The Typing of the Dead’s Weird and Wonderful Ports

If you have never played The Typing of the Dead, then newsflash: you should. Who would've thought that taking the zombie-splattering action (and beautiful B-Movie voice acting) of The House of the Dead 2 and turning it into a typing game would've been such a great idea? Sega, that's who. For an uncoordinated person like me, who spends his time typing about pointless gubbins on the internet, the keyboard is my weapon of choice for zombie slaying.

I'm sure most who are at least aware of The Typing of the Dead know that it originally started life in '99 in Japanese arcades, before being ported to Dreamcast and PC in 2000, with English versions both releasing in America (but strangely not Europe) a year after that in 2001.

Credit: Thierry Régagnon on Flickr

Other than a typing version of The House of The Dead: Overkill: Extended Cut in 2013, this was the extent of this series' releases in the West. Recently, however, I found myself tumbling down a rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland-style, that revealed to me the existence of some weird and wonderful ports of this zany title, along with a spin-off and even a sequel that were all released exclusively in Japan. So let's talk about them...

The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Da! Typing Lariat (Windows and Mac, 2007)

First up, we have The Typing Of The Dead: Zombie Da! Typing Lariat, a Japan-exclusive enhanced version of the original game that was released for Windows and Macintosh in 2007. This version featured brand new mini-games as well as a mode where you could compete against a clone of yourself to best your previous score.

While there were two other enhanced Typing of the Dead ports released in Japan prior to this one (titled The Typing of the Dead 2003 and The Typing of the Dead 2004), that both added extra modes, this one is a lot more intriguing because of its Mac port, which was released to be compatible with Mac OS X Tiger (10.4). According to Macintosh Garden, this was 'one of the very few titles that Sega released specifically for Macs in Japan'. 

The absolute bestest thing ever about this port, though, is instead of the HOTD2 characters carrying keyboards with Dreamcasts hooked up to batteries on their backs, they carry Compact Macs. The fact the developers went to the effort to add in such a detail is great; what a beautiful sight to behold. Unless the mere existence of Macs give you an aneurism. If so, we'd hate to tell you how we produce the majority of the Junkyard's content...

Credit: Macintosh Garden

The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Panic (PlayStation 2, 2004)

From one disliked system to another (depending on who you ask), we now move onto The Typing of The Dead's 2004 Japan-exclusive PlayStation 2 port, which came bundled with a USB keyboard, and despite adding the subtitle "Zombie Panic", is mostly the same as the original. Although, according to the ever-helpful Sega Retro, this port incorporates mini-games into the main story. 

This version trades the Dreamcasts for silver fat PlayStation 2 consoles, which results in James and the gang looking like a bunch of Dreamcast deserters who got suckered in by the whole "Emotion Engine" thing. Hope you enjoy watching all those cutscenes in The Bouncer when you're not slaying zombies, you traitors. Bah!

Credit: NintendoComplete

English of the Dead (Nintendo DS, 2008)

Representing something of a missed opportunity, this 2008 Japanese Nintendo DS title was not titled "The Writing of the Dead," because what you have here is a game that aimed to teach Japanese players English words by having them handwrite them with the DS stylus. Occasionally, the game also asks players to complete sentences by selecting words multiple choice-style. Because of its premise, the game is very accessible to English players; although I bet after playing for a while your wrist would get tired (get your mind out of the gutter).

What blew my mind the most about this game, though, is that it recreates the levels of The House of The Dead 2 with some pretty decent 3D graphics for the DS. I recommend checking out this playthrough by NintendoComplete to see this title in action.

Oh, and the characters all carry Sega Mega Drives/Genesis on their backs. I'm not kidding.

Credit: NintendoComplete

The Typing of the Dead 2 (Arcade, 2007/Windows, 2008)

That's right, you read that correctly; exclusively in Japan, The Typing of the Dead received a numbered sequel in arcades and on PC, and it was based on The House of the Dead III! I genuinely had no idea this existed! Looking at gameplay footage of the PC version, it doesn't look like its inaccessible to English speakers (or typers, rather), as you still type English characters, but for the romanisations of Japanese words.

While we sadly never received the original House of the Dead 3 on Dreamcast, the spirit of the console lives on in this Typing of the Dead sequel, because while the characters now wield keyboard-shaped shotguns instead of regular keyboards hanging from their shoulders, they still carry Dreamcasts on their backs, just as they did in the original! 

Credit: NintendoComplete

How many of these Typing of The Dead games were you aware of? Are you going to give any of them a try? Let us know in the comments below!

Credit and thanks to: Mr^Burns who posted the SegaXtreme post that initially brought The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Da! Typing Lariat to my attention, Macintosh Garden, Sega Retro, The Wiki of the Dead and NintendoComplete.

Monster Mash!

House Of The Dead 2 vs.Typing Of The Dead

Well it's been a while since or founding father, mentor and patron, Sir Teeleecee, walked out of the 'Yard with a knotted hankie on a stick, slung across his shoulder, to embark on his Confidential Mission... to save the world from the Axis Of Evil. And I don't know about you, but the 'Yard seems kind of empty without him.... (Sniff!)
Still, it is the sworn duty of myself and the Gagaman(n) to maintain the place in his absence. And so, without any further ado, I will embark on my next epic post (for the second fucking time, seeing as Blogger just wiped out about an hour and a half of fucking typing, by kindly 'updating' itself...)

BASTARD! (and now it seems to be underlining my text and changing font sizes without me wanting it to...

Take a look at this!
It's my new super-duper-fan-fucking-tastic 'Microsoft Wireless Desktop Elite' keyboard! (Wahey!) Everytime I run my fingers over it's bouncey, responsive keys it makes my 'third leg' stand to attention!
Each time I check out it's 'space age' contours, with different tactile materials...("Grunt! Gasp!"... Hard plastic keys, spongey, foamy exterior...) my swollen testacles start to tingle. Check out the fucking buttons and gizmos! AWLRIGHT!

Excuse me while I crack one off...Ah! thats better...



Keyboards... originally found on the humble typewriter, then later ascribed to fledgling computers, they've made life easier for us all.
In Dreamcast terms the keyboard was originally intended to enhance it's users experience of accessing the internet. (I did that a few weeks back and it was frankly wanktastic...56K modem? Dial up? Fuck me sideways...) For some gamers it allowed them to remain in a PC comfort zone...playing games like 'Quake 3 Arena' and 'Outtrigger' using Keyboard and Mouse to point and shoot.
But which fucking genius decided to use the keyboard as a peripheral to experience the established 'light gun classic' House of TheDead?
Someone at developer 'Smilebit' apparently... and if I ever meet that guy, I'll gladly suck him off...
Sorry! I meant to say "Shake him warmly by the hand"....
'House Of The Dead' Father? That tired old title has oft been discussed within the 'Yard... why drag it's sorry ass back up for another probing?

Well it needs to be re-inspected and compared to it's lesser known cousin 'Typing Of The Dead'...
'Cos like many a great DC title release, we Europeans were passed over! I've never understood why corporations like Sony (bawk!), Sega and Nintendo (feeling of warm acceptance...) feel the need to selectively deny Europeans, Japanese or Americans access to the same gaming experience, at the same time....
This inevitably ends up with commited gamers like myself, having to trawl eBay years later to find hidden gems... Our American cousins were denied Shenmue 2, and that's just wrong.

We on this side of the pond were denied the 'Sega Smash Pack' and 'Caution Seaman'.

Why? answers on a postcard please...
Anyway, back to the games... lets compare them...

House Of the Dead 2
A classic franchise, first experienced outside arcades by Sega Saturn owners as 'House of The Dead'. (Still retailing in Gamestation for a pricey £24.99 due to it's cult clasic status and rarity) A light gun classic, but in retrospect grainy, pixellated and rushed. It was poorly presented, had an unimaginative storyline and was badly voice-acted. Certain features that Sega were apparently keen to keep apparently...

So lo and behold, along comes House Of The Dead 2, one of the flagship titles for the Dreamcast. Back in the day, the game+ lightgun would have cost you a harsh £75.... Current 2006 price for game and peripheral? £8.50... OK so we've already got a reason to check it out... but the Dreamcast release had addressed the failings of the original Saturn game... Here we had sumptuous graphics, great frame rates, little pixellation, and a near perfect arcade port.

The voice acting was still terrible and the storyline equally weak, but to your average gamer, light gun at the ready, it was just an excuse to waste animated corpses, spilling green, YES GREEN blood..
O.K. Weak story line? What is it?
You play as James Taylor (no not the easy listening hippy ex-husband of Carly Simon- ignore that if you're under 40) but the AMS agent assisted by colleagues Gary Stewart, Amy Stewart and Harry Harris... (I kid you not....) Harry fucking Harris? Pur-lease...
You're fighting aginst the evil machinations of the mysterious Goldman... which have resulted in.... axe wielding, chainsaw toting, barrel tossing zombies!
Overthrowing the un-named city and presumably the world. And if you're not quick enough on the draw they're gonna bite you. Oh yes.

As if that wasn't enough there's zombie monkies, fish, frogs, owls and bats want to bite your sorry ass as well.

Depending on your zombie ass kicking skills you will be shown a variety of routes through the city. Play poorly and you'll arrive at something of a dead end. Save civillians and you'll be rewarded with extra lives... Kill 'em and you'll have lives taken away- fair enough!
There are four modes in the game...
Arcade, Original , Boss and Training. Play on Original and you get to save items like coins, gems, gold frogs, (no I have not been ingesting psychedelic mushrooms...recently...) air guns and unlimited continues that help you complete the game.

Complete the game? I wish! Never have and probably never will...

'Cos apart from items that you store in your car boot/trunk, you can't save shit on this mother fucker! (Why am I posting like an extra from 'Shaft'?)

'One bullet away from killing the last boss, and completing the game... and YOU DIE!
Then start all over again.
And incidentally, that's why I named it my most frustrating DC game on Tom's most magnificent recent post... I love it/hate it!
Ok I'm rambling...And you might have guessed already that I'm more in favour of the
later release....

Typing Of The Dead...

OK no need to go through any of the features of the original 'cos it's exactly the same as this one.
Except that the graphics and even the voice acting seem a bit more polished.
And ( now heres the rub) Instead of a gun you use a keyboard!!!
As do your charcters...


Instead of 'poppin' caps' you have to type like a bitch ass secretary on speed to repel the zombie hoarde. The basic scenario is this... The game is exactly the same but instead of shooting zombies you have to read set phrases and then type them.



Easy? NO! If your a good typist, no problem... If you've got poor keyboard skills (like me) then watch out. You just have to copy familiar (or increasingly non-familiar) words and phrases thrown at you by the game. "Hospitalised brick"? "Rasta"? "Uncle Slam"?
They're the easy ones... try "I lay my hand on yours my sweet, and then let out the nastiest fart you'll know".

Try that whilst zombies are threatening to chomp a chunk out of your face...
Having said that, compared to the light gun version, they actually wait around a little bit... patiently(!)... Whilst you complete your typing.
Unlike the original, they kind of lay off, lurking not too menacingly whilst you fumble over your typing errors.

To make things less horrific, they carry sink plungers, rubber mallets and sausages to throw at you instead of knives and axes. Plug two keyboards in and play against a friend. I did and it was some of the most gaming fun I've had in ages... You can pick up keyboards for peanuts these days...

Now back in 2001 two keyboards would have cost you £40.
In 2006? Two quid each for two keyboards if you look around...
(I was given one keyboard free by the wonderful Summit Games, Bangor, N.Wales because I bought a couple of rare import games from them-Heads Up! Respect!)

The two biggest gingers played them solid at the Lighthouse last weekend... in favour
of Tekken 5 Dark resuurection on the PSP.. Even the younger ginger generation are into
the gameplay...and BONUS! they're improving their typing skills!
IGN 2006 gave 'Typing' a 9/10 in the face of reviews of games on the 360, PS3 and Wii...
Planet Dreamcast in 2001 gave 'Typing...' an 8/10.
The original light gun HOTD version got a paltry 7/10.
And I endorse their conclusions... ergo Typing Of The Dead.... A clear winner!!!

So check this.... score a DC (£20 max) Score HOTD2 (£2.50 max) Score TOTD (maybe a bit more but probably under a tenner) (Score a couple of keyboards for the DC (Guess...£20 max) add it up... maybe (max) £55 and you get yourself a shit hot console, two games and the necessary peripherals for less than a next gen game.
I rest my luddite case m'lud!
Good night children... wherever you are...here's a little gift to make you sleep easier after looking at all those zombies....

Excuse me while I crack another one off...

Typing Jet: The lost Jet Set Radio game?

Recently I was perusing one of my favourite subreddits - r/lostmedia - and I came across a post from a user named u/step-ladder. The post was enquiring about a little known Jet Set Radio game that was developed for mobile phones back in 2001. The game, titled Typing Jet, was released as part of a collection of Sega spin offs for the Japanese J-Phone range of devices, and prior to reading this post on Reddit I was oblivious to Typing Jet's existence. The post also makes reference to a single image (below) that is available of Typing Jet online, and as someone who loves a good mystery, I needed to know more.

Typing Jet appears to be a rather simplistic typing game, in which the player types words in order to make the onscreen character (resembling JSR favourite Beat) trick over obstacles as they approach. Several other users had posted replies, but alas the question had remained unanswered - is Typing Jet really a lost game? Inspired, I used what scant information other users had posted and off I went, tumbling down what turned out to be something of a Wayback Machine sponsored rabbit hole.

Armed with the knowledge that Typing Jet had been released alongside a title called Ulala's Channel J and a variant of The Typing of the Dead on a service called Sega Parade, I first tried searching for that name, and was served up with the url www.segaparade.com/nz. It's a dead link, and the site is not stored on the Wayback Machine either. However, using the Google 'cached' feature and several variations of the url, I was able to surface quite a bit of information on the games released. Alas, none of the hits gave me the elusive Typing Jet.

At this point, it's probably worth discussing J-Phone. Indeed, J-Phone is an interesting topic in and of itself and could probably spawn an entire article were I so inclined to research and write such a thing, but I'll keep it fairly brief in this instance, just to give a bit of context (and because I'm in no way an expert on the topic!). In an nutshell, J-Phone was a mobile phone technology launched in Japan in the late 1990s which allowed compatible devices to connect to an online service similar to iMode - a sort of precursor to high speed mobile internet such as 3G. J-Phone enabled devices could access this service via a menu, and then through a portal exclusive games, email and other online options were all accessible. It is through this portal that the games referenced above could be played, for a monthly fee of several hundred Yen a piece. According to this article, linked to in the original r/lostmedia post, the price of Typing Jet was set at ¥200 per month (which is about £1.32/$1.84/€1.51 at the time of writing).

I mention all of this because my next port of call was the J-Phone website, the url for which I gleaned from a photo posted on the Ulala Channel J Fandom page. Further down the page, there is a shot of a promotional hand held fan with the J-Phone logo and url. As you can probably tell, Columbo ain't got sh*t on me. Again, using the Wayback Machine I perused the Japanese version of the site from around the time of the release of Typing Jet, but wasn't really able to find any mention of the game - only stuff relating the differing models of handset and references to Vodafone, Sha-Mail and things called J-Sky Photo and J-Sky Editor. Interesting, I'm sure you'll agree...but not really relevant to Typing Jet.

Dreamcast On The Go With Nintendo Game Boy Advance

We recently took a look at the PS Vita, and more specifically some of the titles that are available for Sony’s sleek yet neglected handheld which have their roots on the Dreamcast. While many of the games in that article feature alterations and improvements over their originators, they all keep the same basic gameplay and – most importantly – allow a whole new generation of gamers to experience the magic of the Dreamcast. It’s true that many of us in the Dreamcast community take it for granted that we were there the first time around and got to experience the Dreamcast when it was new and exciting, and in a way the re-release of certain Dreamcast titles on contemporary platforms allows younger gamers the opportunity to enjoy what we felt back then. Probably why there’s so much call for Shenmue remasters…but that’s a whole different topic for another day.

When I wrote about the PS Vita’s small but perfectly formed Dreamcast-derived library, I also mentioned my love for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and here I will repeat what I iterated there: the Game Boy Advance SP is my favourite handheld of all time. While I do own a Game Boy Micro and an original Game Boy Advance, it is the SP (or more specifically the AGS 101 backlit model) which is my go-to handheld whenever I want a break from my Vita. For me, it is the greatest handheld ever crafted; there’s just something about that amazing screen, the pleasing form factor and the superlative library of ‘perfect for handheld’ first and third party games.

That said, the Game Boy Advance is also a console that offers a multitude of titles that could be seen as extensions of games that first appeared on the Dreamcast. When you consider that the console was released into the immediate power vacuum after the Dreamcast’s demise (with the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox all circling over the corpse) it was a smart move on Sega’s part to allow IPs that were still fresh in most peoples’ minds to receive ports and spin offs on Nintendo’s seminal handheld - even if the majority of them weren't actually developed or published by Sega. The most intriguing aspect of this glut of semi-sequels and supplemental releases, is that a lot of them were so technically ambitious and eschewed the familiar 'top down' or 'side scrolling' approach usually afforded to similar releases on the Game Boy Color, for example.

Developers embraced the limited 3D capabilities of the Game Boy Advance and let their imaginations flourish, heralding a whole new era in console-to-handheld ports...with mixed results. Some of the console to handheld ports are marvels of their time, with cunning workarounds and developer technical expertise laid bare; while others tried to capture the essence of their console brethren and lost something in the jump from the TV screen to the pocket (something that is no longer an issue thanks to the Switch). Anyway, let’s put the kibosh on the procrastination and take a look at some of the Dreamcast games that got a second shot at glory - for better or worse - on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance...

The Dreamcast Junkyard's choicest cuts and hottest takes of 2023

Well, here we are again. A whole 12 months since the last time we did one of these yearly roundup articles, and 10 months since I decided to retire from the Junkyard for the sake of my fragile sanity. Going against my better judgement, I thought it would be nice to pop in to the 'Yard at this special time of year to look back in anger with fondness at some of the highlights of 2023, published by the hard-working and dedicated team of nerds who keep this place going in earnest. Even with the AI-powered threat of the Dead Internet™ and Big Gaming Websites™ slowly terraforming the entire World Wide Web into a sanitised, homogenous wasteland of black text on white backgrounds and carefully prepared press bullshots, The Dreamcast Junkyard is still here showing that little niche blogs can survive in the present era. But, y'know, that's not to say if some conglomerate wants to buy us out for a few million quid we wouldn't listen to offers. Of course, I jest...cough.

Now, back to that actual topic at hand. The dystopian nightmare that is/was the year 2023AD. It's been...interesting. So much new Dreamcast news to report on, new releases to salivate uncontrollably over, and original features that simply wouldn't write themselves without the aid of an advanced large language model and a few clever prompts. Yes, the humble Dreamcast has had quite the year, and so without further ado, I present to you a concise(ish) whistle-stop tour de force of the choicest cuts and hottest takes published here over the last 365(ish) days.

Are ya ready? Here we go...

Reviews

• Not actually a Dreamcast release, but a title heavily influenced by Jet Set/Grind Radio, Lewis laced up his roller blades, donned his finest DayGlo lycra and tackled Team Reptile's excellent homage Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. Reports of lycra chaffage are wholly unfounded, refuted and are to be quashed immediatley.
• Taking a pinch of inspiration from Rocket League, the first online-enabled retail release in nigh on 20 years arrived on Dreamcast in 2023. As expected, Lozz buckled up, checked his mirrors, signalled and then manouvred into battle in Luke Benstead and David Reichelt's indie hit Driving Strikers.

• Another game heavily influenced by a much-loved Dreamcast original, Cosmic Smash homage C-Smash VRS from RapidEyeMovers and Wood & Wolf was given a thorough going over by a VR-helmeted Brian. Rumours that he destroyed his living room while jumping around in said VR helmet are wholly unfounded, refuted and are to be quashed immediately.
• After Tom checked out the Dreamcast re-release of Visco's 1992 Neo-Geo title Andro Dunos (brought to us by JoshProd and PixelHeart), Lozz entered the very same (heavily sanitised) cockpit to take on the challenge presented by Andro Dunos II.

• Our colleague Andrew Dickinson wrote a book once - did he mention that? Well, guess what - he wrote a sequel to it and it was released this year. Dreamcast: Year Two featured many contributions from across the Dreamcast community and Lewis was on hand to leaf through it. Will there be a Dreamcast: Year Three? Will Andrew mention he wrote a book again? Answers on a postcard.
• Mike kicked off his Dreamcast-themed loafers, donned his velvet smoking jacket (probably) and delved betwixt the pages of Fusion Retro Books' Dreamcast-themed special edition, the snappily titled Fusion Dreamcast Magazine.

• Mike also cast a critical eye over two indie releases this year, with PRO's physical release of Wolfenstein 3D mod Witching Hour and Lowtek Games' semi-sequel to Flea!, Tapeworm Disco Puzzle, both getting the Phelan treatment. Which sounds way more ominous than I thought it would now I've typed that sequence of words out.
• Drunk on nostalgia while waiting for some form of Crazy Taxi reboot to appear (it'll never happen), Brian hailed down Cassius John-Adams' Fifth Element-inspired Crazy Taxi homage MiLE HiGH TAXi - a game which presumably also took at least some naming inspiration from psychedelic Saturn k-hole NiGHTS into Dreams.

Features and News

• A highly skilled Dreamcast developer who goes by the name Frogbull decided they wanted to see PlayStation 2 stalwart Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty running on Sega's superior hardware. So they went out and created a proof of concept demo. No, we aren't making this up, and Lewis was on hand to investigate.
• Tom noticed that it was high time he delved back into the Atomiswave library that was recently made playable on Dreamcast, with a look at Sammy's lesser-spotted Need for Speed: Underground rip-off homage Faster Than Speed.

• 2023 represented a major milestone in the history of the Dreamcast - 25 years of existence. To mark the occasion, Brian revisited the Japanese release of the console, and even looked at the four launch titles on offer, particularly zooming in on one of the more maligned of the four - Godzilla Generations.
• Y'know, it wasn't always like this. Not very long ago, just before your time, right before the towers fell, circa '99, this was catalogues, travel blogs, a chat room or two. And loads of random Dreamcast-themed fan sites. To illustrate, and take a look at what became of our brothers and sisters in arms, Lozz sampled a load of other online Dreamcast resources that were founded after the Dreamcast was discontinued (some even before the Junkyard started)...and where they are now. Thanks to Bo Burnham for this guest entry.

• Back in 2022, Tom lamented over the lost Dreamcast boxing game Title Defense. With the help of Dreamcast community legend PC Wizard, he managed to track down and speak to someone who was heavily involved with said game's development and ultimate demise, and uncover the true story of why Title Defense never came to the Dreamcast. Spoiler alert: it never existed.
• Apparently modern Sega isn't simply a hollow shell and shadow of its former self, and this year teased reboots of two of its most popular Dreamcast franchises. So you can disregard the previous comment about Crazy Taxi never coming back. Because it is, along with Jet Set/Grind Radio. Hopefully not as mobile games, but only time will tell. As ever, Lewis was on hand to take a look at the teaser trailer.

• Long time Junkyard contributor Aaron "The Gagaman" Foster checked in earlier this year with a rather fascinating investigation into the smallest Dreamcast games. Not small in stature, but in file size. No, it's actually more interesting than you'd think. Honest.
• How many versions of The Typing of the Dead are you aware of? Apart from the Dreamcast release of this zombie-themed Mavis Beacon homage, you might be surprised to know that there were numerous spinoffs and ports to both computers and other console platforms. Want to know more? Of course you do, so be sure to check out Lewis' superb dissection of The Typing of the Dead's weird and wonderful ports.

• Many Dreamcast releases were originally promoted via the arcane medium of the humble flyer or leaflet, and in this excellent deep dive into one of the more esoteric aspects of Dreamcast lore, Lozz investigated the myriad flyers and leaflets now preserved online for all and sundry to gawp at.
• If you've been online for as long as most of us have, and have been trawling the Dreamcast-flavoured underbelly of the internet for an equally terrifying stretch of time, you'll have undoubtedly come across heavily compressed images of Dreamcast consoles modded to resemble the Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube and Sony PlayStation 2. Ever wondered where these curiosities came from, or what became of them? Enter contributor Dark, who investigated the origins and fate of these mysterious variations of the Dreamcast.

• Tom took time out from shaking his fist at a cloud, put some clothes on and ventured out of his delapidated shack; and then took a train to London to experience C-Smash VRS and interact with some real life humans. Read his report on the launch event here, and then scratch your head in bemusement at the final paragraph where he annouces his retirement from the Junkyard...while you simultaneously read these very words which are being written by him on a keyboard right now.
• Contributor Oliver Luddy announced his debut at the Junkyard by checking out the various iterations of steering wheel peripherals with which Dreamcast users can control onscreen vehicles. Some are good, others are not so good. But how will you know which is which without checking out Oliver's Dreamcast Steering Wheels - An Overview?

Credit: The Sega Guru

• Dreamcast indie royalty and wombat appreciator Ian Micheal fully inserted himself into something commonly known as 'Christmas spirit' by releasing his latest creation - a compendium of Christmas-themed games for the Dreamcast. Featuring rom hacks and ports of games from a multitude of genres, the Dreamcast Christmas Collection is also notable for featuring covers of various festive songs which are sung by Ian himself. Ian, your talents are clearly wasted on indie dev.
• The DreamPod crew asked our listeners to share their favourite Christmas Dreamcast memories from years gone by, and boy did they not disappoint. In this festive roundup which served as a companion piece to DreamPod episode 125 for RadioSEGA's WinterFest, Lozz packages them all up for your reading pleasure, while nursing a hangover inevitably brought on by enjoying too many Creamcast ales.

• Bet you didn't know Radirgy/Radilgy received a spinoff on the Nintendo 3DS. Well, it did, and in his deep dive, Lewis discovers that not all is rosy in this particular entry's cel-shaded garden. To be fair, the clue is in the title of the feature: Radirgy De Gojaru! - Radirgy's Terrible 3DS Spinoff.
• It's been a good few years at this point since Retro-Bit teased their wireless Dreamcast controllers. While wireless controllers for the Dreamcast have been available for quite some time thanks to the work of Chris Diaoglou, the Retro-Bit ones are officially sanctioned by Sega and were spotted "in the wild" a few months ago in 2023.

• Fresh from his recent foray into the world of Dreamcast soccer management blockbuster Giant Killers, Kev decided it was high time to turn his attention to American sports games. More specifically, the unusual Japanese releases of NFL 2K1 and NBA 2K1. What makes these two titles so notable? Well, it's the fact that they received special “bible” editions. Want to know what any of that means? Then check out Kev's feature on the Sega Sports 2K1 Bible Editions. Note: God and/or Jesus are not involved. Sorry.
• Sticking with Kev for a moment, he also investigated the experience of playing a range of games with the Dreamcast Arcade Stick (see what I did there?), but the twist here is that they aren't games that any normal person would actually want to play with an Arcade Stick, but which are fully compatible. The things we do in the name of science, eh? You can read about Kev's highly empirical findings in his feature here.
• Last but by no means least, and after a whole year, many hours of work and hundreds of contributions, The Dreamcast Junkyard's refreshed Top 200 Dreamcast Games 2023 was finally unveiled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the system. This really was a Herculean effort from all of those involved, and the final list throws up some very interesting placings in the definitive ranking as voted for by you - the loyal readers of t'Junkyard.

English Translations

This year saw even more Japan-only titles translated into English by the dedicated Dreamcast fan translation community. There are many talented people involved in this niche within a niche (with a special nod to the likes of Derek "God" Pascarella, VincentNL, SharkSnack, Rolly, RafaMGam, TheKitchenSunk, Harpu, Ozidual, DocHikari, dukeblooders, Marshal Wong, Duralumin, James Tocchio/GGDreamcast, Yuvi, Cargodin, rio de popmocco and TapamN, to name but a few).

Some of the most notable titles to receive an English language translation were covered by Lewis here at The Dreamcast Junkyard, with one of them even being worked on by him (Nakoruru). Check 'em out:

• Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden: Asuka Kenzan
• Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000
• Rent-A-Hero No. 1
• Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave Me
• Cool Cool Toon
• Under Defeat
• Trizeal

Interviews and Podcasts

• Daytona USA 2001 was brought back online in 2023, restoring much of the original multiplayer experience that was enjoyed by Dreamcast owners in Japan and the USA back in the day. The bulk of the work to bring the game back online was completed by developer ioncannon, and Lozz was on hand to get all the details on this excellent resurrection project.
• On episode 126 of our podcast DreamPod, Lewis and Kev welcomed Nick Thorpe, Retro Gamer Magazine Features Editor. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, including how Nick's career in games media started and progressed, some contentious entries in the 2023 Top 200, Nick's memories of the Dreamcast launch and favourite games, and how he would get hooked on playing the Dreamcast demo pod in order to get his Sonic Adventure fix, much to the frustration of the other kids.

• Seasoned games journalist Chris Scullion joined Kev and Mike for episode 121 of the DreamPod, during which Chris detailed the process of writing his latest book The Dreamcast Encylopedia, his memories of the Dreamcast, and some of his favourite titles. Mike mentioned that he is also writing a book. Andrew wrote a book once, too. Not sure if he's ever mentioned that.
• Episode 120 of the DreamPod saw Andrew and Lewis welcome YouTuber Dreamcast Enjoyer (aka Dominic) to the podcast, during which they spoke about a range of topics, from the Dreamcast's “cosiest” games to Dominic's foray into the world of YouTube.

• Regular hosts Lozz and James welcomed guests Harvey (aka Pizza Hotline) and Holsten to episode 118 of the DreamPod to discuss the burgeoning online gaming scene, which has had something of a resurgence on the Dreamcast thanks to DreamPi. If you ever wondered how to go about getting your Dreamcast online, and which online games are worth your time, then this is the episode for you!
• Harlequest developer Ross Kilgariff joined Lewis and Lozz on episode 115 of the DreamPod, during which the jolly trio discussed all things indie dev, Kickstarter and of course Harlequest - a brand new 3D platformer heading to Dreamcast in the not too distant future.
• Of course, you can find all of the other episodes of The Dreamcast Junkyard DreamPod on all of your favourite podcatchers, so be sure to give us a review and a rating if you can be bothered. We'll love you forever if you do. It doesn't even have to be positive. I left a one star review myself on all the ones I'm on, for example. Can't stand the sound of my own voice.

Community Collaborations

• Mike and Lewis were special guests on episode 377 of the excellent podcast The Retro Hour, chatting all things Dreamcast and Dreamcast Junkyard. Turns out the episode Mike and Lewis appeared on was one of The Retro Hour's most popular episodes of the year...who'd have thunk it?

• We also appeared as guests once again on RadioSEGA's WinterFest 2023, sharing fuzzy memories of Dreamcast Christmases past for the 125th episode of the DreamPod, joined this time by none other than Patrick Traynor of Sega Saturn, SHIRO! fame. WinterFest is an institution within the Sega community at this point, so as ever we thank the team at RadioSEGA for having us.
• Lewis was invited to appear on episode 201 of The SEGA Lounge podcast by venerable host David "KC" Luis, where he spoke about his own personal history with the Dreamcast and gave a little glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes at the Junkyard (hint: it's organised chaos).

What's next?

I'm pretty confident that the Dreamcast scene will continue to go from strength to strength in 2024, and no doubt the fine team manning The Dreamcast Junkyard will be on hand to offer a familiar torrent of news, features, reviews, previews, podcasts and interviews. If you haven't already, please go and give The 'Yard a follow on Twitter, or join our lovely Discord community so you don't miss anything.

I'll return at the same time next year to post my annual round-up of other people's hard work; but until then, I wish you all a very happy 2024 and give you my thanks - as ever - for continuing to support the Dreamcast, the Dreamcast community at large, all the indie devs doing amazing stuff, and of course this very blog. Ciao for now!