Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM (Legal Alternatives)
Mar 7, 2023 0:45:24 GMT -6
JacksNormal and Purple like this
Post by Tyranger on Mar 7, 2023 0:45:24 GMT -6
A Little Backstory + Frequently Asked Questions
On May 20th, 2022, SEGA Delisted Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles in anticipation of Sonic Origins this left the Decompilations of RSDKv3 & 4 by RubberDuckyCooly unaffected but was a major blow to Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited as that was the only available way to obtain a copy of Sonic 3 & Knuckles from SEGA themselves and given Sonic 3's Musical Legality History - it didn't seem like they were going to re-release it unchanged as such the ROM they'd put out may not even work with Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited.
Eukaryot attempted to address this in an update that added support for Sonic 3D Blast but the Idea fell through leaving Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited with only compatibility for a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Q: Why did SEGA De-List Sonic 1,CD,2,and 3?
Officially SEGA cited Sonic Origins as being the reason - likely because from their view they were re-releasing what fans deemed to be the best versions of Sonic 1,CD,2, and 3 & Knuckles - but many fans have different interpretations and many went on to cite this as a predatory business practice - many denoting that SEGA's Logic made no sense as they can differ between versions of the games and that the real reason is to force people to buy Sonic Origins instead. The real reason remains unknown - but it seems likely that SEGA's explanation is the true reason as while many detreact saying they can tell the difference new potential fans were just coming in after the success of Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) these people are new and to them the classic games are the classic games.
Q: Couldn't Sonic Origins Support be Added to Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited?
In short - no, this requires us to get into the RSDK side of things - RSDK standing for Retro Software Development Kit and it has 6 versions technically with each iteration corresponding to certain games those being as follows:
Back when these games were on their way to being de-listed the possibility of using Sonic Origins was considered but many said it wasn't feasible - and as it turned out it wasn't this is because the Retro Engine works differently compared to the Engine Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited used - the Oxygen Engine which was basically a glorified emulator for Sonic 3 Specifically. The Retro Engine has everything in a Data.rsdk file but the format of the code is different as at a fundamental level Retro Engine runs C++ code while Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited uses a codebase that converts the Assembly (ASM) Code to use a C#/C Syntax so at the end of the day it's just a more human-readable ASM codebase.
Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited pulls certain things such as Tile Sets from the ROM whereas RSDK pulls the assets directly and it's code is C++ it's unknown what the Sonic 3 ROM is used for or what's pulled from it - but even if it's just the assets Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in Sonic Origins uses RSDKv5 which would need to be decompiled - something RubberDuckyCooly wasn't interested in doing at the time as it was not as simple as RSDKv4 or v3 that has since changed - there is a RSDKv5 Decomp now but it's only compatible with Sonic Mania and Sonic Mania Plus - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is not compatible and is not likely to be.
Q: Is there a Solution to getting a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited Today?
There is the obvious methods... but this list will not be focusing on that, nor will we help you should you decide to go to route but the answer is yes there are various legal alternatives to obtain a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM but some of these ways will give you Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as Seperate ROMS as such you'll need to know how to combine them and also there are ways to play Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited those will be listed below.
Boot & Lock-On Methods
Steam Boot
Once you've obtained the Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM from one of the methods listed below rename it to "Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin" then place it in the following location on your PC: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sega Classics\uncompressed ROMs" Once that is done navigate to where your Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited Installation is and open "Sonic3AIR.exe" the game will open and should begin automatically.
Non-Steam Boot
Once you have obtained the ROM from one of the methods below place it into the Sonic 3 AIR Folder and rename it - change the extension to .bin if the ROM isn't .bin then Open "Sonic3AIR.exe" it should ask you for your ROM click "OK" and load the ROM the Game Should then begin.
CMD/Windows Terminal
This one is interesting as it depends on where you open the Terminal from as you can open it in the Folder the ROMS are in or from the Start Menu - all you need to know if it opens and says this:
C:\Users\%USERNAME% (Your username) you may need to change directory to where Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are stored and can do so by typing in: cd C:\PATH\TO\BOTH\ROMS\HERE, changing it to be the actual path you have them stored in before hitting enter. Once inside the folder you can simply input the following depending on your OS:
Windows and Mac: copy /b SONIC3NAME.bin + SONIC&KNUCKLESNAME.bin Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin
Linux: cat SONIC3NAME.bin + SONIC&KNUCKLESNAME.bin Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin
Hit enter and the games will be combined into Sonic 3 & Knuckles when it's finished.
Combine through Hex
If you have a hex editor, you can combine the games through that but may need to back up your Sonic & Knuckles ROM as we will be adding to it. Open the Hex Editor and in it open both Sonic 3 and the copy of Sonic & Knuckles you will modify. Copy all the bytes in Sonic 3’s ROM and them go to the tab for Sonic & Knuckles scroll to the bottom and where the Data for Sonic & Knuckles ends paste the Sonic 3 bytes there then save it this will overwrite your Sonic & Knuckles with Sonic 3 & Knuckles hence why I recommend backing it up somewhere.
Resources
ROM Dumper List
Retrode 2
Flashkit programmer MD
USB Megadrive Genesis Cart Reader/Writer
INF Retro Dumper
RetroN5 (Requires CFW)
RetroFreak (Requires CFW)
Polymega
Difficulty Ratings
⭐ - Very Easy
⭐⭐ - Easy
⭐⭐⭐ - Normal
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Hard
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Impossible
Method 1: Dumping your Physical Cartridge
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
What you will need:
A copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 3
A copy of Sonic & Knuckles
A Sega Mega Drive ROM Dumper / Clone Console with support.
I rate this at 2 stars as it’s not hard at all to do, the hardest part is finding a device capable of dumping the game and we’ve provided links to some devices available on the market you can buy and use to dump your game.
You can dump Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles alone or the full Sonic 3 & Knuckles doesn’t matter as if you use one of the 2 methods to combine you’ll get Sonic 3 & Knuckles either way.
With Clone Consoles you’ll need to have an SD or MicroSD card, The Polymega can dump your games without encryption and they can be dumped to MicroSD most likely. The RetroFreak you can use to dump your ROM but will need to have CFW installed as on OFW it will encrypt your dumps.
Method 2: Extract From Mega Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modified Wii with CleanRip
A Dump of Sonic Mega Collection
Dolphin
Lite’s Mega Collection ROM Conversion Tool
First dump your copy of Sonic Mega Collection to an SD Card or USB Flash Drive using CleanRip, and wait for it to finish once done transfer the ROM over to your computer and check to see how it dumped as it will have done so in 1 of 2 ways: In parts or as an nkit.
Parts: GAMEID.partX.iso
Nkit: GAMEID.nkit.iso
If it’s one image that has Nkit in the name you’ll need to convert it to a normal ISO using this tool, otherwise you’ll need to compile it luckily the same command we use to combine S3 and SK can modified be used to compile the game:
Windows and Mac: copy /b GAMEID.part1.iso + GAMEID.part2.iso + GAMEID.part3.iso + GAMEID.part4.iso GAMENAME.bin
Linux: cat GAMEID.part1.iso + GAMEID.part2.iso + GAMEID.part3.iso + GAMEID.part4.iso GAMENAME.bin
Once compiled install Dolphin (you can extract the disc in other ways but Dolphin is the easiest, and best way). If your copy of Mega Collection isn’t listed go to Config>Paths>Add… and navigate to where you stored the ROM of Mega Collection then click “Open” otherwise skip this. Right-click the game and go Properties > FileSystem then click on the very first option: Disc - GAMEID right-click it then click “Extract Files…” choose where you want the files to go (preferably in a folder) then wait for Dolphin to extract the disc.
Find where you installed the Mega Collection ROM Converter and put it in the following path: C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms then open that path in CMD by right-clicking and choosing “Open in Terminal/CMD” Finally type this in depending on which game you want:
Sonic 3 & Knuckles:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe knu_p3u.dat > RENAME > knu_p3u.bin
Sonic 3:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe sonic3u.dat > RENAME > sonic3u.bin
Sonic & Knuckles:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe SandK.dat > RENAME > SandK.bin
If you extracted Sonic 3 & Knuckles then you can simply feed it to Angel Island Revisited and it'll start otherwise if you extracted Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as separate games you can combine them using one of the combination methods listed above Either way, you’ll come out with an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM simply feed to Angel Island Revisited to start the Game.
This can also likely be done with Mega Collection+ But you’ll need to find an ISO opener to view the Disc’s Files. Also important to know is that Sonic Mega Collection and Mega Collection+ were also released on the PC through the Sonic PC Collection and the ROMS may be able to be extracted from that version as well but through slightly different means.
Method 3: Extract From Virtual Console
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
You will need:
A Virtual Console Copy of Sonic 3
A Virtual Console Copy of Sonic & Knuckles
A way to open your Wii’s NAND/Dolphin.
WWPacker
HowardC’s U8 and CCF Tool
If you have purchased Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles Prior to the Wii Shop Channel’s Closure there is a way to make a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM out of those versions of the games you will require wwPacker to extract the contents of it then combine the ROMS through CMD. You’ll need to first dump your Wii’s NAND then find a way to open the NAND and explore the files or load the NAND into Dolphin, as doing so will give you direct access to the .app file
Once inside you’ll go to these locations based on how you opened your NAND:
External Program:
NAND:\TITLE\00010001\GAMEID\
Dolphin: C:\Users\tyler\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\Wii\title\00010001\GAME ID\content
In both paths you’ll want to find 0000005.app you’ll use your U8 tool to extract its contents then find the file data.ccf and use the CCF tool to extract that. The file with the *.sgd.zlib is the ROM rename it to anything and change the file extension to .bin (Sonic 3.bin)
Repeat the process with Sonic & Knuckles and use one of the 2 combination methods to combine them, this will combine the games into an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Method 4: Extract From Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modded PS3/Xbox 360
PS3hen (Runs Homebrew) and Multiman (Dumps UGC)
A Dump of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection’s Files
An account on the XeNTaX forums (Allows the scripts to be downloads) or
Chief Hydropolis’s Ultimate Genesis Extractor
Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection can provide you with Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles to be combined into Sonic 3 & Knuckles for use with Angel Island Revisited. You’ll need to use Multiman to get the game’s files from UGC. Once done you’ll simply use Chief Hyropolis’s Ultimate Genesis Extractor to Extract the ROMS you need then combine them with CMD with the Lock-On Methods Above. Hyropolis’s Program will automate the process so I’d wait on that to be released but if you want the ROMs now you can get them by installing 2 QuickBMS Scripts:
Script 1
Script 2
Then use the flog_x360 script with QuickBMS to extract your dump’s flog_u.fpg file, you’ll want to locate the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles ROMS in the extracted folder:
Sonic 3: flog_u_0x22eac461.00000000
Sonic & Knuckles: flog_u_0xe1ba6b18.00000000
From here, you can combine the two ROMS using the methods highlighted above to create an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Method 5: Extract from Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection
Difficulty: ❓
What you will need:
A copy of Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection Volume 3 or Gold Edition Not to be confused with Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics Collection (where Sonic 3 & Knuckles will no longer be available), these collections contain an emulated copy of Sonic 3 & Knuckles given this it’s likely the ROM can be extracted and is on the disc itself.
Because of this you can likely extract it by opening the disc in file manager and browsing its contents until you find where the ROMS are stored you can then use the Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM for Sonic 3 AIR. That is unless the ROMs are encrypted,in a different format or have something that prevents them from being used in a 3rd party emulator in which case the ROMs will need to be cracked for use with Sonic 3 AIR. As of right now how to get the ROMs is unknown but BloodlessNS has volunteered to attempt a ROM extraction, the possibility is clearly there it’s just a matter of actually getting it.
Rule-Outs
These are from games that look to provide a way but upon further investigation - for one reason or another are unable to provide you with a Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Rule Out 1: Sonic Classic Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A copy of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Modded Nintendo DSi/3DS or an R4 Card.
N/A
Sonic Classic Collection features Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles and uses a version of the Nintendo DS Homebrew Emulator - jEnesisDS that interprets $Axxx and $Fxxx instructions as if they were $6xxx instructions. Sega rather than fix the emulator bug tweaked the Games giving them incorrect opcodes and on top of that have modified the actual games themselves specifically Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 to remove access to their 2 Player Modes as the emulator was not capable of using the Nintendo DS’s wireless connections:
As of now 2 people have attempted and successfully extracted the ROMs meaning it is possible to extract them but is tricky, the ROMs seem to Load in and out of RAM and appear to be housed in a file called Game.pak on the Game Card. The file can be extracted with GodMode9 on DSi or 3DS then transferred to a computer but the exact locations of the ROMs in Game.pak is undocumented, even then the ROMs are compressed both in and out of RAM.
So the ROMs can be extracted but are compressed, have incorrect opcodes, little documentation on their location and the ROM itself appears to be altered in some way. Given the ROM locations it would be possible to extract and look through them. A patching program/bat could be made that restores the ROM to be like normal and fixes the opcode so that Angel Island revisited will accept it as a legit Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM. But with so little research done into how the ROMS are handled and even less on how to even look inside Game.pak ontop of the other issues you won't be using this for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited any time soon.
Potential 2: Extract from AtGame Sega Genesis (For Sonic & Knuckles) + TecToy Sega Genesis 3 (For Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modded AtGames Sega Genesis
A Modded Techtoy Sega Genesis 3
This one has a few Issues - First is both Consoles have little to no documentation into how they work and how to extract their ROMS. Second, being that you'd only get 1 Half of the game from the respective console: Sonic & Knuckles from AtGames and Sonic 3 from TechToy and if they're compatible or not depends on the region of the ROMS themselves and the version of Sonic 3 is likely EU meaning it's likely the 50hz version not 60hz. Third is the impracticality of doing it this way probably the most impractical method as if you have the money to buy 2 Consoles you have the money to buy a physical cart of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles
Fourthly is that because of the lack of documentation neither has been modded yet and still has yet to be thus ROM extraction for the time being is impossible, but this is being listed in the case that the user already has a dump of Sonic 3 but no immediate access to Sonic & Knuckles besides this or vice versa. In such a case given the system gets more documented and ROM extraction becomes possible this is one means to retrieve the missing half you need for Angel Island Revisited but even still given all that's been discussed it's not likely you can get a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM out of this.
Given you could extract from the AtGames Sega Genesis you'd get Sonic & Knuckles but no Sonic 3 and if you could extract from TecToy Sega Genesis 3 you'd get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but no Sonic & Knuckles - for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited you'd need both and even then Sonic 3 would be 50hz PAL while Sonic & Knuckles would be likely 60hz NTSC so combining them even if it is possible is unlikely to work with Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited.
NOTE: I've been notified that it's possible to swtich a ROMs Region so this may actually be a possibility given you can change the necessary hex values.
On May 20th, 2022, SEGA Delisted Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles in anticipation of Sonic Origins this left the Decompilations of RSDKv3 & 4 by RubberDuckyCooly unaffected but was a major blow to Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited as that was the only available way to obtain a copy of Sonic 3 & Knuckles from SEGA themselves and given Sonic 3's Musical Legality History - it didn't seem like they were going to re-release it unchanged as such the ROM they'd put out may not even work with Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited.
Eukaryot attempted to address this in an update that added support for Sonic 3D Blast but the Idea fell through leaving Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited with only compatibility for a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Q: Why did SEGA De-List Sonic 1,CD,2,and 3?
Officially SEGA cited Sonic Origins as being the reason - likely because from their view they were re-releasing what fans deemed to be the best versions of Sonic 1,CD,2, and 3 & Knuckles - but many fans have different interpretations and many went on to cite this as a predatory business practice - many denoting that SEGA's Logic made no sense as they can differ between versions of the games and that the real reason is to force people to buy Sonic Origins instead. The real reason remains unknown - but it seems likely that SEGA's explanation is the true reason as while many detreact saying they can tell the difference new potential fans were just coming in after the success of Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) these people are new and to them the classic games are the classic games.
Q: Couldn't Sonic Origins Support be Added to Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited?
In short - no, this requires us to get into the RSDK side of things - RSDK standing for Retro Software Development Kit and it has 6 versions technically with each iteration corresponding to certain games those being as follows:
- RSDKv1 - Retro Sonic
- RSDKv2 - Sonic Nexus
- RSDKv3 - Sonic the Hedgehog CD Classic
- RSDKv4 - Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Classic
- RSDKv5 - Sonic Mania, Sonic Mania Plus, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Origins)
- RSDKv6 - StaRSDK
Back when these games were on their way to being de-listed the possibility of using Sonic Origins was considered but many said it wasn't feasible - and as it turned out it wasn't this is because the Retro Engine works differently compared to the Engine Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited used - the Oxygen Engine which was basically a glorified emulator for Sonic 3 Specifically. The Retro Engine has everything in a Data.rsdk file but the format of the code is different as at a fundamental level Retro Engine runs C++ code while Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited uses a codebase that converts the Assembly (ASM) Code to use a C#/C Syntax so at the end of the day it's just a more human-readable ASM codebase.
Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited pulls certain things such as Tile Sets from the ROM whereas RSDK pulls the assets directly and it's code is C++ it's unknown what the Sonic 3 ROM is used for or what's pulled from it - but even if it's just the assets Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in Sonic Origins uses RSDKv5 which would need to be decompiled - something RubberDuckyCooly wasn't interested in doing at the time as it was not as simple as RSDKv4 or v3 that has since changed - there is a RSDKv5 Decomp now but it's only compatible with Sonic Mania and Sonic Mania Plus - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is not compatible and is not likely to be.
Q: Is there a Solution to getting a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited Today?
There is the obvious methods... but this list will not be focusing on that, nor will we help you should you decide to go to route but the answer is yes there are various legal alternatives to obtain a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM but some of these ways will give you Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as Seperate ROMS as such you'll need to know how to combine them and also there are ways to play Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited those will be listed below.
Boot & Lock-On Methods
Steam Boot
Once you've obtained the Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM from one of the methods listed below rename it to "Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin" then place it in the following location on your PC: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sega Classics\uncompressed ROMs" Once that is done navigate to where your Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited Installation is and open "Sonic3AIR.exe" the game will open and should begin automatically.
Non-Steam Boot
Once you have obtained the ROM from one of the methods below place it into the Sonic 3 AIR Folder and rename it - change the extension to .bin if the ROM isn't .bin then Open "Sonic3AIR.exe" it should ask you for your ROM click "OK" and load the ROM the Game Should then begin.
CMD/Windows Terminal
This one is interesting as it depends on where you open the Terminal from as you can open it in the Folder the ROMS are in or from the Start Menu - all you need to know if it opens and says this:
C:\Users\%USERNAME% (Your username) you may need to change directory to where Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are stored and can do so by typing in: cd C:\PATH\TO\BOTH\ROMS\HERE, changing it to be the actual path you have them stored in before hitting enter. Once inside the folder you can simply input the following depending on your OS:
Windows and Mac: copy /b SONIC3NAME.bin + SONIC&KNUCKLESNAME.bin Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin
Linux: cat SONIC3NAME.bin + SONIC&KNUCKLESNAME.bin Sonic_Knuckles_wSonic3.bin
Hit enter and the games will be combined into Sonic 3 & Knuckles when it's finished.
Combine through Hex
If you have a hex editor, you can combine the games through that but may need to back up your Sonic & Knuckles ROM as we will be adding to it. Open the Hex Editor and in it open both Sonic 3 and the copy of Sonic & Knuckles you will modify. Copy all the bytes in Sonic 3’s ROM and them go to the tab for Sonic & Knuckles scroll to the bottom and where the Data for Sonic & Knuckles ends paste the Sonic 3 bytes there then save it this will overwrite your Sonic & Knuckles with Sonic 3 & Knuckles hence why I recommend backing it up somewhere.
Resources
ROM Dumper List
Retrode 2
Flashkit programmer MD
USB Megadrive Genesis Cart Reader/Writer
INF Retro Dumper
RetroN5 (Requires CFW)
RetroFreak (Requires CFW)
Polymega
Difficulty Ratings
⭐ - Very Easy
⭐⭐ - Easy
⭐⭐⭐ - Normal
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Hard
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Impossible
Method 1: Dumping your Physical Cartridge
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
What you will need:
A copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 3
A copy of Sonic & Knuckles
A Sega Mega Drive ROM Dumper / Clone Console with support.
I rate this at 2 stars as it’s not hard at all to do, the hardest part is finding a device capable of dumping the game and we’ve provided links to some devices available on the market you can buy and use to dump your game.
You can dump Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles alone or the full Sonic 3 & Knuckles doesn’t matter as if you use one of the 2 methods to combine you’ll get Sonic 3 & Knuckles either way.
With Clone Consoles you’ll need to have an SD or MicroSD card, The Polymega can dump your games without encryption and they can be dumped to MicroSD most likely. The RetroFreak you can use to dump your ROM but will need to have CFW installed as on OFW it will encrypt your dumps.
Method 2: Extract From Mega Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modified Wii with CleanRip
A Dump of Sonic Mega Collection
Dolphin
Lite’s Mega Collection ROM Conversion Tool
First dump your copy of Sonic Mega Collection to an SD Card or USB Flash Drive using CleanRip, and wait for it to finish once done transfer the ROM over to your computer and check to see how it dumped as it will have done so in 1 of 2 ways: In parts or as an nkit.
Parts: GAMEID.partX.iso
Nkit: GAMEID.nkit.iso
If it’s one image that has Nkit in the name you’ll need to convert it to a normal ISO using this tool, otherwise you’ll need to compile it luckily the same command we use to combine S3 and SK can modified be used to compile the game:
Windows and Mac: copy /b GAMEID.part1.iso + GAMEID.part2.iso + GAMEID.part3.iso + GAMEID.part4.iso GAMENAME.bin
Linux: cat GAMEID.part1.iso + GAMEID.part2.iso + GAMEID.part3.iso + GAMEID.part4.iso GAMENAME.bin
Once compiled install Dolphin (you can extract the disc in other ways but Dolphin is the easiest, and best way). If your copy of Mega Collection isn’t listed go to Config>Paths>Add… and navigate to where you stored the ROM of Mega Collection then click “Open” otherwise skip this. Right-click the game and go Properties > FileSystem then click on the very first option: Disc - GAMEID right-click it then click “Extract Files…” choose where you want the files to go (preferably in a folder) then wait for Dolphin to extract the disc.
Find where you installed the Mega Collection ROM Converter and put it in the following path: C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms then open that path in CMD by right-clicking and choosing “Open in Terminal/CMD” Finally type this in depending on which game you want:
Sonic 3 & Knuckles:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe knu_p3u.dat > RENAME > knu_p3u.bin
Sonic 3:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe sonic3u.dat > RENAME > sonic3u.bin
Sonic & Knuckles:
C:\PATH\TO\EXTRACTED\DISC\FOLDER\sonic\data\roms>SonicMegaConverter.exe SandK.dat > RENAME > SandK.bin
If you extracted Sonic 3 & Knuckles then you can simply feed it to Angel Island Revisited and it'll start otherwise if you extracted Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as separate games you can combine them using one of the combination methods listed above Either way, you’ll come out with an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM simply feed to Angel Island Revisited to start the Game.
This can also likely be done with Mega Collection+ But you’ll need to find an ISO opener to view the Disc’s Files. Also important to know is that Sonic Mega Collection and Mega Collection+ were also released on the PC through the Sonic PC Collection and the ROMS may be able to be extracted from that version as well but through slightly different means.
Method 3: Extract From Virtual Console
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
You will need:
A Virtual Console Copy of Sonic 3
A Virtual Console Copy of Sonic & Knuckles
A way to open your Wii’s NAND/Dolphin.
WWPacker
HowardC’s U8 and CCF Tool
If you have purchased Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles Prior to the Wii Shop Channel’s Closure there is a way to make a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM out of those versions of the games you will require wwPacker to extract the contents of it then combine the ROMS through CMD. You’ll need to first dump your Wii’s NAND then find a way to open the NAND and explore the files or load the NAND into Dolphin, as doing so will give you direct access to the .app file
Once inside you’ll go to these locations based on how you opened your NAND:
External Program:
NAND:\TITLE\00010001\GAMEID\
Dolphin: C:\Users\tyler\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\Wii\title\00010001\GAME ID\content
In both paths you’ll want to find 0000005.app you’ll use your U8 tool to extract its contents then find the file data.ccf and use the CCF tool to extract that. The file with the *.sgd.zlib is the ROM rename it to anything and change the file extension to .bin (Sonic 3.bin)
Repeat the process with Sonic & Knuckles and use one of the 2 combination methods to combine them, this will combine the games into an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Method 4: Extract From Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modded PS3/Xbox 360
PS3hen (Runs Homebrew) and Multiman (Dumps UGC)
A Dump of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection’s Files
An account on the XeNTaX forums (Allows the scripts to be downloads) or
Chief Hydropolis’s Ultimate Genesis Extractor
Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection can provide you with Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles to be combined into Sonic 3 & Knuckles for use with Angel Island Revisited. You’ll need to use Multiman to get the game’s files from UGC. Once done you’ll simply use Chief Hyropolis’s Ultimate Genesis Extractor to Extract the ROMS you need then combine them with CMD with the Lock-On Methods Above. Hyropolis’s Program will automate the process so I’d wait on that to be released but if you want the ROMs now you can get them by installing 2 QuickBMS Scripts:
Script 1
Script 2
Then use the flog_x360 script with QuickBMS to extract your dump’s flog_u.fpg file, you’ll want to locate the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles ROMS in the extracted folder:
Sonic 3: flog_u_0x22eac461.00000000
Sonic & Knuckles: flog_u_0xe1ba6b18.00000000
From here, you can combine the two ROMS using the methods highlighted above to create an Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Method 5: Extract from Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection
Difficulty: ❓
What you will need:
A copy of Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection Volume 3 or Gold Edition Not to be confused with Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics Collection (where Sonic 3 & Knuckles will no longer be available), these collections contain an emulated copy of Sonic 3 & Knuckles given this it’s likely the ROM can be extracted and is on the disc itself.
Because of this you can likely extract it by opening the disc in file manager and browsing its contents until you find where the ROMS are stored you can then use the Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM for Sonic 3 AIR. That is unless the ROMs are encrypted,in a different format or have something that prevents them from being used in a 3rd party emulator in which case the ROMs will need to be cracked for use with Sonic 3 AIR. As of right now how to get the ROMs is unknown but BloodlessNS has volunteered to attempt a ROM extraction, the possibility is clearly there it’s just a matter of actually getting it.
Rule-Outs
These are from games that look to provide a way but upon further investigation - for one reason or another are unable to provide you with a Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited-Compatible Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM.
Rule Out 1: Sonic Classic Collection
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A copy of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection
Modded Nintendo DSi/3DS or an R4 Card.
N/A
Sonic Classic Collection features Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles and uses a version of the Nintendo DS Homebrew Emulator - jEnesisDS that interprets $Axxx and $Fxxx instructions as if they were $6xxx instructions. Sega rather than fix the emulator bug tweaked the Games giving them incorrect opcodes and on top of that have modified the actual games themselves specifically Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 to remove access to their 2 Player Modes as the emulator was not capable of using the Nintendo DS’s wireless connections:
As of now 2 people have attempted and successfully extracted the ROMs meaning it is possible to extract them but is tricky, the ROMs seem to Load in and out of RAM and appear to be housed in a file called Game.pak on the Game Card. The file can be extracted with GodMode9 on DSi or 3DS then transferred to a computer but the exact locations of the ROMs in Game.pak is undocumented, even then the ROMs are compressed both in and out of RAM.
So the ROMs can be extracted but are compressed, have incorrect opcodes, little documentation on their location and the ROM itself appears to be altered in some way. Given the ROM locations it would be possible to extract and look through them. A patching program/bat could be made that restores the ROM to be like normal and fixes the opcode so that Angel Island revisited will accept it as a legit Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM. But with so little research done into how the ROMS are handled and even less on how to even look inside Game.pak ontop of the other issues you won't be using this for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited any time soon.
Potential 2: Extract from AtGame Sega Genesis (For Sonic & Knuckles) + TecToy Sega Genesis 3 (For Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What you will need:
A Modded AtGames Sega Genesis
A Modded Techtoy Sega Genesis 3
This one has a few Issues - First is both Consoles have little to no documentation into how they work and how to extract their ROMS. Second, being that you'd only get 1 Half of the game from the respective console: Sonic & Knuckles from AtGames and Sonic 3 from TechToy and if they're compatible or not depends on the region of the ROMS themselves and the version of Sonic 3 is likely EU meaning it's likely the 50hz version not 60hz. Third is the impracticality of doing it this way probably the most impractical method as if you have the money to buy 2 Consoles you have the money to buy a physical cart of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles
Fourthly is that because of the lack of documentation neither has been modded yet and still has yet to be thus ROM extraction for the time being is impossible, but this is being listed in the case that the user already has a dump of Sonic 3 but no immediate access to Sonic & Knuckles besides this or vice versa. In such a case given the system gets more documented and ROM extraction becomes possible this is one means to retrieve the missing half you need for Angel Island Revisited but even still given all that's been discussed it's not likely you can get a Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM out of this.
Given you could extract from the AtGames Sega Genesis you'd get Sonic & Knuckles but no Sonic 3 and if you could extract from TecToy Sega Genesis 3 you'd get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but no Sonic & Knuckles - for Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited you'd need both and even then Sonic 3 would be 50hz PAL while Sonic & Knuckles would be likely 60hz NTSC so combining them even if it is possible is unlikely to work with Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited.
NOTE: I've been notified that it's possible to swtich a ROMs Region so this may actually be a possibility given you can change the necessary hex values.
