Three Dirty Dwarves

From Sega Retro

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  • Saturn
  • Windows PC

ThreeDirtyDwarves title.png

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Three Dirty Dwarves
System(s): Sega Saturn, Windows PC
Publisher:
Sega Saturn
Sega
Windows PC
SegaSoft
Developer:
Peripherals supported: 6Player
Genre: Action[1][2]

















Number of players: 1-3
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
JP
¥5,8005,800 GS-9137
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Saturn
US
$44.9944.99[5] 14002
ESRB: Teen
Sega Saturn
EU
MK81033-50
ELSPA: 11+ OK
Sega Saturn
DE
DM 99.9599.95[9] MK81033-50
USK: 12
Sega Saturn
PT
Sega Saturn
UK
£39.9939.99[8] MK81033-50
ELSPA: 11+ OK
Sega Saturn
PL
Sega Saturn
AU
Windows PC
US
$19.9919.99[10] 11002
ESRB: Teen

Three Dirty Dwarves (スリー・ダーティ・ドワーブズ) is a 1996 belt-scrolling beat-'em-up by SegaSoft and Appaloosa Interactive for the Sega Saturn and PCs.

Story

Four children genetically engineered by the army grow up to be child geniuses instead of perfect soldiers, prompting General Briggs to use them to manufacture weaponry. To escape, the children play their favorite role-playing game and lead the party, a trio of slow-witted but heroic dwarves, to a gateway into the real world.

The dwarves' equipment burns up during atmospheric entry. They land in a sporting goods store and make use of the equipment inside for their weapons and armor. The monsters from the role-playing game world have followed the dwarves into the real world, and the dwarves must battle their way through them to find the children and confront General Briggs.

Gameplay

The game is a beat-'em-up that can be played with up to three players. Players take control of the three dwarves Greg, Taconic, and Corthag and lead them to the end of each level, battling orcs and other fiendish creatures and avoiding obstacles along the way. Each player controls one dwarf at a time. In three-player games, each player controls the same dwarf for the entire game. In games with fewer than three players, the dwarf or dwarves not under player control follow the others around, and players can switch to one of the inactive dwarves with L or R. Some of the levels diverge from this and solely involve a boss fight, and some of them are only played by a single player even in a multiplayer game.

Dwarves walk with Left or Right and move in and out of the plane with Up and Down. They jump with C. Each dwarf has a short-range attack, performed with B, and a long-range attack, performed with A. The speed and responsiveness of each attack varies according to the dwarf. The ranged attack can be fired into the background with Up+A. The dwarves can also pick up enemies and other objects, such as trash cans, by walking into them and pressing B while holding the D-Pad in their direction; they can be thrown by pressing B again.

In addition, the dwarves can spend Power Skulls to activate special attacks. Power Skulls are acquired by picking them up from fallen enemies or breaking open boxes. Each dwarf has two unique Power Attacks, one mapped to X that costs one Power Skull and one mapped to Y that costs two Power Skulls. There are also two special group attacks that cost three Power Skulls and can only be done if all three dwarves are conscious. The dwarves can also combine into a single large "Morph Dwarf" with Z. The Morph Dwarf attacks enemies before transforming back into the three dwarves. There are three different Morph Dwarves, depending on which character is the lead dwarf at the time it is used. The dwarves can also brawl with each other, harming enemies that get caught in the way, by tapping L or R five times. They can be moved with the D-Pad while they are brawling.

If any dwarf takes a hit from an enemy or obstacle, the players lose a Power Skull (which are shared amongst all the players). If the players do not have any Power Skulls, the hit renders the dwarf unconscious, and the player gains control of an inactive dwarf (if there is one). If another dwarf is still in action, he can revive an unconscious dwarf by hitting him. In multiplayer games, players can revive their own dwarves by pressing Left and Right rapidly. If a dwarf is not woken up, he can still be revived by breaking open a crate. The game ends if all three dwarves are knocked out, but it can be continued from the beginning of the current level.

There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard). In Easy mode, players only play levels 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15.

Items

Three Dirty Dwarves, Items.png
Crate
Break open to release an item or revive a dwarf.
Three Dirty Dwarves, Items.png
White Skull
Collect 7 of these to earn one Power Skull.
Three Dirty Dwarves, Items.png
Game Die
Collect one of these to earn 5 Power Skulls.

Levels

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 1.png

Streets of Bronx

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 2.png

Pit Bully

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 3.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 3 Boss.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 3.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 3 Boss.png

Hills of Bronx

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 4.png

Gymhouse
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 5.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 5 Boss.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 5.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 5 Boss.png

Bronx by Day

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 6.png

Bouncing Bed
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 7.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 7 Boss.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 7.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 7 Boss.png

Garbage Hills

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 8.png

The Stadium
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 9.png

House of Fire
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 10.png

Trolley Ride
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 11.png

Man of a Thousand Swords

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 12.png

Riker's Island

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 13.png

Taconic Parkway
This stage is only played by one player.

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 14.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 14 Boss.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 14.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 14 Boss.png

Laser Research

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 1.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 2.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 3.png

Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 4.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 1.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 2.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 3.png

  • Three Dirty Dwarves, Stage 15 Boss 4.png

Barney's Machines

History

Development

SegaSoft had tentative plans to release the game for the PlayStation,[11] but SegaSoft ultimately never published any game for a non-Sega console.

Production credits

Saturn version

Cast

Szórádi Csaba

The Cartoon
  • Directed by: Bevin Stone
  • Music Composition & Sound Design: Rotation Corporation/Andy Armer
  • Cartoon Animators: Szórádi Csaba, Jurij Serulov, Eugenia Serulova, Horváth Tamás, Herényi Mihály
  • Cartoon Painters: Rátkai Kornél, Számel Endre
The Game
Testers
Source:
US manual
Threedirtydwarves sat us manual.pdf
[12]

Magazine articles

Main article: Three Dirty Dwarves/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (US) #42: "October 1996" (1996-xx-xx)
also published in:
  • (US) #29: "November 1996" (1996-xx-xx)[13]
  • (US) #89: "December 1996" (1996-xx-xx)[14]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1997-19: "1997-19 (1997-06-13)" (1997-05-30)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1997-20: "1997-20 (1997-06-20)" (1997-06-06)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Saturn version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
42 [15]
Sega Saturn
42
Based on
1 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(FR) PAL
89
[16]
(US) NTSC-U
75
[17]
(JP) NTSC-J
60
[18]
(DE) PAL
80
[19]
(PL)
82
[20]
(US) NTSC-U
88
[21]
(US) NTSC-U
83
[22]
(US) NTSC-U
78
[23]
(US) NTSC-U
83
[24]
(FR) PAL
80
[25]
(DE) PAL
52
[26]
(FR) PAL
88
[27]
(DE) PAL
76
[28]
(UK) PAL
66
[29]
(US)
50
[30]
(FR)
78
[31]
(FR) PAL
87
[32]
(UK) PAL
64
[33]
(UK) PAL
65
[8]
(JP) NTSC-J
67
[34]
(JP) NTSC-J
80
[35]
(US) NTSC-U
71
[36]
(DE) PAL
74
[37]
Sega Saturn
75
Based on
23 reviews

Three Dirty Dwarves

Saturn, JP
ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn JP Box Back.jpgThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
Saturn, US
ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn US Box Back.jpgThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn US Box Front.jpg
Cover
ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn US Disc.jpg
Disc
Threedirtydwarves sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, EU
ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn EU Box.jpg
Cover
Saturn, PT
ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn PT cover.jpg
Cover
Saturn, AU

PC version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Windows PC
N/A
Based on
0 reviews

Three Dirty Dwarves

PC, US
ThreeDirtyDwarves PC US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngThreeDirtyDwarves PC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
ThreeDirtyDwarves PC US Manual.pdf
Manual
ThreeDirtyDwarves PC US Box JewelCase Back.jpgThreeDirtyDwarves PC US Box JewelCase Front.jpg
Jewel Case

Technical information

Main article: Three Dirty Dwarves/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Saturn
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
462,116,256 CD-ROM (EU) MK81033-50 V1.003
Sega Saturn
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
467,111,904 CD-ROM (JP) GS-9137 V1.017
Sega Saturn
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
456,781,920 CD-ROM (US) 14002 V1.011
Sega Saturn
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
1996-04-17 CD-R Page
Sega Saturn
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
1996-05-10 CD-R Page

External links

References

  1. File:ThreeDirtyDwarves Saturn JP Box Back.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/segasaturn/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-03-30 22:53)
  3. http://sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/3dirtydwarves.htm (Wayback Machine: 1996-12-15 06:22)
  4. https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/uv0gWwkDzDM/m/UN03iQsOe7kJ
  5. Press Release: 1996-10-03: SegaSoft Ships Its First Three Titles
  6. http://www.sega-europe.com/saturn/satinfo.html (Wayback Machine: 1998-12-02 14:09)
  7. Computer & Video Games, "April 1997" (UK; 1997-03-12), page 49
  8. 8.0 8.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1996" (UK; 1996-11-14), page 78
  9. Sega Magazin, "November 1996" (DE; 1996-10-09), page 70
  10. http://www.segasoft.com:80/store/index.html (Wayback Machine: 1997-07-13 10:25)
  11. GamePro, "August 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 18
  12. File:Threedirtydwarves sat us manual.pdf, page 37
  13. EGM², "November 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 16
  14. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 128
  15. GamesMaster, "May 1997" (UK; 1997-04-16), page 67
  16. Consoles +, "Juillet/Août 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 114
  17. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 61
  18. Famitsu, "1997-06-06" (JP; 1997-05-23), page 32
  19. Fun Generation, "11/96" (DE; 1996-10-09), page 80
  20. Gambler, "6/1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 1
  21. GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 11: November 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 18
  22. GamePro, "November 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 126
  23. Game Informer, "October 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 46
  24. Intelligent Gamer, "November 1996" (US; 1996-1x-xx), page 94
  25. Joypad, "Octobre 1996" (FR; 1996-xx-xx), page 79
  26. MAN!AC, "11/96" (DE; 1996-10-09), page 65
  27. Mega Force, "Été 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 82
  28. Mega Fun, "10/96" (DE; 1996-09-18), page 64
  29. Mean Machines Sega, "November 1996" (UK; 1996-10-04), page 73
  30. Next Generation, "November 1996" (US; 1996-10-22), page 274
  31. Player One, "Juillet/Août 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 127
  32. Playmag, "Mai 1997" (FR; 1997-0x-xx), page 87
  33. Sega Power, "February 1997" (UK; 1997-01-15), page 46
  34. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1997-19 (1997-06-13)" (JP; 1997-05-30), page 165
  35. Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 13
  36. Ultra Game Players, "November 1996" (US; 1996-10-08), page 112
  37. Video Games, "10/96" (DE; 1996-09-25), page 96


Three Dirty Dwarves

ThreeDirtyDwarves title.png

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Sega Saturn
Prototypes: 1996-04-17 | 05-10