Splatterhouse 3

Splatterhouse 3 is the final game in the original trilogy. Rick is back, Jennifer is alive and they've had a son, David. Rick finds success in Wall Street and buys a mansion in Connecticut. However, The ancient Mask warns him of an evil energy returning. Rick dons the mask a third time and fights to save his family. The game features a revamped gameplay style involving Rick having to backtrack in his mansion.

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Notes

Leftover Debugging Features#

Now with even more breakage than in Splatterhouse 2!

To do: Check the US ROM. Provide codes that fix the number displays to use the correct tiles in VRAM.

The Menu Strings#

Stored alongside the Options menu text, starting at $5015 (JP), are the following strings:

; after the text for the control options
ROM:00005015                 dc.b  $B
ROM:00005016                 dc.b $12
ROM:00005017                 dc.b 'OBJ TEST',0
ROM:00005020                 dc.b  $B
ROM:00005021                 dc.b $14
ROM:00005022                 dc.b 'PLAYER TEST',0
ROM:0000502E                 dc.b  $B
ROM:0000502F                 dc.b $16
ROM:00005030                 dc.b 'EXIT',0
; immediately followed by the EXIT that is actually used in the options menu; I think this one is just in a different position

It's likely the debugging features were meant to be accessed in the Options Menu itself, but the code that would theoretically have accessed these strings was likely removed (see below, on removed cheats, to see what I mean about these clean removals). The patch codes I give below will jump you into these screens by selecting EXIT from the Options menu; the low byte of the patch code values are the screen mode numbers.

OBJ TEST#

Use 479C:0009 (JP) (Gens/GS). This is identical to the OBJ Test from Splatterhouse 2, right down to having the same controls, though the weird drawing bugs are all gone and in their place... the numbers don't show up correctly (using garbage tiles instead of number tiles; the number tiles are in VRAM). Hit Start to return to the Options menu (which is how I eventually decided to go with doing this through the Options menu).

PLAYER TEST#

Use 479C:000A (JP) (Gens/GS). This is a simple player sprite animation test. Use Left and Right to change the direction Rick faces, Up and Down to select an animation, and Start to go back to the Options screen. (Do A, B, and C do anything? TODO). As with the OBJ TEST, the sprite number shown does not use the correct tiles (they are in VRAM).

Removed Cheats?#

At $2CC7 (JP)/$2D97 (US) lies the following text routine data, immediately after the title screen menu strings:

; from the JP version; the data is identical in the US version
ROM:00002CC7                 dc.b $11
ROM:00002CC8                 dc.b $16
ROM:00002CC9                 dc.b 'STAGE NO ',0
ROM:00002CD3                 dc.b $E
ROM:00002CD4                 dc.b $17
ROM:00002CD5                 dc.b 'PLAYER STOCK ',0

Nothing in the title screen code ever refers to these strings and there does not appear to be any code left that lets you select a stage and life count outside of the password system. In fact, the list of title screen submodes (which starts at $286C (JP)/$292E (US)) is mostly comprised of pointers to the first string on the list (the PRESS START BUTTON string) (starting after the submode that represents the title screen main loop), which may indicate that the code was completely removed from the game but the screen mode list was not updated.

To do: Disassemble the rest of the game code to see otherwise, though I'm (andlabs) mostly convinced the submode list is obvious proof.

Regional Differences#

Copyright Screen#

Japan	US

Title Screen#

Japan	US

Tutorial#

The US version added text explaining the basics of the game after you start.

Time Limit#

The first 5 stages have shorter time limits in the US version.

Miscellaneous#

• Some tweaks were made to the gameplay when the game was localized outside Japan.
  • The spin kick was made more powerful.
  • The button inputs for special moves were switched around.
  • Moves that subtract from Rick's powered-up form no longer do so.
• In the emulated ROM version in the reboot, the digitized cut-scene pictures were completely redone, most likely due to portrait rights issues with the original models.

References#