Sonic 3D DX Plus

Original game : Sonic 3D Blast

Platform : GEN

Author : OlivusPrime

Release date : 28 April 2024

Category : Improvement

Patch version : 1.1

Modifications : G, S

Downloads : 1279

ROM Information

Database match: Sonic 3D Blast ~ Sonic 3D Flickies' Island (USA, Europe, Korea)
Database: No-Intro: Genesis (v. 20210226-213851)
File/ROM SHA-1: 89957568386A5023D198AC2251DED9DFB2AB65E7
File/ROM CRC32: 44A2CA44

Hack description

In 2017, Jon Burton released his director's cut of Sonic 3D Blast, which provided an improved way of playing a game that pushed the Sega Mega Drive to its limits. Since Burton didn't possess the source code for the Sega Saturn port of Sonic 3D Blast, he was unable to apply the same changes to that version of the game.

The aim of this hack is to apply some of the stylistic changes of the Sega Saturn version of the game to the Mega Drive Director's Cut, within the limits of the Mega Drive hardware. Namely, this hack adjusts almost every colour palette in the game to match the more realistic/nuanced visuals of the Saturn version.

Every scenario in the game has been painstakingly visually compared to their counterparts in the Saturn version to create visuals as accurate to that version as possible. The Saturn version's special effects were turned off using an emulator in order to determine the most authentic look. Of course, the changes had to be done a) within the Mega Drive's limited colour reproduction abilities, which meant that some palettes are not a direct match, and b) with respect to elements in the game which share the same palettes, meaning compromises were sometimes made to ensure that other elements in a level, such as enemies or items, didn't look too far off from their original appearances.

Two patches are included - the standard DX Plus patch, as well as an extra version with most of the music in the game removed, allowing you to listen to the Saturn version's soundtrack (or indeed, any music of your choice) on an external device without having to mute the game entirely.

Apply the desired xdelta patch to an unmodified Sonic 3D Blast/Flickies Island ROM. These patches should not be applied to a ROM that has had the original Director's Cut patch previously applied.

Updates in v1.1:
- Fixed the Green Grove emerald (orange) displaying as green in the special stage results screen
- Fixed the Panic Puppet background being grey instead of black
- Various colour palette improvements (see readme)

Contributions

Contributor	Type of contribution	Description
GameHut	Original Work	Original game development and Director's Cut hacking
OlivusPrime	Hacking	Colour palette hacking, title screen revision and music removal

Reviews

A Pallete Swap Unworthy of "Plus"	Notched	2024-04-07	Version 1.0
I can respect the attempt. The game definitely looks more like its Saturn counterpart. But, even in that regard, it falls flat. A lot of the pallete changes affect various other things and just makes them look worse outright. Jon's DX changes already made compromises that made things look worse to allow for Super Sonic, and this only adds to it. Details are lost and comprehension is ruined. Another thing is the music patch. I was expecting something like MSU-MD or MD+ support at first glance, but it really is just muting the game audio and leaving you to play the Saturn music in something else, overlaying the audio with the game. It just sucks. The "plus" moniker isn't deserved, not yet at least. I hope this can be improved.

Amazing Effort That Needs Work	+RyeGuy+	2024-03-31	Version 1.0
There are gold colors in place of the original oranges. That would be fine except that Tails is now golden like an Oscar statue. The water is purple now, instead of blue. I liked the mellow appearance at first, but I can't yet recommend. I think it needs more work, and it would be impressive if the authors could find a compromise between the Saturn and Genesis colors.

GuestLog in