SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS: Ripping the audio from the Mini Soundtrack DLC

Please don’t use this for piracy. Plain and simple. I only encourage people to do this for their own personal listening experience.

foobar2000 is a free audio player. We’re also going to use it to convert the soundtrack to WAV/MP3. Visit the download page here.[www.foobar2000.org]

• If you are using the Steam Deck or running SteamOS, download the latest stable 64-bit installer.
• If you are running Windows 10, select the Start button, then select Settings > System > About. Under Device specifications, you can see what kind of operating system and processor you have under System type.
  
  • If you have a 32-bit operating system, download the latest stable 32-bit installer.
  • If you have a 64-bit operating system and a x64-based processor, download the latest stable 64-bit installer.
  • If you have a 64-bit operating system and an ARM-based processor, download the latest stable 32-bit installer.
• If you are running Windows 11, select the Start button, then select Settings > System > About. Under Device specifications, you can see what kind of processor you have under System type.
  
  • If you have a x64-based processor, download the latest stable 64-bit installer.
  • If you have an ARM-based processor, download the latest stable ARM installer.

Once you’ve downloaded it and opened the installer, select Next >, then I Agree. Choose Portable installation (you’re not going to use this afterwards, right?) to have it install to your Desktop. Select Next >, then extend the dropdown for Optional features. Uncheck EVERY optional feature except Converter. Select Install, then select Finish. Keep Run foobar2000 checked.

Select OK when the Quick Appearance Setup dialog box appears.

LAME is an MP3 encoder. Even if you don’t want to convert the entire soundtrack to MP3, you should still get this because two of the tracks aren’t actually above 320kbps MP3 quality (and if you care enough about the audio quality to want it that high, you should also know that trying to transcode lossy audio to a higher quality format doesn’t actually increase the quality of the audio!)

• If you are using the Steam Deck or running SteamOS, download the x64 binaries.[www.rarewares.org]
• If you are running Windows 11, download the x64 binaries.[www.rarewares.org]
• If you are running Windows 10, select the Start button, then select Settings > System > About. Under Device specifications, you can see what kind of operating system and processor you have under System type.
  
  • If you have a 32-bit operating system, download the win32 binaries.[www.rarewares.org]
  • If you have a 64-bit operating system and a x64-based processor, download the x64 binaries.[www.rarewares.org]
  • If you have a 64-bit operating system and an ARM-based processor, download the win32 binaries.[www.rarewares.org]

Extract the ZIP, then copy lame.exe and lame_enc.dll.

Locate your foobar2000 installation (it should be on your Desktop), then make a folder next to foobar2000.exe titled encoders.

Inside encoders, paste lame.exe and lame_enc.dll.

vgmstream is a library for the playback and conversion of various audio formats used in video games, including AWB audio archives and HCA audio files. Both of these formats are used by SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS. vgmstream is also available as a foobar2000 component.

Download vgmstream as a foobar2000 component here.[github.com]

In foobar2000, go to File > Preferences > Components. At the bottom, select Install…, then locate and select foo_input_vgmstream.fb2k-component. Select Apply and then OK. Wait for foobar2000 to restart.

In your Steam library, look for SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS. Right-click on the game, and then select Manage > Browse local files. Select ArtBookwithMiniSoundtrack > image > x64 > raw > dlc > soundtrack > sound > bgm_das, and select bgm_das.awb.

Drag and drop the file into foobar2000. It should cleanly populate with the duration of each track – and let you play it.

Select tracks bgm_das#1 and bgm_das#12. Right-click them, then select Convert > Quick convert. Select MP3 (LAME), then select Edit. Drag the Quality slider all the way to the right until the display in the center reads 320kbps CBR. Select OK, then select Convert. Choose the folder you would like to export these tracks to, then select OK and wait. A window titled Converter Output will appear when it’s done: close it.

Select every track except bgm_das#1 and bgm_das#12. Right-click them, then select Convert > Quick convert.

• WAV is compatible with the most audio players while preserving the most audio quality, but has a large file size and doesn’t support having metadata. By default, it’s selected, so if you’d like this format, you can leave it as-is and choose Convert.
• MP3 (LAME) is compatible with the most audio players, supports having metadata, and has a small file size, but won’t preserve all of the audio quality. If you’d like this format, select it, then choose Convert.
• AIFF preserves the same amount of audio quality as WAV, is compatible with most modern audio players, and supports having metadata, but has a large file size. If you’d like this format, select it, then choose Convert.
• FLAC preserves the same amount of audio quality as WAV, has a smaller file size, and supports having metadata, but is compatible with less audio players. If you’d like this format, select it, then choose Convert.

Choose the folder you would like to export these tracks to, then select OK and wait.

Right-click one of the tracks in the Converter Output window, and select Open containing folder. This will contain your WAV and MP3 files that you can play in a music player of your choice.