Sega Rally 2 On Dreamcast Is Back Online, 27 Years Later

Modder Shuouma, already known for bringing Chu Chu Rocket!, Speed Devils, Power Smash and the Aero Dancing series back online, has now turned to a genuine piece of Dreamcast history: Sega Rally Championship 2, released in Japan back in January 1999 as one of the console's very first online games. Thanks to the Dreamcast Live project, its long-dormant multiplayer servers are running again.

Japanese version only

Only the Japanese release of Sega Rally 2 ever had online play, as the feature was stripped from Western versions at the time, so Dreamcast Live can only bring back that specific edition. To play, users need DreamPi 2.1, a Japanese copy of the game, and a dedicated user ID, since the console's original identification system no longer works for this title. Up to four racers can then compete simultaneously on the game's off-road tracks, through a lobby interface that remains entirely in Japanese.

This revival is part of a broader, long-running effort by the Dreamcast Live community to bring the console's online games back to life one by one, restoring servers that Sega shut down over the years. The project remains active and continues to target new titles.

Source: Time Extension