What are your favorite romhacks?

[Aeriththeflowergirl]

I like the ones that improve the game like the Final Fantasy advance color hacks

 

[Johnadams1811]

Pokemon Rocket Edition and Mario 3 mix

 

[Ikagura]

I quite liked Sonic Mobius Evolution which was a Sonic 1 romhack of a good level featuring both Sonic and Blaze in well designed levels with new musics and graphics.

I usually find that Sonic 2 had a better potential for rom hacking as it has more levels, a spindash and an improved physics engine (especially regarding the spike but and speed cap).

Same with Streets of Rage (especially 2 and 3) hacks that add back cut content (especially for 3 with the story and some levels) and even add back characters such as Adam (and Max in 3 or retroactively Zan in 2) or even being able to play as any enemy NPC.

SoR is quite a fun beat'em up to experience again with hacks like how Sonic is fun to hack as a platformer.

 

[RetroLaw]

That romhack that made Castlevania 2 less cryptic.

 

[Ikagura]

That romhack that made Castlevania 2 less cryptic.

Castlevania II by itself is not a bad game (maybe just one of the weakest gameplay and level design wise next to Dracula X/XX/Vampire's Kiss on the SNES) and at least tried new ideas rather than recycling the same thing (cough NES Megaman cough) but the original translation was just godawful and I totally understand why it got infamous online (with the help of a certain "angry Nintendo nerd") next to Zelda II the Adventure of Link.

It still is leagues above something like Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde among a sea of junk in the hardware's library.

 

[RetroLaw]

Castlevania II by itself is not a bad game (maybe just one of the weakest gameplay and level design wise next to Dracula X/XX/Vampire's Kiss on the SNES) and at least tried new ideas rather than recycling the same thing (cough NES Megaman cough) but the original translation was just godawful and I totally understand why it got infamous (with the help of a certain "angry Nintendo nerd").

It still is leagues above something like Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde among a sea of junk in the hardware's library.

Castlevania 2 + Nintendo Power is one of the best games I have ever played.

(of course it wasn't actually Nintendo Power but rather :

 

[DevilBusterAkemi]

Unless you count widescreen hacks or english patches to be ROMhacks then I think I would consider Pokemon Crystal Clear or Fire Emblem: The Sun God's Wrath is really good. I earnestly think that Fire Emblem community is the most underrated when it comes to rom hacks.

i wish CrystalClear's devs weren't such jerks. it's unfair to build a project entirely on open source code, and refuse to share any of your own findings. CC has things like follow pokemon that people have wanted for a long time, but the hackers refuse to share any of their findings. this community thrives on sharing with each other. hoarding information is just wrong.

 

[Ikagura]

Castlevania 2 + Nintendo Power is one of the best games I have ever played.

(of course it wasn't actually Nintendo Power but rather :

It feels like some games are obtuse on purpose solely to sell magazines.

More recently I really appreciated F-zero 55 with the new tracks and music.

 

[Strategist]

It feels like some games are obtuse on purpose solely to sell magazines.

More recently I really appreciated F-zero 55 with the new tracks and music.

Nah, that one was a botched localization done by non-native English translators from what I gather. Most early NES era translations of Japanese games were done by the most fluent English speaker they could find in their area. That's why you see so much awkward English in NES games, such as "A winner is you!".

 

[RetroLaw]

That's why you see so much awkward English in NES games, such as "A winner is you!".

I would absolutely hate to live in a timeline without these lines.

" All your bases are belong to us"

 

[Mr. SyS]

You like Pokemon QOL? My choice ones are:

>Shin Pokemon

>Pokemon Sour Crystal

>Pokemon Throwback

>Pokemon Modern Emerald

>Pokemon Renegade Platinum

>Pokemon Sacred Gold and it's evolution Aurora Crystal if it ever comes out.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Currently plating Manall Fantasy, pretty sweet for him to use Hasted for basic QOL and the character Sprites are cute, it's harder than vanilla FF1 but in a satisfactory way

 

[Cheeks]

Crystal Clear has been my go-to for Pokémon. It feels like the right direction for the mainline franchise.

 

[Waffles]

Shotgun Mario 64, Smash Remix.

 

[Ikagura]

Shotgun Mario 64, Smash Remix.

I'm glad that Mario 64 hacking is versatile enough to make fun hacks like that one. I mean I am far from being a guy that'd replay SM64 all day but I love being able to do the game in a new way.


Smash Remix solely rebreathed a new life to an ageing Smash 64 when Brawl hacking is commonplace and Smash Ultimate exists.

 

[RageBurner]

Not sure if it has been mentioned in the thread but FF6 - A Soldier's Contingency is the closest a hack ever got to solving FF6's problems, in my opinion. Character roles are emphasized and natural stat growth is implemented, among other things. It's worth a look.

Brave New World does things I either can't stand (altering the script with insert jokes) or are band-aid fixes that don't address the core problems (disabling exp selectively).

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

Most romhacks or mods i'd typically go for would be to remove grind; So like xp/money boosts for games.

i really like the moemon hacks for pokemon, such cute sprite work!

Heh, probably the only way i'll replay pokemon.

 

[rodimusprimal]

Sometimes having the most simple QoL things are some of the best hacks. Ones that get the feeling of playing the original.

The Metroid Plus saving rom hack is awesome. I do wish the unofficial update didn't have the mini-map on the main screen as it gets in the way of items and enemies sometimes.

Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link Redux patches are amazing. You can even mix and match what things you want added to them (I prefer original sprites).

The Castlevania II Translation Plus Map patch is great. Even adds a save feature.

Double EXP/ Gold on Dragon Warrior NES makes those games a lot less tedious.

 

[Ikagura]

The Castlevania II Translation Plus Map patch is great. Even adds a save feature.

This is how I played it.

 

[LUNARMYTH]

For the past few days I've been playing Pokemon Recharged Emerald, big QoL upgrade to the regular game. Jaizu picked some really nice sprites, implemented the fan favorite follow mechanic that has been a staple for ROM hacks lately. And my personal chef's kiss from the game is the Continue/New Game screen: you only see if for a second but damn does it look clean.

 

[stealthRUSH]

I've been appreciating Holy Diver improvements on FC/NES

 

[χKai]

Can't choose, too many good ones.
Might give Zelda Parallel Worlds another playthrough.

 

[jawgg]

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is one of my favorite GBA games, and generally just one of my favorite games of all time. Aria of Sorrow: Reprise is a rom hack that turns the game into sort of a rouge-like, and I'm VERY grateful with the amount of replayability it adds

 

[Varyag]

I gotta say my favorites are the Gran Turismo 2 and 4 hacks, that fix and expand the car roster. 2 A-Spec, 2 plus, 4 Spec-II and the Randomizer are all amazing.

On the Pokemon side, I really enjoyed Blaze Black and Volt White.

 

[zilbert25]

I tend to really enjoy the hacks where theyre not totally different from the original, but have upgraded soundtrack, unlocked secrets / characters / levels etc. Sometimes re colour or graphic updates too, really nice.