Random Hacks of Random Series - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki
Hello all and welcome back to another issue of the RetroAchievements News! Last time, I took a look at paid homebrew titles available on our site, which was very well received. It very conveniently (and unintentionally) lined up with a new DevQuest, so I figured... let's do it again! Although admittedly this one isn't unintentional, and just lines up with the latest Challenge League board. Of course, when I talk about homebrew titles, I cannot forget to talk about another essential part of RetroAchievements: the ROM hacks!
Today, I wanted to take a look at some random hacks from random series. I wanted to take a look at all bigger series but realistically, I would then be here for the coming while, and I would also want to focus a bit on diverse hacks rather that have it be 90% about platformers. I also just chose a few random- but well-received hacks, so I won't necessarily be talking about the best hacks available but just some random good ones. So let's get on with it!
Obviously I cannot start this article without talking about the big M himself. Mario has by far the most hacks available on RetroAchievements out of any series, and it's not even a competition. Frankly, I could dedicate an entire article to just Mario hacks and that would still not be enough. But remember what I said about diversity during the intro? If you expected a Super Mario World or Super Mario 64 hack... you're wrong, because this is probably my only opportunity to talk about racing games today so I will take it!
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ CTGP: Nitro (Nintendo DS) |
| Series | Mario |
| Release date | February 5, 2022 |
You may also notice a bit of bias today. Sorry, can't help it, I just really like Mario Kart DS. And this hack makes a game I already like even better, adding a total of 72 tracks to the game to race on, both new- and inspired from other Mario Kart games. This is easily the biggest Mario Kart hack we have on RetroAchievements thus far, and the good news is that it still receives updates fairly frequently to add in even more tracks! At this point of writing, there are 6 placeholder cups with 4 tracks each, so we can certainly expect them to be filled up in the future as well. Furthermore, there is one additional skin per character, and several battle stages to duke it out on as well. And trust me when I say that almost all of the custom tracks made for this game are really good, and even at their worst they are still quality tracks I enjoyed racing on. From tracks that look like they are level ripped straight out of Super Mario World, to a big heavenly road, and a few villages and lakes. In the most recent update, there is also a track from Super Mario Kart that very well matches the upgrade Bowser Castle 3 got in Mario Kart Tour/8 Deluxe Booster Pass. It's just a really high quality Mario Kart hack, with a nice set by Bryan1150 that is comfortable to grind on, with time trials and cup completions being the main gist of the set.
Alright, might have done a bit of a cop-out there but trust me, we will come back to Mario in due time. But in the meantime, I can at least assure that his main rival practically only has platforming hacks so hey, let's see what the blue blur has to offer!
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Sonic the Hedgehog in Hellfire Saga (Mega Drive/Genesis) |
 ~Hack~ Hellfire Saga (Mega Drive/Genesis) |
| Series | Sonic |
| Release date | November 26, 2018 (Version 1) |
| January 31, 2023 (Finalized) |
Though I did list two games above, I'm exclusively focusing on the latter as that is the finished- and complete version of this idea. The former is mostly an early build that did have the complete game, but the latter is more refined--and what a refined game it is! Okay, so hear me out. You grab this blue hedgehog, throw him in a pot, add ingredients from gothic horror games at the time like Castlevania and Ghouls' n Ghosts, and the result ends up being a Sonic game where you go through hell to defeat Robotnik once again, who has made a deal with the devil so that he could temporarily rule hell and its demons. Now if that isn't metal, I don't know what is. This hack is a bit lighter on the platforming itself and instead focuses more on boss fights, that are all completely original and feature one of many different hellish creatures or characters from other games, like a succubus Honey the Cat, or a goat demon that transforms into... Mickey Mouse and Princess Prin Prin. Ah yes, my favourite demons. What makes this hack additionally interesting to people aside from it's hellish theme, is that it also has different mechanics for taking damage and dying, as Sonic has a health bar now (that can be replenished with rings), and there is no life system so you can retry from checkpoints as often as you'd like, making it a very accessible game even to people who aren't proficient at the hedgehog's games. They are also fun sets to go through, having damageless achievements for stages- and bosses, and given that this game lets you easily retry them and that the emphasis is on bosses in the first place, they are very fitting for this game.
From racers to platformers, let's keep the variety going by looking at an RPG. The choices here are usually a bit more limited because the main franchise that gets hacks are Pokémon and a few other Nintendo franchises, but the big one itself also has a few here and there, including:
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Final Fantasy VI: Brave New World (SNES/Super Famicom) |
| Series | Final Fantasy |
| Release date | May 5, 2017 |
Now we get to the first hack I actually don't have experience with. Whenever Final Fantasy gets a rom hack, it usually comes down to either one of two hacks: one that completely overhauls the story and characters, and one that "fixes"/improves the game. Brave New World is the latter, which rebalances the Espers, equipment, and the characters themselves. Makes sense too, because no matter how much I love Final Fantasy VI and consider it one of the best RPGs ever made, it is... quite easy to break. Everyone can learn every spell through Espers which in turn makes each character less unique, and there are some exploits and equipment that just completely break the game. Enemies now also have rebalanced stats, making them more fitting for the point in the game they are at, and also less exploitable to cheese tactics. In a nutshell, it's just a different way to experience this beloved RPG, perhaps making you use characters you previously ignored, while also adding a bit of difficulty but not to the extremes that it becomes unapproachable for non hardcore fans. I don't really have a lot more to say about it, so if you're interested in more Final Fantasy VI, checking out this set with additional challenges like time limits and level restrictions can never hurt!
I'm in the mood to talk about my other favourite game. Let's see what we have on offer there!
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Legend of Zelda, The: Parallel Worlds (SNES/Super Famicom) |
| Series | The Legend of Zelda |
| Release date | December 31, 2006 |
This is one of the earliest hacks A Link to the Past has ever gotten, yet is still one of the most popular--and for good reason. It is one of the biggest overhauls this game has ever seen, with completely new graphics, musics, dungeons, and overworld. Aside from the gameplay, this is an entirely new experience for fans of the game. I should emphasize "for fans of the game", as there is one catch to this: the difficulty is through the roof. Absolutely still doable, but you'll notice very quickly that you need good knowledge of the game if you want to make it through, as you need to get to the first dungeon and beat it without being in possession of a sword. Other difficulty moments include bosses being far more frequent rather than just being at the end, also being in widely different arenas such as the Lanmolas being in a dark room with a laser statue present at all times. But if you are a fan of the game and don't mind a higher difficulty, then this is the perfect rom hack for you as it is one of, if not the most expansive experiences the game has ever seen from unofficial sources. It also comes with a very detailed set, having time limit challenges as well as damage, as well as unique challenges for not once revisiting a room in a dungeon, or finishing them without dying or being revived by fairies. There are several other hacks to check out if you don't like the higher difficulty, but if you don't mind, this cannot be missed out on.
Another popular franchise for rom hacks is Castlevania, with both the old ones on NES, and the new Metroidvania titles on GBA and DS getting several hacks respectively. I wanted to take a look at the latter specifically today, mostly because of variation but also because they are my favoured half of the franchise. Bias shines through again!
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Reprise (Game Boy Advance) |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Release date | February 19, 2023 |
The two Sorrow games are the ones that get hacks most commonly, especially Dawn of Sorrow that has a wide variety of different character hacks. I wanted to keep it simple for today's choice and look at a hack of Aria of Sorrow, which is very familiar yet at the same time completely different due to being a roguelike. I am a big fan of randomizers personally, having done close to a hundred runs of the LTTP Randomizer, but getting support for such games is far more difficult due to it being different modified roms for each playthrough. This roguelike hack is far more clever, using the filename as seed and generating six random areas each having unique rooms with randomized effects. Progression is randomized, and beating a boss will also cause the entire castle to randomize itself again with stronger enemies and items to keep it balanced throughout your entire playthrough. If that wasn't enough, there are four different difficulties with an additional hardcore mode that will delete your save on death. This rom hack will easily add countless hours onto an already amazing game, and endless replayability for fans of the game. And the best part of all is, of course, that this rom hack is supported on RetroAchievements! The set is clever in the way that it will only require bosses to be defeated on every difficulty as both Soma and Julius, eliminating randomness that can occur with each generated seed and ensuring that everything can be done in as little playthroughs as possible. So if you are a fan of Aria of Sorrow, you owe it to yourself to play this hack. And yes, that includes myself...
Like Castlevania, another franchise that receives a lot of hacks across all different generations is Mega Man, with the NES and SNES games receiving the most love. And I would even go as far as to say that Mega Man hackers are arguably one of, if not the most talented group of people in the space with how they can completely change up the game. The only downside is that they are also not the best at balancing a game sometimes... but at least you got a choice with the following two!
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Rockman no Constancy (NES/Famicom) |
 ~Hack~ Mega Man 2: Rockman no Constancy: Hard Mode (NES/Famicom) |
| Series | Mega Man |
| Release date | October 21, 2007 (default) |
| January 21, 2019 (hard mode) |
Well I say you got a choice but rest assured, the default hack will still test your skill at the mega mans. Rockman no Constancy is also one of the older hacks just like Parallel Worlds we talked about earlier, but yet again it's hardly noticeable. Everything is changed from the base game Mega Man 2, with robot masters having different-coloured sprites to match a new element that also changes the mechanics of the weapon you get as a result, and the stages are completely different, both in layout but also definitely in unique graphics and 8-bit music remixed from much later games, like the opening of Namco x Capcom for the PlayStation 2. While it does not introduce any new gimmicks, it is almost completely unrecognizable from the source. What I personally also find impressive (and definitely infuriating), is how random enemies and the bosses themselves have completely different patterns, making them almost completely new boss battles as a result. Later rom hacks would go ever further beyond... especially one that has a specific robot master called "Cheat Man", that definitely absolutely cheats, but it goes to show how impressive rom hacking was already this early on. As shown above, you have the option between either the default hack or hard mode, which highers the defense of enemies and makes you recover less health from pick-ups. Both sets are what you can expect from Mega Man sets, like no deaths during stages as well as doing them buster-only. Solid sets that will always work well for us Mega Man fans!
Let's check out one final franchise for today. If one series besides Mario is known for fan creations, it's easily Pokémon. The amount of rom hacks and fangames this series has is very comparably to Mario, if not surpassing it. After all, Pokémon is very beloved but fans want more, and they are not always given that by official sources. The choices I could go with here are yet again a very high amount, and they could very well get their own articles as well. For now, I just want to talk about one of my favourites that embodies well what fans want from rom hacks.
| Game |
|---|
 ~Hack~ Pokemon Prism Version (Game Boy Color) |
| Series | Pokémon |
| Release date | December 19, 2016 |
Pokémon Prism is one of the best rom hacks ever made for the series, and I'll die on this hill to defend that opinion. While generation 3 is usually the most popular for rom hacks, the magic people have pulled off with generation 2 is nothing to sneeze at. Pokémon Prism is a modification of Pokémon Crystal and it has an incredible amount of new features. Trainer customization which was never a thing until generation 6, allowing you to choose from a variety of sprites, colours, a skin tones. The Pokédex still have 251 Pokémon, but they go up to generation 6 with Pokémon such as Sylveon, and Mega Evolution is also included. But most impressively of all is that there are a total of 6 (!) regions to explore, with a total of 20 badges to collect in a unique story. And this, really, only scratches the surface of all the new features. The amount of content packed in this simple rom is simply absurd, and it's exactly what we desire from the franchise--at least, speaking personally since I favour new experiences over hard content personally. I would even go as far as to say that this game is on par with some of the best games of the franchise itself, it simply is that good. This rom hack was also infamous for being one of those that released, just to be hit with a DMCA almost straight away. Though in a surprising twist of events, the original developers have resumed work recently and added even more content. Yep, that happened. The content of this patch is not yet covered, but as of right now it already has a very complete and extensive set to play.
And that's all for today! Similar to the Homebrew article, writing this pained me with how many good hacks I was unable to cover today, and I definitely have the intention to come back to this topic in due time, just maybe a little more dedicated to specific series or genres rather than a random list of hacks.
So what are your thoughts on the hacks talked about today? Have you played any of these, or feel there are some hacks I've absolutely missed talking about? And is that one Pokémon Unbound? It probably is isn't it. Well anyway, let us know your thoughts over on the forum post or in the Discord channel, we're always happy to hear what you have to say!