NES/ROM Hacks

NES

Famicom

Famicom Disk System

ROM Hacks

In this section, we recommend ROM Hacks that we consider worth checking out.

Links to the patches -and NOT to patched ROMs- should be provided in the description whenever possible.

How to play

You will need ROMs of the original games. Sometimes you need a specific version of the said ROM but it's usually told in the readme file. For example you may need to use "awesomegame (U).nes" while it may not work with "awesomegame (U) [b1].nes".

You will also need a ROM patcher such as Lunar IPS.

Of course, you will need the patches that turn the original ROMs into the hacked ones. Links should be provided in the descriptions. Most of them should be avalaible at www.romhacking.net

Finally, run the patched ROMs in your emulator of choice (or put them on your expensive Powerpak to play them on a real console, but that's only if you're a rich bastard). If nothing happens, or if something odd happens, then you probably applied the patch on a wrong version of the ROM of the game.

The ROM Hack List

Original Game	Name of the Hack	Description	Title Screen	Screenshot
Adventure Island III	The Lost Isles	All the levels were changed, except for 4-4. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/387/
Adventure Of Lolo	Challenging Lolo	You've beat Lolo 1,2 and 3 and you're still asking for more ? .... REALLY ?! Well, your wish has been fullfilled. 50 new levels. It gets really hard. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/201/
Adventure Of Lolo 2	Challenging Lolo 2	If you've beat the 3 original games and the first hack, and are still begging for more, try this one. 54 new levels. Like the first one, it's HARD. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/202/
Castlevania	Blood Moon	A hack which changes all the levels, and also gives some good looking art (especially for the monsters). It gets rather difficult past some point.
Castlevania	Remix	The best thing about this hack is its art direction. Most it is was made using a grey/black tone that fits really well. The layout of most levels have also been changed. Some of the musics were changed, sometimes it's good but it's sometimes it's a bit ridiculous. Worth checking for the art alone. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/8/
Final Fantasy	Final Fantasy ++	Final Fantasy ++ is a “re-imagining” of the very first Final Fantasy game. Pretty much EVERYTHING has been redone, EVERYTHING! Graphics, monsters, equipment, spells, maps, towns, class system and there are even some new dungeons. .
Final Fantasy	Final Fantasy ++ World of Chaos	This is an expansion pack for final fantasy ++. It includes adaptations of various dungeons from FFs 3, 4, 5, & 6, SaGa 2, Dragon Quest 5 along with a couple of new ones. It is is quite harder to beat than FF++ !!! http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/113/
Mega Man (1)	Mega Man Reved Up!!	Basically, a "hard mode" of the original Mega Man that's, y'know. Mostly the same game, but with damage ratios skewed against you, plus more pits and stage hazards added. One neat feature is that some boss arenas are altered to have extra aspects, such as platforms and hazards, letting you get to fight some a little differently. Naturally, the added hazards can be used to your advantage if you make enemies fall in them. Protip: Be careful with knockback from enemies, because Mega's MM1 invuln frames STILL don't protect him against spikes! The rapid-Select Button trick also still works (if you're a chicken). http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1733/
Mega Man (1)	Mega Man Simplified	Basically, an "easy mode" of the original Mega Man that's, y'kn- oh wait. Mostly the same game, but with damage ratios skewed against enemies, stage hazards lowered and/or having a way to (mostly) avoid them, and more in-stage items. There's also no knockback from enemies, even in mid-air. Mega now has a higher maximum jump, but with the normal and hop jumps still possible. The cherry on top is that the Magnet Beam can be gotten without Gutsman's Super Arm. Sadly, Mega's invuln frames STILL don't protect him against spikes. The rapid-Select Button trick also still works (and wrecks everything even harder than before) http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1705/ Note: There's also similar hacks for MMs 2, 3, and 4, but the first MM game benefits the most from this treatment.
Mega Man IV	Gadget Master	The layout of all the stages were changed to give a whole new MMIV. A lot palette colors were changed, but there are no new graphics except at the end, no new bosses and no new weapons. This is exactly why I love this hack: as a consequence it feels new and classic at the same time and it focuses on level design instead of on useless fancy tricks. It was made by Schwa who also made Chaos Control for SMB3. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/567/
Rockman 4	Minus Infinity	If you want to play ONE Mega Man hack, play this one. The most technically impressive Mega Man hack. New weapons, new items, new bosses and enemies behaviour, and even an automatic save system. All the levels and musics were changed. Great level design, challenging while remaining fair. The only problem I had with it was the final bosses (I recommend to save ALL your E-tanks for them) One of the best Mega Man hacks, a must play, you'll be surprised how good it is. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/910/
Mega Man IV	Maverick Revenge	Changes some levels but not all of them (because it freezes against a boss in the Wily stages and the game "ends" there) Some art was changed, replaced by art from other NES Mega Man games. Not as good as Gadget Master but still worth at least a play through. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/562/
Rockman 2	Rockman No Constancy	A Rockman hack with the typical somewhat bumped up difficulty. However, MANY elements of the game were changed. New graphics, altered bosses and weapons, and all new levels. Most of all, THE SOUNDTRACK, which features many songs from other games and series. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/321/
Rockman V	Endless	Like the Endless mode in Mega Man 9, except in Mega Man 5. It mixes already existing rooms with new ones. Some new rooms are unfair (especially those with the lasers) but most of them have a very good design. Requires a ROM of Rockman V and will not work with a NTSC-U or PAL version. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/460/
Rush'n Attack	G	All the levels were changed. Rather difficult. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/135/
Super Mario Bros.	Extra Mario Bros.	Mario meets Super Metroid. It's as good as it sounds. The look adds pseudo SNES-sprites and the soundtrack is cool too. Just remember that it runs on SMB1 physics, so jumping and bouncing work kind of weird here.
Super Mario Bros 2	Legend Of The Blob Bros 2	This hack offers completely new levels, a new story and a lotof new graphics. It succeeds in offering new cool stuffs (the new sprites for characters and monsters are some of the bests I've seen in Hacks of NES games) while having a smart level design taking into consideration all the things that make the gameplay of SMB2 unique. It's more difficult than the original game at least in the sense that the number of coins is more limited. http://www.zophar.net/hacks/nes/super-mario-bros-23/Legend-of-the-Blob-Bros-2-306.html
Super Mario Bros 3	Chaos Control	This one is my favourite SMB3 hack. Like many others it replaces all the levels by new ones, but this one succeeds in retaining a classic feel, a classic level design, while being just challenging enough and while never being unfair. As a consequence, it sure is more difficult than the original game, but it's never too fancy and it's just how it should be: it feels like rediscovering SMB3 again and the replay value is high. It was made by Schwa who also made Gadget Master for Mega Man IV. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/128/
Super Mario Bros 3	Mario Adventure	Considered to be one of the bests hack of SMB3. All the levels were changed. You can even choose in which world you want to go. A lot of new features, such as a random weather. http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/70/
Wolverine	Wolverine: Easy Version	While not a bad game (and that's saying a lot for an LJN game), Wolverine is just too damn hard to be much fun. This hack fixes just one little detail that happens to be its biggest problem: the lack of recovery time. http://www.romhacking.net/community/298/