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2025-10-26T06:04:41Z

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To use the Dreamcast's capabilities efficiently, various sound systems were available for different purposes. Different divisions within SEGA also created different implementations of sound systems for Katana games.

* The Manatee sound API is a subset of the Shinobi library.
* The Audio64 and MidiDa libraries developed by SEGA of America are separate libraries, though they use the same data formats for the most part.

This page will mainly focus on the Manatee sound system, which is used in the Sonic Adventure games.

== The Manatee Sound System ==
Usage of the Manatee sound system can be confirmed by the presence of a sound driver, usually called <code>MANATEE.DRV</code> or <code>MASARU.DRV</code>, in the game's files. The driver is loaded into the Dreamcast AICA's memory along with the sound data. The games call functions in the Shinobi library, which interact with the driver, which in turn manipulates the AICA's hardware registers.

The following file formats are used by the system:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Extension
!Description
!Notes
|-
|DRV
|Sound driver.
|
|-
|MLT
|Multi-Unit.
|Can contain multiple packs of sound data (any of the formats below) and a memory layout table for loading this data into AICA RAM.
|-
|MPB or MDB
|MIDI Program Bank or MIDI Drum Bank.
|The soundfont for the MIDI system.
|-
|MSB
|MIDI Sequence Bank.
|A bank of MIDI sequences.
|-
|OSB
|One-Shot Bank.
|A bank of sound effects. Similar to MPB but without sequences (e.g. one sound effect = one note).
|-
|FPB
|FX Program Bank.
|A bank of DSP programs that contain code to distort sound (used for reverb etc.).
|-
|FOB
|FX Output Bank.
|A bank of output and sound mixing data.
|}

Katana SDK/Audio - Revision history

PkR: draft