When it comes to the Dreamcast online RPG, the first thing most players think of is usually “Phantasy Star Online”, but in fact, the Dreamcast was not the only online RPG back then.
Rune Jade, launched by Hudson Soft in 2000, has recently been officially resurrected and once again become a playable online game.
This work featured MMO gameplay at the time. Players could choose one of four character types and then venture into a large number of randomly generated dungeons. In addition to the single-player mode, the game also supports online connections, allowing you to team up with up to three other players.
“Rune Jade” actually disappeared very quickly back then
Although the concept of “Rune Jade” is actually quite advanced today, it barely made a big splash in the market back then.
The game was discontinued more than a year after its launch, and there was never a release outside of Japan, so many Dreamcast players didn’t even know the game existed.
Coupled with the later appearance of “Phantasy Star Online”, the entire popularity was almost directly suppressed.
According to information compiled by Dreamcast Live, “Rune Jade” also had a fatal problem at the time, which was that players needed to pay an additional 300 yen to purchase a “Play Pass” to play online, but “Phantasy Star Online” was free to connect.
In the era when Dreamcast online games were just starting out, this gap was actually very hurtful.
It actually got connected again in 2026
But now these things have become history.
“Rune Jade” has now restored online functionality thanks to the efforts of the Flyinghead team, and players can now re-enter the game.
Officials currently provide a revised version of the file for download, but players still need to prepare a complete Dreamcast network connection device to re-experience this old MMO in 2026.