Most of us know Mario as a platformer kind of guy. But as games like Mario Strikers or Dr. Mario have proven, he’s a jack of all trades.
His skills include dominating turn-based battles – as shown by Super Mario RPG on the SNES.
Developed by Square, this unusual entry in Mario’s gaming career features appealing pseudo-3D graphics, hilarious writing, and a great turn-based combat system with some unique twists.
If you love Super Mario RPG but have cleared it one too many times, maybe you could shake things up.
Here are some of the most fun Super Mario RPG ROM hacks that’ll help you do that.
Creepy ROM Hacks are a dime a dozen. There’s just something deep within us that drives us to turn our favorite games into creepypasta-worthy works of horror.
ElementalPowerStar’s Reserve_22//. is a short and sweet campaign following Mario after an aerial malfunction lands him in Laki-Laki’s haunted mansion.
Exploring the mansion feels eerie thanks to the new color palette, among other tweaks.
Other than trying to scare you, the hack features some pretty good battles – and puzzles become genuinely challenging near the end.
“Definitive Editions” of our favorite cartridge-based games are some of the most popular ROM hacks you’ll find, and Super Mario RPG Plus is the best option when it comes to Mario’s role-playing adventure.
This hack by Nightblader adds previously unused dialogue, fixes several bugs and exploits present in the original game, and corrects typos throughout the entire script.
Some items and weapons also get some aesthetic improvements that’ll freshen things up.
Subtlety is the name of the game when it comes to this ROM hack, and it’s probably the most polished version of Super Mario RPG we’ll see until Nintendo decides to release a remastered edition or something of the sort.
The Axem Rangers are a color-coded team of members of the Smithy Gang with an evident super-sentai theme. They’re also the protagonists of this wonderful ROM hack.
This hack by AnAxemRanger is pretty ambitious.
You start in a different area, there are new levels, new enemies, new items, and a whole new story!
After the Pink ranger goes missing, it’s up to Red to chase after her and find out what – or who – happened to her. His search begins in a certain Koopa King’s castle.
The first few minutes of the game may feel a bit amateurish. But it gets better as the game draws on.
You can see the dev improving along with the product, and it’s fantastic by the end.
Super Monkey RPG is a fantastic text hack that replaces the entire script for the game – even Frogfucius messages – for something much more humorous. It was also one of the very first Super Mario RPG hacks ever released.
It first saw the light of day back in 2001, as you’ll soon realize thanks to the incredible amount of foul-mouthed jokes about Eminem in the script.
This ROM hack exploits every single scene in the game to try and make you crack a smile.
It succeeded in making me laugh, although you might need to google some references if you were just a baby at the beginning of the new millennium.
Put together by creator FantaKuat back in 2019, this unusual ROM hack replaces the entire script for Super Mario RPG for a re-translated version of the original Japanese script.
That said, this isn’t quite like other “Relocalized” or “Retranslated” hacks you’ll find for other games.
Its objective isn’t to clarify the plot or recover some lost material – rather, it aims to make the game as chaotic as possible by using Google Translate for the job.
It turns the game’s script into a surprisingly dramatic, but ultimately incomprehensible storyline of nonsense text.
It even includes Spanish, Somali, and Portuguese words, thanks to Google’s dynamic translation algorithms.
Bowser may be the Koopa King and a host of his own in terms of raw power, but even Mario’s most iconic rival has to tread carefully when it comes to the criminal underworld of the Mushroom Kingdom.
After Bob-omb Mafia members steal five special shells from the Koopa King, it’s up to Mario and Mallow to defeat their lackeys and reclaim what was lost.
Other than beating a giant Thwomp, two clowns, a witch, and several other lackeys, you’ll also have to solve some pretty challenging puzzles.
In total, Giangurgolo and Omega’s hack introduces 35 new levels, over 50 new events, new dialogue, and 12 unique bosses that’ll require some creative strategizing to defeat.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
