Ballz 3D

From Sega Retro

n/a

Ballz title.png

Ballz 3D
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Accolade
Developer:
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
T-119126
Sega Mega Drive
EU
T-119126-50
Sega Mega Drive
PT
MD119126
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR
046650

This teeny-tiny article needs some work. You can help us by expanding it.


Ballz 3D, or just Ballz is a fighting game developed and published by Accolade for the Sega Mega Drive. The characters are made up of spheres of various sizes, which change to attempt to simulate 3D characters with smooth animations, similar to Vectorman.

Due to many sprites being drawn at once, the game suffers from sprite flickering.

The game was also released on the SNES/Super Famicom. That version featured true sprite scaling, transparencies and a textured, rotating floor compared to the monochrome version on the Sega Mega Drive. The game used an extra chip on the cardrige, while the Sega Mega Drive version did all caluclations without extra hardware.

Gameplay

A is for punches, B is for kicks and C is for jumping, the height of the jump depends on the time the button is held down. Pushing Up or Down moves the character in the 3D space. All characters have a wide array of special moves, including the ability to morph into other characters.

After each few fights, unplaybale boss characters await, which are exceptionally tough to take down, e.g. an ostrich or a dinosaur.

While coming out after Street Fighter 2, the game's simple controlls and mechanics are more akin to early fighting games such as Power Athlete.

Magazine articles

Main article: Ballz 3D/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #62: "September 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #21: "October/November 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:
  • GamePro (US) #64: "November 1994" (1994-xx-xx)[4]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in EGM² (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #22: "December/January 1994/1995" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:
  • GamePro (US) #66: "January 1995" (199x-xx-xx)[6]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Hobby Consolas (ES) #37: "Octubre 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
87 №35, p100
87 №155, p91[2]
79 №21, p46
80 №63
100
91 №24, p80-82[1]
80 №24, p44/45/46/47
74 №45, p100
71 №10, p88/89
80 №59, p54/55
90 №37, p50/51
86 №39, p10
Sega Mega Drive
84
Based on
12 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
60
[7]
Consoles + (FR)
87
[8]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
87
[2]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
58
[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
62
[10]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
73
[11]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
90
[12]
Gamer (GR)
83
[13]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
79
[14]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
80
[15]
Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL
77
[16]
LeveL (CZ)
60
[17]
Mega (UK) PAL
80
[18]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
84
[19]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
63
[20]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
91
[1]
Player One (FR)
74
[21]
Play Time (DE)
75
[22]
Power Up! (UK)
76
[23]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
71
[24]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
80
[25]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
90
[26]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
86
[27]
Todo Sega (ES)
83
[28]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
90
[29]
Video Games (DE) PAL
81
[30]
VideoGames (US)
80
[31]
Sega Mega Drive
78
Based on
27 reviews

Ballz 3D

Mega Drive, US
Ballz3D MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Ballz3D MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Ballz MD US manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
Ballz3D MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Ballz3D MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, BR
Ballz3D MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
Ballz3D MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
CRC32 b362b705
MD5 339a8c9a96fcdedb2922b04bcc34f0d2
SHA-1 4825cb9245a701cc59900c57a7a5fa70edc160f0
2MB 1994-07 Cartridge (US/EU)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 File:MeanMachinesSega24UK.pdf, page 80 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega24UK.pdf_p80" defined multiple times with different content
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 File:CVG UK 155.pdf, page 91 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 155.pdf_p91" defined multiple times with different content
  3. File:EGM US 062.pdf, page 99
  4. GamePro, "November 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 190
  5. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 136
  6. GamePro, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 19
  7. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 24
  8. Consoles +, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 100
  9. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 72
  10. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 38
  11. Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 9 September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 80
  12. GamePro, "September 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 58
  13. Gamer, "Dekémvrios 1994" (GR; 1994-xx-xx), page 1
  14. GamesMaster, "September 1994" (UK; 1994-08-25), page 46
  15. GamesMaster (UK) "Series 4, episode 1" (1994-09-20, 24:00) (+8:25)
  16. Games World: The Magazine, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-08-25), page 12
  17. LeveL, "Leden 1995" (CZ; 1995-01-24), page 41
  18. Mega, "September 1994" (UK; 1994-08-18), page 44
  19. Mega Force, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 110
  20. Mega Fun, "11/94" (DE; 1994-10-19), page 77
  21. Player One, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 100
  22. Play Time, "11/94" (DE; 1994-10-05), page 106
  23. Power Up!, "Saturday, October 01, 1994" (UK; 1994-10-01), page 1
  24. Sega Magazine, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-15), page 88
  25. Sega Power, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-01), page 54
  26. Sega Pro, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-08), page 50
  27. Sonic the Comic, "November 25th 1994" (UK; 1994-11-12), page 10
  28. Todo Sega, "Octubre 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 60
  29. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 18
  30. Video Games, "10/94" (DE; 1994-09-28), page 98
  31. VideoGames, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 62