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Do you love challenging old-school platformers? How about difficult newer games like Cuphead and Celeste?  You are in luck. The last few years or so have been a Rennaissance for Super Mario World ROM hacks. While there already is a general ROM hack thread, this thread will focus on "Kaizo" hacks in particular in order to promote countless hundreds of hours of fulfilling, challenging gameplay (and maybe some broken controllers) for those who are worthy. What is "Kaizo"? Mario hacks that are labeled as "Kaizo" are extremely challenging hacks that require masterful knowledge of Super Mario World mechanics, which are way too complex for the base game. They typically involve difficult platforming or puzzles that require a very linear approach and often have only one intended solution, contrary to typical SMW gameplay that has much more freedom. The name comes from Kaizo Mario World, released by a Japanese guy known as T. Takemoto sometime in 2007. The hack is notorious for trollish level design that at the time was considered to be nearly impossible. Over time, Kaizo Mario World and other difficult Kaizo hacks have broken free of the joke mold they once fell into as players have learned more tech regarding SMW mechanics, and improved at the game greatly. Modern Kaizo hacks are also less trolly and a lot fairer in general, offering many quality of life improvements so that people can actually enjoy them. Kaizo hacks come in three difficulties, as labeled on smwcentral: Kaizo Light - A challenging hack intended to be played as you would normal Super Mario World, meaning though it will be challenging and might take dozens or even hundreds of lives to clear one level, the average player should be able to do so without resorting to savestates. Incremental improvement with each attempt will get you where you need to go. For the sake of this thread, I will be showcasing ROM Hacks from this category. Kaizo Hard - A hack that the absolute best SMW players in the world would find frustrating to play without savestates; maybe an absolute Mario god could grind a level for hours upon hours and manage a clear, but the actual intended way to play is to use savestates at a bare minimum. Pit - These hacks are so difficult that the only way they can be played is to TAS them with a full arsenal of savestates, frame advancing and rewinding, etc. and are even then extremely difficult if not nearly impossible to clear. Most notorious of them all is Item Abuse 3 (Click to see TAS from GDQ with expert commentary) by Pangaea Panga, who has said even beating the first room would be nearly impossible in real time. Watching the TAS of it is amusing to see just how much tech there is within the game's engine. Quality of life improvements, you say? Indeed. Most modern hacks tend to stray away from stuff like invisible blocks (although many still put them in places you would expect to find them in to make certain jumps tighter, for example) and always offer innovative new ways to challenge the player. Commonplace is a save option after every level, as well as infinite lives. Many hacks also feature instant retry, which GREATLY speeds up the process at which one can become accustomed to a level, and eventually beat it. Ever play Super Meat Boy or Celeste, and notice you don't always get frustrated when you die because the game immediately throws you back into the action with no delay? Well, this has become a common feature in most of the new classic SMW hacks. The standard these days also involves custom music, because the classic Mario tunes do get old, especially if you are stuck on a level for 45 minutes. What do I need to play? You have many options here. The most authentic is a SNES console with an SD2SNES, Everdrive, or similar cartridge that will load the ROM hacks directly onto the console itself. If you don't have a CRT television or some sort of scaling device to output to a modern display, there are aftermarket SNES clones such as the Super NT that manage to do the job fairly well. Finally, there are emulators for use with PCs and or any other device they are available for. Where do I get these ROM Hacks? The main hub for all SMW related things is SMW Central, where you can find hundreds of hacks in the form of patches, and many tools for use in various aspects of modding the game, as well as a community full of people who can tell you anything you want to know about doing so. You'll need to provide your own original USA version Super Mario World ROM in order to apply the patches. I am bad at games, can I really hope to play these and make diligent progress? Kaizo hacks are all challenging, but the Light category is broad enough that it includes something for everyone. If you start at the beginning and practice, you'll no doubt find something on the easier end of the spectrum that you WILL have fun with. On top of that, the newer hacks are interesting enough from a game-design perspective that even if those who don't intend to ever play a single Kaizo hack should get enjoyment out of watching runs of them. The things hack creators have been doing in the past couple of years are absolutely phenomenal, and far exceed simply smacking a lair of paint on the game and rebranding it. I am interested in seeing what Kaizo Mario has to offer, where can I check out some gameplay? There are hundreds of content creators in the Mario community on Youtube and Twitch, as well as other outlets. Here are some streamers I would recommend watching: BarbarousKing - Creator/player of SMW hacks who also plays Mario Maker. Streams a variety of other games as well. Dode - Moderates and playtests hacks. One of the most impressive and versatile players around. GlitchCat7 - Creator, player, and generally knowledgeable streamer. Also the moderator for Romhack Races, a weekly live blind kaizo level race on Twitch. GrandPOObear - Streams mostly Mario-related content, including speedruns for various ROM hacks. All-around fun guy to watch. Juzcook - Extremely talented Australian creator who streams in the middle of the night/early morning hours for US folks. Speedruns and plays everything Kaizo related. Linkdead - Moderates hacks for SMW Central, so you'll catch him streaming whatever is on the list. Also speedruns popular difficult hacks. PangaeaPanga - Popular Mario Maker level creator and SMW expert. He mostly speedruns various ROM hacks and sometimes designs levels on stream. Or just find Super Mario World on Twitch. There are always a few streamers actively streaming SMW content, which is more often than not a Kaizo hack of some sort.
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Feb 22, 2019 20:00
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Recommended Light-Kaizo Hacks, Sorted by Difficulty I've included links to youtube speedruns on some of these for those who want to see what they are getting themselves into, or otherwise experience the designs of the hacks without playing them.  1 star JUMP (Janked Up Mario Party) - Not a Kaizo hack, but about the most challenging it gets before progressing to one. This is a massive, full-sized collaboration hack created by an entire team with all sorts of custom amenities and creative designs. This is a good place to start in playing Mario hacks as a warm-up to Kaizo; if you manage to make it all the way, some of the special world levels are very worthy of the title "Kaizo". TAS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adILPxbWqs8 Learn 2 Kaizo - This one will teach you all the mechanics you need to know to perform common Kaizo tricks and tech. Levels usually involve nothing more than pulling off a trick or two with a message block explaining how to do so. Every so often there will be test levels that stitch together what you've learned. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4vfyqIJWA8 Baby Kaizo World - A good first hack to play after Learn to Kaizo. Very forgiving with no hidden blocks and simple but not boring level design. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k43OUH4Q83Y Kaizo Mario World - The original. Still worth playing today, although you might want to try and find a version that has unlimited lives patched in; it isn't very friendly in the sense that there aren't many save points, finite lives, and there is no instant retry system. GDQ Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkMuNRjodCQ Quickie World - A fast-paced hack with short levels involving non-stop action. Very basic with good level design to either help you become accustomed to Kaizo tricks, or get you into the flow of a speedrun. Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB8xlgW_Vz8 Super Ryu World 1 - Colorful, vibrant, creative self-explanatory levels that aren't too brutal for a newcomer. Has its own aesthetic to it. Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9vpftCW7aU Korosu Mario World - Rather vanilla hack with basic, fair level design. Good alternative to the original Kaizo Mario World if you want something that feels like stock SMW. WR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMmnlq8V_UY Lil Mallow World - A dainty little hack of a few levels that was actually featured in the weekly Romhack Races blind Kaizo race a few weeks back. It encompases a unique atmosphere and shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to clear for a newer Kaizo player. Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKvC97otNmU 2 stars Akogare Mario World - Fun theme-based challenges. Nothing too hard, but might require a bit of discovery and tinkering for new players to figure out solutions. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX94MpysiCc 100 Rooms Oof KEK - Trolly Kaizo hack featuring one room puzzle type levels that require you to eliminate all enemies. Has a very cool boss rush at the end that can get pretty rough. Warning, no saves and about 4 minutes of walking on the overworld until you can start the hack (it IS actually a troll hack). Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiFAu_G77jU Super Gracie World - Another mostly vanilla hack that stays closer to stock SMW. Good, fun level design and not overly challenging. GDQ Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-BWX8aKpk4 Super Riff World - A good hack to move into slightly harder stuff with, while not going too crazy. Ends out the level 2s. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcSfs3FdwCM 3 stars Joy of Kaizo (feat Bob Ross) - Make sure to get the 1.6 version of this. This is one of the nicest looking hacks out there, staying true to the Bob Ross theme. It offers 3 different difficulty levels, but even the beginner one is a a harder 2/easy 3 with the other two taking the same levels and adding in much tougher obstacles. Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qp-NO4TkCc Grand Poo World - An extremely polished hack with a lot of work going into fine-tuning the details. Deceptively difficult IMO, as it involves quick-paced precision platforming and fewer vanilla Kaizo tricks. WR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a050hvst_ro Invictus - A chocolate hack with a lot of custom programming that makes it feel very different than stock SMW. One of, if not the best hacks in terms of all-around creativity and effort, with tough but fair gameplay. Make it a goal to become good enough to play this one. WR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJYXm1DDsU Super Dram World - For many current Kaizo Veterans, this was the hack that took Kaizo from play on emulator with savestates to practice, get good, and RTA. In such, it is a classic of the genre. It gets pretty challenging. WR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsBnX2wKKxY 4 stars Kaizo Mario World 3 - The second sequel to the original. Notorious for having an insanely difficult final boss than has taken even veteran players 20-30 or more hours just to defeat. Probably only a good play for the morbidly curious. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Acw0iiHQoU Grand Poo World 2 - Newly released sequel to GPW1, with a similar style of platforming-focused gameplay. Plenty of unique gimicks and features, and some of the best boss fights ever in a ROM hack. Also features some meta puzzles and well-hidden secrets that are extremely difficult to solve without spoiling yourself. Over 1000 hours of work went into this one, and thus it comes highly recommended once you are good enough. Speedwalkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBFHT9X8Qtc Storks and Apes and Crocodiles - Extremely difficult, but one of the funnest and most unique hacks out there. Think of this one as the final test to work up to in your Kaizo journey. Or just watch more skilled players stream it. WR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhR_wgDGufI 5 stars Elephants and Snakes and Crocodiles - Sequel to Storks, brand new. Cruel and sadistic. Fly me to the Stars - A cape themed hack that pretty much requires a full walkthrough video which can be found on youtube to play. It is brief in length and very good for training yourself on cape tech, but it is otherwise a complete deadend to try and play unless you know exactly what you are getting yourself in to. I recommend at least watching somoene play through this one, as the designs are amazing. Speedrun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsjRoR9DPNE BabyRyoga fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Feb 23, 2019 |
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Feb 22, 2019 20:01
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Bump until someone here beats storks 
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Feb 24, 2019 21:17
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Can I mention Retsupurae's videos on kaizo mario 64 ? And maybe the bonus one?
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Feb 24, 2019 21:36
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EorayMel posted:Can I mention Retsupurae's videos on kaizo mario 64 ? There are some pretty crazy Mario 64 hacks out there, but they aren't quite as accessible as the SMW ones. They also end up being pretty ugly, as the scope of level creation in that game is way more limited and difficult to manage. I've watched some random streamers tackle M64 levels that just looked like giant caverns of bullshit on a whim.
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Feb 25, 2019 05:06
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