ROM Hacks News
These changes mixes every individual channel at 16-bit audio before downsampling everything to 8-bit audio, as opposed to the default m4a mixer which mixes every channel at 8-bit audio (blame the GBA’s DAC!). The game’s original sample rate of 15.7kHz is preserved, although this patch is compatible with sample rates up to ~26.8kHz (going higher will overwrite memory and crash the game!).
This hack greatly reduces the number of quantization/rounding errors that pop up during the mixing process, making the classic GBA “background hiss” much quieter while making Shogo Sakai’s music sound crispier than ever! Results seem even better when played back on actual hardware. Enjoy!!
PLEASE NOTE: This hack IS NOT COMPATIBLE with the MOTHER 3 FAN TRANSLATION! The author of this hack is currently working on the necessary changes to the fan translation in order to get high-quality sound mixing working in tandem with the translated text.
CREDITS:
- HQ sound mixer ingeniously programmed by ipatix, inspired by “Golden Sun” (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=324673)
- Mixer preparation and hacking by Summer Dragonfly
- Mother 3 decompilation and technical support: Kurausukun and theo3 (https://github.com/Kurausukun/mother3)
- Extra technical support: phoenixbound and Yosuke Unbound
- Special thanks to the Mother 1+2 Fan Translation/Sound Restoration project and the PRET Discord community!
[ 1 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
Translations News
A complete translation of Erika and Satoru’s Dream Adventure is available for everyone to try courtesy of Pennywise, Tom and FlashPV.
While the game itself is perhaps nothing too special, it is perhaps more known for being the game with a super secret hidden message that can only be triggered under super complicated conditions. So for the first time in over 30 years, Hidemushi rants and raves in English.
[ 4 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
It’s been a whole year since the last release, and what a year it has been! Many people would look at a romhack like FF4 Ultima and think to themselves “What more can they possibly fit into this game?” Multiple “final” versions later have answered that question.
And yet, the fantasy STILL isn’t final!
What began four years ago as a discovery that Final Fantasy 2 on the SNES had a lot of removed features and, with the right set of skills, could be transformed into something almost unrecognizable from its Vanilla counterpart, FF4 Ultima is best described as a “deluxe” version of the base game. However, with the amount of love and care put into this romhack that would be an understatement! The enjoyable story with themes of redemption and sacrifice remains comfortingly familiar, but the experience built around it is fresh and fun. The core FF4 story is all here, yet the romhack features expanded areas, new enemies and bosses, new items and equipment, an arsenal of new spells and rebalanced characters.
From party member swapping to exciting new encounters, developers 8-Bit Fan and chillyfeez have brought a whole host of exciting new features to a timeless masterpiece and with this most recent edition continue to build upon a storied history of successful releases. Notable new features in v2022 include:
- A full-featured bestiary, complete with descriptions! Find them all by scanning each unique enemy!
- A new epic encounter with a classic final fantasy favorite that loves to hold grudges!
- Powerful new items, weapons, and spells for more gameplay options than ever before!
- A chilling new area to explore!
- Menu access to the big chocobo from anywhere! No more full inventory woes! Big chocobos around the world will now impart their wisdom if spoken to.
- Menu UI improvements for a better experience!
- A fan favorite joins the party for the first time in FF4 Ultima history! Where does their allegiance truly lie? Command their powerful, unique spells and abilities if you can manage to find and recruit them to your cause!
- Through a partnership with RetroAchievements.org, achievements are now a reality! Collecting everything and exploring every inch of every map has never felt more rewarding!
All these additions AND more can now be experienced in Final Fantasy Ultima v2022! On behalf of the Final Fantasy IV Ultima dev team, thank you for your continued support. At almost 35,000 downloads, so many people have enjoyed this labor of love. Here’s to hitting 40k!
Credits:
Developers: 8-Bit Fan, chillyfeez
Achievements: RetroAchievements.org
And the many beta testers! Thank you!
If you are curious about this project, please see the links below:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4134/
https://retroachievements.org/game/1072
[ 8 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
There have been a lot of hacks of Super Mario Bros 2 (USA), but even by those standards this one is unusual.
This is a tribute to the unfinished cult animated film The Thief and the Cobbler, which was written and directed by three-time Academy Award winning animator Richard Williams (animation director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, author of The Animator’s Survival Kit).
You can play as four characters- the nameless Thief, Tack the Cobbler, Chief Roofless of the forty Brigands, and Princess Yum Yum. Enemies include the evil Grand Vizier, Zig Zag, and his henchmen Goblet, Gopher, Tickle and Slap. You’ll also meet the mad and holy old Witch of the desert mountain, who will both help and harm you. You’ll have to deal with lots of annoying animals, plus the vulture Phido and the deadly doggie Kuriboss.
It’s a side-scrolling adventure through seven worlds to retrieve the legendary golden balls, defeat the evil warlord One Eye, and save the Golden City!
Most of the graphics have been tweaked or replaced, and the levels have also been changed slightly.
The hack itself is by the film restorationist behind The Thief and the Cobbler: Recobbled Cut. The film was thirty years in the making. The hack was not.
[ 3 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
This mod is complete! All Pokémon obtainable, event tickets given by an old traveler. Mostly same as original. Pokémon that require trade to evolve are rare in game (generally 2%). Hopefully the one hack if you want a near original completable game with event tickets. Enjoy :)
[ 0 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
These are graphics hacks of “The Legend of Zelda” and “Zelda II: The Adventures of Link” for the NES which replaces the player character Link with Zelda.
Correct, Link is the name of the hero, not Zelda who was the damsel-in-distress. But not anymore! As Zelda is the heroine and this time Link needs to be rescued!
There are two kinds of patches. FULL means apply only to original ROMs, as it has the introduction texts modified. SPRITE-ONLY means this can be applied to prepatched romhacks without changed texts, so you can play new adventures as Zelda. However, advanced romhacks may not be compatible at all.
[ 1 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light, the first game in the famous tactical role-playing series, is known for being clunky, backwards, and slow. In Time For Tom, all that has changed.
Time For Tom is a full, 18-chapter new story built on the Fire Emblem 1 engine. It also contains a number of improvements upon the base game to bring it closer to later games in the series. Aside from the new cast of playable units, enemies, maps, weapons, and items, notable improvements include:
- A Weapon Triangle has been added based on Genealogy of the Holy War
- The protagonist always has access to the convoy
- Magical attacks use the Strength/Magic stat
- Stat caps are raised to 50, the damage cap is raised to 90
- All classes promote using Master Proofs, including Hunters and Generals
- Generals can weild bows and lances in addition to swords
- Player and enemy units now have Resistance, with Resistance growth rates
- And more!
Time For Tom is a comedy starring friends Thomas and Jake as they embark on a time-traveling adventure to right the wrongs of history. On the way, they meet some of the most popular Fire Emblem characters like Glade, Roger, Samto, Henry, Alba, and more.
In terms of difficulty, Time For Tom expects familiarity with the Fire Emblem series. While more challenging than the original, it should still be easily overcome by those who have played a Fire Emblem game before.
[ 0 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
Utilities News
After weeks of digging into the pertinent file, and a fast and furious bout of GUI code writing, OEA is proud to present the first utility for editing LEGO Battles, and indeed the first utility for editing any LEGO game on RHDN.
This utility allows for convenient, simple editing of a unit’s Speed, Land- and Water-walking capabilities, Type, Build Cost, Build Time, Health, Mana, Projectile, Attack Damage, and Powers, along with the Damage Values for those projectiles.
It is hoped that this utility inspires a variety of creative statistical hacks, making the Local Multiplayer this game offers even more exciting.
Given that, up until a few months ago, even the image files in LEGO Battles could not be deciphered, OEA is extremely proud of all the work that has been accomplished on a game he, and a great many others, fondly remember from childhood.
Finally, let a moment be taken to remember John Murga. Mr. Murga passed away on May 13, 2020, leaving behind a wonderful software package named MurgaLua. This program allows GUI code to be written in the much simpler, higher-level Lua programming language, as opposed to working with C/C++. OEA is eternally grateful for such code allowing even an amateur such as himself to write a clean-looking, fully-functional GUI. Requiescas in pacem, Mr. Murga.
[ 2 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Fans of the Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System should enjoy Inspector Gadget, a new hack of the unusual and challenging autorunning shooting platformer Gumshoe (1986). The hack is based on the 1983 animated series.
Players must guide the accident-prone, half-mechanical secret agent across four difficult stages - City, Air, Sea and Jungle - before facing off with the Zulie Monster, rescuing Penny and unmasking the evil Dr. Claw. Brain the dog, Chief Quimby, Madcat, and three MAD Agents will also appear in a complete playthrough.
While the Zapper only works on older CRT televisions, there are also options to play Zapper games on emulator and hardware, with newer accessories like the GunCon3 and Wiimote replacing your PC mouse.
Inspector Gadget was an animated series from DiC Entertainment, created by Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin and Bruno Bianchi, and starring the voice of Don Adams. It premiered on September 12, 1983.
[ 3 COMMENTS ] Relevant Link - RHDN Project Page
ROM Hacks News
Ever wanted to see Waluigi in a game that didn’t involve golf, tennis or party board games? Are you tired of Nintendo intentionally neglecting a charismatic antihero with loads of untapped potential? If you answered ‘Yes’ to either of the above, then this mod is for you. Super Mario RPG is still a great game, so why not have a Waluigi RPG?
While Waluigi RPG takes place in an alternate timeline, that is merely a headline lacking details. Not only are Mario and Toadstool away on a lengthy vacation when alt-Exor comes crashing, but Daisy of Sarasaland is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her royal tour of the Mushroom Kingdom is cut short when she is abducted by a love-starved Bowser, who wasn’t invited to Mario’s latest sunshine-filled odyssey.
To some, Waluigi may be nothing more than a cheat with powerful abilities. But in a parallel universe more fortunate than ours, he’s given plenty of chances to prove that he is more than meets the eye. He’s certainly not foolish enough to squander the girl of his dreams, and he’ll go along with whatever amount of craziness in Mario’s world in order to win her back!
- The challenge has leveled up in order to keep you awake! That said, this is a gradual effect that gives you plenty of time to prepare.
- The script has been appropriated for Waluigi and Daisy, and all party members serve a greater purpose throughout the game.
- Since battles are more dynamic, you’ll want to think about who to swap at the table much more often.
- Healing, items and money are more valuable (read: far less handouts)
- Many new and improved/retooled items, weapons and spells
- Less-played minigames have been brought up to balance standards to give a greater variety of options and replay
- Tooltips retain their original personality while providing much-needed clarity as for what things do or don’t do
And of course, this wouldn’t be a Ma…Waluigi game without lots of secrets, along with new takes on existing puzzles. And what’s up with that secret Vault? Anybody know how to unlock that thing?!
