[SCD]

I want to see a hack for Castlevania Chronicles that will restore the original sprites for Simon & Dracula for Arrange Mode, including restore the missing Japanese speech that the doll enemies uses as well.

I also want to see a English hack for Beavis & Butt-head: Virtual Aho Shoukougun for the PSX as well.

[Q]

I recently found out that Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre were re-released for the Sega Saturn (in Japan only), and the re-releases featured enhanced music. I'd love to see MSU1 music hacks of FinS's translation of the Nintendo Power version of Ogre Battle and the Aeon Genesis translation of Tactics Ogre, so that both of these games can be played on SNES with the enhanced Sega Saturn music.

[mz]

I recently found out that Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre were re-released for the Sega Saturn (in Japan only), and the re-releases featured enhanced music.

Are they different than the PSX versions?

If not, are there reasons to prefer the SNES versions over the PSX ones?

[Q]

Are they different than the PSX versions?

I'm pretty sure the PSX versions use the same music as the SNES versions. The Sega Saturn versions also have voice acting, but it's in Japanese, so it isn't necessarily that much of an improvement for English-speaking players.

If not, are there reasons to prefer the SNES versions over the PSX ones?

It's been a while since I've played the PSX versions, but I'm pretty sure they have lots of load time that isn't present in the SNES versions. My guess is the Saturn versions do too, since the Saturn is CD-based. That's why I think the ideal way to play is probably the SNES versions with the enhanced music added.

[mz]

Well, I just tried both Ogre Battle (The March...):

1. PSX takes 1 or 2 seconds to load the map or battle the first time they appear, not really "lots of load time" for me.
2. Graphics are so much better on the PSX version that when you go back to the SNES it almost feels like an NES game. Prettier, more detailed, colorful and higher res.



3. Sequenced music tracks are the same, but the samples used for them are different and the PSX versions sound a million times better.

If I were to play this game, I'd pick the PSX version without a doubt.

[Q]

What about loading a save game or during the transition to a fight between units? The latter one is probably what I'd find most annoying.

[ShadowOne333]

Some hack suggestions:

The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link

After i've been trying Killerbob's awesome Loz Relocalized hack, i've would really like a relocalization of Legend of Zelda 2 as well, making the script a bit less stilted and more natural, and once for all solve the mystery of Bug & Error which got lost in the original localization.

I'm working on a hack called Zelda 2 Redux, and one of its main goals is a complete rewrite of the script to be more helpful and not as robotic.

It's still WIP, but its close to being finished! Look for it in the Personal Projects section.

[mz]

What about loading a save game or during the transition to a fight between units? The latter one is probably what I'd find most annoying.

Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't test those (nor I feel like testing these games again ).

In any case, if you've been playing many PSX games like me, I'm sure you're used to much worse load times, so I guess it depends on how high is your tolerance level. (I've just finished playing Medarot R which has an excessive amount of random battles with *very* long load times each. Fortunately, you can just fast forward all this stuff nowadays as long as you don't mind not playing in real hardware...)

[Q]

@mz: I just looked at a YouTube video, and it looks like there's a really obnoxiously long load time every single time one of your units clashes with an enemy in the PSX version. Considering I could just play the SNES version with no load times, I would find this unbearable. If you use Google, you can find other people complaining about the load times, so clearly I'm not the only one bothered by it.

I think you're kind of exaggerating how much better the PSX version looks. Overall, it probably looks better, but honestly not by that much—and I actually dislike the PSX version's font. Even if the graphics look a little better, they don't make up for the load times, especially if someone did an enhanced music hack for the SNES version. Obviously it's totally fine if you prefer the PSX version, but it's not for me.

[KingMike]

Well, I just tried both Ogre Battle (The March...):

1. PSX takes 1 or 2 seconds to load the map or battle the first time they appear, not really "lots of load time" for me.
2. Graphics are so much better on the PSX version that when you go back to the SNES it almost feels like an NES game. Prettier, more detailed, colorful and higher res.



3. Sequenced music tracks are the same, but the samples used for them are different and the PSX versions sound a million times better.

If I were to play this game, I'd pick the PSX version without a doubt.

I'm not seeing a huge difference. That overworld screen looks stretched in the PS version, which is probably a downgrade.

[mz]

Obviously it's totally fine if you prefer the PSX version, but it's not for me.

Sure, I was just telling you my impressions. I know for a fact that most people can't stand even just an extra millisecond of loading time or don't like having to use a fast-forward button every few seconds.

I personally think the graphics alone are reason enough to prefer the PSX version (the much better music being a big plus), but I agree that the all-caps font is a terrible idea (the SNES font looks much uglier, though).

I'm not seeing a huge difference. That overworld screen looks stretched in the PS version, which is probably a downgrade.

It's hard to tell the difference in those small screenshots, but in full screen it's certainly noticeable.

The overworld screen isn't stretched, it's drawn in the correct aspect ratio (the sprites, I mean; the map seems to use the same poor resolution as the original, but appears smoother due to not being in the mode 7's blocky hell and using a higher rendering resolution). The SNES is the one that gets stretched when you play it on a real 4:3 TV.

[Q]

@mz: Another thing I noticed is that if you pause the game to give orders to your units in the PSX version, the music stops, then it starts again from the beginning when you unpause. It doesn't do this in the SNES version; it just keeps playing when you pause. This is another big problem with the PSX version, in my opinion.

[TRIFORCE89]

Patches for Mario Tennis and Mario Golf for the N64 and GBC that unlock Transfer Pak-related courses in each game. Characters, not necessary, and probably unable to do "cleanly" as they borrow player-specific stats. Just the courses would be nice.

[mamertos]

How I said here, other problem of the SNES version of Ogre Battle is that the description menu of the tarot cards during battles pushing down the select button is broken (in the jap version works fine). So, in my opnion, the PSX version wins over the SNES one for this fact. I wish someone fix it

[KingMike]

It might be difficult to say if it was broken or deliberately removed.

Lufia 1 had item descriptions that were surely removed from the localization due to ROM space. (it sounds like the developers were given 12 megabits for the localization originally and then had it cut to 8 at release, and the game seems like it barely fit at that.)

[Q]

How I said here, other problem of the SNES version of Ogre Battle is that the description menu of the tarot cards during battles pushing down the select button is broken (in the jap version works fine). So, in my opnion, the PSX version wins over the SNES one for this fact. I wish someone fix it

Check out FinS's English translation of the Nintendo Power version of Ogre Battle. It has the tarot card descriptions plus other features that weren't present in the NA SNES version.

[Gorganzola]

Hi, I have a suggestion, I don't know if it would be easy or hard to do but there is a game called Metal Walker on the Game Boy Color, it's a good game but the random battles happen too often (You can take as little as 3 steps and have a battle). Would it be possible to reduce the encounter rate for this game to make it more enjoyable?

[mz]

Would it be possible to reduce the encounter rate for this game

Of course it is, anything is.

Take a look at these links to start learning how to do it:
The Newbie Package of REQUIRED Material

ROMHacking.net FAQ: You ask, we answer!
ROMHacking.net Getting Started Section: Newbies Go HERE!
ROMHacking.net Documents Section!
How to ask questions the smart way.
On the Essence of ROM Hacking
Talk with experienced people in our IRC chat and ask specific questions there.

[Psyklax]

Would it be possible to reduce the encounter rate for this game to make it more enjoyable?

If you learn Z80 assembly then sure. That's the only way you'll be able to alter the encounter rate. First you'll need to figure out how the game decides when random battles occur. Like, Final Fantasy 1 takes a random number and counts down with every step, so you could just double the number and get a much lower encounter rate. But this ain't FF1, so who knows.

[CyberFox]

It would be be nice if someone took either Tengen's Ms Pac-Man or Namco's Pac-Man and reconstruct them into an NES port of Data East's "Rootin' Tootin'"