televandalist / reverse-engineer-azel

My first adventure in Reverse Engineering from Bytecode, on a forgotten digital relic.

Reverse-Engineering Azel RPG

Why?

Well, the article Sega's Missing Masterpiece probably makes a great case.

The NSA's Ghidra (Generic Hexadecimal Integrated Decompiling Reverse-Engineering Architecture) added support from v9.1 onwards for the SH-2 processor, and I was interested in becoming a digital archeologist!

Project Overview

Wiki/Discord

Discussions

• Day one of progress?
  • Disassembled MENUEN.PRG
• Interesting finds/easter eggs in progress? Go to Anomalies
• Disc Analysis: File info @AZEL#I.MD
• Assembly Code: 01000011
• Strange words & terms found @Glossary
• My Journey in Reverse Engineering @Solo Logs

Directory structure

├── AZEL_1             // Disc 1 specific info.
│   ├── 01000011       // C code for Disc 1
│   ├── 0x00           // Assembly code for Disc 1
│   ├── AZEL#I.md      // Disc 1 analysis
│   ├── BIN            // Data under BIN file-types
│   └── PRG            // Data under PRG file-types
│
├── Abstract           // Unconfirmed but potentially useful data for future cross-checking
│
├── Docs               // Documentation.
│   ├── ANOMALIES.md   // Unusual discoveries found and expected in future
│   ├── AUDIO.md       // Audio documentation here
│   ├── GLOSSARY.md    // Domain-specific documentation here
│   ├── MEMORY.md      // Memory documentation here
│   ├── VIDEO.md       // Video documentation here
│   └── _SEGASATURN.md // Sega Saturn specific documentation
└── アゼル―パンツァードラグーン-RPG.MD  // Panzer Dragoon Swagger (PDS) general information

Progress

PRGs

Filename	Percentage	Decompiled (bytes)	Total (bytes)
1ST_READ.PRG	74.70%	1,908	2,554
BTL_A3.PRG	8.65%	3,256	37,660
BTL_A3_2.PRG	8.39%	3,240	38,606
MENUEN.PRG	54.39%	26,624	48,944
TWN_CAMP.PRG	62.39%	18,655	29,899
WORLD.PRG	21.66%	829	3827

Wanna contribute?

You're welcome! Here's our Contributing.md

I have a per-file discussion issue under the focus on file label & you can get started on any file you like!

Any assembly genius info you have? Feel free to share on the Issues section as a comment :)

Panzer Dragoon Saga

Panzer Dragoon Saga (PDS) a.k.a. Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG (アゼル ―パンツァードラグーンRPG―) is an awesome game!

• The Appeal of Panzer
• Fan-Wiki

Goals

• Understand the Sega Saturn hardware: In order to reverse engineer a game for the Sega Saturn, it's important to have a solid understanding of the hardware architecture of the console. This includes knowledge of the CPU, graphics hardware, sound hardware, and other system components. Having a good understanding of the hardware can help us identify how the game code is interacting with the system and how it is implementing certain features.
• Understanding the common Saturn file formats, gathering Saturn documentation.
• Look for documentation on the Saturn boot process
  • Know which file in the ISO is the main binary that it's going to run
  • Figure out how the CD-ROM's SH-1 gets its instructions (find when it's trying to read a specific file).
• Use a debugger: A debugger is a software tool that allows us to step through the game code and analyze how it is executing. This can be an incredibly useful tool for reverse engineering a game, as it allows us to see how the code is working in real-time and identify key functions and data structures.
• Patterns & Structures: When reverse engineering a game, it's important to look for patterns and structures in the code and data. This includes identifying repeating code blocks, data tables, and other patterns that can provide insight into how the game is working. Once you identify these patterns, we can start to map out the game logic and data structures.
• Disassemble: Disassembling the game code involves converting the compiled machine code into assembly language. This can be a time-consuming process, but it can provide a deeper understanding of how the game code is working and how it is interacting with the Sega Saturn hardware.
• Patience & Persistence = Learning whilst discovering more of a great game!

Documentation:

SH-2 (and other Saturn subsystems)

• SH-2 GCC C COMPILER
• Renesas SH Instruction Set Summary
• Renesas SH Instruction Set Project
• Renesas SuperH disassembler
• SuperH RISC Engine SH-2 Programming Manual [1996]
• Sega Saturn Emulated Hardware
• Game Modification Utilities
• SH-2 CPU (Memory Map)

Panzer Dragoon Saga

• Panzer Dragoon Saga - The Cutting Room Floor
• RetroAchievements

Emulation

• uoYabause Blogs
• uoYabause Tutorial
• YSS Loader
• Yabause Wiki

Saturn tools

• Ghidra Releases
• Ghidra Sega Saturn Loader
• Sega Master System/Game Gear Loader
• Jo-Engine (2D and 3D game engine)
• Save-Game Copier
• Blender-to-Saturn-Model-Exporter

Reverse Engineering

• Beginner Learning Materials on Reverse Engineering Video Games
• Decompilation Projects

Game Archiving

• Mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
• Game archiving faces challenges...
• Archiving video games for humanities research

SuperH Family (not SH-2 processor)

• SH2A [SH7211] Group Hardware Manual
• SH3 [SH7706] Group Hardware Manual