Good ROM HACKS of NES/FAMICOM games

[FAMICOMfag]

I got into rom hacks recently. Do you know any good ones you know? Most hacks are just crappy random uninteresting graphical changes, but a few ones have a lot of quality new levels and such for games.

So far I've played (though not completed) and recommend :
- Chaos Control, hack of SMB3. It's very good, it sticks to the original game, nothing new there except new worlds and levels, but that's how I like it and the level design is very good in most levels.
- Mario Adventure, again hack of SMB3. This one changes a lot of the original game but it's all well done, it's also very long and much more challenging (however there is a save system, your game is saved each time you beat a boss or find a key). I recommend it too but it's more for the hardcore SMB3 players.
- The Legend Of Blob Bros 2 : the (only?) good rom hack of SMB2 (USA). New cute and funny looking characters and enemies, but the most important are the new levels; and they are very well designed as well.
- Rockman No Constancy - romhack of Rockman 2. In this one, even the musics are new. It's good but very challenging again.
- Megaman Forever : this one is a hack of megaman 4 being develeoped, but there is a demo out there. It's only one level but it looks promising, even though I think there is way too much dialogue and there is some lag issue from times to times.

You'll need an emulator to play those though, so I hope you have a pad compatible with your computer (playing with a keyboard is a big no-no.).
Unless you have a powerpak, then you could easily play those on your real console (lucky you).
Mario Adventure however requires the use of a new palette so it's not possible with a powerpak, and btw apaprently not all emulators support the new palette so I recommend to use Nestopia.

[UglyJoe]

You'll need an emulator to play those though, so I hope you have a pad compatible with your computer (playing with a keyboard is a big no-no.).

I must be the only person in the world who likes using their keyboard to play games.  They're so much more precise than a game controller.

[FAMICOMfag]

I must be the only person in the world who likes using their keyboard to play games. 

Yes. (unless we're speaking of FPS/RTS/RPG/POINT&CLICK games.)

[L___E___T]

If these are saved in .nes format surely you could play them on a real tv via a flashcart, right?

There are also plenty of USB converters or famicom USB repro controllers for use on PC / MAC.

Personally, I don't like emulators - not because of inaccuracies but because every one has a save / load state option and I can't help abusing it.  I love how hard NES games are and that's why I find them fun so I'll check some of these out and see if I can flash them.

Also, check out the megaman 7 NES port and rockman 5 forever, which replicates megaman 9's forever mode using rocman 5 levels / screens.

[FAMICOMfag]

If these are saved in .nes format surely you could play them on a real tv via a flashcart, right?

Are there others than the powerpak out there?

Personally, I don't like emulators - not because of inaccuracies but because every one has a save / load state option and I can't help abusing it.  I love how hard NES games are and that's why I find them fun so I'll check some of these out and see if I can flash them.

I can't stand people using state saves and the option to make the game go faster as well. Personally I never use them, that's NOT playing the game, also you're not forced to do it even if it's there.

Also, check out the megaman 7 NES port and rockman 5 forever, which replicates megaman 9's forever mode using rocman 5 levels / screens.

Forgot to mention that but I did play that. Indeed MM7 is VERY good, I like it WAY better than the original game on SNES (though you have to use joy2key or something to be able to paly with a pad) and that MM5 mode is good too.

[Doc]

You'll need an emulator to play those though, so I hope you have a pad compatible with your computer (playing with a keyboard is a big no-no.).

I must be the only person in the world who likes using their keyboard to play games.  They're so much more precise than a game controller.

Ehhh, I still think using a keyboard to play emulation is incredibly painful. I did it for a few months before I had to go out and buy a USB remote control pad.

[UglyJoe]

Hmm...I guess my fingers are just used to it.  I must have worked up a resistance when I used to play SkiFree for hours on end.  I used to play Samurai Showdown IV using the keyboard, too -- took me a while to figure out how to pull off a half-circle motion with the arrow keys!

[JC]

Megaman Forever

I've always wished I could take all the best levels and bosses from the Rockman games and put them on one cart. Someday I'm gonna play through all of the games, selecting the best levels and bosses and dreaming up my dream cart. It'd be cool if some ROM hacker could figure out how to make such a dream cart.

[nurd]

I was just playing SkiiFree yesterday.

[NintendoKing]

Pokemon Green, a hack of "Kerokerokeroppi no Daibouken 2: Donuts Ike ha Oosawagi!"
Actually, ever since I found out what my cart was a hack of, I have wanted to get "Kerokerokeroppi no Daibouken 2: Donuts Ike ha Oosawagi!" to look at the differences.


And Super Bros IV which is a hack of Armadillo.

[satoshi_matrix]

When I get some time, I'm going to do a series where I do video reviews of ROM hacks on my youtube channel. Since theres a sea of romhacks out there, I think I'll cover only the very best ones.

[L___E___T]

There's a TON of mario hacks around and actually some really great tools for making your own mario hacks and also generic graphics hacks for games.

I found a fuuny one that used the zelda 2 gfx for mario and had a whole new title screen etc.

I don't know if there is anything else other than the expensive powerpak but I'm sure I've seen famicom game doctors around, ugly as they are!

I wonder if you could use multipack fami carts or donors to make your own custom carts?  For me, that would be worth doing..

[UglyJoe]

EXTRA MARIO BROS is probably the largest SMB1 hack ever.  It adds new powerups, new levels, new gameplay mechanics (need to gather keys), an entirely new fight with Bowser at the end (coded from scratch, not just some tweak -- totally unlike SMB1), and a bunch of other stuff.

[L___E___T]

Hmmm extra super mario bros is extensive but I don't think it's as good as the original, some of the choices seem very strange, especially all the metroid nods.

Anyway, I thought this link would be handy for those who are looking for hacks:
http://www.zophar.net/hacks/nes.html

[UglyJoe]

I prefer RHDN for my hacks:

SMB1 Hacks

They have better quality control over what goes in their database.