Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

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Alexhacker
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:14 am

Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by Alexhacker »

Hi! Has anyone tried to make a version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (The lost levels) in PAL? I started my version a while ago and made the graphics and title screen. However I do not know how to insert the levels. I used a normal PAL Rev 0A ROM. Can anyone help me? I tried to apply a 1 player patch but it did not work. I booted up the game, got past the title screen, and crashes after the last brick before the first pipe in 1-1. It still said 1 PLAYER GAME and 2 PLAYER GAME. But fortunately I made a few copies of all of my progress and the copies that are fully working are still intact. I am not a complete noob to this, I have been romhacking for a few years now. I’m gonna post any updates if needed. Thanks.
Pokun
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 5:49 am
Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Re: Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by Pokun »

The RAM Adapter supposedly works on PAL if you can connect it, so I guess it's possible to make a PAL version of an FDS game. Or are you using Loopy's MMC3 hack?
Nokia3310
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2020 1:52 pm

Re: Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by Nokia3310 »

Is there a reason why it needs to be PAL? To play on a PAL NES?

I went down the rabbit hole before with this game and found two different unlicensed versions that work on standard NES hardware, rather than the Famicom Disc System that it was made for. One is Loopy's version that definitely plays on real hardware and another is an 'unlicensed' version that may not (I don't know who made that but it was easier to find).

I was looking into this to test them on Project Nested (the emulator by Myself086 that runs NES games on the SNES). I was intending to play them on a PAL SNES using this and my Everdrive but the emulator isn't compatible with them yet. Maybe a future update will make that possible.

If you're intending to run them on a PAL NES, I'm seeing two possible hurdles. The first is the region lock. The second is that they will probably run slower on PAL hardware because they are likely made for NTSC. There may be a program to run them through to fix one or both of these things but I haven't looked into this.
Last edited by Nokia3310 on Mon May 24, 2021 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pokun
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 5:49 am
Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Re: Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by Pokun »

There are many unlicensed ports to cartridge of Famicom Disk System games. They are made for real hardware (or at least Chinese cloned hardware) so they definitely work on real hardware, but many of them have problems with the SMB2 physics. They may have SMB1 physics and Mario and Luigi plays identically, which sounds like they are just hacks of SMB1 with the new levels added to rather than actual ports of the FDS game. Loopy's port is the way to go if you want it on cartridge.

It will no doubt run slower on PAL hardware without hacking it to speed it up, but the region lock is only a problem if you build it on a cartridge with the wrong lockout chip. I would just use the avrciczz which is region-free, so that it works on all PAL variants.
strat
Posts: 409
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:08 pm
Location: Missouri

Re: Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by strat »

They may have SMB1 physics and Mario and Luigi plays identically, which sounds like they are just hacks of SMB1 with the new levels added
That's pretty much SMB Deluxe on GBC which includes "Lost Levels" (w/o worlds 9 and A-D) but not the bounce-off-enemy physics of SMB2 (at least Luigi jumps higher).
Pokun
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 5:49 am
Location: Hokkaido, Japan

Re: Super Mario Bros. ROMhacking

Post by Pokun »

Yeah I think they also modified the levels in that version so that it can be played with the SMB1 physics, as SMB2 has some parts that requires the new physics to make a jump by stomping a flying enemy or by riding the wind.

Some of those pirates might even be unbeatable if they really use SMB1 physics with SMB2 levels as is. Things like red pakkun flowers, poison mushrooms and wind might also be missing. The poison mushrooms were not missing in the pirates I've played that had wrong physics though.
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