Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, Part 5 of 5

We have finally arrived at the top of the list, the best of the best. Sorry for the delayed update, but Mario Kart Wii got ahold of me and wouldn’t let go the last two days. Excuses aside, I now present to best two rom hacks on the internet. They are…

#2 – I Wanna be the Guy

Platform: Stand alone .exe
Hack of: You name it
Hack Type: New Game
Hacked by: Mike O’Reilly
More Info: http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/

What to say about this little gem? This game is a tongue in cheek platformer based on the 8-bit games of old. The game has bizarre level design and a crazy difficulty level, but I’ll be damned if you don’t feel like a million bucks if and when you manage to make it to the second screen of the game. The levels are packed with tons of hazards, almost all of which are impossible to avoid the first time through. The game has a medium difficulty level, which features more save points, but you are punished for choosing a lighter difficulty by having to play through the game with a pink bow added to the main sprites head. The levels are modeled after famous 8-bit games and bosses include Mike Tyson (from Mike Tyson’s Punch Out) and a giant Zangief (from Street Fighter 2). This game will definitely make you want to pull all of your hair out and kill the asshole who created it, but that is also the point of the game.

Download the .EXE file here.

#1 – Mario Adventure

Platform: NES
Hack of: Super Mario Bros. 3
Hack Type: New Game
Hacked by: DahrkDaiz
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/70/

This is the greatest Mario game that Nintendo never made. If the NES had lasted just two more years, I would like to think that a game of this caliber could’ve become Super Mario Bros. 4. Coded by one guy over a period of a year and a half, this game is simply amazing. The creator managed to create a new and entertaining Mario platformer that is actually innovative. It’s not just Mario 3 with different levels. This game features all new enemies, power ups, sprites, backgrounds, and implements the one feature that Super Mario Bros. 3 noticeably lacks: the ability to save your progress. This game is truly a feat considering that a fresh, innovative, and fun gaming experience was created that can truly live up to the status of a Mario game.

Download Rom Patch here.

That does it for the Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, but check back for the continuation of the Best Cyberpunk videogames as well as a feature highlighting an obscure but stellar RPG series for the SNES. Subscribe via Reader or Email to get notifications whenever the blog is updated.

Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, Part Four

We are nearing the end of my list of the ten best rom hacks. From here out, all the games are highly recommended and you will be less of a person if you do not play them. Seriously, though, play these games. Without further ado, here are numbers 4 and 3…

Make sure you check out numbers 10 + 9 , numbers 8 + 7 , and numbers 6 + 5 on the countdown so you know what the hell I am talking about.

#4 – Recca Pure

Platform: NES
Hack of: Recca Summer Carnival ’92
Hack Type: Extra Options
Hacked by: Sliver X
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/207

Recca is probably the single greatest graphical achievement for the Nintendo Famicom. The game is a top down scrolling shooter, and it is fast. Much faster than anything else on the NES or Famicom. There are points in the game when the screen is completely filled with swerving enemies and total chaos, and amazingly enough the slow downs that plagued many of Nintendo’s 8-bit title are non-existent. This hack of Recca Summer Carnival ’92 unlocks several of the hidden option menus that are not available in the original rom (or if you’re lucky enough, the original Famicom cart or pirate). Options such as Time Attack, Score Attack, and a choice between Hard and Easy settings add a surprising amount of depth to this already fantastic game.

Download Rom Patch here.

#4 – Dragoon X Omega II

Platform: NES
Hack of: Final Fantasy
Hack Type: Completely New Game
Hacked by: Sliver X / Thaddeus
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/143

Dragoon X Omega II is a completely new game built using the core elements from Final Fantasy for NES. Taking three and a half years to complete, the game has been hailed as the most extensive hack ever completed. The game is a dark and moody futuristic RPG, and the sequel to Sliver X’s previous hack Dragoon X Omega (which is itself an extensive hack of Dragon Warrior for NES). DXO2 is truly an amazing accomplishment considering that the game boasts all new graphics, music, and dialogue, as well as an dark, engaging story.

Download Rom Patch here.

Be sure to check back Saturday for the thrilling conclusion to the countdown of the 10 best rom hacks. Why not subscribe to the Temple of Doom feed via Reader or Email to get notified whenever the site is updated?

Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, Part Three

In part three of the Ten Best Rom Hacks, we tackle two of video gaming’s most recognized faces. The order of the day is a case of the ol’ switcheroo. What do you get when you combine the best best known video game mascots in the history of everything? Let’s find out…

Lost? Why check out numbers 10 + 9 and numbers 8 + 7 on the list. Next time, make sure you get your homework done before you come to class.

#6 – Somari

Platform: NES
Hack of: Sonic the Hedgehog (GEN + SMS), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN)
Hack Type: Character Swap
Hacked by: Somari Team
More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somari

This game makes the list not necessarily for it quality, but for it’s place in video game history. This game is basically just Sonic the Hedgehog for the Master System with the sprite of Sonic swapped out for that of Mario. It also incorporates stages and some mechanics (i.e. the spin dash) from the Genesis Sonic games and plays pretty much like turds, but when it was first released in the Super NES glory days in the early-mid ninties as a Famicom pirate cart, it was a pretty wild concept to have Sonic and Mario mixed together in any way, shape, or form. Even now, this cart is one of the most highly sought after Famicom pirates in the retro community.

Download Rom Here

#5 – Sonic Jam 6

Platform: Genesis
Hack of: Super Mario Bros. (Mario All Stars version, SNES)
Hack Type: Character Swap
Hacked by: ?
More Info: ?

This game is just the Super Mario All Stars version of Super Mario Bros. with the sprite of Sonic the Hedgehog is Mario’s place. You start off with a red Sonic, and mushrooms make you a blue Sonic and so forth. Plays pretty much exactly like Super Mario Bros., so no real shocks. Like Somari, it’s just pretty neat to see Sonic in a Mario game.

Download Rom Here

As Always, Subscribe for email updates so you don’t miss the final four of our countdown. Until then…

Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of the Ten Best Rom Hacks. Today we are moving further down the list with numbers 8 and 7. If you haven’t already, check out Part One of this feature.

The two roms on the list today are of a decidedly mature nature, so get your permission slips signed and while you’re at in, why don’t you sign up for email updates so you can be the first to know when Temple of Doom gets updated? Without further ado…

#8 – Pussy City Pimps

Platform: NES
Hack of: River City Ransom (NES)
Hack Type: Hilariousness Added
Hacked by: Jomb IU
More Info: ?

Wow. Just wow. Much like the original River City Ransom, you are on a quest to rid your town of thugs and save your girl. Except for the fact that in Pussy City Pimps you are burdened with the task of killing a a pimp who took control of all the city’s hookers, including your favorite lady of the night, Horny. Differences include the playable character’s limp dorks hanging out of the front of their pants and some pretty comical expressions of defeat from the enemies, including but not limited to; ‘piss’, ‘cock’, and ‘that made me blow my wad’. If you are a fan of the original (and who isn’t?) or if you have a place in your heart for an endless barrage of dick, tits, and fart jokes, than I would give this one a whirl.

Download Rom Here.

#7 – Panic in the Mushroom Kingdom

Platform: SNES
Hack of: Super Mario World (SNES)
Hack Type: Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque remake
Hacked by: Ghettoyouth
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/48/

When I was a kid I used to go to the 7-11 near my house and pump endless quarters into the Splatterhouse arcade in the back of the store. Even though I had both a NES and a Sega Genesis, I always kind of resented the fact that Nintendo had no really “mature” (yeah, me being 11 at the time, I really knew what mature meant). Again with rom hacking, someone has gone back and righted the wrongs of the past. This game is what every kid in the early 90’s dreamed up. Hacked up body parts? bloody mists of depravity? Toads skewered on sharpened pikes. Man, if Nintendo had released this game themselves it would have been a million seller. Check it out, but be warned: it’s ultra violent, but in a way that is absolutely awesome.

Download Rom Patch Here.

Next: Numbers 6 and 5. Subscribe so you don’t miss out.

Top Ten Best Rom Hacks, Part One

Hind sight is always 20/20. And if you are all fancy and know what a hex editor and an assembler is, than you can go back and right the wrongs of the past. A game too hard? Make is easier. Too “PG”? Make it “NC-17”. Another approach is to hack into a game and use all the pieces to make your own original game, or put a new twist on a tried and true classic. Rom hacking puts this power into your hands, and there are some pretty damn good games made by nerds just like you and me. Fire up your favorite emulator and try something new:

(Note: Some of the following games are roms, some are stand alone programs, and some are rom patches. If you don’t know anything about rom patches or how they work, check this out.)

10. Batman (Easy Version)

Platform: NES
Hack of: Batman (NES)
Hack Type: Difficulty made easier
Hacked by: Deespence2929
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/367

I was a huge fan of the first Batman movie when it came out in 1989. I was a bright eyed, bushy tailed 7 year old kid and I was obsessed. I remember the first time I saw the movie; the dark tone, the frightening villains, and the awesomeness that was the Batwing and the Batmobile. So it makes perfect sense that on Christmas morning 1990 I was blown away to receive Sunsoft’s Batman for play on my Nintendo Entertainment System. I have had that exact copy in my collection for 18 years now, and I have still yet to see the end of the game. The game is just too damn hard and overly frustrating. I am just glad somebody else felt the same way. This rom, an edited version of the original, takes the need for suicide watch out of the equation. Less enemy life, more platforms, fewer traps, easier bosses, and a couple added short cuts make wrapping this game actually do-able on three lives. Three cheers for progress!

Download Rom Patch Here

9. ChronoTrigger

Platform: SNES
Hack of: ChronoTrigger (SNES)
Hack Type: alternate translation
Hacked by: Doctor L
More Info: http://www.romhacking.net/trans/1258

One of the best console RPG’s in the history of gaming gets a welcomed update in the translation department. Not that there is anything wrong with the translation we got here in North America, but this update just seems to iron out some of the originals quirks and grammer nightmares. Also a plus is a fresh localization inclusion of some bits and pieces removed due to Nintendo of America’s overbearing censorship policies circa NES and SNES era. If are a fan of this game (and who isn’t?) I recommend that you check this alternate translation out.

Download Rom Patch here.

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