Post a Comment On: The Dreamcast Junkyard

[Image] Heads up folks. There's a new Dreamcast release coming very soon. Rush Rush Rally Reloaded is heading our way and it features a whole host of improvements and fixes. Rush Rush Rally Racing was released on the Dreamcast a few years ago and it was then re-released on the Nintendo Wii.
[Image] This re-re-release on the Dreamcast (still with me?) is based on the Wii version, but includes a ton of further updates. We spoke to Roel van Mastbergen from Senile Team to get the full lowdown on this latest addition to the Dreamcast's library. Here's a full list, courtesy of Roel himself:

Hi Dreamcast Junkyard! It's true - Rush Rush Rally Reloaded is coming to the Sega Dreamcast and it will come in both PAL and DVD-style long box packaging! Both will be available in limited quantities but will feature the following improvements to the game:

Two new single player modes: Time Attack and Challenge, which is  like "Get Ahead" from the original game, but against CPU players. Totally redesigned menus Changed camera distance so you can see more of the road ahead Some improved graphics, including: light beams are larger and rotated more smoothly, more colourful billboards, additional illustrations Faster loading times Stable 60fps in both single and multiplayer modes Removed video mode switches between 640x480 and 320x240 resolutions, so low-resolution parts are now upscaled to 640x480 A mode for detecting when people copy and paste lists Support for more character sets in name entry Usability improvements, such as last entered name is remembered for name entry so you don't have to re-enter your name every time you play Improved legibility of internet score codes Improved control configuration options Added engine sound options 6 languages: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian DVD case version will feature an 8 page colour manual [Image] As stated by Roel, the game will be available in a DVD style case, but also in PAL flavour too. Even more interesting is that the PAL print run will be handled by JoshProd, a small company based in France specialised in re-releasing old games. Josh Prod have been involved in several re-release projects, the most notable of which was a re-issue of Neo Geo AES cartridge Neo Drift Out (in collaboration with Visco) in 2016.  [Image] Along with Rush Rush Rally Reloaded, JoshProd will also be offering re-prints of certain previously released Dreamcast games such as Ghost Blade, Dux, Alice Mom's Rescue and a run of a new-to-Dreamcast 2D SNK fighter called Breakers. All of these come with PAL-styled packaging and redesigned manuals; and in some cases also include new content.

We spoke to Philippe Nguyen from JoshProd to get more information on all of these releases and ask why he wanted to bring these games back to market (aside from the obvious!).
DCJY: Hi Philippe, could you give us some background information on JoshProd?
Philippe Nguyen: Hi, of course! I'm Philippe and I opened my first physical shop in 1996. When the internet really took off, I opened a web store in 1999 back when the PlayStation and Dreamcast were the top-selling consoles around. Almost 20 years later, I decided to create JoshProd (my son's name is Joshua) with the goal of releasing new Dreamcast games. This initial 5 releases will hopefully be followed by many more ports of other games.
Awesome news! We're always keen to see new Dreamcast releases. What can you tell us about the first re-releases from JoshProd?
We've decide to release five games initially. These are Dux 1.5, Ghost Blade, Breakers, Alice's Mom's Rescue and Rush Rush Rally Racing Reloaded on 24th February 2017, at the Cannes Video Game Festival. These games will be available for pre-order at this date and will be on your hands in one to two months max. [Image] Will the re-releases have any extra content or features?
I'm happy to live in Europe and speak many languages, that's why it saddens me to see that many indie games often only put one or two languages in the manual. That's why I decided to release all our new games with 5 languages (French, Spanish, Deutsche, Italian and English).
Rush Rush Rally Reloaded is more than a re-release (Roel will talk about it better than me) because they have been working on it for more than a year. Alice's Mom's Rescue is a 1.5 version and we have also changed the front of the box with the artwork a famous designer. Breakers is a real new game for all collector, we already release Breakers revenge (on Neo Geo AES with Visco licence). Ghost Blade and Dux 1.5 are standard releases but with a new PAL case. [Image] Where and when will these games be available and what is the cost?
JoshProd is a very lucky company because we have a chance to work with the most famous video game private sale company Rushongame.com. This website sells all games (vintage or current gen) at low prices. Through Rushongame.com we've decided to sell our games at €27.99 each and €125 for all five games. At the end of the pre-order period we'll also sell on Amazon at €39.99 each and in our physical shop Toypad in Marseilles, France.
Last question - why did you decide to release these particular games?
Well, I actually discovered all these indie games by reading your website The Dreamcast Junkyard, and after seeking to purchase them with PAL blue boxes without success (I'm a PAL Dreamcast collector!), I decided to contact all the companies and they all replied with positive responses to re-release them with blue PAL cases.

I'd also like to thanks all the studios involved: Senile Team, Hucast, Orion, Visco Japan and Daniel Lancha aka Chui from 2Dream/Retro Sumus. [Image] This is not the final design - it's a mock up by me but looks fairly similar. Thanks to Philippe Nguyen for speaking to us - it's amazing to think that The Dreamcast Junkyard actually had an indirect hand in starting this whole thing! All of these games are set to be announced at the Festival International des Jeux (International Festival of Games) in Cannes, France over the weekend of 24th - 26th February 2017. The festival is kind of like a European version of E3 and over the course of the weekend, over 100,000 people will pass through the various exhibition halls.

As of now (or very soon, at least) you'll be able to either pre-order all of these games from JoshProd via Rushongame.com; or if you just want to get a copy of the standard DVD-case version of Rush Rush Rally Racing Reloaded, head over to Senile Team's website and grab a copy while you can! [Image] If you want to know more about the original release of Rush Rush Rally Racing, check out my review here and you can find info on the other re-releases simply by searching for them in the little search box on the upper right of this page. As for Breakers...it's not a game I'm familiar with, but I have it on good authority that it's a top drawer Visco Neo Geo brawler...and that's fine with me!
[Image] This particular version apparently runs flawlessly, and is using a specifically created version of AES4ALL which has been written by the original creator Chui - one of the most respected emulator programmers in the Dreamcast community. Even better, this has all been approved by Visco Japan themselves. Check out the video below of the game running on a Dreamcast.


Keep an eye on the following sites and pages for Rush Rush Rally Reloaded and the other games to become available to buy and pre-order over the next couple of days:

Senile Team
Rush Rush Rally Racing 
JoshProd
JoshProd Facebook
Rushongame.com (account registration is required)