Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)

Sonic 3D Blast is Sonic, but in isometric 3-D! Analog control not included.

Released as a stopgap during a rather tumultuous time in Sega's history, 3D Blast is a combination of the Sonic formula and Flicky's gameplay. The game would later be ported to the Saturn and Windows, where it originally received mixed reviews due to the two game concepts clashing with each other.

In December 2017, Jon Burton (the game's lead programmer) released a "Director's Cut" patch to improve on many of the flaws present in 3D Blast, leading to a critical re-evaluation of the game.

Development Info Prototype Info Prerelease Info Bugs Sega ChannelPLEASE ENTER PASSWORD FROM PART ONE

Level Select#

Press B, A, Right, A, C, Up, Down, A (BARACUDA, seemingly a misspelling of "barracuda") at the title screen. You'll hear a twinkly sound and be taken to the main menu. Set your desired options, choose "START", and you'll be presented with the Level Select.

(This is probably much better for the long-term health of your console and cart than the next method.)

Cleverly-Disguised Crash Handler#

A somewhat unique exception handler where, unlike (for example) the Sonic 1 method of "crash and print text on the screen", the game congratulates you and loads up the Level Select. Obviously, this method of crashing is much more appealing to the player than a complete lockup, and may have prevented a number of angry tech support calls. According to Jon Burton, the game's lead programmer, this was done to pass quality assurance from Sega by preventing the game from printing an exception handler; as Sega had a rule against releasing games prone to crashing, any exceptions the game threw up would simply redirect the player to this screen, disguising the fact that anything went wrong.

There are numerous methods for activating this screen: loading a bad savestate from an emulator, using a bad Game Genie or Pro Action Replay code, pulling the cart out and putting it back in, having dirty contacts on the cart/console, hitting an obscure program bug, etc.

Unused Music Data#

Gumball Machine#

The Gumball Machine Bonus Stage track from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It is not possible to play in-game, as it is not referenced by the sound driver. Located at 0xCAE1C.

Full Invincibility#

While only partially unused, the invincibility theme only plays for about 18 seconds in-game, but there's a bit more to it that can only be heard in the Sound Test. This can also be heard if the player pauses at the same frame the music begins, or a rare glitch happens.

Original Opening Pitch#

The title screen is programmed to play in the original pitch heard in the demo track.

Original Invincibility Pitch#

As well as the invincibility.

Original Ending Pitch#

And the ending theme.

Original Special Stage Pitch#

And the Special Stage.

Unused Areas#

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: There needs to be map rips with the unused areas highlighted instead of the in-game screenshots.

Green Grove Zone Act 1#

After passing the first loop of Act 1, there is a large empty area blocked off by a wall. In the E3 prototype, this area is properly accessible; apparently, only the collision was removed. Lower down, there is another area that does not appear in the E3 prototype.

Diamond Dust Zone Act 2#

An alternate route exists blocked off towards the beginning of the Act, just after the first spring.

Spring Stadium Zone Act 2#

There's a blank collision area set at a very low level near the coiled tube.

Sound Driver Credit#

Present at 0xD2E82.

Sound Driver for Sonic Series
Coded by Y.Kashima & M.Sets.
Sun Sep  1 1996 17:02

Music Credits#

For some reason, Sonic 3D Blast contains bits of plaintext right before most song headers, which contain detailed credits. Listed in the order found inside the ROM:

References#