhaps following Sega's lead, two units were produced: a red model FG-1000 and then a blue model FG-2000. Tsukuda Original also published eight original Othello Multivision branded games, which were cross compatible with the original Sega SG-1000 hardware.
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Pioneer also released an officially licensed clone of the SG-1000 for its modular SEED TV platform. The SD-G5 module would plug into a slot at the front of the TV to allow SG-1000 games to be played on the screen without using RF cables. These modules and TVs are now extremely rare.
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Sega would also briefly adapt the SG-1000 technology for the arcades. Even though the system was vastly inferior to the standards of arcade technology at the time, Yu Suzuki managed to perform miracles within the limited architecture with his game Champion Boxing, which featured unusually large and nicely animated pugilist sprites. As an experiment, the game was put into an arcade machine virtually unchanged and was a surprise hit. Two more SG-1000 titles were released into the arcades in this manner: Champion Pro Wrestling and Doki Doki Penguin Land.
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And lastly, a few unofficial clones of the SG-1000 hardware were also released in Taiwan: the Fullwis Video Game FR-II, and Bit Corporation's Chuang Zao Zhe 50, later known as the Dina 2 in one. The latter would actually find its way to the USA as the Telegames Personal Arcade. In 1988, Telegames licensed the clone from Bit Corporation, with the blessing of Coleco, and sold the system in America for its compatibility with ColecoVision software. It wasn't openly advertised that the Dina 2 in one could also play SG-1000 software, as hardly anyone in America would have even known what an SG-1000 was back in 1988.
So there you have it, a brief but comprehensive history of the SG-1000, told with an overarching and unhealthy obsession with colour coding.
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| Othello Multivision FG-1000 (red model) |
Othello Multivision FG-2000 (blue model)
Pioneer also released an officially licensed clone of the SG-1000 for its modular SEED TV platform. The SD-G5 module would plug into a slot at the front of the TV to allow SG-1000 games to be played on the screen without using RF cables. These modules and TVs are now extremely rare.
Sega would also briefly adapt the SG-1000 technology for the arcades. Even though the system was vastly inferior to the standards of arcade technology at the time, Yu Suzuki managed to perform miracles within the limited architecture with his game Champion Boxing, which featured unusually large and nicely animated pugilist sprites. As an experiment, the game was put into an arcade machine virtually unchanged and was a surprise hit. Two more SG-1000 titles were released into the arcades in this manner: Champion Pro Wrestling and Doki Doki Penguin Land.
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| Fullwis Video Game FR-II |
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| Chuang Zao Zhe 50 |
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| Dina 2 in one, packaged for sale in USA as the Telegames Personal Arcade |
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| What do you mean I've got a problem? You've got a problem! |
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Don't Pelorian!
We return to our regularly scheduled programming...
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The World's Tiniest Astro City Arcade Cabinet
Yo whatup, here’s my 1/12th scale Astro City model running Third Strike via a Dreamcast that has another tiny Dreamcast on top of it. pic.twitter.com/JgeukizorT— Adam McAmis (@Sega_AM2) April 2, 2018
In truth, the model is running off a Dreamcast that's connected to a tiny screen installed into the Astro City, which in turn was salvaged from a dashcam, and (as you'd expect) the teeny tiny controls on the Astro City aren't actually controlling the game...because they aren't real controls. Still, it's very cool to see this type of thing and while Adam states that his creation seems to get nothing but derisory comments from people passing his desk in real life, we have nothing but admiration for this little project. Well done Adam - haters gon' hate, but we love it!
Source: Twitter
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The Original Quake and Doom are soon to be playable Online with DreamPi
The man responsible for bringing the vast majority of Dreamcast games back online with DreamPi, Shuouma has announced, he will soon release versions of Quake and Doom compatible with dial up online play via DreamPi.
While fan-made Dreamcast ports of both Quake and Doom have been around for years now, and Dreamcast Online has helped support Doom online play via the broadband adapter, this will be the first time our community is able play Doom via DreamPi, and Quake online in any form.
The announcement was made on the Dreamcast Live forum this week, where he told fans he had been successful in implementing online features to both games. Unsurprisingly, the PC player found online during testing was rather shocked to discover his adversary was using a Sega Dreamcast.
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| "The guy on the server was kinda "WHAT!" when I told him I played from my DC." |
As always, Shuouma and the rest of the DreamPi guys, we salute you!
If you'd like to learn more about the online Dreamcast scene, head over to Dreamcast Live for more information. You can purchase a DreamPi for yourself from their online store.
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SG-1000 vs Dreamcast: the Games that Appeared on Sega's First and Last Consoles
With the creation of 'The SG-1000 Junkyard', I've had my mind on Sega's first console as of late. Members of our Facebook group may have seen that I recently posed a question to our members; which Sega series appeared on every single Sega console? The short answer is none, but there were a number of games, series and characters that appeared on both the SG-1000 and the Dreamcast, so I had the bright idea of setting up a comparison of sorts for shits and giggles, while also shamelessly plugging our new website.
Tranquillizer Gun - Safari Hunting (1983), Tranquillizer Gun (Dynamite Cop 1999)
I'm sure many of you know of Tranquillizer gun as the old fashioned game on the menu of Dynamite Cop that let's you build up extra continues to be used to help progress through the main game more easily, but almost two decades before that it was a mediocre arcade game.
Due to the game already being a few years old by the time it got ported, and hardly being cutting edge at the time of release, the SG-1000 port makes an admirable effort at bringing the game to the home console. The original was a vertical screen release, so rather than have large boarders on each side, the port simply rotates the maze 90° without effecting the gameplay.
The unlockable game within Dynamite Cop on the other hand is an identical port and therefore retains the original aspect ratio while adding some nice looking trees as the boarders for extra effect. It's far from a classic, but another game from Sega's distant past that's worth checking out. The game deserves bonus points for being about a dude going to Africa to hunt wild animals. That's a theme you'd certainly never see in a mainstream game in 2018! I imagine it was a bit of a controversial subject even in the 80's, which is probably why they put so much effort into presenting the weapon in the game as a 'tranquilizer gun' (*Yeah right Sega, you don't fool me!*).
Galaga - Sega Galaga (1983), Namco Museum (2000)
Last but not least, Galaga! According to Sega Retro, Sega Galaga is the only version to have received a name change. Why this is the case, I couldn't tell you for sure, but it was quite common for Sega to license arcade games from other companies and port them themselves to their early systems. Perhaps it was Nintendo's influence dissuading developers to make games for other consoles, or perhaps it was just easier for the likes of Namco to simply take a paycheck and leave the rest to Sega. Either way, it's a great port of an arcade classic. As with Safari Hunting above, the screen has been rotated to accommodate 4:3 televisions thereby shortening the distance between enemies and the player which can make the action feel a little cramped, but other than that, no complaints from me.
What can be said about the Dreamcast version? Well, it's no surprise that the Dreamcast manages to emulate the original arcade game perfectly (at least to my eyes). Other than that, it's part of a compilation disk with a bunch of other Namco classics including the sequel, Galaxian. At the time of release, I'm sure it seemed like a rip off, but as of now you can pick it up cheap or burn it for free. Why you'd want to play the game on Dreamcast over the host of other systems it's available on, I couldn't tell you.
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| Lancia Stratos |
Lancia Stratos - Safari Race (1984), Sega Rally 2 (1998)
While not one of the starting cars in the original Sega Rally, the Lancia Stratos is famous for being the faster but less wieldy unlockable car in the subsequent Saturn port. As all good Dreamcast fans should know, it graced the cover of Sega Rally 2 in all regions. What's less well known however, is that the car was licensed to a game much, much earlier in Sega's history.
Unlike Sega Rally, Safari Race wasn't a port of a state of the art arcade game, but instead a simplistic 8-bit racer released exclusively for Sega's first console. In the game, the player must drive along a desert track avoiding other cars and wild animals, while paying close attention not to run out of fuel by periodically stopping at petrol pumps to refuel.
Hang On - Hang-On II (1985), Hang-On (Shenmue 1999, Shenmue II 2001, Yu Suzuki Game Works 2002)
The Dreamcast version is a close to identical port of the original arcade game and thus infinitely superior. The Hang-On bike and rider also make an appearance as a run of capsule toys within the game.
Q*Bert - Q*Bert (1983), Q*Bert (2000)
The Dreamcast version was a re-imagining of the game that added extras such as a story mode. To be honest, I've not played it myself, but the reviews were pretty negative at the time.
The SG-1000 release is yet another adequate port of Sega's antiqued arcade racer. If I'm completely honest, it hasn't stood the test of time as well as some of Sega's other early arcade games, but is worth loading up and giving a go out of curiosity.
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| Unfortunately, no rhinos are featured as hazards in Sega Rally 2. |
Unlike Sega Rally, Safari Race wasn't a port of a state of the art arcade game, but instead a simplistic 8-bit racer released exclusively for Sega's first console. In the game, the player must drive along a desert track avoiding other cars and wild animals, while paying close attention not to run out of fuel by periodically stopping at petrol pumps to refuel.
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| Chack'n |
Chack' n - Chack'n Pop (1985), Bust a Move 4 (2000)
Chack'n Pop was an early Taito single screen 2D platformer with the unique mechanic of the main character being able to switch between walking on the floor and ceiling. It was originally released into the arcades in 1983 but two years later received a fairly faithful (for the time) SG-1000 port.
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| Awww, what a cute little cursor Chack'n makes. |
The game features characters that would later on become mainstays of the Bubble Bobble franchise. In fact, it is often considered a spiritual precursor, and many people consider it part of the Bubble Bobble franchise itself. While not a playable character in Puzzle Bobble / Bust-a-Move 4, he (how dare I assume Chack'n's gender), does make an appearance in the form of the cursor on the main menu screen.
As Scott quite cleverly noticed, if Chack'n Pop is considered part of the Bubble Bobble franchise, then we could say that it was perhaps the only (*read on to learn more*) series of games to feature on all six Sega consoles. How cool is that?
SG-1000 - Chack'n Pop
Master System - Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands
Game Gear - Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble
Mega Drive - Rainbow Islands Extra
Saturn - Bubble Symphony, Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands, Puzzle Bobble 2, Puzzle Bobble 3
Dreamcast - Puzzle Bobble 4
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| Hang-On |
I wont patronise you with an unnecessary introduction, we all know Hang-On. What's unusual about the SG-1000 port is that it was released as Hang On II despite, with exception of the downgraded audio and visuals of course, being all but identical to the Master System's version named simply, Hang On. While not a patch on the arcade original or even the later Megadrive port of Super Hang-On, it's more than playable and does a great job of recreating the arcade action on vastly inferior hardware.
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| It took fourteen years for Sega fans to get an arcade perfect port of Hang-On. |
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| Left: Hang On capsule toy. Left: Hang On arcade machine. |
It could be argued that Hang-On is the only Sega franchise to feature on every Sega console. Unfortunately, the weak link comes in the form of GP Rider. While the arcade original of GP Rider had little in common with Hang-On, other than being a game about racing bikes, the Game Gear port bears a striking resemblance to the SMS and Game gear releases; not only does it play and look like a Hang-On game, but many of the sprites are ripped straight out of other games in the series.
SG-1000 - Hang On II
Master System - Hang On
Game Gear: GP Rider
Megadrive - Super Hang On
Saturn - Hang on GP
Dreamcast - Hang on (Shenmue, Shenmue II, Yu Suzuki Game Works)
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| Q*Bert |
Way before Q*Bert starred in such cinematic classics as Pixels and Wreck it Ralph, he was a humble video game character synonymous with the arcades in the 80's. A port of the game was brought to the official Tsukuda Original clone of the Sg-1000, the Othello Multivision.
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| Q*Bert - Othello Multivision |
Although not an official SG-1000 release, due to the Othello Multivision being identical to the SG-1000 at a hardware level, the game is completely compatible with Sega's System. While nothing special, for the time it was a competent little port and is one of the only unlicensed SG-1000 titles worth picking up in my opinion.
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| @!#?@! |
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| Monaco GP |
Monaco - Monaco GP (1983), Monaco Grand Prix (1999)
This one's a bit of a cheat to be honest. You see the Dreamcast's Monaco Grand Prix has absolutely nothing to do with Sega's series of Monaco games. It was created by Ubisoft and is actually a member of the Racing Simulation series. Still, for the sake of completion, I've included it here.
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| Left: Monaco GP. Right: Monaco Grand Prix. |
Monaco is another series that comes painfully close to appearing on all six of Sega's consoles. If only the Dreamcast version was somehow tied to Sega...
SG-1000 - Monaco GP
Master System - Super Monaco GP 1/2
Game Gear - Super Monaco GP 1/2
Megadrive - Super Monaco GP 1/2
Saturn - Monaco GP (Sega Memorial Collection Vol.1)
Dreamcast - Monaco Grand Prix
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| Flicky |
Flicky - Flicky (1984), Sonic Adventure (1998)
The SG-1000 port of Flicky is one of the more impressive games on the system from a technical standpoint. The scrolling is some of the smoothest seen on the system, but unfortunately, something about the collision detection makes it incredibly difficult when compared to its arcade and Megadrive siblings.
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| Left: Flicky. Right: Sonic Adventure |
While Flicky wasn't lucky enough to receive his own game on the Dreamcast, he did make an appearance in Sonic Adventure albeit with the rather disrespectful name, "Birdie". It's been a few years since I've played Sonic Adventure, but if I remember correctly, him and the other Flickies (*that's gotta be the plural form of Flicky, right?*) were brainwashed and used as symbiants for the E-100 series of badniks. Somehow Flicky escapes and for whatever reason is carrying a chaos emerald... or something like that...then Eggman tries to take it yada, yada, yada... whatever, he's in the game.
Due to Flicky's regular appearances in the Sonic series, he happens to be the character that has appeared on more Sega systems than any other. Not only did he appear on the six main Sega consoles, but also the two Megadrive add-ons and even the Sega Pico. The only system in which he's absent is the Pico Beena *Damn! So close!*. There's some Sega trivia for you!
SG-1000 - Flicky
Master System - Flicky, numerous Sonic games
Game Gear - Numerous Sonic games
Megadrive - Flicky, numerous Sonic games
Saturn - Flicky (as part of the Sega Memorial Collection), numerous Sonic games
Dreamcast - Numerous Sonic games
Mega CD - Flicky (as part of the Game no Kanzume Vol.1 compilation disk), Sonic CD
32x - Knuckles Chaotix
Pico - Sonic Game World
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| Tranquillizer Gun |
I'm sure many of you know of Tranquillizer gun as the old fashioned game on the menu of Dynamite Cop that let's you build up extra continues to be used to help progress through the main game more easily, but almost two decades before that it was a mediocre arcade game.
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| Don't worry. It's only a Tranquilizer Gun. |
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| One of my all time favourite pieces of box art. Just look at that, pure brilliance. |
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| Galaga |
Last but not least, Galaga! According to Sega Retro, Sega Galaga is the only version to have received a name change. Why this is the case, I couldn't tell you for sure, but it was quite common for Sega to license arcade games from other companies and port them themselves to their early systems. Perhaps it was Nintendo's influence dissuading developers to make games for other consoles, or perhaps it was just easier for the likes of Namco to simply take a paycheck and leave the rest to Sega. Either way, it's a great port of an arcade classic. As with Safari Hunting above, the screen has been rotated to accommodate 4:3 televisions thereby shortening the distance between enemies and the player which can make the action feel a little cramped, but other than that, no complaints from me.
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| Left: Sega Galaga. Right: Namco Museum |
Thanks for reading. If you'd like to learn more about Sega's first console, the SG-1000, please check out the SG-1000 Junkyard.
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Shenmue & Shenmue II HD Remasters Announced By SEGA
"SEGA Europe Ltd. is proud to announce that the pioneering epic saga Shenmue™ I & II is to be re-released for a new generation. Get ready to go on a thrilling voyage across faithful recreations of Japan and Hong Kong, China, in a timeless tale of revenge and mystery when Shenmue I & II launches both physically and digitally on PlayStation® 4 and Xbox® One with a PC release on Steam in 2018.
"Since their original release, Shenmue I & II have established a passionate following and are revered as one of gaming’s greatest series of all time. These revolutionary masterpieces deliver a gripping story of retribution as Ryo Hazuki sets out to avenge his father’s death and attempts to unravel the secrets behind a mysterious artefact known as the Dragon Mirror.
"This is the definitive version of these all-time classics and will be the best Shenmue experience to date. The re-release will stay true to the originals with modernised features including fully scalable screen resolution, choice of modern or classic control schemes, PC graphics options, an updated user interface and the option to enjoy either the original Japanese or English voiceovers.
The physical and digital editions will be available to pre-order from first party stores, Steam and US and EMEA retailers soon. Oh, and now all you nerds on Twitter can stop banging on about Save Shenmue this and Shenmue tweetathon that. Jeez guys. We get it."
- SEGA Europe
I do find it slightly odd that these games are coming to the Xbox One as well as PlayStation 4 when the third game is reportedly a PS4 exclusive, but this will undoubtedly only allow more people to enjoy the original instalments in the adventure. That said, I challenge anybody not to lose interest at the point where you have to get a job in a warehouse in Shenmue II, HD or not.
Here's the reveal trailer:
Find out more about Shenmue and Shenmue II remasters here: https://shenmue.sega.com/
Thoughts? Overjoyed that Ryo is back to kick Lan Di's ass all over again in HD? Or could you not give a rat's ass about all this and just wish World War III wasn't about to start? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter or in our Facebook group.
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A Quick Look At Iron Aces
Anyway, the main game sees the player assume the role of a rookie pilot tasked with defending the British territory of Trincer, taking orders from an American squadron leader named Baker. There are a bunch of optional training missions that attempt to teach you how to control the period appropriate planes which - rather awesomely - includes both fighter planes and also huge lumbering bombers. The training missions are totally optional, but I would recommend giving them a look just so that you get a feel for how Iron Aces plays: there are no 'fire and forget' missiles here - it's all about manually aimed machine guns and dropping bombs that aren't laser guided. In this sense alone you are expected to score kills (both in dogfights and during bombing raids) with about as little hand holding as it's possible to give.
Alongside the main campaign (which also boasts some fantastic stylised cutscenes and mission briefings that would be right at home as a Dad's Army introduction); there's an interesting 'versus' mode that allows you to either play against/with a friend against AI enemies. You can even assign AI controlled aircraft to your side in single player and engage in a full on bombing raid along with fighter escorts, should you wish. It's an interesting and fun addition, and if the main game is giving you issues then it's nice to have the option to jump out of the campaign and just practice sinking enemy dreadnoughts and carriers, or taking out radar stations.
Perhaps the greatest attribute that Iron Aces has in its arsenal is just how easy it is to pick up and play; and by extension of this, just how easy it is to get right into the thick of some really exciting dogfights within about 10 minutes of starting the campaign. Controls are responsive and the analogue flight controls on the stick feel pretty much spot on. Yoke is controlled via the triggers and when used in conjunction with the pitch and roll attributed to the analogue, getting your plane around the battlefield (battlesky?) is really rather easy. As mentioned, the weapons are suitable old-skool, but aiming the default machine guns is quite user friendly (just line up the reticule and light 'em up), and taking down adversaries usually doesn't require more than a couple of hits. Dropping bombs is slightly more cumbersome as you have to hold down both the Y and B buttons at the same time while the view switches to a cinematic angle, meaning it's actually more difficult to judge where your bombs will hit, but it's not too difficult to get to grips with after a few raids.
In summary, Iron Aces is a decent, fairly late release for the Dreamcast that was initially launched as a budget title. It also one game that is a true Dreamcast exclusive (although a modern-day sequel was released on PlayStation 2 and a WWII themed sequel was released on PC) and one that a lot of Dreamcast owners probably haven't played. If a flight combat game with equal parts sim and arcade sounds like something you'd be interested in, then Iron Aces is well worth checking out. Not perfect by any means, and the visuals leave a lot to be desired, but as a lesser known period specific war game, it's well worth a look.
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Some Interesting Items Of Dreamcast Merchandise...And The Stories Behind Them
Anyway, for fear of losing literally everybody who actually bothered to click the social media links to read this, let me fast forward to the present, and the fine pieces of Dreamcast-related (and in some cases, lesser spotted) Dreamcast merchandise recently acquired by the Vvcollectiv (which stands for Valley Vintage Collective).
A Dreamcast branded Hawaiian shirt:
A Dreamcast bowling shirt:
A Dreamcast bag and folio case:
A Dreamcast display unit that - according to Vvcollectiv - was only used in games stores in Los Angeles, California:
So, there we have it - a few more lovely pieces of Dreamcast merchandise documented thanks to Vvcollectiv. Personally, it's more the stories behind these items from the former Sega employee that I find most interesting, simply because those experiences and accounts of Dreamcast history are things you can't really put a physical value on. Now though, they're recorded here (and at Vvcollective) for posterity. Who knows - in another 300 years I might look back on this post and smile. Maybe.
Thanks to Vvcollectiv for sharing these items and their background stories with us. Be sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
And as ever, let us know what you think in the comments, on Twitter or in our Facebook group!
Related articles:
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Dreamcasting
As part of the live performance, some musical numbers were also included. Haruko Momoi composed and wrote the songs, and these were performed by Shota Aoi and Nitta Megumi, who played the main characters Takuya and Yumi.
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| Takuya |
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| Yumi |
One such glorious example is provided below, the wonderfully titled "Dreamcasting." Enjoy.
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Dreamcast release schedule 2018
According to the French online store Rush On Game, these Dreamcast "Unreleases" will be available to order tomorrow, May 3.
In other "new" game news, JoshProd's first release for 2018 might have slipped you by under the radar. After releasing a PAL style reprint in 2017, a US/J-NTSC style release of Ghost Blade was released on March 23. We originally reported this as an exclusive to Video Games New York store, which was taking pre-orders in February, but the game has since showed up at Play-asia.com (link) and The Bit Station (link).
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| This is the Japanese cover, which is printed on the flip-side of the manual to the US-style cover. |
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A Quick Look At 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
With this being an arcade port and all, the last thing you should expect is some kind of deep and meaningful storyline. Oh, and it's a game about trucking. However it's less Eddie Stobbart and more JB Hunt, if you get my drift. So, once you fire 18 Wheeler up and jump into the marquee arcade mode you're asked to choose from one of the four token characters (think the Crazy Taxi cast, having swapped their cabs for hulking articulated juggernauts and you're golden), hook your rig up to a trailer and then haul ass across the state within the time limit. Within about 8 seconds you're introduced to an obnoxious rival trucker who obviously has no life or friends, and who constantly barks insults at you over the CB radio.
The four different characters and their associated rigs all have differing attributes in terms of torque and speed etc., but in truth they all handle pretty much identically. That is - quite well to be honest. The trucks all have a fantastic sense of weight, with the first person camera option allowing the cab to rock and sway accordingly. Nice little details such as detritus on the dashboards will slide back and forth, and air fresheners will sway hither and tither in much the same way as that little Sonic did in Rad Mobile. It's a nice touch, and while 18 Wheeler can be played from an external viewpoint, it is best experienced from the cab of the various trucks. Special mention must also go to the Dreamcast steering wheel here, as using the official wheel HKT-7430 (it's the only one I have) leant a certain something to the experience. It really gave an added dimension to the feel of driving a huge truck, so definitely give it a go if you have the means.
At this point, allow me to take you on a little journey. A journey to my childhood. Christmas morning, 1995 in fact. We received (as in, my brother and I) a Sega Multimega from Santa that year, and at a little past 6am on the yuletide morning, me and my sibling were playing Road Avenger. We didn't care that it was essentially an interactive cartoon. We didn't care that every now and then the grainy FMV would freeze momentarily. We were playing a revolutionary title, a game that looked like nothing else we'd ever seen. Slack jawed and starry eyed we played Road Avenger thinking we'd never see anything quite as awesome ever again. That lasted until about 3pm that day when, regardless of the Queen's Speech being on the telly, our friend from round the corner brought his brand new Sony PlayStation round and showed us Demo 1 and Ridge Racer.
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| My setup... |
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| An actual arcade cab. Make your own mind up. Heathen. |
I'm probably being a it harsh by now though, and I'm almost certain nobody who saw this article advertised on Twitter or Facebook even clicked on the link, let alone read past the first paragraph. In a nutshell then, 18 Wheeler is a competent arcade port that is technically pretty good, even thoughbit looks a bit gash. As a game alone though, it really is lacking in terms of long-term appeal and extra gameplay modes. Once the arcade mode is done, there's not much to keep you coming back for more; even the extras are pretty bare bones. That said, as a very late arcade to Dreamcast release, 18 Wheeler represents a tiny glimpse at what else could have followed had the Dreamcast been more profitable for Sega. If a game as weird as 18 Wheeler was up for conversion, what of Emergency Ambulance or Jambo Safari? Or any of the myriad other open world vehicular NAOMI titles that were owning the arcade sphere at the time?
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You Can Now Access The Original Jet Grind Radio Website From Your Dreamcast
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| This is what you'll see if you try to access the PAL Dreamarena site. Followed by... |
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| ...epic fail. |
- Peter Moore speaking at the Graffiti is Art event, October 2000
If you own a DreamPi you can connect and try accessing the site straight from the Jet Set Radio menu with no additional messing about, and for more details and instructions on delving into the past with your Dreamcast, be sure to read the original story at Dreamcast Live. Please note that the use of the Jet Set Radio logo in the social media posts for this article are deliberate. I just wanted to laugh at people who comment without even reading articles. There are a surprising number of them out there you know. Small pleasures, and all that
Source: Dreamcast Live
Other Jet Set/Grind Radio articles you may enjoy:
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Toy Racer Retrospective: Dreamcast Online Gaming
For me, Toy Racer is one of my favourite and easily most played Dreamcast titles - not because it’s necessarily a fantastic game - but because it genuinely changed the way I enjoyed video games forever by fully opening my eyes to the world of online gaming.
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| Record lap leaderboards are back online thanks to dreamcastlive.net |
Toy Racer is a game which offers very little in the way of solo action. You can run practice laps on each of the four tracks to perfect your lap times, but that’s about it. Toy Racer was heavily criticised in reviews at the time because of its lack of single player options (CVG magazine were particularly brutal, giving the game a stinking 1/5 rating), but in my opinion, they completely missed the point. There is local multiplayer available for up to 4-players but the fun really is in the online action. And that’s why it’s so fantastic that it’s back online today.
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Is A Modern 'Dreamcast Collection' Release Closer Than We Think?
Whilst it seemed to be criminally underreported at the time, producer Kagasei Shimomura did hint that Sega would like to look at expanding the Sega Ages releases beyond the standard 'retro' early era stuff we typically see, and hinted this would be linked to how well the initial batch of material is received.
While not the type of thing we’d usually cover on this Dreamcast centric blog, I felt that the recent release of the Mega Drive classic collection is something of an eyebrow raiser for those of us hoping that Sega’s swansong console may see some form of similar contemporary bundle release.
The entire thing is run from a GUI of a faux 90s bedroom. The games are arranged in a tremendously OCD nature on a set of shelves and scrolling and selecting your game sees an actual cart plonked into an original model Mega Drive / Genesis before you are taken through to the game itself.
Many with naturally bemoan this just being ‘roms on a disc’, but personally I’ve enjoyed my time with the games already and knowing that I now have a decent collection of mostly decent titles to play on the 'big telly' is a nice feeling. Especially as that aforementioned television doesn't actually support the genuine Mega Drive I do have...
What do you think? Are we likely to see an updated Dreamcast Classics Collection any time soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, on Twitter or in our Facebook group. Oh, and give our main page a like too if you feel so inclined.
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Reaperi Cycle Developers Want Your Input
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| Indie Devs spotted in the wild... |
Oddly, the Reaperi Cycle official website seems to have been taken down since our last look at this intriguing project, but you can find the game's Patreon page here.
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