Hacks & Homebrews: Super Mario World

[Melf]

Today we kick off a new article series, which takes a look at some of the weirder and more obscure releases for the Genesis over the years. We begin with a look at one of the better hacks to come out of Hong Kong (is that an oxymoron?). Super Mario World seems too good to be true...until you play it. A mish-mash of broken concepts and "could have been" moments, it still showed some serious potential. Read the article (http://www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20HHB%20Super%20Mario%20World.htm) to see just how much.

[Dartagnan1083]

I've got something even more bizzare
be sure to watch it the whole way through
http://home.comcast.net/~dwedit/flash/darkwing.html

the link within the movie is down for now, but it detailed how a pirate cart called "ROCKMAN 5" with wierd Megaman images on the front turned out to be a hacked version of Darkwing Duck on the NES. You still foughtthe same enemies and had charcters like Launchpad reffer to you as DW.
The game even opened with 'I AM THE TERROR THAT FLAPS IN THE NIGHT...'

[Sega Uranus]

Yes, nice article, bad everything else!


And, where could I find the rom of Shadow in Sonic 1 that you mentioned?

[Melf]

You could check Emuasylum; that's where I originally saw it.

[tim333]

Don't ask for those ROMs; as they are edits of commercial ROMs, they're illegal. However, I can link you to a page with all of the Sonic hacks you could ever want in IPS patch form:

http://ssrg.shadowsoft-games.com/hackarchive/

Most of them (including the "Shadow in Sonic 1" hack) are graphical, but some hacks change a LOT of the games. I especially recommend Sonic 2 Long version, which has tons of new levels! You'll have to find the original ROMs yourself in order to play these, however.

Back on topic... I've seen some pretty weird Hong Kong pirate games. Have you seen Somari? It's a dodgy yet somewhat enjoyable remake of Sonic 1 on the NES... bizarrely, with a Mario that moves like Sonic instead of Sonic himself as the main character. I don't know what they were thinking with that idea, but it's an amusing oddity.

[Melf]

Those are pretty neat! I like anything that give Mighty the Armadillo more star time.

I'm looking into the Donkey Kong one too. There are plenty of oddities for future installments of this series, and I want to concentrate on the ones that are more like totally different games than just some sprite swaps.

[Genesis Knight]

I was under the impression that the Genny Mario game was more than just a ROM--it was a cart released in the Eastern sector. I don't think you pointed that out in your article.

[Mel]

Hmm, I'd like to get ahold of that cart for novelty value. It'd be fun to freak out my friends, by having mario on my genesis. ... muahaha.

[Melf]

I was under the impression that the Genny Mario game was more than just a ROM--it was a cart released in the Eastern sector. I don't think you pointed that out in your article.

It was a Hong Kong hack that was released in cart form. I went back and added a mention. :)

[Genesis Knight]

Yokay.

[Dartagnan1083]

I think ROMnation has a picture of the cart label under this game.
It's really quite wierd and deformed

[j_factor]

The Sonic 2 Long Version is really nice. It's what Sonic 2 could have been! The extra levels really feel authentic and are very well done, except for the new bosses.

[Drixxel]

In Sonic 2 Long Version, where do the new levels fit in? Are they interspersed between various pre-existing levels, or tacked on at the end?

[Elusive]

In Sonic 2 Long Version, where do the new levels fit in? Are they interspersed between various pre-existing levels, or tacked on at the end?

Sonic 2 Long Version uses left-over data from the Sonic 2 prototype loating around the Net. For example, the levels in the prototype (most notably Hidden Palace Zone and Wood Zone) were for the most part removed in the final Sonic 2 version. I won't sum up the proto here, it takes a whole website to do that (http://www.sws2b.com). Sonic 2 Long Version (and its predecessor, Sonic 2 Delta) restore these removed levels using both original code and what was left in the ROM of the levels. So yes, Sonic 2 Long Version uses empty left-over level slots of levels that were originally semi-deleted to put in new zones.

As a sidenote, you can access Hidden Palace Zone in the final Sonic 2, using the Game Genie code ACLA:ATD4. To do this, you need to start the game with the Game Genie code, then enter the level select menu (go to the 'Options' screen, press B on sounds 19, 65, 09, & 17, press Start to reset, hold A and press Start on '1P START'). Go to the second 'Sound Test' part of the level select menu and press B on sounds 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04. Press Start again to reset, hold A and press Start on '1P START'. Finally, go to the 'Death Egg' level, and press Start.

[GeckoYamori]

I think the higher contrast of the pirated version's palette looks better. I hate how a lot of SNES games look so unnaturally bright.

[Genesis Knight]

Yeah, but Hidden Palace with a Game Genie is just a bunch of messed up graphics and a quick death.

[Melf]

It seems the Game Genie has some severe limitations. It sucks that there are so many cool codes for RPGS, yet you can't save while using the GG.

[Genesis Knight]

Not only that, but often you can damage the save irrepairably. O_O!!! Apparently the use of codes on savegames can make it continually reset on the load game screen unless the game also has a 'clear saved games' code...

...which practically none of them have.

No, I just use the dear old GG for action games.

[Melf]

I didn't know that. Yeesh, that's pretty cold, lol. I too, only use my GG for shmups and action games. Better safe than sorry.

[Genesis Knight]

Exactly. I used it once on Sonic 3, and I lost every single one of my game saves. Lucky I didn't trash the cart, but I still lost about ten complete games.

[ary incorparated]

Yuck bootleg shit,i dont like this game,its not sega,and then thats real irating stuff,they trying to sell this for a high amount.Still its fun sometimes,like dk country on genesis on rom,people that are so snes can see that dk country is also possible on md hahahah.i doesnt even look like te sne version.ah still its a fun article,fun subject.