Software analysis

Analysis of the list of launched software

When inspecting the content of the Flash, we can see a list of programs that were launched on our Fish Life. We were able to recognise the five programs unique to the Fish Life, the game ChuChu Rocket! from our tests, as well as a program called Touch De Asobo M. This probably refers to the software マクドナルドのタッチであそぼ (Makudonarudo no tatchi de asobo) which used the Fish Life for games machines in McDonald’s restaurants[51].

# strings fish_flash.bin -n 10 | sort -u | less
[...]
GDM-0006  TOUCHDEASOBOM
HDR-0039  CHUCHUROCKET                                    
HDR-0093  FISH LIFE REDSEA                                
HDR-0094  FISH LIFE AMAZON
HDR-0095  FISH LIFE EPISODE 1                             
HDR-0096  FISH LIFE EPISODE 2                             
HDR-0097  FISH LIFE EPISODE 3
[...]

Analysis of Amazon Playful Edition visuals

Using PVRViewer, we were able to find some interesting visuals:

An alternative Fish Life logo
An alternative Fish Life logo
Software development team
Software development team
Loading screen for the new millennium
Loading screen for the new millennium

Analysis of Amazon Playful Edition voice commands

By analysing the file track03.bin of the Amazon Playful Edition software image, we found some words in English, indicating the possibility of English voice commands which are potentially non-functional.

# strings track03.bin
[...]
Eng.USA.models.mike.1600.2.full.v1.0.2
food
wanna eat
[...]
what's this
fish
howdy
come on
let's play
se ga
fish life
[...]
surprise
parado
pose
drawing
doremi
zoom
Word
Jpn.JPN.models.mike.1600.2.full.v1.1.3
[...]

However the strings command did not let us see the Japanese voice commands. By analysing the file structure, we were able to find hexadecimal data corresponding to the Japanese commands.

Japanese voice commands in hexadecimal format
Japanese voice commands in hexadecimal format

This data can then be converted into Japanese characters if we remember that Japanese character encoding is often Shift-JIS. For example, converting 82 A6 82 B3 gives えさ. This means there are 82 voice commands in Japanese.

Command in Japanese charactersRomanisationLoose English translation
えさesafood
えさ たべるesa taberueat food
たべるtaberueat
おなか すいたonaka suitato be hungry
こんにちはkonnichiwahello
はろーharohello
こんばんはkonbanwagood evening
おはようohayōgood morning
おーいōihey
やっほーyahhōyou-hoo!
さかなsakanafish
あ そぼうa sobōlet’s play
なん か やってnan ka yattedo something
せ がse gaSEGA
ふぃ っしゅ らい-ふfuィ sshu rai-fuFish Life
なん か やれnan ka yaredo something
すごいsugoigreat
すごい ねsugoi neisn’t it great?
おもしろいomoshiroifunny
たのしいtanoshīpleasant
きれいkireipretty
かわいいkawaīcute
さいこうsaikōthe best
かしこいkashikoiclever
おどってodottedance
おどれodoredance!
うごけugokemove!
うごいてugoitemove
つまんないtsumannaiboring
へん な のhen na nothat’s strange
こわいkowaiscared
ださいdasaiold fashioned
さいていsaiteithe lowest
ばーかbākastupid
ばか やろうbaka yarōidiot
きもち わるいkimochi waruiI feel sick
さかな はっけいsakana hakkeiwatch the fish
しー ま んshī ma nSeaman
あ ほーa hōhey ho
ぴか ちゅーpika chuPikachu
うんこunkopoo
うんちunchipoop
おしっこoshikkowee
ばい ばいbai baiBye bye
きえろkierooff!
ぱ れー どpa re doparade
とまれtomarestop!
ま てma tewait
お え かきo e kakidrawing
どれみDoremido re mi
はっく-しょ んhakku-sho natishoo
なまえnamaename
ずーむzūmuzoom
なまえ はnamae wawhat is your name
まわれmawareturn around
かいてんkaitencare
へんしんhenshinchange
うぇ ー ぶuebuwave
てんぐtenguTengu
てんぐ かわはぎtengu kawahagi
なぽれおんNaporeonNapoleon
なぽれおん-ふぃ っしゅNaporeonfisshuNapoleon fish
ぶるー せるburu serublue cell
ごー る でんgo ru dengolden
ごー る で ん ばた ふらいgo ru de n bata furaigolden butterfly
いえろー -ばん どiero -ban doyellow band
えんぜる-ふぃ っしゅenzerufisshuangelfish
にしき やっこnishiki yakko?
きんぎょ は なだ いKin gyo wa nada igoldfish
おー きっどō kiddoOrchid
どてぃ ー ばっくdote i bakkudotty back
お れんじ ふぇいすo renji feisuorange face
でぃ すかすdeィ sukasudiscus
ぐりーん でぃ すかすgurīn dei sukasugreen discus
ぶら うん でぃ すかすbura un dei sukasubrown discus
ぶるー でぃ すかすburu dei sukasublue discus
あるた む えんぜる-ふぃ っしゅaruta mu enzerufisshualtum angelfish
ぴら にあpira Niapiranha
ぴら に あ なって りーpira ni a natte riRed-bellied piranha
かー じ なるて とらkā ji narute toraCardinal tetra
ごー る でん て とらgo ru den te toraGolden tetra
て とらte toraTetra

Amazon Playful Edition hidden test menu

With the help of several members of the francophone Dreamcast community, we discovered that the Amazon Playful Edition software included a test menu which is accessible using the combination: “down with the digital pad + B button”. This menu allows you to test a certain number of functionalities, such as voice recognition or touch interactions.

Voice commands test menu
Voice commands test menu