Sonic 1 Blastless DX

By vladikcomper

As you all know, Sega Mega-Drive® is famously powered by Blast Processing™ technology. This isn't just a marketing term, but a really sophisticated, advanced technology behind SEGA's most successful titles, most notably, the Sonic series.

So, as usual, I was working on my Sonic the Hedgehog™ hack, doing my usual Blast Processing™ wizardry to bring you state of the art High Definition Sound and Graphics™ experience. However, I got a little carried away and shoved in so much Blast Processing™ power into the hack that the ROM nearly exploded. It is now forever cursed and has forever lost any Blast Processing™ power. Or has it?

But my senses feel that Blast Processing™ power is still there, well-hidden deep inside it. Can you regain it? Be careful, though, and avoid any form of damage in the game. With so much processing power already lost, who knows what may come out of it? If you aren't careful enough, you may enter into an Anti-Blast Processing™ parallel universe, where the power of your beloved Sega Mega-Drive® may be reduced beyond, I dunno, GameBoy®? Play it at your own risk! Your Sega Mega-Drive® won't feel the same anymore!

* * *

Sonic 1 Blastless DX is an enhanced version of the original Sonic 1 Blastless hack, that was originally released on Apr 1, 2021.

The DX version (which stands for Deluxe, not Diretor's Cut) brings in the following improvements in a less than 4 Mega Power (512 KB) ROM:

  • Even faster graphics mode switches! As if there weren't already fast enough, but the DX version is able to restore Blast Processing in the blink of an eye!
  • Subtle changes/improvements in some graphic modes;
  • Get a new life every 50,0000 score points;
  • Many bugfixes and QoL improvements (that SYZ3 block no longer blocks the way!);
  • Play it in PAL region! I know, 50 Hz is slower, but seriously, go play it at least once. Have you turned it on? You may need to doublecheck...

For those of you who craves for even more stuff, try to figure out access to the following DX-exclusive hidden goodies!

  • All-new DOS mode! - Imagine playing Sonic 1 on a good old i386 DOS-PC!
  • A brand new Configuration mode! - That changes the way you play the game! This is absolutely the most powerful built-in tool you may ever get in a Sonic hack!

Hint: There's no in-game messages that reveal access to those hidden goodies, so you have to it figure out using a bit of brute force. Accessing them is easier than you may think though. It's just one step away from entering the Level Select mode! Once you activated that secret mode, you can also press certain buttons when paused the game to go back to Title Screen or Configuration mode respectively.

Credits
  • AURORA☆FIELDS - For testing, and valuable debugging help;
  • Jet - For testing and various ideas;
  • RayDC - For making the presentation image;
  • LazloPsylus - For the idea for the hack's name.
Gallery
Download

File Type: rom/mega-drive

File Size: 298.86 KB

giovanni.gen @ 2021-10-11 12:56:35

No way one can simply be unimpressed with the visual work and whatever goes on under the hood when this ROM hack has comes into play. It was already an impressive piece of work in its earlier version, but it's even more so in this one. The extra optimization work made to speed up this game in 50hz makes this a ROM hack I MUST try on real hardware as soon as I get the chance.

Last modified by giovanni.gen @ 2021-10-11 13:00:00

vladikcomper @ 2021-10-11 12:59:06

In case anyone wants to watch video footage of DX-exclusive features, I'll just leave it here~

[list]

[*]Configuration mode: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuAby6dsYQ[/url]

[*]DOS mode: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYdCoIJ5JEc[/url]

[/list]

(Didn't really have time to record and add them to the hacks page beforehand unfortunately, as I was too busy finishing it. Hack's page was closed for modification on September, 19 due to submission deadlines)

SnarkyJerster @ 2021-10-11 13:19:50

Hey, Vlad, how do I emulate the standalone hack of Sonic 1 240p edition? I've got an error that basically prevents me from experiencing the 240p glory on both PicoDrive and Genesis+ GX

vladikcomper @ 2021-10-11 13:24:46

Basically, you just set "Native" preset in the Configuration mode and play. What kind of error are you getting? I don't recall any issues in GPGX, except that you need to explicitly set region to Europe in the core settings.

Also, there's the latest version of 240p Edition in the Expo section, so check it out if you want vanilla Sonic 1 in 240p.

Last modified by vladikcomper @ 2021-10-11 13:25:14

SnarkyJerster @ 2021-10-11 21:24:11

I'm using RetroArch, and I get the errorerror on both PicoDrive & Genesis+ GX

Last modified by SnarkyJerster @ 2021-10-11 21:24:30

vladikcomper @ 2021-10-12 02:43:27

That's weird. I have absolutely no issues running this in RetroArch using Genesis+ GX core. Vanilla 240p Edition works as well.

It could be some issues with starting cores on your system (may be related to the video driver used by RetroArch) or core settings themselves.

shcuser552 @ 2021-10-11 13:33:08

WTH? This is so cool.

dilworks @ 2021-10-11 15:51:11

Love the concept - git gud or your game degrades!

goodegames @ 2021-10-11 20:44:26

Amazing rom hack! Keep up the amazing work! It has a lot of interesting concepts and cool visuals!

Jdpense @ 2021-10-12 14:17:58

Well damn, I had a blast with this one! xD

Stasyandr563 @ 2021-10-15 23:43:33

думаю, как-то очень круто выглядит и описание написано интересно так). не сразу заметил, кто автор, а потом всё понял)

как-то так вышло, что темой хаков не интересовался долгое время, но раньше моим любимым был sonic winter adventure, ещё со дня его релиза)

Last modified by Stasyandr563 @ 2021-10-15 23:44:18

Gamermiguel @ 2021-10-26 15:45:12

So anyone what menu engine code is up down left right select b ou c OK and enjoy))))

Last modified by Gamermiguel @ 2021-10-26 15:46:33

pds566 @ 2021-12-17 07:44:05

thanks for the info good buddy, have fun with the hack !

Proletant Team @ 2021-11-14 00:38:42

AWESOME HACK!!! (Компер - это прекрасно):3

pds566 @ 2021-12-17 10:25:33

Great job here indeed. I have had a ton of fun with the SMS 8-bit preset. But, are there any chances to make these type of options for Sonic 2 ? Would appreciate a lot the reply, thanks again for making this possible.

Silasthebest @ 2022-02-19 10:36:12

What is the config code?

IWantToDie @ 2022-05-03 22:54:35

Now Thats what I called "MASTERPIECE"