Hacks / translations for your favorite 8-16-bit console games

Two recent restoration attempts for the fans:

Sonic 1 – Fully Optimized 240P 4KEdition tries to give us a proper PAL version of Sonic The Hedgehog for the Genesis / Mega Drive. It eliminates slowdowns and borders, but also features other tweaks. Sonic for instance gets to do the attack move that was introduced in Sonic 2.



And then there's Mortal Kombat Arkade Edition, which tries to turn the unlicensed Mortal Kombat II NES port into something closer to the original. It tweaks gameplay, sound, music and graphics.



(And please note that each and every one of the MK ports for the NES is unlicensed)

 

Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin (FDS) just got an English translation by BlackPaladin. It's the same game as Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES) but with a few differences, such as better music.



Information and download here.

 

We already had "Black" editions of Batman and Batman: Return of the Joker for the NES. Today I've noticed a new one for Batman Returns as well.



It's a compilation of different hacks: copy protection removal, improved controls, optional hard mode, bugfix and altered title screens.

Information and download here.

If you haven't, I'd advise you to check out the other "Black" editions I mentioned too.

EDIT: Just learned the Secret of Mana Plus SNES hack has been updated to v2.01.



This hack extends Secret of Mana on Snes.

The new version is available here.

 

This translation has been update to 1.0a. I advise you to get the new version, because it solves an important bug.

 

It's not exactly my type of hack, but today I'm going to mention Bishoujo Super Street Fighter II: Glamor Queen for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis.



Normally I'd prefer hacks that subtly enhance the original experience, not leave games unrecognisable. In the case of SSF2, that would mean something like Lord Hiryu's remaster. However, after seeing this new hack I just can't ignore all the beautiful work that has gone into it.

So yes, what Glamor Queen does to SSF2 is adding plenty of extra characters from other franchises, such as Mega Man, Fatal Fury and King of Fighters. But preferably those using the bishoujo aesthetics, which means pretty girls in school uniforms.

You can obtain the latest version here.

 

Two new hacks for the SNES library:

1) Mega Man Soccer Restoration restores (duh) the endings to some of the game modes, allows you to play as Dr. Wily and a few other things.



Link here.

2) Normally I wouldn't post difficulty hacks here... but this one is for Battletoads, one of the most infamously difficult games of the system.



Link here.

 

It seems that the last Mega Man GB game that wasn't colored just got a color patch. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mega Man World 4 DX :

You can get the patch here.

 

Remember the Arkade Edition hack for Mortal Kombat II for the NES? It seems that the same team has done their magic with Mortal Kombat II Special as well.

Their patch announces the following improvements:

– Tweaks to each fighter's design
– New fighter selection screen
– New screen designs
– Adjustments to the color scheme of some stages
– New “Battle Plan” implemented
– New continues screen
– Missing stages added (Dead Pool, The Armory, and Wateland)
– Endings for each character
– New music, digital voices, and special effects
– New Kintaro size
– and more.

You can get it from here.

 

Remember Bloody Warriors: Shan-Go no Gyakushuu? It's an RPG for the NES that so far had an English translation by ded302 and snark.



But yesterday BlackPaladin released an addendum patch that according to RomHack Plaza "inserts almost all of the untranslated text in game, fixed many grammatical errors, and applied a new font to the game."

Info and download here.

 

I'm very impressed with this new Super Mario World hack. It's called Friends and Rivalry and it's a complete overhaul of the original. It features 9 worlds with +90 new levels.

You can obtain it here.

 

Ultraman: Kaijuu Teikoku no Gyakushuu for the Famicom Disk System has just received an English translation!



It's an action platformer starring the Japanese superhero.

Information and download here.

 

This is very cool. I just found out about this hack for the NES version of RC Pro-Am that turns it into a Mario Kart game.



Information and download here.

 

There's a new hack for Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES) called New Edition.



It unblocks several features:

- Noob Kano is available in the secret character selection and also in the CPU tower
- Noob Kano have all the fatalities from Kano
- Shao Kahn, Motaro, and Smoke including against the CPU
- Bosses can be controlled in all arenas
- 180 credits to face the CPU
- Secret Menus activated with a single button (down arrow)
- 3 new arenas working without any crashes:The Vortex, Graveyard, Noob?s Dorfen

The resulting ROM is 8 Mb. big, won't work in all emulators.

Information and download here.

 

There's a new v1.1 update of the English translation for the Neo-Geo CD exclusive Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden / Samurai Shodown RPG. It corrects a few bugs present in v1.0 and it's likely going to be the final version, according to the authors.



Information and download here.

You can play the game under Final Burn Neo and Raine.

 

I've just read a very interesting account on how Konami screwed up -there's no other way to describe it- the US release of Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose! for the SNES. Basically the powers that be decided the game HAD to be more difficult in the west, and since they were already tampering with the game, they also removed some of the credits at the end of the game and the password system.



It's quite an interesting read, you can learn about it in detail here.

Things got fixed somehow with the JP Remix patch released in July 4, 2024, but now there's also a new bugfix patch that has to be applied on top.

 

The same article mentions several other Konami games that got their dfficulty ramped up in the west. There are several reasons for that. It seems that Konami was afraid American users would finish the game in a matter of days, and then return them and ask for a refund. While cartridges weren't cheap, I find hard to believe many would resort to this tactics. Another factor was videogame rental. Harder games meant more sales, because users wouldn't be able to finish the game during a weekend.

Anyway, apart from Tiny Toon Adventures , these seem to be the affected Konami games:

- Castlevania III (NES). Damage to the player was increased. Corrected in the hack Castlevania III Revision v1.9.

- Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES). Cheats and unlimited continues eliminated. Corrected in the hack The Alien Wars Restoration (SNES) .

- Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis / Mega Drive). Three-point energy bar eliminated. Corrected in the hack Contra Hard Corps Hit Points Restoration .

Of course, there are many more. This practice was not limited just to Konami. I've heard in the past that Disney's The Lion King and ActRaiser 2 were originally much easier, but were altered for the very same reasons.

 

Feel like playing the Mega Man X SNES games again? Now you can do it using Proto Man from the classic series. Cool, huh?



Mega Man X1: Proto Edition (needs a header to be added to the ROM before patching, you can do it with TUSH)

Mega Man X2: Proto Edition

Mega Man X3: Proto Edition

 

Just noticed, the Batman NES games got their Black Edition hacks updated to "Ultima" version. I wonder if they'll ever run out of names for the versions.



As I said before, these hacks give a more serious look to the NES Batman games, and also include other fixes such as tighter controls or anti-piracy measures removed.

Batman Black Edition Ver. Ultima

Batman Return Of The Joker Black Edition Ver. Ultima

Batman Returns Black Edition Ver. Ultima

 

Puyo Puyo (Genesis / Mega Drive) has just received an English translation.



Information and download here.

 

I had overlooked this one because I don't (usually) like difficulty patches. Yet RomHacking has decided to put it on its news, so it may be worth considering.

It's Grandmasters Edition, a hack for TMNT: Tournament Fighters, SNES version. It changes quite a lot of things, but essentially it's meant to make the bosses less intimidating.



Information and download here.