Despite having sold all my then 18 year old games in 2018 when I moved back to Melbourne I did still have an interest enough in this system to be interested enough when this Kickstarter launched in 2020 to back it and was looking forward after it quickly reached its’ goal. As it turned out the Fusion Retro Annuals published 3 more in this time as they are using Kickstarter as a preorder platform these days and smaller publishers find out how much international shipping actually costs. Honestly just put it directly on the Kickstarter that shipping is going to be an extra cost on Backerkit and people will be more open to it.

I was still reviewing things for another website while I was reading this so it took a while to read through it even after I quit the website. For the smaller size it does manage to pack a lot into it and I even managed to get the interest from someone who worked on one of the Dreamcast games originally when I told them about the interview that mention Le Mans 24 HRS (they still have a Dreamcast and this game in a cupboard).

This magazine covers the second year of Dreamcast releases after it had already been announced it had been cancelled but they still had a full year of releases. I remember playing Skies of Arcadia for several years after the system was “dead” and still enjoyed it. Never took up the opportunity to buy $50 Dreamcast units when I saw them. Could have used at least one to replace mine that had a hole drilled in it to let out the evil spirits.

To be honest this is more of a niche thing than other video game magazines or books as the Dreamcast after all this time is a bit of a cult. I sold all my games for almost $400 as a job lot and that was even without a working unit to go with it (it did include the light gun).

This does suffer as with other magazines or books where they put all the sections together and there is a block that is all the same. I would prefer it mixed things up a bit more so you don’t get bored reading all the same thing.

It’s not a bad magazine but I would more imagine someone who is already into the Dreamcast and collecting retro games (early 2000s is retro now) being into this than more modern gaming fans.

There is a lot of heart here and many people were involved. I know from my own experience where I merely wanted a paragraph of text off people and supplied all the rest for a magazine is a lot of work let alone what they do here.

While I enjoyed this one well enough I would have to see how I go if I would back a Year Three magazine if it is going to take another 3 years to come out after it is funded. I have a lot of competing demands on my time and the retro magazine and book market is always moving.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Credits:

Author: Andrew J Dickinson

Art director: Steve Novaković-Thone

Illustrator: Dan Tiller

Editing and proofing: Lewis Cox, Tom Charnock

Screenshot technician: Mahmood Shaikh

‘Control Yourself’ photography: Louis Izquierdo @ncc1701p

Writers: Tom Charnock, James Harvey, Mike Phelan, Brian Vines, Sandeep Rai, Faith Johnson, Kevin Mason, Lewis Cox, Mark Williams, Mitzketo (DreamcastHub), Jason Baigent, Richard Elsey, Steve Leyland

Librarian: Michael Rogers

Website designer: Tristan Brookes

Format creator: Sandeep Rai

Contents:

The Story –

Foreword

Contributors

Acknowledgements

Screenshots | Disclaimer

Introduction

Interviews –

Adam Koralik

Corey Marshall

Darran Jones

Mickeal Pointer

Iain Lee

Jone Linneman

Forbes Longden

Features –

Beyond Saturn

Ready? Fight!

Star Attraction

Control Yourself

Retrospectives:

Metropolis Street Racer

Quake III Arena

Sword of the Berserk: Guts’ Rage

Grandia II

Maken X

Jet Set Radio

Power Stone 2

F355 Challenge

Fur Fighters

Le Mans 24 Hours

Seaman

Resident Evil – Code: Veronica

ChuChu Rocket!

Sega Bass Fishing

Space Channel 5

Starlancer

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

Dead or Alive 2

The Typing of the Dead

Phantasy Star Online

Spirit of Speed 1937

D2

Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

El Dorado Gate Volume 1

Samba de Amigo

Segagaga

Shenmue

Rayman 2: The Great Escape | Tomb Raider Chronicles

Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes | Sonic Shuffle

Virtua Tennis | Zombie Revenge

End parts:

Library

Kickstarter Backers

Credits and Thanks

Gallery: