[Archived] Hack ideas: for those without the skill but with all the ideas.

[KingMike]

Been hearing so much of this, maybe especially since the AVGN video.
Going back from 6-4 to 6-1 is not a bug. The code could not be more deliberate in its function.

Even other Tecmo games did that at the time. Solomon's Key had a continue code that made you play the last 10 levels in sequence.
Rygar arcade wouldn't let you continue after a point.
This was the "arcade hard" era of games.

But I guess Ninja Gaiden NES was the only game of those people seem to have really played so they assume that it was a "bug".

But if you really want to nerf it, I've probably already posted the relevant code years ago.
I remember the current level is stored in RAM at $006E. There's code which checks $6E at death (or maybe death just at a boss stage) and SPECIFICALLY checks the ID number for 6-4 and sets it SPECIFICALLY to the ID for 6-1.
Someone who knows ASM could find that again in a few minutes I'm sure.

[Psyklax]

Going back from 6-4 to 6-1 is not a bug. The code could not be more deliberate in its function.

Yep, as you mentioned, some among us have examined the actual code and can see that the game specifically checks. Another example for your list: Shinobi in the arcade (maybe home versions, I dunno) give you one shot at the final level, and if you die then it's game over, no continues. Previous levels allow you to add coins to continue from there, but not the final level. Clearly Ninja Gaiden is not alone in this way of thinking.

[SCD]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
I wish for a simple palette swap of red and purple foot soldiers.

I was able to find the color palettes and switch them around, but I found out that the red foot soldier shares the same colors of the fire, explosion, barrel and TNT box sprites.

So it didn't look right on the other sprites, the only thing I can think of that will make this work is maybe switch the enemy ID of the red and purple foot soldiers around, but I don't know where it is in the ROM.

[julayla]

I loved the Sailor Moon gameboy games (despite never knowing the translations at the time). And to be honest, I wish the games had a Super Gameboy or Gameboy Color treatment one day.

EDIT: Another game series I wouldn't mind fixing would be the Gameboy Color version of the Powerpuff Girls three games. Or at least the weird flying mechanic. I don't know. The games when I tried them kind of felt like they were Christmas Rushed and needed fixing on at least the flying and hit detection.

[RetroProf]

Hack request for:
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Genesis/Mega Drive)


So the Mega Drive/Genesis Mini contains Shinobi III, but due to the way the 6 button controller works, it is not possible to activate the 6 button mode (you need to hold down the "Mode Button", but on the Mini this does not function like the original controller's Mode Button, it is simply a way to get back to the main menu). Idiots. 

Can someone please produce an IPS patch which, when applied, will permanently activate the 6 button mode without needing to go through the special input code to unlock it? (You need to hold Mode Button on 1P controller, and hold UP and C on 2P controller, then press start at the title screen.)

I tried to HEX edit this myself, by activating it in NeoGenesis, and swapping between save states while searching for changing HEX values, but despite finding several potential matches none of them actually activated the 6 button mode.

I don't know what sort of values in the code result in the 6 button mode functioning.

But if someone made a patch, which we could all apply, we could then put Shinobi III on our Mini consoles once it's been hacked and play the game the way it was meant to be played. You know, even if you don't make a patch, if you could tell me the HEX address and value to change I can HEX edit the ROM myself. But I figure others would value this too.

There is a hack:
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/827/

But this still requires use of the Mode Button, which as I've explained is non-functional on the Mini's 6 button controller.

[FAST6191]

I am not usually a fan of hacking things to work for lesser emulators/devices but this has me curious. Alas I don't know if we have a simple hardpatch RAM code cheat these days for the megadrive/genesis and I have my doubts as to whether such a thing is feasible this side of some crazy AI decompilation/disassembly or premade list of injection points (at times I am impressed the GBA can play host to such things).

Trying to hunt down a flag in a running game with conventional cheat search is frequently an exercise in frustration. It can be done though (enough of has it changed, has it remained the same and you can usually get to things you can watch for most games). On "has it remained the same" then I frequently find new cheat makers skip this in favour of constantly changing the thing and looking for that change where doing nothing but letting the game run for a few seconds or doing a whole bunch save for tweaking the flag you want helps narrows things down far more quickly.

More practically if you have some assembly skills (minor ones as these things go, great learning the basics of assembly hack too) buttons are either read from the registers provided for button states ( https://segaretro.org/Sega_Mega_Drive/Memory_map ) or copied to another section (a process called debouncing*) and then for the next frame (or perhaps more) any reads of the button are for that section. It should be easy enough to find something watching for the mode button and setting something accordingly, and instead telling it to always set that mode regardless, or change it such that it looks for a different combo of buttons (or maybe even a second controller).

*switches are mostly just on or off but when pressed one millisecond to the next as it is being pressed or released might be off followed by on followed by off and if the button state is read for 3 different functions then you could end up with some strange behaviour in the game. Alternatively if you have had a mouse start to fail and single clicks act as double clicks then that is an example of switch bounce, albeit as a failure mode rather than normal operation.

[RetroGameFan]

...Another game series I wouldn't mind fixing would be the Gameboy Color version of the Powerpuff Girls three games...

Man I hate that Powerpuff Girls show! That whole series and franchise has sucked large ever since the girls beat up Rainbow the Clown, an innocent clown! Yes, Rainbow had an evil alter ego, but that was completely out of his control. What an overrated show!

I have another idea: hack Super Mario Bros. 3 and the NES pirate homebrew of Super Mario World (NES), and Super Mario All-Stars and World (SNES) and come up with much better versions of Mario Is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine, combining the platforming and educational genres and giving us the NES and SNES versions we actually deserved. Here's a sample of such ideas, these are for Mario Is Missing!, shown in this link: https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=viewthread&t=89900&page=1&pid=1427975.

[BeaterEngineering]

Hi! I'm just new on this scene & I can't find where is the request forum.
I'm looking for English Translation for all the Crayon Shin-Chan series for DS.
I think it's a good game but there's no language option from those games.

[#]

OMG I laughed so hard when I saw that image!

Oh okay I see what you mean. Would it be hard to edit the heads into Trump and Pence with what's already available?

It's not that hard, but due to the small size it would be more of a passing resemblance, or you'd have to change the monster bodies into just walking heads.

Hack request for:
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Genesis/Mega Drive)

https://uploadfiles.io/t6hgarf2
You can switch back to 3 button mode by holding C + Start on controller 1 when you enter the options menu.

[xstuff]

I would love to see a hack of the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker where you can play as the adult version of the Hero of Time Link, along with some changes to the story and dialogue. The reason I mention playing as the adult version is because at the end of Ocarina of Time, after Link defeats Ganon, Zelda plays the song of time to send Link back seven years into the past to relive his childhood, but rather then being sent into the past, Link mistakenly ends up in the future, right where Wind Waker's story begins. I guess, in a way, it would be like Breath of the Wild's story, but on GameCube.

[Chronosplit]

What exactly is wrong with it?

Sorry for taking so long, but the problem is that tiles get all scrambled as you move.  You'll notice immediately at the start.

The unpatched game doesn't have this behavior, and the patched version also doesn't when played on other emulators such as FCEUmm or FCEUX.

[MathUser2929]

I think I saw someone mad a simultateous 2 player hack for SMB1. Would it be possible to do that to SMW. I wouldn't be suprised if there was something like that. If not, sure would be nice to play one.

[Chronosplit]

I think I saw someone mad a simultateous 2 player hack for SMB1. Would it be possible to do that to SMW. I wouldn't be suprised if there was something like that. If not, sure would be nice to play one.

The big question would be vertical scrolling.  SMB1 didn't really do such much enough to matter to the view for both players, but once you go to 2/3/world you need to figure out a solution for what happens when one player goes off the screen.

[ShaolinTechnique]

Hi everyone. I was wondering if it would be possible to hack Herc's Adventures for the PS1/Saturn so that players could pass through each other in co-op mode. I like this game alot, but trying to play it with another person is miserable because you keep getting stuck on each other.

https://youtu.be/vdCGHpYKovw?t=735

[hossbags2]

hack Forgotten Wolds for Genesis so it is compatible with 6 button controller instead of a game over and not using mode button

[Psyklax]

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Hey Marcos Jr, I don't know if you're still checking out the thread, but I had a go at what you asked for.

If you open the game in a hex editor and make two changes, you can use your special attack as much as you like - provided you have at least some power.

Just change:
03B8F1   from 06 to 01 (checks you have x amount of power)
03B90C   from 06 to 00 (subtracts x amount of power from total)

Of course you could probably change the first one to 00 instead of 01, so it'll always work, but whatever, I didn't test that.

The second thing you wanted was to move the special attack to another button, but I haven't got round to that yet. Still, it's something.

[technickal]

Someone previously suggested this with Superstar Saga, but I'd like to see Super Mario Bros. Deluxe in English with all the QoL improvements from the later-released Japanese version.

[A.W. Laris Borromeo]

A hack of Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (SNES) that uses the SNES mouse for the cursor movement and the buttons for selecting characters on the field and zooming the map - as well as onscreen icons for menus, such as panning the map, zooming the camera and unit lists.
Additionally, restore the removed text on the intro in the US version (it was on the Japanese version), since it was English on the PS1 version.

[PresidentLeever]

Hyper Iria (SNES)
Would be cool to see a FastROM hack for this one, considering it has a ton of slowdown even with just one big enemy on screen.

[roabel8]

I always thought if anyone else thought of this idea, I think this is what made Zelda Minish Cap for me so enjoyable. Thanks.