Here is Sega’s official statement:

“SEGA and D3T indeed had started exploring the feasibility of a full HD remaster for Shenmue I & II. That being said, we soon realised that this was a project with its own set of challenges. Working with original animations and characters but meshing them with enhanced HD visuals gave us a game that we felt would not meet the standards that Shenmue fans expect and deserve. Rather than going ahead with a release that may disappoint fans, we chose to focus on bringing the classic game to PC and modern consoles, so that new players could experience Shenmue’s original charm.”

I buy it. A faithful port with enhancements was the right way to go about it.

I am not a fan of meshing old animations with half baked modern visuals, Yakuza Kiwami is a prime example. I don’t like that in a remake. If I am to buy a remake I’d prefer that it be like Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes.

If Sega can’t do a remake from scratch then I will gladly take an enhanced port over a half old – half new mesh of a game.

To address this confounding issue, two top minds from Internet blogging sites have agreed to debate the finer points of the conundrum, like Virgin Online Casino, and what better time than to do it on the 19^th anniversary of the Dreamcast’s release in the US? Supporting one side is avid Dreamcast collector and SEGA Nerds editor and chief Chris Powell, while the other side will be represented by gaming industry cynic and The Splintering lead writer Blake Worrell.*

Blake: First, I would like to say thank you to Chris for debating this critical topic with me today. I would like to say thank you, but his position is just so ridiculous that I just can’t do it. Chris, how can you still – with good conscience – recommend collecting for the SEGA Dreamcast? Shenmue is now available on PC and the HD consoles, as is virtually every other first-party SEGA Dreamcast title? You seem like a nice guy, but I can’t help but doubt your basic intelligence if you think the original Dreamcast is still worth keeping around. Were you dropped on your head as a kid, or what?

Chris: Before we begin, I want to thank you, Blake, for inviting to this friendly debate. To answer your question, yes … yes, I was dropped on my head several times as a child, but perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m such a Dreamcast fanatic!

The release of Shenmue I and II HD (I know that’s not it’s official title, but c’mon!) is every SEGA Nerd’s wet dream, and despite its bugs, it’s amazing that we can finally play this masterpiece on the latest consoles. However, as great a game Shenmue is and as any Dreamcast owner will tell you, there’s much, much more that the Dreamcast has to offer than just Shenmue. In fact, there are nearly 250 commercially released Dreamcast games, many of which have never been ported elsewhere.

On the topic of collecting for the Dreamcast, most of the library is still very reasonably priced, especially compared to the likes of collecting for Nintendo consoles. Sure, there are those rare games, like Giga Wing 2 or Canon Spike, that will cost you upwards of $100, but the majority of Dreamcast games can be had for $20 or less.

Plus, thanks to the amazing work of the Dreamcast Online community, many Dreamcast games’ online connectivity features have been restored. That means, you can go back and play classics like Phantasy Star Online, Quake III Arena and Starlancer against people all over the world … just like they were meant to be.

I would argue, my pea-brained friend, that there’s never been a better time to start collecting for the Dreamcast than right now!

Blake: Playing old-ass online games is one of the Dreamcast’s best current selling points? Damn, that’s some niche-ass shit, Chris. It sounds to me like a labor of love just to get the online service up and running, much less to coordinate playing with other Dreamcast owners. Besides, the only reason PSO is even relevant at all is because SEGA refuses to release PSO2 here in the West.

You also noted two expensive-ass games and just glossed over the fact that the bulk of those cheaper games, the remaining 250, are largely available elsewhere, often in an even better form. Not only that, 250 isn’t even a very big number, and a crap-ton of those are sports titles. For comparison, that’s still less games than were on the N64 had 294 games released for it, and that is considered to be a paltry library.

If a friend of yours asked you “What is a good console to collect for?” I have a really hard time believing that you would look a friend in the eye and recommend the Dreamcast… not with a clear conscience, anyway.

Chris: The fact that the Dreamcast only has roughly a 250-game library is exactly one of the reasons why it’s attractive to collect for, my old friend. While other systems like the PlayStation 2 or Super Nintendo have a vastly larger library, I’d argue that they also have a lot more shitty games than what the Dreamcast has to offer.

There is so much quality to be had on SEGA’s 128-bit system that you can go down the list of each genre and find superb games that are immensely fun and reasonably priced. While it’s true the Dreamcast has its fair share of sports games, many of those games, especially the SEGA published ones, are exceptional offerings. Outside of the sports games, there is perhaps no other console that has such faithful arcade ports as the Dreamcast. Take, for instance, games like Marvel vs. Capcom, Crazy Taxi, Ikaruga and Soul Calibur.

My point about the online games, which you failed to comprehend apparently, is that if you purchase them today, you can still enjoy them as they were meant to be when they were originally released.

Moreover, if gamers dip their toes into collecting for the Dreamcast, they’ll also have the option of buying the dozens and dozens of new indie games released each year for the system. These past few years have been some of the busiest in the indie Dreamcast scene since SEGA stopped officially supporting the system with some excellent releases.

One other thing I’d like to add that helps my cause is that North American Dreamcast games were shipped in standard CD cases, unlike other systems of the time and those that came before it, like the Nintendo 64, which had cardboard boxes. These old boxes are nightmares for collectors because they’re so flimsy and many gamers threw them away. With the Dreamcast, if you have a broken front cover, you can just swap it out with one of your grandmother’s copies of Kenny Loggins’ Greatest Hits and be set!

C’mon, man, I don’t see how you can say the Dreamcast isn’t highly collectible for today’s gamer!

Blake: How dare you bring my Grandmother into this, sir! You know she just died in August!

Besides, the fact that Dreamcast games came packaged in the cheapest, most generic packaging ever isn’t a selling point to me. I think hardcore collectors prefer more unique cases, such as those of SEGA’s earlier consoles. Finding a copy of Splatterhouse 2 on SEGA Genesis with an original case branded with the Namco logo on the inside makes the art of the retro game hunt that much more fun, as opposed to Frankensteining random cases together from your local Goodwill.

You seem convinced that the Dreamcast’s smaller library as though it’s a positive thing, but that is only true in that it would be easier for a completionist to get a complete set of games. That’s a somewhat niche type of collector. The rest of us are still here to play the very best games of yesteryear.

Speaking of the best games, you even made my own point when you specifically listed Marvel vs. Capcom, Crazy Taxi, Ikaruga and Soulcalibur as reasons to buy a Dreamcast. The latter three of those four games are readily available on modern HD consoles. In fact, with an Xbox 360 alone, you can play Crazy Taxi, Soulcalibur, Jet Set Radio, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Ikaruga, SEGA Bass Fishing, Bangai-O, Rez, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Hydro Thunder… Jesus, I could probably keep going, and that’s just one of the modern consoles. Wrap in Steam and both Nintendo and PlayStation console libraries since the Dreamcast went belly-up, and you can’t even claim exclusives for Grandia 2, Skies of Arcadia, The House of the Dead 2, Headhunter, Ecco Defender of the Future, 18 Wheeler, Silent Scope, Dead or Alive 2, and now, Shenmue I and II HD.

I suppose the Dreamcast still has a healthy independent scene built around it, though several of the more successful indie titles also find their way onto mainstream platforms eventually (i.e. Volgarr the Viking and Pier Solar). I guess the Dreamcast is still the only place to find Blue Stinger, but I’m not about suggest to someone looking to get into console collecting that they get a Dreamcast for the likes of that particular game.

SEGA’s little white box had a great run, with a great library of games, but even for those collectors who stick to strictly legal means of playing retro games, the Dreamcast is painfully redundant.

Chris: I’m sure Grandma wouldn’t mind me bringing her or her love of Mr. Loggins into this discussion!

You keep bringing up the fact that because of some of the Dreamcast’s games have been ported to newer platforms somehow makes the system less desirable to collect for, and that’s just silly. Most mainstream consoles of yesteryear have their games ported to other systems, and they have very little impact on the value of the original games.

Besides if you’re a true collector, you have a deeper appreciation of the console you’re collecting for, and it doesn’t matter if those games are later ported to other consoles. Going with your line of thinking, the Super Nintendo somehow became less desirable to collect for when Secret of Mana was released on current-gen systems earlier this year. I reckon Super Nintendo collectors didn’t care all that much.

In the end, I think we can both agree that the Dreamcast was an amazing system that saw its life end far too early. It would have been awesome to see the impact it would have had if SEGA didn’t discontinue it after only a couple years. I’m sure its library would have been far bigger and better than it is now.

Today, we celebrate another birthday of our dear Dreamcast, and whether or not gamers decide they want to go for a complete collection or just buy a few choice games to enjoy the system, I think it’s certainly worth their time and money.

How about we fire up an online game of Ooga Booga so I can kick your butt!

There you have it! What say you, devout readers? One of these two is an unabashed moron, but which one is it? Let us know your comments below, and be sure to visit The Splintering for a girthy helping of gaming and comic-related goodness!

*It’s fair to say that one of these fine fellows is taking a “Devil’s advocacy” approach to the debate!

Several weeks back, our old friend The Requiem and I traveled to Classic Game Junkie in Glenside, PA, for some good ol’ Dreamcast hunting. I’ve been to this store many times, and you might have seen it featured several times over the years on The Game Chasers. I knew this store would have some quality Dreamcast games, so I decided to open my wallet and splurge a bit here, even if it meant I might have to overpay a bit on a few games.

When you walk through the doors at Classic Game Junkie, you’re greeted with the classic The Legend of Zelda tune when Link opens a treasure chest, letting you know there are but many video game treasures lurking inside. Before I ventured to the Dreamcast section, I decided to browse around at their other offerings.

Sitting inside one of the glass cabinets was a JVC X’Eye! Man, I’ve been looking to get one of these for so long, and The Requiem actually owns one but has thus far refused to give it to me. What a friend, right? There was also a huge assortment of SEGA CD and Master System games, so if you’re in the market for any of those systems, definitely pay Classic Game Junkie a visit if you ever find yourself near Philadelphia.

As I suspected, they had an incredibly large Dreamcast offering, and I immediately started grabbing everything that I was missing from my Dreamcast list, and after realizing I had nearly 30 games in my stack, I knew I’d have to pare it down and focus on the games I really wanted.

With my giant stack of Dreamcast games in-hand, I walked over to the glass counter, where their more expensive games sat, and I saw they had Giga Wing! This was one of the more expensive games I knew I’d have to pick up at some point during my quest, so I decided to splurge and pick it up!

In total, I bought 14 games and spent nearly $200! Here’s the full list of games I ended up buying: 102 Dalmations: Puppies to the Rescue, 4×4 Evolution, Air Force Delta Alien Front Online, Centipede, Giga Wing, Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing, Sentimental Graffiti 2 (* import) Silent Scope, Trickstyle, Vigilante 8: Second Offense, Wetrix+, Who Wants to Beat Up a Millionaire, Xtreme Sports.

I was able to get the owner to knock of some money since I bought so many games, but I listed the original sticker price in the table below. With this addition, that brings my current Dreamcast collection to 95 games!

Be sure to read my previous journal entries here!

Those now-infamous words that SEGA of America President Tom Kalinske uttered during the company’s E3 press conference in May 1995 not only shocked the journalists in attendance but also many of SEGA’s retail partners, who weren’t expecting the Saturn to launch for several months.

Of course, this was only one of the many bad decisions SEGA would ultimately make with the Saturn that would derail much of the momentum it had gained during the 16-bit era against Nintendo. The Saturn would cede SEGA’s market share to the PlayStation, and Sony would go on to rule the video game industry for a long time.

But while SEGA’s failings with the Saturn have been well documented, it certainly wasn’t all bad, and Tyler at iRetroGamer has just published a new video showcasing some of the system’s good aspects, like being a 2D powerhouse and having a great library of import games.

It’s a shame SEGA so poorly managed the Saturn, but this video is a cool trip down memory lane. Be sure to give it a watch and comment below on what you thought of the Saturn!

You can take a look at the shenanigans by clicking the video above!

Don’t forget to take a look at Shenmue III‘s latest Kickstarter update, or the awesome Shenmue documentary while you’re at it.

With key creators that helped make Shenmue a reality on board as participants, we will schedule our interviews, then edit, shoot some more, refine, question our sanity, geek out, shoot some more, edit, pat ourselves on the back, panic, and then finish the film – if we hit our initial goal.

Our goal is to produce a 90 -100 minute documentary that does justice to the brand and, of course, the fans. Our rewards also mention BONUS CONTENT and this would be material that the filmmakers generate while making the film (that cannot be included in the 90 minute run time) but packed on your disc to enjoy forever! A 90-minute movie is the most appealing length for distributors – but if you want to see more goodies, extras, and an extended version, help us reach our stretch goals by spreading the word and telling your friends. Remember “YI” – to act without hesitation, to do what is right!

As of this article, they are sitting at $4,268 of a $19,038 goal. You can help make this Shenmue documentary a reality by clicking here and donating on Kickstarter. 

Take a look below:

Programming stuff

All sorts of programming magic has been performed, including, but not limited to:

• Improvements to the sound code. The stereo audio is now actually stereo, with left being left and right be right and that ain’t wrong.
• Things (enemies, explosions, etc.) that are far away will have a lower volume than things that are close by. Super logical, but it still has to be programmed by someone!
• Saving the game actually works. Very useful for bug testing as well
• Improved Izzy handling. When you give Izzy a little nudge at a ledge, she will drop straight down, and no longer flies off the edge. Of course, when running off a ledge you will fly like the wind.

New Enemies

Three new enemies have been completed. Designs of two of them were already included in the campaign, and are now finished and dangerous. The third is new and will remain a surprise for when you get to play the game

Flying Squirrel Costume Completion!

The title really says it all. The Flying Squirrel Costume has been completed and will allow the player to reach new areas and look stylish at the same time.
Although Roel made a super-duper animation program to easily animate the characters, the squirrel costume had some very specific challenges. (Check out the animation editor here if haven’t seen it in action yet.)

With the Animation Editor arms and legs were easy to move around, but a billowing cape was not something that it was ever designed for. And a flying squirrel without wings will result in a plummeting squirrel.

So back-breaking manual labour was needed in making the wingless oddity (on the left) into a fully functional flying raging rodent (on the right)!

Via Kickstarter 

Following a surprise outing on the Gamecube, it’s also been made available on Steam, Xbox 360 and even Android, although the latter isn’t compatible with newer versions of the mobile OS and is no longer available on Google Play.

Even Though The Ideal Is High, I Never Give In

For the benefit of the uninitiated, Ikaruga is a shooter in the classic Treasure tradition, albeit with an ingenious twist. Your ship can alternate between black and white polarities, and enemies likewise come in one of two monochrome flavours.

You’re impervious to attacks from enemies of the same colour,  absorbing their bullets to fill your special gauge, but do bonus damage to those of the opposite colour. While a very basic risk/reward trade-off at its core, this easy-to-learn-difficult-to-master mechanics gels brilliantly with Ikaruga’s expertly honed fundamentals, resulting in a truly remarkable SHMUP that is as great today as it ever was.

From a technical point of view, this Switch port is based on the more recent PC, Xbox 360 and Android reissues, sporting a ton of customisation options. It trucks along at an all but constant 60fps in both docked and undocked modes, with nary a jagged edge in sight. Models and effects hold up well, even if backgrounds are somewhat sparsely detailed.

With what appears to be a full 1080p resolution when docked and the Switch screen’s native 720p undocked, it’s a massive step up from the Dreamcast original, which tops out at just 480p in VGA mode, but very much in line with the aforementioned more modern PC, Xbox 360 and Android ports.

Ikaruga works brilliantly as a portable game. As we’ve seen with other Switch SHMUP updates (see our review of Zero Gunner 2- in Mega Visions issue 6), the myriad difficulty and gameplay options on offer here go hand in glove with the Switch’s casual, pick up and play premise.

You can approach the game however you want, and engage in anything from a hardcore single credit score attack to a brief, laid back firework show, where enemies don’t even fire back and continues are unlimited. You can even give one of the Joy-Cons to a friend and play cooperatively in both docked and undocked modes.

I Never Die With Regrets

Perhaps the most appealing addition here for genre devotees is Tate mode. In short, it’s possible to play the game with your Switch placed vertically, mimicking the screen orientation of the original arcade cabinet and doing away most of the otherwise necessary onscreen borders. Which is a good thing too, because they do take up a lot of screen real estate.

But would it were that simple. While hardly the fault of Ikaruga, Treasure or Nicalis (this version’s publisher), the Switch is actually quite impractical to use longways, because the kickstand doesn’t work that way.

Indeed, you have little choice but to perch the console on your knee, and you can’t even attach one of the Joy-Cons to the bottom, as the console just keeps prompting you to attach a second. That is, unless you use some kind of third party solution: we found an old iPad stand just the ticket for keeping the Switch safely held at a favourable angle, while using the Pro Controller for input.

Elsewhere there’s also a pretty cool gallery of artwork and renders, plus the ability to browse and listen to the game’s soundtrack at your leisure. You can even upload your high scores to an online leader board – assuming you don’t touch the difficulty setting, of course – or choose to tackle the main game with Geikei, the ship originally reserved for player 2.

While these features themselves aren’t new, they still round out the overall package nicely, and ensure that Ikaruga for Switch really is the definitive experience, whether on the go or at home sat in front of your TV.

SUMMARY

There’s a ton more SHMUPS slated for release on Switch in the coming months, and our hope is that Ikaruga and the aforementioned Zero Gunner 2- will be the first of many Dreamcast ports. A Psyvariar redux is already confirmed, so here’s hoping Psyvariar 2: The Will To Fabricate, which came to Dreamcast first back in the day, isn’t far behind. And while we’re at it, what about Mars Matrix, Zero Wing or Border Down? If Ikaruga does the business, who knows?

While far from the first Ikaruga re-release, this latest for Switch is undoutedly the best yet. The ability to play on the go, in co-op with one set of Joy-Cons and in Tate mode, plus the myriad additional bells and whistles make Ikaruga for Switch easy to recommend unreservedly, and worthwhile even for die-hard Dreamcast fans that still have the original GD-ROM kicking around.

PROS

+ Timeless, polarity-shifting gameplay
+ Tate mode (some assembly required)
+ Local co-op with one set of Joy-Cons

CONS

– Most of the extras aren’t new
– Dull backgrounds
– Punishing difficulty unless lowered from default

Re-think everything you know about playing retro games in your modern living room and say hello to POLYMEGA, the world’s first modular HD retro game console. We built POLYMEGA so that you can have a modern gaming experience with all your favorite classic game cartridges, disc games, and accessories in 1080p HD without the clutter and sub-par video quality of using the old retro systems. It’s modular, so you can play an ever-growing list of classic game cartridge-based systems the way they were meant to be played – with minimal lag and with universal compatibility.

POLYMEGA features a built-in optical disc drive that can play your collection of classic disc-based games. Just insert a CD and start playing — no need for complicated configuration steps. It’s compatible with games for systems like PS1, TurboGrafx-CD, Sega CD, Neo Geo CD, and there’s more to come. So, why not invite some friends over to party like its 1999?

More details regarding POLYMEGA have been slowly trickling out to public, and their latest piece of news sheds some more light on the “Element Modules” and what comes with them. The Element Modules are essentially attachments to the core POLYMEGA console which allow you to insert your classic cartridges and play or upload them as you wish. These modules also come with controller ports that could work with your classic controllers.

Each Element Module includes a retro-styled wired controller that comes packaged in a sleek, color-coded box to differentiate each module from the other. The packaged controllers also come with a menu button in the center, allowing you jump to the menu with ease.

We’ll keep you updated on the latest news regarding the POLYMEGA, but in the meantime checkout these awesome screenshots!

Via POLYMEGA 

If you don’t know, Jet Grind Radio‘s online features allowed you to get game hints and tips, compete in online leader boards, and (excitingly) upload and download custom graffiti tags.

Yes, this means that users can once again create their own tag, using the game’s tag-editor and upload it to web. Or, if you’re terrible at art (like me), you can browse other users’ custom tags and download them, giving your graffiti a bit more flair!

But there is a downside for those in PAL regions, the game is currently not online… just yet. It’s been said that Jial is working on the PAL version, but so far the online functions have only been restored for the US version of the game, Jet Grind Radio. So owners of Jet Set Radio (the Japanese/PAL version of the game) will have to wait just a little longer for online functions to return.

You can read more on the story over at DreamcastLive.