The Pandora's Box has opened...

Hiya fellas!

Within the past month and a half or so, I got back into Rom Hacking, and opted to try and actually finish a Super Mario World hack. I had an old one going, but I lost the entire thing when my hard drive had to be wiped 4 months ago. Here's what I was delighted to find when I started the new hack: SMW hacking had evolved dramatically in the time I had been away from the scene. Unheard of things were now possible with programs like BlockTool and SpriteTool... I was only too happy to delve right into the new advancements.

So now I've got a pretty damn awesome SMW hack going, more awesome than any of my other hacks put together, which is saying a LOT since SMB Chaos Control was a legend to some people... And that's why I've got this blog up. For you guys to see my progress on the hack. I call it "Super Mario Treasure Island".

Now, why would I call it that? Don't jump to conclusions; it's NOT a Pirate-themed hack. Actually it's better-- it's an exploration hack. What makes this stand out from other SMW hacks is that you can play the game in any order you'd like and still fight and defeat the same final boss at the end. One of the last levels in the game, the level two or so levels before the last one, will only let you pass if you've cleared a certain amount of exits. So the premise of the hack is to go around and try to beat as many levels as you can, and unlock as much of the Overworld as possible.

But that's not the only thing... It's mainly called "Treasure Island" 'cause there's a lot of treasure hunting in the hack. First, you can carry 250 coins. These coins aren't for getting 1UPs... They're for buying rare items, Yoshis in different colors, and opening new paths or even exits.

Next, there's... Ah, maybe it would be better if I SHOWED you instead of TOLD you.





In the first video, those ship thingies are called Wind Tokens. Collect 7 of them and you're whisked into the sky where you can spend your coins on cool things. In the second video, the little music boxes are Earth Jukes. Collect 6 of them and you'll be warped to a single screen of a shadowy version of the level (Subspace, maybe?).

And, lastly...




A new sprite, the Treasure Chest. (Well, Cobrat is also a new sprite, but the Treasure Chest is more important.)

These three elements will be appearing frequently in the hack.

I'll be sure to keep you all updated on the hack as I work on it. I don't believe in demos, though, so you're not getting the download link until it's finished, which won't be for quite a while.

Ciao! <3