Daze Before Christmas (SNES)

Daze Before Christmas is a Christmas-themed platformer that was only released in Europe and Australia. A Sega Genesis version was also released in Australia, but not Europe. Go figure.

Developers' Messages#

Various messages and quotes left by the developers are scattered throughout the ROM.

(Note: all offsets assume an unheadered ROM.)

The ROM contains an internal level name table starting at offset 0x1D1F. Most names are standard, but several contain humorous or personal messages from the Funcom developers that are never displayed to the player.

01  SANTAS HOUSE
02  GIFT WRAPPING DEPT
03a NORTH POLE
03b peace & love
03c DEEP DOWN
04  WOOD FACTORY
05  FLOODED BASEMENT
06  THE EVIL SNOWMAN
07  MAGIC BUBBLES
08  STEEL FACTORY
09  save the whales
10  STEEL ELEVATORS
11  CREEPY BASEMENT
12  THE TIMEKEEPER
13  never trust producers
14  MAGIC CAVE
15a LET IT SNOW
15b ICE CAVE
16  BLUE MAGIC
17  WINTER WATERS
18a THE ATTIC
18b roof
18c attic 2
18d louse the mouse
18e chimney up
18f chimney down
19  OVER ENGLAND
20  OVER RUSSIA
21  i wanna kiss you in paris
22  OVER JAPAN
23  OVER THE USA
24  MR WEATHER
25  SANTAS HALLWAY

Notable entries: - "03b peace & love" sub-sections of the North Pole level with internal names never shown in-game. - "09 save the whales" is the internal name for the Steel Factory level. - "13 never trust producers" is a sarcastic message directed at the Sunsoft producers (David Siller and Erik Glørsen, listed in the credits). - "21 i wanna kiss you in paris" corresponds to maybe a cut level that would have been a fifth flight stage over France, placed between OVER RUSSIA and OVER JAPAN. The level does not appear in the final game.

At offset 001D08, immediately before the list of level names:

JEG ELSKER DEG, SONJA!

(translation from Norwegian: "I love you, Sonjaǃ")

At offset 00FB0C:

 Any dramatic game the producers want us to take seriously as a
representation of contemporary reality cannot be taken seriously as a
representation of anything -- except a game to be ignored by anyone
capable of sitting upright in a chair and chewing gum simultaneously. 
-- Richard Schickel (slightly modified)

At offset 010000:

THIS IS THE ONLY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS PAGE

At offset 015F11:

... Now you're ready for the actual shopping.  Your goal should be to
get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in
the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs
on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage
children emotionally.  For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a
snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn
to love him, then melts.  And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about
a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an
outcast by the other reindeer.  Then along comes good, old Santa.  Does
he ignore the deformity?  Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect
Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath?  No.  Santa asks
Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some
kind of headlight with legs and a tail.  So unless you want your
children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop
quickly. -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide"

At offset 016E88:

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to 
see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. -- Shirley Temple 

Level Select#

Press B, A, Down, Left, A at the title screen. The screen will flash to confirm correct code entry. Now press Start to bring up the level select screen.