This is as good a time as any to rediscover your love for retro gaming. But that might be difficult to do if you don’t have a Dreamcast. The console was discontinued decades ago. You need an emulator, a program like Chankast that allows Dreamcast ROMs to run on a computer.
What is Chankast?
If you were an avid Dreamcast fan, you have probably used Chankast in the past. This is because Chankast has been around for a long time. It was one of the first Dreamcast emulators to appear on the internet.
At the time, it was highly advanced, designed with X86 platforms in mind. Unfortunately, development on the emulator has been inconsistent. It last received an update in 2005.
But that shouldn’t stop you from using the application. You can still download Chankast today. It can play many commercial Dreamcast games. The performance isn’t anything special.
But if you compare Chankast to similar emulators that came out during the same period, it is one of the fastest. Developed by Garrofi, ElSemi, una-I, and baktery, you can get it free from the official website.
Chankast Features
- Support for CMU, LCD, and VMU
- Command-line support
- Support for Full-Screen Gaming
- Free
- Compatible with Windows XP and 2003
- Supports self-bootable backups. You can’t use original discs or non-self-bootable options.
Download Chankast
| File Size | 740KB |
| Platform | Windows |
| License | Freeware |
| Date | May 18, 2005 |
| Category | Dreamcast Emulator, Gaming |
How To Install Chankast?
- System Requirements: Pentium 4 (1.6Ghz), 256MB (RAM), DirectX (Latest Version), DC Bios, Windows XP or 2003, and a decent graphics card.
- Download everything you need. That includes the emulator, input plugin, and the Bios.
- You should also download the Sega Dreamcast ISOs
- Your downloads will appear as zipped folders. Extract them all to suitable locations.
- Identify the plugin folder. Move the files in the plugin folder to the emulator’s folder. Make sure you copy and paste everything.
- Identify the Bios folder. Find these files: vms.bin, VMSB1.bin, dc_bios.bin, dc_flash.bin. Copy these files from the Bios folder and paste them into the emulator’s folder.
- Find the Chankast executable file and double-click it to launch the emulator.
- Go to ‘Input Plugin’ and select ‘Darkman Input 4.0b’ from the options provided.
How To Use Chankast?
- Use Daemon tools to mount the games.
- Return to the emulator. Select ‘Options’ and ‘Configure Drive.’ Select the drive with the game.
- Go to ‘Run’ and then ‘Start.’ This will launch the game.
Conclusion
Chankast is not perfect. As one of the oldest Dreamcast emulators, it is clearly dated. You need Windows XP or 2003 to run it. Older mainboards require an update. Otherwise, you can’t enable SSE. This assumes that they support SSE.
Chankast may refuse to work if you haven’t updated your video card drivers. Some video cards are simply incompatible with DirectX 9b, which you need. You have to update your video card to run the emulator.
The layperson doesn’t have the patience to jump through all these hoops. They will stick with modern emulators that don’t require so much tweaking. That being said, if you have a soft spot for the Dreamcast and you know your way around emulators, Chankast won’t present much of a challenge to you.
