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Astal - Various Audio Improvements Patch 2.0 2.0
Riggles - Mar 16, 2024
 Riggles Mar 16, 2024
Updated with more features:

- SEGA intro vocals restoration, Easter Egg Sega Calls are also restored. (explained below)

- Intro FMV vocals restoration, the FMV still has the English VA "Astal!" but the theme now has the cut
JP vocals instead of being just the backing track.

- No repetitive attack voices, the "HIEY!" attack and "HARIYA!" throwing samples have been muted.
Attacks still have their regular sfx, all of Astal's other grunts, yells and voices are untouched.
These two samples were edited out of all of the .SND packs.

(how to keep individual changes described in the readme)

Sega calls info:

Astal - Sega Saturn | Opening or Intro Region Diff... This version of the intro can be heard in this video at 3:21, with the US one at 8:47.

With the Secret Mode enabled you can make other characters say "Sega" instead. Method described here: Astal/Hidden content - Sega Retro... and in the Readme.

Feel free to share this anywhere, just drop me a mention and make sure the readme is included.


Link to patch:

 privateye Mar 22, 2024
Nice work, I recommend posting this (and the Cleopatra Fortune patch) to the Resources... section.

 kitchen34 Mar 22, 2024
Yes we get them in the Japanese version of the game

 Riggles Apr 21, 2024
Updated the patch with more optional changes, now with a much less annoying Astal that doesn't say that same repetitive "HIEY" sample every time you attack. The "HARIYA!" throwing sample is also muted as it's very frequent as well. His other grunts, yells and voice clips are all intact.

The English "Astal!" voice from the US FMV is now combined with the cut Japanese vocals restored for the music instead of just the backing track.

I used a hex editor to edit each of the 18 .SND sound pack files containing the two repetitive voice samples and TrekkiesUnite118's SegaSaturnFilmMuxer to edit the intro FMV Cinepak.


It would be pretty neat to find someone who's able to accurately match Astal's US voice, to have it properly localized instead of the mishmash of JP and US voice clips we ended up with. The US game still uses some Japanese voice samples such as "Yatta" and "Kuso" that the localizers didn't bother replacing.

If anyone has the voice for it and likes this game or think it sounds fun to record, then I'm down to crunching those down and editing the .SND soundpack files replacing the few Astal JP voice clips left in there.

But I imagine it being difficult to find someone who can emulate that voice well.

 LTH Apr 21, 2024
Is it possible to add in gameplay subs for the little bits of unique voiced lines? Stuff like attack grunts doesn't really need subs.
Be cool also to restore the five hit points / unlimited continues system that was in the Japanese version, if that's possible. This is a cool effort either way and much appreciated.

 Ardiloso Apr 21, 2024
Very nice work. Besides audio, my biggest complaint about the NTSC-U version is the nerfed life points. It's 5 in the JP one.

 LTH Apr 21, 2024
Does this new version of the intro include hard subs? This sounds kind of like an undub to me.

 Riggles Apr 22, 2024

LTH said:

It's the normal English version of the game with English voice acting just like the US retail release, the audio content that was restored is just what was cut from the game (intro vocals, Sega easter egg). The intro was just an instrumental in the US. An undub would've replaced all the voice lines with the Japanese ones, Leda yelling "ASTARU" instead of "ASTAL" like it does here.

You could redo the FMV with subs (if you had lyrics for the song and translated them), using SegaSaturnFilmMuxer probably, but not something I see as necessary as it's just a song. If you want the instrumental version back you undo that change in the patched game, it's explained in the readme what files you need to replace and how to do so.

 LTH Apr 23, 2024

Riggles said:

Ah, I misunderstood then. It'd be nice to see the narrated opening FMV with subtitles and original Japanese voices for authenticity. A few Saturn releases could use a few undub hacks such as Battle Arena Toshinden URA.