Sonic Robo Blast 2 on a Real 32X

Game: Sonic Robo Blast 2 32X - Demo 1
Played on: Sega Genesis (Model 1, VA3) with 32X add-on (MK-84000)
I took my actual 32X out just to try this port out, and I've gotta say. Mind. Blown. Absolutely fantastic. Used my Mega Everdrive Pro to load this up, but any flashcart should work on the real deal.
Also, yeah, the aspect ratio's messed up. Later Mega Drive uploads will have that fixed :)
Download it here: ssntails.srb2....
Runs on real hardware as well as Kega Fusion v3.64 and Picodrive 2.02 or newer.

[@soundspark]

As a heads-up, the game now runs on PicoDrive as of version 2.02. The emulator had a bug that made it not work.

[@DeskoDev]

Thanks! Just checked on my end, working without issues now.

[@andywolan]

Ya, thanks for the heads-up. That was the most common complaint I heard, so I’m glad the issue with picodrive has been resolved in an update.

[@soundspark]

All it took was posting a GitHub issue.

[@Da-thingy]

Imagine the faces on the sonic xtreme devs if you showed them this back in the 90s

[@shynodaa]

Infarct

[@BluelightAmelia]

SSN would of been hired immediately lmao

[@thedumpster1094_osc]

the fact that this is a demo tells us that they will torture the 32X to run the entirety of 2.2 in a way

[@DeskoDev]

@@thedumpster1094_osc That’s the plan, judging by what SSNTails has said so far! :)

[@Traincraft_Fan]

@@DeskoDev FINALLY, after 30 years, the Sega 32X addition to the Sega Genisis will get a Sonic game

[@albertodiez4215]

It IS only a demo. With optimization and downgrade It would be playable

[@thedumpster1094_osc]

@@albertodiez4215 yeah thats what i said its a demo

[@ilikesonicxbro]

@Traincraft_Fanknuckles chaotix

[@kirbymania5533]

This is basically the Sega combatant to Mario 64 on GBA.

[@Pack64]

I’m one of the sm64 gba devs, and a 32x port has been in the talks for a while but we can’t get to it atm. although we ARE working on a ps1 version currently

[@coolguydoesstuff7876]

​@@Pack64 i thought the gba port was being made by only one guy? Correct me if im wrong

[@Pack64]

@ there are currently five people on the development team, including myself

[@coolguydoesstuff7876]

@@Pack64 that's cool, thanks for letting me know.

[@tntsscabumm9534]

Now all that's missing is God of War on PS1 😂

[@jennyfox2612]

The fact that they managed to get 2.2 running in any capacity on 32X hardware is nothing short of a Christmas miracle. Absolutely blows my mind how well put together this whole priject is! It truly feels like the impossible has been achieved and I'm so happy to have witnessed it.

[@DAJTheYouTuber_2007]

this proves that a Sonic game was indeed possible on the 32X

[@DeskoDev]

@DAJTheKZbinr_2007 I mean, we did get Chaotix :P

[@DAJTheYouTuber_2007]

​@@DeskoDevwell, there's that and for a 32x game, i don't think Knuckles Chaotix was terrible, i think it was good

[@Akrenix]

@@DeskoDev And an unofficial Sonic 1 32X port

[@ultraspinalki11]

​@DAJTheKZbinr_2007Chaotix feels... pretty empty. Almost unfinished. There's a romhack of Sonic 1 and 2 called "Sonic Classic Heroes" that bring back the Chaotix co-op mechanic and feels much better!

[@ilikesonicxbro]

knuckles chaotix

[@succojones]

Absolutely blown away by the performance. (And this soundtrack really flourishes on the Genesis sound chip!)

[@RWL2012]

I still can't get to used to the "messed with" first level music though. I much prefer the old version of it from like 2006 or whenever it was.

[@DeskoDev]

@@RWL2012 I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for the original tracks myself. 2.2’s soundtrack as a whole has grown on me a lot as a whole, though. EDIT: For GFZ1 specifically, that one had barely changed from 1998 ‘til 2.2’s 2019 release, but I think the particular mix that stuck through most of its lifetime was from Demo 1’s CD pack all the way back in 2000 (still nearly three years before I was born!)

[@MegaManNeo]

This must feel incredibly fun to play on a 32X. This is full classic era Sonic after all.

[@ravengaming4143]

This would have been a legit "killer-app" for the 32X back in the days, a "3D" Sonic game. Mind you, even 90s gamers would have noticed the kinda sluggish framerate, but still impressive for the 32X.

[@todesziege]

Low framerates were pretty standard in 3D games throughout most of the '90s. Many PS1 games ran worse than this.

[@todesziege]

This is insane. Seeing this back in the '90s would have been absolutely mind-blowing. The 32X was so underutilized.

[@alanbareiro6806]

It's sad that SEGA didn't give more love to the 32x. The fact this is possible is incredible.

[@wocko1]

This is bloody brilliant! It's great to see it working on real hardware. It goes to show how much untapped potential that the 32X had. It's also interesting they used the original special stage design instead of the NiGHTS style ones in the current version of SRB2.

[@marcwiil]

The better 3D Blast

[@OctagonalAvian]

I genuinely was not expecting Joy Tay to show up in the credits, that got me hyped. Joy Tay aside, this port is really impressive and I'm at a loss for words!

[@fatyoshi1456]

32X port: Has music Dreamcast port: Doesnt

[@yarlikgameplaychanel3663]

32x: 20fps dreamcast: 5fps 32x does what Dreamcast see in the dreams

[@MortalisPT]

@@yarlikgameplaychanel3663this is actually hilarious 😂

[@shynodaa]

32X does what Dreamcast don't

[@Encore2017]

32X Does What Drecasdont

[@Dmar-ih7kr]

@@yarlikgameplaychanel3663😂🤣😭😭

[@Ninblasto]

Dude, I always wondered if someone would make a Saturn port one day, but instead, we got a 32x port which is INSANELY MORE IMPRESSIVE!!!

[@Battle4Cats]

SRB2 showing the fact that it has Doom blood

[@Jac-Man]

now we gotta get SRB2 running natively on a pregnancy test, a cash register, and an apple touchbar

[@v-14415]

if it can run Doom it can run Doom mods

[@sergiofls7623]

i was more expecting a Saturn port than a 32X one 😛 awesome showcase and port!

[@WMan37]

"Wow impressive performance for a Saturn port. ...Wait _what do you mean_ this is a 32x port?"

[@Zomboy4313]

This is incredible considering what sonic game we got on the 32X

[@denraimei32]

Now we need Doom Resurrection running on Saturn.

[@MegaManNeo]

I mean the 32X and Saturn share their SH-1 CPU, so since Saturn homebrew somewhat takes off too, I wouldn't be surprised to see the full version of 2.2 running on Saturn eventually.

[@imnotuploading512]

Oh my god, the developers really went crazy while making this, a true masterpiece.

[@nickyoushallnotknow1524]

This feels unreal, crazy times we live in

[@silasm.d.4073]

Finally Brother!!! Finally!! 🎉

[@genericfriend2568]

This is monumental.

[@kaistudios5206]

What? The best sonic game ever made received one demo port for sega 32x ? Woah....amazing!😮

[@CookieFonster]

Absolutely mind blowing. Can't believe this is real!

[@robertlauncher]

Wow can’t wait to see this on the Saturn! “How about the 32x?”

[@IkinBBfromAnthologyOfTheKiller]

If this came out in '96, it would've probably been kinda obscure because it's on the 32x. But maybe, just maybe, it would've made it sell a little better. And if it came out on the Saturn with better advertising, SEGA would still be a first party today.

[@ostiariusalpha]

Why '96? That's a rather late release for a 32X Sonic title. If it had been released in April of '95 (in place of Chaotix), it would have dramatically improved 32X sales.

[@IkinBBfromAnthologyOfTheKiller]

@ostiariusalpha Hmmm, yeah, now that you say it it is indeed kinda late. It would have done better in place of chaotix, as you said, but it feels unrealistic for that to be done that fast in the 90s, idk

[@ostiariusalpha]

It's basically the Doom game engine, so not at all unfeasible if Sega had put some resources into it. They were sidetracked with making a much more ambitious polygonal game for the 32X though, so a bunch of time was wasted on the "Sonic Mars" project.

[@SanicConnoisseur_91]

Idk about that last bit, Sega was already pretty far gone. I don’t think a proper sonic game would’ve saved them.

[@ostiariusalpha]

@@SanicConnoisseur_91 There are an entire series of steps that Sega could have taken that'd have them still making consoles today. Most of them would involve doing what Nintendo did by going low-spec after the GameCube failed, but before Nintendo did them. Sega developed motion capture controls before Nintendo, they could have made a killing with a Sega Wii console.

[@retroboy-fh1ji]

SRB2 for 32x is one of the most incredible things i see in my life. This was an enormous SURPRISE for everyone. Because nobody, really, nobody expected that a game with that scale could be ported to an older 32-bit add-on for Sega Genesis, the f.cking Sega 32x!!

[@SawnicPlayz]

srb32x is a mod of doom cd32x fusion which that came out in october

[@DeskoDev]

@@SawnicPlayz Doom CD32X Fusion is a variant of 32X Resurrection, which is why I mentioned that specifically in the video.

[@SawnicPlayz]

@@DeskoDev ok

[@joshuasanderson7359]

As much as I don't love SRB in general, this is very impressive. Just proves that 32x and Saturn could have had 3D Sonic games, given the time

[@jongeo]

The scaling could be a little better, but cool that you're capturing real hardware.

[@DeskoDev]

@@jongeo Yeah, I plan on correcting the pixel aspect ratio in later captures. Shouldn't be as narrow as it is here. Going to order an RGB cable soon as well for a crisper image.

[@davejones1621]

This is a monumental achievement.

[@ignaciotomasi]

now imagine this on a real saturn, sonic x-treme devs would've been in shambles seeing this demo

[@Idk-sc8qj]

this basically confirms that in an alternate universe where the saturn was not different at all, just easier to code and srb2 called sonic saturn or smth like that was the sonic title for it's library

[@anthurestaos647]

This would have been a game changer in 32x life 😮🎉❤

[@ViktorPripyat]

The true Sonic Xtreme

[@GavinArtster]

WHAT THE HELL THIS IS INSANE

[@razvanschuster5058]

If this came out on the 32X while it was still in production, it would've been a hit.

[@silasm.d.4073]

No words! Now... I wonder if something more basic, but functional, like was done with Wolfestein 3d, could be real in Sega Genesis. Since they are doing some magic in GBA running Mario 64, maybe this dream is not all wrong at all 😂

[@rabidguineapig]

I remember as a kid in the 90s having very little interest in the 32x simply because none of the games seemed very appealing. (I never knew about Knuckles Chaotix or else I might have been a bit more interested) this would've blown my tiny mind back then!!

[@erickcastillo2787]

Tbh ive always imagined sonic robo blast 2 as a sega saturn game but the 32x is pretty cool as well 😊

[@DaveCharts]

holy shit this is amazing wtf

[@ZootmanX]

Looks like a playable version of the 3D blast intro.

[@incudust953]

imagine what could have been done on the saturn for sonic

[@Tailsgenesis]

Someone call redhotsonic we have a new bdiworh episode in our hands

[@robertlauncher]

Wait 1998? Whoa I’m not that much older than it either

[@totallytidmouth]

As they update this, I hope optimization is really a focus. I'd take some pop in if the game runs smoother! Other than that, it's an amazing project and I can't wait to play the rest of the game on 32x!

The TRUE Sonic 3D Blast. Had this came out in '95 (the year I was born) or '96 would indeed help the 32X gain some visibility, considering there's no "real" Sonic games on it (Chaotix was a nice try but utterly confusing, plus downsizing Sonic/Tails to just special guests is painful IMO).

[@chosonminhang]

So technically all this was possible 30 years ago. Before PlayStation era. Amazing.

[@shimmy1984]

wow, imagine what the Saturn will be capable of!

[@animeist72]

Even something like this on the Saturn would have been great

[@magiccardmaker3588]

I wonder if a 2D-HD like mixture of sprites and low poly could be a good look for new homebrew games on the 32X.

[@requiem6465]

I'd think it'd be cooler to run it on a Sega Saturn as, like, in an alternate timeline, Sonic Robo Blast 2 is Sonic X-Treme

[@analog_ape]

Would have been the 32X killer app!

[@agelikemilk351]

awaiting redhotsonic's does it work on real hardware video

[@Mas0nAnimations]

Since he knows about the project he might do it

[@Dmar-ih7kr]

Everyone and their mamas beat him to it 😆

[@javimania111]

How this is even possible?? What an achievement!

[@kinorai]

Ignoring the tech, on a purely visual standpoint, in 1996, this would have blown Mario 64 out of the water.

[@da-bogdan]

they shouldv've port it on saturn

[@SamLegendaryRESET]

Remake* (or demake)

[@da-bogdan]

@SamLegendaryRESET both are correct I think

[@not4nikiii]

Better than sonic xtreme

[@Andrews_Studio]

12:45 Oh hey, I know that person! They are very cools!

[@SIGuess]

Does Sonic Robo Blast 2 work on real hardware?... YES!

[@MrMartellSincere]

Very impressive to run on Sega Genesis 32X

[@Lefreakycloud]

This runs here faster than 2.2 on my phone 😭🙏

[@DeskoDev]

@@Lefreakycloud My condolences

[@ClexYoshi]

I feel bad that I will never play Sonic Robo Blast 2 in spite of it's excellence because of my own creative mind goblins creating a nigh impossiblef hurdle for me to clear if I ever want to experience it.

[@LuigiXHero]

I hope they can get slopes to work or at the very least go back and do those old staircase slopes, they just removed the slopes making for some awkward jumping up big ledges in places.

[@DeskoDev]

@@LuigiXHero Personally speaking, I can’t see slopes performing well on the 32X hardware. I’m happy with the end result here and don’t mind their absence too much since SRB2 spent most of its dev cycle without them, but really curious as to how they’ll tackle certain spots in the later 2.2 stages.

[@LuigiXHero]

@DeskoDev id be fine with it if it was the older version without slopes. But this level was redone with them in mind and you can tell lol

[@GraveUypo]

if this came out for the saturn and 32x, sega might still be around.

[@DeskoDev]

I mean, they are still around today, just not making consoles. Makes me wonder where things would be today if they hadn't become a third-party dev.

[@MattplayzYTOfficial]

Now we need a 3ds port (That could run on an O3ds)

[@Zomboy4313]

I think like mania we need hardware acceleration to work for fully smooth gameplay on the 3DS

[@MattplayzYTOfficial]

@@Zomboy4313 well, there's a doom port for the O3ds and I bet that porting srb2 wouldn't be a problem.

[@FellipeBatista-oq6ji]

Wow looking it's different bro

[@Neutrico88]

Tbh i like more the homing attack for a 3D Sonic Game than something like thok, that's just my opinion

[@Mittens0407]

9:02 Just wanna make sure that you know Master System games don't work with the 32x installed. Very strange issue if that's not what's causing it. :)

[@DeskoDev]

Well aware of that. Unfortunately, it won't play them even without the 32X there, just a black screen with no audio. Cleaned the cart slot too and made sure all the pins were making contact, no dice so far 🫠 They play just fine on my Model 2, so it's not a complete loss at least but I haven't been able to find a solution.

[@acem7749]

If I understand this is a ray casting doom engine? Not polygons? Seems like Nights may work OK in an engine like this.

[@DeskoDev]

Not to be the "um aktually" guy, but Doom's renderer isn't a raycaster - but yeah, not true 3D polygons. 😅 Having a NiGHTS-style game on here would be so cool, though I also get why they stuck with the pre-2.1 special stage style here - easier to implement with what they already have done so far.

[@Vectormantudeoz]

Faster than RedHotSonic

[@DeskoDev]

@@Vectormantudeoz Eh, RedHotSonic has much better production values than I do. Plus he’s got a lot more models of the hardware to work with and a better capture setup. In hindsight, I do wish I had properly corrected the aspect ratio instead of messily cropping the raw Retrotink output like I did here.

[@SegaMario]

It's not a demake. It's a port. Simple as.

[@DeskoDev]

I call it a demake here since it's running on a much more limited source port of the Doom engine, with cut-down maps to compensate for both engine and hardware limitations.

[@SegaMario]

@DeskoDev True, but other official ports do truncating stuff of this scale as well. SNES and 32X Doom are called ports and not demakes despite lacking kevels and such, so the same should apply here.

[@DeskoDev]

@@SegaMario That's fair!

[@Korisuito]

If it was possible to run it on the 32X i wonder if there's a chance to run it on the Sega Saturn with the 3D models lol

[@ConcavePgons]

I imagine in an alternate universe, this is how Sonic Xtreme should have been handled - a release on both the Saturn and the 32x.

[@PlantedWave5190]

We need to get SRB2 ported to the SEGA Saturn someday.

[@Axozinho]

Sega, should have done this before

[@KatTutPeggle]

Sega if they actually knew how to handle shit in the mid 90s instead of screwing over their user base by discontinuing their next gen 32x platform with the Saturn Dreamcast was good at least lol

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Retro Sonic Game !

[@joshuaalford9981]

I have been wanting to get a 32x for so long, and now there's no reason not to 🙃

[@DeskoDev]

@@joshuaalford9981 Go for it!

[@SilverXTikal]

Can you imagine SEGA making a comeback to home screens? No new console. Instead. Why not release a mailed in SDK package for the Genesis+add on’s.. Cartridge with SD slot that has USB/WiFi/Bluetooth. Ribbon cable between the cart and the console for debug. Or built in. We need a new engine for these old beasts. If SEGA sold SDK kits to develop new games on new hardware officially licensed to do so. Essentially turn the old consoles into physical App Stores. But officially. No rebuild on top of other game engines. Tech support for devs that get them in contact with specialists in the area or classic games. Yeah I’m high but shit like whit makes me feel ambitious as hell. I’m still withdrawing from GTA 3 on Dreamcast actually looking perfect

[@Horison479]

If this was released during the 90s, Nintendo would probably be the one releasing software on competitor hardware. This hack is nothing short of a spectacle.

[@DigiSpaceProductions]

it's not a hack, its a mod of a newer port of DOOM to the 32x (NOT based off the 32x version iirc)

[@Clownacy]

"3D-ish platformer" Despite what sensationalist attention-seekers will tell you, axis-aligned 3D is still 3D. Is the Mega Drive not a 2D console because its graphics are axis-aligned, and can't be arbitrarily rotated and scaled?

[@DeskoDev]

Fancy seeing you here! In brief retrospect… yeah, that line was just plain stupid. Most of what I had in mind there were others trying to argue semantics over certain map-related limitations that aren’t even relevant to the gameplay itself (or the original SRB2 for that matter).

[@gogosegaga]

Need the full games please!!

[@ItsAubreeyy]

11:55 is this why on modern tvs my wii looks like someone ai upscaled it

[@pizzadude1132]

We need SRB2 on the sega Saturn

[@Encore2017]

I wonder if the Sega CD could run this

[@DeskoDev]

@@Encore2017 Run? Possibly, but even if one were to manage to get the Doom engine to boot on there, I doubt it would be very playable even before factoring in the changes needed to get SRB2’s gameplay style to work.

[@gyga100]

Sooooo can we get a Saturn port????

[@shockwonders2141]

I wonder why the maker of this choose the 32X over the Saturn for this, still looks great though.

[@DeskoDev]

@@shockwonders2141 I'd imagine the lack of third-party development tools for the Saturn and the lack of an existing optimized Doom source port like D32XR/CD32X Fusion have partially played a part in that.

[@kuklama0706]

Could you do a fog of war thing to fix performance?

[@shynodaa]

Is this the doom resurection engine?

[@DeskoDev]

Yep!

[@Zougamer-i7q]

Muito massa esse pots parabéns

[@makkarroz7166]

IT CAN RUNIN IN RIAL JARTWAR?

[@TobySmith-wk9bf]

If this was on the 32x I would’ve bought this, you should try make a physical box for it?

[@DeskoDev]

@TobySmith-wk9bf Not my port; you've got SSNTails, Saxman and the others to thank for this one. Besides, fangames should never be sold, period (unless the IP owner is directly involved).

[@TobySmith-wk9bf]

@ oh, I mean, just as a fan made not to be to be sold i’m just see if this was out at that time I would buy it.

[@Thelango99]

We could do without the random bongo sounds in Act 1 though.

[@soundspark]

4:53 Is that glitch similar to a slime trail in MS-DOS DOOM?

[@andywolan]

I have seen a similar glitch with the sonic sprite in some situations. I’m not sure why, but my guess is it has to do with how rendering is split amongst the two SH-2 CPU’s for performance. I could be wrong as it’s only a guess

[@ejironijin3534]

Можливо ще є куди цю гру оптимізовувати, але вже цей результат вражає

[@32523Bwahahaha]

Please devs add the looping lanes for sonic,aint sonic if you cant 360

[@ChazStarkey-c3z]

Will this work on a Sega Genesis Mini using Hakchi?

[@DeskoDev]

@@ChazStarkey-c3z Can’t confirm this myself, but the answer is probably “no”. The game fails to run correctly in Picodrive once Greenflower starts to load in - most frames fail to render altogether (rendering appears to get “stuck”), all while the game runs much faster than it should be. e.g. trying to move forward on GFZ1 will have you blindly go careening through the rings and into the water, where Sonic drowns nearly instantly.