Dolphin - PAL Conversion V1.2 FINAL

By J.Russell

Posted by JRussellRetroGaming May 26, 2026 Updated 1 day ago

Game Name Dolphin

Platform Atari 2600

Genre Action

Language English

Status Complete

Type of hack Graphics, Other

Version 1.2 FINAL

Release Date 2026-02-14

Downloads 36

Description

Dolphin - By Activision for the Atari 2600/VCS****PAL Hack. ( REAL PAL 50fps/50Hz)

UPDATE v1.3 Seaweeds on the ocean floor is now Orange like the NTSC version. Squid colour change fixture.

Fix ocean colours.

NOTE: You can be able to patch this with the NTSC version of Dolphin.

====================================================================================

Seeing there wasn't an official release of the PAL version of Activision's Dolphin. I managed to hack the the Pigs 'n' Wolf Atari 2600 ROM that has this game in it. Using Hack-O-Matic III. I splitted the file to 4KB that only has the game "Dolphin".

After hours of testing. I was able to utilise it to run Dolphin only using Stella & the 2600+ with success.

How is this possible?

Using Hack-0-Matic 3 I reduce the ROM size to 4KB from the original 8KB from the H.E.S. 2 in 1 Pak. After that was done. I went to add the Activision logo by checking the address lines from the NTSC version in the correct address lines and programmed it into this PAL ROM Hack, as well as the coding to add "Copyright 1983" when scrolling to the Activision logo.

At the first attempt. the Activision logo didn't show but the sprite that says "Copyright 1983" did.

So i dig deeper into the ROM using Hack-O-Matic. III change a few values on a few addresses that displays the Activision logo. After setting that and saving it. I tested it out one more time.

And BAM. This ROM hack shows the Activision logo on this ROM hack making it the best proper PAL Version of Dolphin for the Atari 2600 out there.

FYI: No, this is NOT A PAL60 hack. I did this on a real PAL version ROM. So you can run this on a true Atari 2600 PAL version console with the right colours.

Tested it on Stella which works, and Tested it on the 2600+ with excellent results, Works flawlessly and perfect on a real Atari 2600 4-Switcher Vadar PAL console using the Harmony Cartridge.

Enjoy the proper PAL 50Hz Atari 2600 version of Dolphin for the Atari 2600

ENJOY. J.Russell Retro Gaming

==============================================================================

NOTE: When trying to patch this, Make sure when patching this using Lunar IPS, On the drop menu, Change the setting from “Most Common ROM Files” to “All Files” so that you can patch this to a Atari 2600 ROM format.

This ROM Hack WORKS well on the 2600+ using the Harmony Cart by flashing the ROM Hack to it.

Hashes

Filename: Dolphin (USA).a26
CRC32: 9e38a7b9
SHA-1: e3985d759f8a8f4705f543ce7eb5e93bf63722b5
Verified: Atari - Atari 2600 v.20260529-062921 (No-Intro)

Staff Credits

Originally Conceived and Designed by Matthew Hubbard: & Activision 1983 PAL Version Hack by J.Russell Retro Gaming 2025

Gallery

Youtube Video

Reviews

Be the first to post a review See all 0 reviews

Last comments

Adrian Gauna 2026-05-30

All good now boys. Just a simple misunderstanding. I love both of you J.Russell and Simone D. Let's kiss and make up. (y)

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-30

It's all good mate :) No hard feelings what so ever. Water under the bridge. You're welcome. To be fair, all the PAL conversions are all done on my end. all the ones I uploaded now is all of it.

Simone D. Alemanno 2026-05-30

I should have specified earlier that I didn't try to patch it to an NTSC ROM yet due to lack of time, so it's kind of my fault too. That's because I'm often in a hurry when writing posts. Anyways, thank you for the advice. I hope to see more PAL Remastered hacks in the future, too.

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-30

Mate, respectfully. I was NOT in any way belittling you. I'm Sorry If that's how you feel But I'm not. It just how you approach me I didn't like. Yes I could've worded better than is should, At least I admit to that, But please next time, All I ask is better respect like I am to you here now. I am doing my best to help. All I was trying to do is HELP you in the right direction to patch this up with you. Like I said on the last post. I Patch it with the NTSC ROM. The hasher on the page even says so to use the NTSC Rom. anyways, Good luck with it mate. I'm going to close this now. Have fun.

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-30

Yep, Patch it with that and you are all set. ;) Unrelated, Sorry if this felt like a wild goose-chase as that is never my intention I always update things (Including the Hasher) to help to get you to patch it with the right one. All I was asking is good respect for taking my time to help as much as I can. I'm sure you get people asking for your help too if it was the other way around. Right?

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-30

Excuse me???? How am I belittling you??? I'm just trying to help you as much as I can RESPECTFULLY. And sicne when did I say you have to split the ROM??? Have a look at your comment here mate!, Just for you to say this is SAD as a thanks.. An you're saying I'm belittling you? Sorry but this is trult the other way around and YOU know it. I tried to be as respectful as I can to help. and being patient with you to help you, And you're not showing the same energy back.

Simone D. Alemanno 2026-05-30

Yes, I clearly saw that I can also apply it to the NTSC ROM. However, I have yet to try that. Now you're trying to belittle me just because I said that splitting the H.E.S. ROM isn't the best solution?

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-30

:rolleyes: I already explained you can happily patch it with an NTSC ROM. I tested the patch to make sure it works before releasing it. and I can 100% confirm it can be patched with the NTSC ROM. The hash cleary says use the Dolphin NTSC ROM to patch it. But seeing you just commenting now going off-topic and not listening when I was happily letting you know to patch it with the NTSC ROM ,, and this is the Thanks I get by bad mouthing? Fine, Go and do you. I'm done helping you if I'm going to be disrespected like that, You're on your own. Have a good day.

Simone D. Alemanno 2026-05-29

So this means getting the H.E.S. ROM and splitting it is not even worth the time anymore because it won't generate the correct ROM to apply the patch to. That is very sad.

JRussellRetroGaming 2026-05-29

Unfortunately that's not much I can do as the hashes always change everytime I update the ROM conversions. Also I just patch this with the Dolphin NTSC rom which can also work as well.

Simone D. Alemanno 2026-05-28

By the way, when I got the Pigs 'n' Wolf H.E.S. ROM and split it in Hack-o-Matic III, the resulting ROM had different hashes from those shown.

Simone D. Alemanno 2025-08-21

Hue shift? Ah right, the NTSC format has a slight purple tint to it. I know that already happens with NES games (like Super Mario Bros., where the sky background color can be a purplish blue).

JRussellRetroGaming 2025-08-21

From that screenshot that is definitely the Default Stella palette. As good I want it to make it 100% like the NTSC one. but as I said the PAL colour palettes only go up to 104 and not the Full 128 colours. It's a good compromise. :) I'm happy with the final results and will leave it at that. As for that "Lighter tone" That's a hue shift you're seeing. meaning the blue hasn't got a purple tinge to it.

Simone D. Alemanno 2025-08-21

I did compare the default Stella and User-Defined palettes even before playing so I knew what was in for. But still, it didn't really make sense to me that the sky was a lighter tone than it is in the NTSC version. See? 188._xfImport

JRussellRetroGaming 2025-08-21

You must be using the default Stella Palette by the sounds of it where as I am using the User-Defined Palette (The one that emulates the real TIA colours that you would see from a real Atari 2600 console.) on Stella. if you have used the User-Defined one like I have, you would know the Sky and sunset colour from both PAL and NTSC do match. same can be said with the colour of the water. You obviously using the default Stella palette here where as I am using the Under-Defined palette to play the games. When I looked at the values from both the PAL and NTSC colour palette charts closely on Stella. they are similar matches and are in par like I did with the Pitfall II and Activision Decathlon Hacks. Sorry but when I did release this final version. it is definitely is in par and there is no more tweaking needed. Check this link regarding the colour palette I use. https://forums.atariage.com/topic/204418-new-user-defined-palette-file-for-stella/ Set it to User-Define and see for yourself that they are in par and very close. Another thing to understand too, the PAL colours only have 104 colours and not the full 128 colours like the NTSC version does. I can't do much more about that.

Simone D. Alemanno 2025-08-20

I don't want to sound bad, but I can't really consider this to be the "final" version of the hack. You added the Activision logo and corrected the seaweed color, and that's nice, but most of the color palettes still don't match the NTSC version. What I mean by that: [*]The sky should be a darker blue, not a light blue like midday. The sun, clouds and sunset in the background also don't appear to have the correct colors. [*]The water isn't colored the proper shade of blue here. [*]The colors used for the squid and seahorses don't match the NTSC ones either. Like instead of being a yellowish color they are caramel orange, or a different shade of light blue. Probably other things in the game like the dolphin itself don't have the right colors too, but how do I know. You could try to update this hack when possible and make the game look like the NTSC release as close as possible, just like you did with Pitfall II and Activision Decathlon.

Post a comment