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[batbeg]

Man, fuck Starry Night Act 1. There's apparently a glitch that can't be passed in one of the routes, as I've got stuck in it 4 times now

Super fun so far though, and incredibly well done. Having to play on mute though, so no opinion on the music yet.

Edit: Damn. Does anyone have some tips for not getting stuck in walls on this level?

Edit 2: Don't press into those little half-loops -.- Finally beat it.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

This looks awesome, I love how they snuck in Knuckles' character model from Chaotix. Anyone have any more info on this?

There's a long history behind this game. It's been in development for years and years. Started as Sonic XG, renamed itself to Sonic Forever (after merging with another Sonic fangame - can't remember it's name, now), re-renamed itself back to Sonic XG, and then merged with another popular Sonic fangame, Retro Sonic, sometime last year. As far as I've heard it, work on the game has been remarkably sluggish as certain members of the development team have been caught in the terrible web of "real life".

Retro Sonic on its own is a pretty impressive piece of work - there's actually an SDK (available privately) for the engine which allows anybody to create their own Sonic game. (there's a number of others that do this, too - Stealth's E02, ProSonic, etc.) While "Retro Sonic XG" is stuck in the mud spinning its wheels, another impressive Sonic fangame using the Retro Sonic SDK should be posting a demo in the next few days, called Sonic Nexus. They have older demos up at their site, too, created before they switched to the Retro Sonic SDK. There's a clip of Sonic Nexus at the start of this video.

 

[batbeg]

Okay... so The Final Fight in Megamix was a bit screwy, I felt, but I when I was finally able to do it it only took one hit to kill Robotnik? Huh.

That was fun, really felt like a cut above the rest.

 

[Mama Robotnik]

SMW2+
SMW2+2

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is one of my favourite experiences ever. It is a sublime wonderland of a game. Its sequel, Yoshi's Island DS left a sour taste in my mouth with some very questionable design decisions, but that's a discussion for another time. Despite the universal acclaim that Yoshi's Island has achieved, it is a rare target for redesigners and hackers, perhaps due to its complexity. It is a very different, much more tricky beast than Super Mario World to manipulate.

Golden Yoshi has produced two redesigns of the game, one in 2005 and one this year, that remake the entire world with new levels and challenges. These hacks are recent discoveries for me, and I haven't played much other than the beginning of each. So far though, I am impressed with the design, pacing and attention-to-detail in them. They are more of the same, but when 'the same' means the sublime 2D nectar that is Yoshi's Island, it is more than welcomed.

Videos

Video 1
Video 2

 

[CO_Andy]

MegaMan no Constancy is a bit too hard; the enemies take way too many hits.

 

[Mejilan]

Oh hell yes. YI hacks!
I hope they're as good as some of the more polished SMW hacks!

This thread is fucking awesome.

 

[dark10x]

There's a long history behind this game. It's been in development for years and years. Started as Sonic XG, renamed itself to Sonic Forever (after merging with another Sonic fangame - can't remember it's name, now), re-renamed itself back to Sonic XG, and then merged with another popular Sonic fangame, Retro Sonic, sometime last year. As far as I've heard it, work on the game has been remarkably sluggish as certain members of the development team have been caught in the terrible web of "real life".

Retro Sonic on its own is a pretty impressive piece of work - there's actually an SDK (available privately) for the engine which allows anybody to create their own Sonic game. (there's a number of others that do this, too - Stealth's E02, ProSonic, etc.) While "Retro Sonic XG" is stuck in the mud spinning its wheels, another impressive Sonic fangame using the Retro Sonic SDK should be posting a demo in the next few days, called Sonic Nexus. They have older demos up at their site, too, created before they switched to the Retro Sonic SDK. There's a clip of Sonic Nexus at the start of this video.

I had never tried Retro Sonic before, but wow, that was incredible. It feels almost exaclty like the Genesis games and the single original Zone included is really well done (the best I've played in a Sonic fan game). The included Emerald Hill Zone really demonstrates how accurate the engine really is. Furthermore, it actually runs properly (perfect 60 fps with vertical sync). It looks and feels better than Sonic XG (though that was pretty slick in its own right). It's a shame the project is progressing so slowly, though.

One odd thing about Retro Sonic was its usage of Ape Escape music. Didn't expect that one.

 

[nincompoop]

MegaMan no Constancy is a bit too hard; the enemies take way too many hits.

Are you playing on normal or hard difficulty? Most of the enemies take the same amount of hits on normal as they do in regular mega man, except maybe the sniper joes. Hard difficulty is kind of broken but on normal the difficulty is just perfect.

 

[NinajHeartless]

This thread is fucking awesome

Thanks Mama Robotnik and all others who have contributed so far

 

[Haunted]

Being able to play these hacks through a SNES emu on the Wii = good times.

 

[tzp2gameknight]

Wow, great post with lots of interesting stuff. Great job!

 

[GDJustin]

Some of those rom hacks just go a bit too far. To be honest, the best are often those that focus on providing more of what we loved about the original games.

For instance...

http://datacrystal.org/wiki/Super_Mario_World:_Return_to_Dinosaur_Land

I thought this was absolutely one of the best rom hacks I have played simply because it didn't attempt to go beyond the limits of what Mario World is supposed to be. The levels are all extremely well designed. The challenge level ramps up nicely, the puzzles are often clever, and it's a ton of fun. I think the level design is superior to Nintendo's own New Super Mario Bros, to be honest. It's really worth trying. A friend and I played all the way through this hack and had an absolute blast. Stuff like Brutal Mario is nifty, but it has this unpolished hacked together feel. It's as if the designers wanted nothing more than to cram as much wierd stuff into every level rather than focusing on what made the original game so good.

Although I'm fair from a romhack veteran, I've played a handful of them, and this is FAR AND AWAY the best one I've experienced.

Every other SMW romhack, even the good ones... they all FEEL like romhacks. You can tell that the levels were designed by someone in their bedroom or basement.

This one, however, it truly does feel like a Super Mario World expansion pack. It fights RIGHT in with SMW - it's fantastic and comes highly recommended... I very much suggest return to dinosaurland above, say, Brutal Mario or Second Reality.

 

[CO_Andy]

Are you playing on normal or hard difficulty? Most of the enemies take the same amount of hits on normal as they do in regular mega man, except maybe the sniper joes. Hard difficulty is kind of broken but on normal the difficulty is just perfect.

Playing on normal. Even MM2 on hard wasn't even this difficult, and it's been a month since i played that game.

 

[Aaron Strife]

This thread is making me extremely nostalgic, and also coming to the realization that I will never be able to play a new 2D Mario, Zelda, or Sonic game on consoles again

Well at least there's Mega Man

Some of these are really impressive, particularly Sonic Megamix.

 

[talking head]

what a god damn amazing thread. i thank you for your effort, original poster.

 

[nincompoop]

Playing on normal. Even MM2 on hard wasn't even this difficult, and it's been a month since i played that game.

Well MM2 was by far the easiest of the original mega man series, so of course compared to MM2 RNC is going to feel rather difficult. I guess you're right about the enemies being tougher in RNC (just played through the 8 robot master stages), but they still didn't pose that much of a threat; you just have to pay closer attention to their attack patterns. Most of my deaths came from the platforming parts of the levels.

 

[Mama Robotnik]

BS Zelda

BS Zelda no Densetsu requires a substantial background explanation, so I'll let Wikipedia do the honours. In 1996, Nintendo produced this game for the Satellaview SNES internet platform. It was essentially a time-restricted SNES remake of The Legend of Zelda with a few differences (such as a replacement character instead of Link). The game was a historical oddity that would normally have been left to time, but the ingenuity of the hackers prevailed.

BS Zelda as it is now known, is the original game with all of the time-restricted, network streaming, and Satellaview hardware elements excised. The protagonist (originally a Satellaview mascot) has been removed and once again it is Link traversing the dungeons and deserts of Hyrule. The result of this hacker-driven restoration is a complete, professional re-release of The Legend of Zelda, enhanced by the SNES' 16-bit graphics and sound capabilities.

This Nintendo-produced enhanced remake, cleaned up by the hacking community, deserves a play by all Zelda completists. An intriguing semi-official piece of Zelda lore.

Videos

Video 1
Video 2

---

Again, thanks for the nice comments about the thread and our contributions. It is encouraging me to keep updating it!

 

[Sciz]

It's worth noting that BS Zelda also has a second map, meaning there are four official layouts for Zelda 1.

 

[splattergnome]

Again, thanks for the nice comments about the thread and our contributions. It is encouraging me to keep updating it!

It is a great resource, and I am happy to see a few that even I have never heard of before! I hope that everybody enjoys the feast that now lays in front of them thanks to you.

Here is my recommendation:

http://themushroomkingdom.net/smb3_lost.shtml

There is a rom patch on this website which lets you play through all of the beta unfinished levels which developers had been working on but then stopped - but still kept in the game's memory for modern rom archeologists to discover. Some of the concepts are certainly interesting, and it is worth reading (and playing) this piece of lost history.

 

[Mama Robotnik]

It's worth noting that BS Zelda also has a second map, meaning there are four official layouts for Zelda 1.

I didn't know that, interesting!

I'm sure it will give the Zelda timeline debaters even more material to try and consolidate. I can hear it now - "....the force of the ocean collapsing on Hyrule (timeline -B) causes it to be split into four parallel worlds..... related to the four sword..... two timeline theory.... etc....."

 

[RetroMG]

OK, so the Ghost house in the Forest world of Return to Dinosaur Island is officially pissing me off. It's a maze that takes place above the screen. Tempted just to get the level editor out and fix a straight path through it.

 

[GDJustin]

OK, so the Ghost house in the Forest world of Return to Dinosaur Island is officially pissing me off. It's a maze that takes place above the screen. Tempted just to get the level editor out and fix a straight path through it.

Pay more attention to what's ON the screen...

 

[cartman414]

It's worth noting that BS Zelda also has a second map, meaning there are four official layouts for Zelda 1.

Yep yep.

Now if only BS Zelda 2 could have been completed.

 

[Mejilan]

Holy shit! I never realized that LoZI was recreated using the BS Zelda assets!

 

[flintstryker]

I can vouch for the Mario Adventure hack as being awesome.

 

[Nikorasu]

Why have I not noticed this thread until now? Holy crap this is awesome. I've been aware of fan hacks for a long time, but I didn't know there was this kind of quality stuff floating around.

 

[Tanukid]

There's a long history behind this game. It's been in development for years and years. Started as Sonic XG, renamed itself to Sonic Forever (after merging with another Sonic fangame - can't remember it's name, now), re-renamed itself back to Sonic XG, and then merged with another popular Sonic fangame, Retro Sonic, sometime last year. As far as I've heard it, work on the game has been remarkably sluggish as certain members of the development team have been caught in the terrible web of "real life".

Retro Sonic on its own is a pretty impressive piece of work - there's actually an SDK (available privately) for the engine which allows anybody to create their own Sonic game. (there's a number of others that do this, too - Stealth's E02, ProSonic, etc.) While "Retro Sonic XG" is stuck in the mud spinning its wheels, another impressive Sonic fangame using the Retro Sonic SDK should be posting a demo in the next few days, called Sonic Nexus. They have older demos up at their site, too, created before they switched to the Retro Sonic SDK. There's a clip of Sonic Nexus at the start of this video.

There's some shots of the stages when it was still Sonic XG on this forum post. Some of them look damn impressive, especially Cosmic Chasm Zone & Golden Gate Zone :

http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=8862&st=0

 

[speedpop]

Why have I not noticed this thread until now? Holy crap this is awesome. I've been aware of fan hacks for a long time, but I didn't know there was this kind of quality stuff floating around.

Hacks used to be real shit back when the translation scene began about a decade ago. It wasn't until the past 5 years or so that things really developed into more fruition due to better tools and more knowledge of the hardware you were dealing with. A healthy dose of originality and talent helped too.

There's still some pretty lame hacks (mostly by people who are just starting out in the hacking field) out there but there are also some great original ones like the ones posted in here. I suggest everyone who has taken an interest in this thread to at least check out the following site and read a few descriptions of some hacks.

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/

And before I get asked or called out; no, there are no roms on that site. Just translations, hacks and tools.

 

[Lord Helmet]

YI! <3 <3 <3

 

[Propagandhim]

"Genocide City"

:lol :lol

Who came up with that one?

 

[Rlan]

Technically DOOM is in the 16-bit generation, right?

If you want Total Conversions with an engine, you can't go past Sonic Robo Blast 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8hBYbwRwUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cc0-UivUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMq_6N5RkCk

Dude even made a NiGHTS into Dreams Engine with DOOM engine :lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifG99l3urV4

 

[Rlan]

"Genocide City"

:lol :lol

Who came up with that one?

Would you believe Sonic Team did? In the beta of Sonic 2 there actually is a level titled "Genocide City", but it's an empty playfield :lol

 

[BocoDragon]

"Genocide City"

:lol :lol

Who came up with that one?

Sega.

From one of the Sonic 2 Betas, "Genocide City" was listed as a zone, but if you play it you fall to your death. There is no level layout and the music is the same as chemical plant zone

Obviously it appears in this hack in an attempt to fill in the missing level.

edit: beaten.

 

[Mama Robotnik]

Technically DOOM is in the 16-bit generation, right?

If you want Total Conversions with an engine, you can't go past Sonic Robo Blast 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8hBYbwRwUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cc0-UivUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMq_6N5RkCk

I've played Sonic Robo Blast 2, its a superb creation. I may (or may not) be in a minority when I say this, but I find SRB2 to be more fun than any of Sonic's rollercoaster 3D incarnations.

Dude even made a NiGHTS into Dreams Engine with DOOM engine :lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifG99l3urV4

Now, this I have not seen. In-fucking-credible! A really, truly impressive recreation of NiGHTS.

 

[Nikorasu]

Dude even made a NiGHTS into Dreams Engine with DOOM engine :lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifG99l3urV4

id Tech 0 continues to impress.

 

[Galamauth]

This looks awesome, I love how they snuck in Knuckles' character model from Chaotix. Anyone have any more info on this?

I have the demo, it was pretty hard to track down and the worst part is I'm pretty sure the project was discontinued. Blisteringly high levels of potential in this hack, it's such a shame. ;( I'll upload if enough people want to give it a go.

 

[speedpop]

Even though some people may know about these, I figured I'd post these two:

Back in 2004 a hacking program was released that lit a flame somewhat called Temporal Flux, and it was a hacking tool based around Chrono Trigger whereby you could practically edit everything that was in the game's code. Up springs a group based on a forum who had been dabbling with Chrono style games using RPGMaker, and instead jumped onto the Temporal Flux.


Chrono Trigger: Prophet's Guile

The year 2007 has been crowned with the release of Chrono Trigger: Prophet's Guile, a short but detailed ROM hack from Kajar Laboratories illustrating the events of Magus's rise to prophethood in Zeal and steps towards staging his shot at revenge in the Ocean Palace.

Chrono Trigger: Prophet’s Guile is a fan game following the story of Magus’s rise to power in the Kingdom of Zeal after arriving in 12000 B.C. thanks to the distortion at his lair. In his bid to stop Lavos at the Ocean Palace, Magus must gain the trust of Queen Zeal and abolish all opposition. It’s about two regular Chrono Trigger chapters long, and full of surprises.

Work on Chrono Trigger: Prophet’s Guile began in January 2007. ZeaLitY suggested that the Crimson Echoes team, sidelined for the moment, develop a short ROM hack to be released in a couple months.

I played this awhile back when it was released and was quite surprised how well it was done. The dialogue didn't seem out of place, even some of the music incorporated in the game from other games didn't seem too intrusive.

I'm not the biggest Chrono Trigger fan there is but it was nice to learn more about Magus, even if it isn't canonized by Square-Enix. You can grab the hack here.


Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes is a fan sequel to Chrono Trigger in development since 2005. The plot follows the original cast of Chrono Trigger, featuring other familiar faces and new innovations alike. Produced with Temporal Flux, the project has employed the talent of countless Compendiumites and will serve as the most powerful proof of ROM hacking prowess yet. Crimson Echoes is also the current official Chrono Compendium fan project, meaning all resources are engaged toward its completion.

On track to be finished late 2008/early 2009, this game supposedly tries to bridge the timelines in between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. Whether they are able to do this remains entirely up in the air but their effort with Prophet's Guile doesn't make me flinch so I'd say it's in nice hands - made for fans by the fans.

I haven't tried the demo yet but you can find that here if you feel like trying it out. Here is also a video of it in action.

 

[NinjaFromTheFuture]

The Legend of Zelda - The Seeds of Time

Finally, I wanted to mention an in-the-works hack that has come to my attention. This hack uses the Super Mario World engine to create a new Legend of Zelda game. The idea is bold, to make an Adventures of Link-style game, but my cynical nature was quelled when I saw it in motion. It looks superb, and I very much look forward to its release, whenever that will be.

*cut'd!*

Vids

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5

Not sure if want... Need more sidescrolling Zeldas... Too much Mario in videos...

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

Another in-development Sonic game is Sonic: The Fated Hour, which just had a new demo release last week. Of course, considering I have connections to this game, I may be a little bias - but there's plenty of video if you're worried about my opinion on the game being skewed.

Other Sonic games worth checking out: ETCF (Online leaderboards!) and Mecha Madness.

Unfortunately, there are not many ROM hacks that impress me. I plan on checking out SMW: Return to Dinosaur Land, and I obviously know about Sonic 1 Megamix, but beyond that, most ROM hacks put me off because very few people understand level design and difficulty curves. Most ROM hacks simply make the game arbitrarily harder, and as far as I'm concerned, anybody can make a stupid challenge hack.

I remember one, though... Super Mario Dream World, was it? Does anyone know if that ever got finished? It had wonderful pastel colors and a slightly different art style than normal SMW.

 

[Enk]

Ok I'm actually really impressed by Brutal Mario so far. It's nowhere near the insane difficulty as Asshole Mario, in fact I find it suprisingly balanced and fair. Level designs have been good and don't feel like a "hackjob", and the two boss battles I've had so far are pretty well thought out. Loved the shyguy battle. That was very clever. For those worried don't be scared of it's name.

I've been working the past couple of days so I haven't had much of a chance to post more suggestions. Will do once I get more time.

 

[Holepunch]

Bah, I came in here to post Mario Keytastrophe, so far from what I played its a superb game. Music really makes or breaks games for me. This one really sucks you in. My only complaint is its not the full version yet.

But just to comment a bit on another in here I played...

Mario's Adventure: It was a bold attempt at something new and interesting, it had great new ideas and concepts, new items and an interesting take on progression...but it was bad. Just plain...bad. The levels feel big sparse and empty, you have to deal with blind jumps constantly, weather conditions like snow would often make certain levels unplayable. Plus it had this gimmick of putting those bosses from the end of fort stages at every single stage. It gets repetititve, so he throws in two...and if you progress even further, 3 at once!. Not only that, each one drops a level ending coin, but if you accidently pick one up before you kill all of them, Mario gets stuck in place trying to end the level while another one kills him. Aggravating pointless challenge. Thats only a few examples, its a shame that he built such a good engine but the failed where it counted, level design.

 

[Mama Robotnik]

Eggman the Dictator in Sonic the Hedgehog

And now for something completely different...

You'll have to humour me on this one I'm afraid. I am a Sonic fan since youth, one who perseveres to survive the harsh conditions of the Sonic Dark Age we now inhabit. I have fond memories of chasing Doctor Robotnik through Scrap Brain Zone, watching the rotund megalomaniac comically outrun his nemesis. A chance to control him is something I never considered, and so was strangely eager once the opportunity arrived.

This hack is a personal novelty, no more. It allows you to control Doctor Robotnik through all of the original zones. It is blatantly unfinished, but what has been achieved satisfied me. Robotnik has his own physics and momentum, and is not a simple re-skin of Sonic. Of all the hacks listed here, this breaks the least ground. But it did make me chuckle.

Videos

Video 1
Video 2

But just to comment a bit on another in here I played...

Mario's Adventure: It was a bold attempt at something new and interesting, it had great new ideas and concepts, new items and an interesting take on progression...but it was bad. Just plain...bad. The levels feel big sparse and empty, you have to deal with blind jumps constantly, weather conditions like snow would often make certain levels unplayable. Plus it had this gimmick of putting those bosses from the end of fort stages at every single stage. It gets repetititve, so he throws in two...and if you progress even further, 3 at once!. Not only that, each one drops a level ending coin, but if you accidently pick one up before you kill all of them, Mario gets stuck in place trying to end the level while another one kills him. Aggravating pointless challenge. Thats only a few examples, its a shame that he built such a good engine but the failed where it counted, level design.

I understand your criticism, and you raise some fair points (particularly regarding the end of level bosses - though I found it rather thrilling to fight three at once). But I quite enjoyed the level designs personally, and didn't notice as many of the blind jumps you mention. I suppose gamers will have preferences in hacks as well as games.

 

[dark10x]

Another in-development Sonic game is Sonic: The Fated Hour, which just had a new demo release last week. Of course, considering I have connections to this game, I may be a little bias - but there's plenty of video if you're worried about my opinion on the game being skewed.

Tried out Fated Hour and quite liked it, but that Sonic Worlds engine needs some work. If you go back and play the real Genesis games or Retro Sonic, you notice that the games update at a perfect 60 frames per second. Everything on Sonic Worlds has a slightly jittering appearance to it in comparison. It really ruins the fluidity of the game. I suppose this isn't the fault of those using the engine, of course, but it really needs to be fixed if these games are going to FEEL right. That Emerald Ties demo is even worse (jittering + no vertical sync).

It may sound nitpicky to point this out in regards to homebrew games, but if the teams are really aiming to create that "Sonic feel" it's something that should be taken seriously. Of the custom engines only Retro Sonic seems to have nailed it as that game runs beautifully and feels professional because of it.

OK, Mecha Madness is pretty neat. If only you could select Full Screen mode as the default window is just too small to enjoy it.

 

[GDJustin]

I can't believe there's not more Link to the Past-style Zelda hacks. Maybe people are realizing that good dungeon design isn't as easy as they thought it was

 

[TheSonicRetard]

Sonic Remix (featuring the NeedleMouse Engine)

The NeedleMouse Editor:

Automatic palette reduction:
(original)

(using only the colors which make up Sonic)

NeedleMouse Engine features:

Parallax (everything is it's own layer)

Palette Swapping

X and Y offset image skewing PER OBJECT

True transparency

"Touch-Fuzzy" mode

SFX (and soon SVP) direct rendering

Ascii output mode

Not shown: 720p/1080p rendering mode, full screen blurring, rotation, scaling, mode 7, genesis stiple-style transparency

the best thing about my engine is that it can directly read from genesis and snes roms.

Sonic 2 HD was originally supposed to use the NeedleMouse engine, but I had to leave the project due to Real Life (tm)

EDIT: Oops, hit post before I was done...

 

[Oblivion]

This thread got even more interesting than I imagined. Thanks, Mama Robitnik. This is actually the first thread I've ever subscribed to since joining GAF.

 

[Oblivion]

Oh man, I just checked out the 16 bit remake of Link's Awakening. Looks friggin AWESOME! My primary complaint about the game were the graphics. It's not ugly or anything, but I just couldn't go back to the dull muted colors after the vibrant, gorgeous look of LttP. Now, I'll have less of an issue when people claim LA is better.

 

[abstract alien]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmO92uzczw&feature=related
I need this level now

 

[Sciz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmO92uzczw&feature=related
I need this level now

8-bit Esperanto and Dr. Cain's theme? Now I really do need to play this.

 

[genjiZERO]

These looks pretty awesome, but are they actual games?

What ever happened to the FF10 SNES remake?