It’s kind of hard to believe that making illegal games was ever profitable, but judging by the amount of work that went into some of these, there must have been some market for it. Either that or some really smart folks just had nothing better to do with their spare time. Either way, we get some interesting gems such as Kart Fighter to check out thanks to their efforts…
Continue reading Rom Hack Roundup: Series Crossovers Part II
bLiNd has made available for a low price, all of the single shot drums he uses for most of the music he makes whether it’s for bLiNd, Steven Silo, or any other EDM commission.
Having been asked a lot to release his drum sounds by several artists that he works with so here they are in 44khz 24 bit glory. The styles include house, trance, future bass, and various acoustic samples (and bonus loops in the styles of future bass and trance) Grab it now for only $10!
79 Kicks (Deep House, Electro House, Trance, Future Bass and Misc)
17 Claps (Layered and Single)
53 Cymbals (Electronic & Acoustic – Crashes, Splashes, China, Rides)
28 Closed Hihats (Electronic and Acoustic)
21 Open Hihats (Electronic and Acoustic)
34 Snares (Electronic and Acoustic)
14 Toms (Electronic and Acoustic)
22 Percussions (Electronic and Acoustic)
15 FX (Bonus of various videogame related and foley effects)
02 Bass Drops
(Signature bLiNd Bass drops created in Stomper
Freeware (Windows 95) I have used these things in almost every electronic track I have created in the past 15 years)
bLiNd’s Drum Loops
50 Trance Drum Loops (Split into categories of Kicks, Claps, Hihat,
Percussion, and Rides)
13 Future Bass Loops (Various Full Drum Loops or Drum Top loops from 140-163bpm)
Your support goes towards more gear for more music of course!
Back in the days when mascots were firmly attached to certain systems, we often wondered, what would Sonic look like on the NES, or Mario on a Sega Console? Such questions “sort of” get answered by these ROM hacks. The amount of work that went into these is surprising really, considering there was little or no profit to be made. That said, it sure is interesting to see familiar nostalgic game elements mixed and matched into something new.
In fact, the recent amazing hack Metroid: Rogue Dawn even has a little homage section (I won’t spoil it here) to one of the classics. Here’s a few more to get your nostalgic mash-up fix.
Somari is not actually a ROM hack, but a unlicensed NES game that puts Mario into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog. Apparently it was sold illegally in asian countries as it clearly has stolen art from both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Somari is a bit buggy and glitchy, so recently a hacker created the Sonic the Hedgehog for NES Rom Hack based on Somari. It puts our favorite blue Hedgehog back in the mix and corrects lots of sound and physics glitches in the original Somari ROM. It also does a better job of creating those iconic Sonic songs on the NES. It was often argued in the 90’s that Sonic was impossible on the NES, and while the speed does’t quite measure up, the gameplay actually does.
Megaman is the subject of many, many Rom Hacks. And with good reason! Capcom’s 8-bit platformers are some of the best music, controls and gameplay ever seen on the NES. Megaman in the Mushroom Kingdom sends the blue bomber through a variety of stages from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2 and 3. It’s a very high quality ROM and tons of fun. The music is mostly yanked from other NES Megaman games and graphics from all the Mario games. Each Robot’s stage represents a different area from one of the three originals. This is one of the most enjoyable cross-over games I’ve ever played.
There are some more whacky crossovers out there, stay tuned for more.
Shooters have been a staple of home consoles and arcades since the beginning of gaming. The Genesis has its share of good shooters, and there are a few especially excellent ones that didn’t come out in North America. While shooters usually aren’t heavy on dialogue or plot, these two deserved a translation as they have more plot than the standard shooter. They also really show off some of the graphical capabilities of the Sega Genesis. Check them out!
Battle Mania Daiginjou is the sequel to Battle Mania – released in North America as Trouble Shooter. Both games are run-and-gun shooters that have heavier story elements than most shooter games. Trouble Shooter was a great game but Battle Mania Daiginjou benefits from continuing the oringal’s plot and balancing out the speed and difficulty compared to the first. The game has both horizontal and vertical shooter levels and really pushes the limits of what the Sega Genesis can do with graphics and music. The soundtrack is one of the heaviest chugging rock soudntracks on the Genesis. Its impressive how they coaxed metal guitar sounds out of simple FM synthesis.
Although this later game out o Wii virtual console in English, you can enjoy the original Sega Genesis ROM and the excellent Manga style cutscenes and story. The game is pretty standard side-scrolling shooter like Gradius but with the ability to shoot in all directions and with its own power-ups and unique environments. It may be a standard style of side-scrolling shooter, but it is a quality game. The music is decent and keeps you engaged in the action.
The backgrounds are gorgeous too. The story deals with the Earth repelling an attack from an unknown alien race. When a high-ranking general is captured, his 16-year old daughter hijacks the prototype “Gley Lancer” starship to rescue him. Both games have nuanced innovations for their genres and are great to play on an emulator.
