super-mario – Tech Today w/ Ken May

A Christmas gift from Game Boy ROM hackers: Super Mario Land 2 in color

The Christmas holiday season is traditionally a great time to kick back and catch up on forgotten video games, and usually, we recommend doing so with majorly discounted video game sales. That’s still the case (and every platform, from Steam to Nintendo eShop to Xbox Live to PlayStation Network to GoG , seems to have a sale going on right now), but this year’s coolest holiday offer cannot be purchased: an out-of-nowhere ROM hack for one of Nintendo’s best original Game Boy games. Today, a classic-game hacker who goes by the handle Toruzz released a “ROM patch” for Nintendo’s 1992 game Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins . This 25th-anniversary release adds a “DX” suffix to the game’s name, and that’s because it’s been designed specifically to run on original Game Boy Color hardware. As a result, the ROM hack adds support for the Game Boy Color’s expanded color palette—which could run up to 56 colors on the screen simultaneously, as broken down by various sprite-specific palettes—along with support for the GBC’s faster CPU. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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A Christmas gift from Game Boy ROM hackers: Super Mario Land 2 in color

‘Super Mario 64’ is an online multiplayer thanks to hero modders

Super Mario 64 turned 21 years old back in June, but the classic title lives on in the hearts and minds of players. A new fan project has taken that collective nostalgia to another level with a downloadable version of the game allowing up to 24 friends to play through the (formerly) single-player adventure. But given Nintendo’s extremely low tolerance for unauthorized versions of its games, play it now before the company DMCA’s it off the internet. Built by modders Kaze Emanuar, Melonspeedruns and Marshivolt, the Super Mario 64 Online project is a downloadable ROM, so you’ll need emulator software that plays N64 games. The project requires a little tinkering with settings (tutorial video here ) and drawing straws to see who will host your game session. After that, it’s off to the races for you and your friends to fiddle around Super Mario 64 ‘s original levels with a sprawling cast of characters, all with different abilities. Sure, the game’s content is unchanged, so having multiple players likely makes acquiring stars and advancing through the story easier — if that’s your only goal. But idle hands are the devil’s playground, and stuffing a bunch of your friends in what’s supposed to be a single-player game makes for a wild sandbox. Think of it like Mario Party where you make the rules. If you’re planning to boot up Super Mario 64 Online , do so now. The last time somebody released a computer-playable version of the classic N64 platformer, Nintendo shut it down within days. And if you come to this post too late, just remember: People have tried to give Super Mario 64 multiplayer before , and they will probably do so again. The dream lives on. Via: Mashable Source: ‘Super Mario 64 Online’ (YouTube)

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‘Super Mario 64’ is an online multiplayer thanks to hero modders

Hackers jailbreak permanent mods onto Super Mario World save files

The practice of hacking standard Super Mario World cartridges on stock Super Nintendo hardware has come a long way in a short time. Three years ago, it required a robot entering thousands of button presses per second to insert arbitrary code on top of the game. By last year, streamer SethBling was proving that this kind of code insertion was possible for a human acting with pixel-perfect precision. Now, SethBling and others in the SMW hacking community have taken things a step further, permanently writing a full hex editor and gameplay mods onto a stock Super Mario World cartridge using nothing but standard controller inputs. SethBling’s ten-minute video explaining the entire “jailbreaking” process is a must-watch for anyone interested in the particulars of perpetually altering a 25-year-old game without any special hardware. In short, the jailbreak builds on an exploit discovered by Cooper Harrsyn that lets players write data directly to the small, 256-byte save files that are permanently stored on the Super Mario World cartridge. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Hackers jailbreak permanent mods onto Super Mario World save files

Watch the Nintendo Switch event in less than 12 minutes

What a night. While you were (probably) fast asleep, Nintendo ended months of speculation by revealing a ton of new info about its upcoming console. Most importantly, the Switch launches globally on March 3rd, and will cost $300 . Nintendo also announced a number of new games for the system, including Super Mario Odyssey , Splatoon 2 , a custom Switch version of FIFA , Xenoblade 2 , Skyrim and a weird but fun-looking new IP – Arms . There are also new titles and ports from big hitters like Ubisoft and Square Enix, and we’re even promised a sequel to No More Heroes . We’ll stop short of spoiling all the fun. As we’re nice people, we saved a few surprises and condensed all the event’s best bits into one bite-size video. Merry Switchmas! Click here to catch up on the latest news from Nintendo’s Switch event.

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Watch the Nintendo Switch event in less than 12 minutes

‘Super Mario Run’ is now available

Finally, there’s a Mario game on smartphones. As promised , Nintendo has released Super Mario Run today, giving iPhone and iPad users a new way to run, leap and spin through the Mushroom Kingdom. It’s an auto-runner, meaning the portly plumber will jog, hop and vault over obstacles automatically. You tap the screen to jump, leaping across gaps and goombas to collect colorful coins. It sounds simple, but there’s a surprising amount of complexity to the platforming. Like Rayman Jungle Run , timing is essential to unlock contextual moves, such as rolls and wall jumps. The game has a one-time fee of $9.99. Nintendo is keen to avoid the free-to-play mechanics that plague so many smartphone games, focusing instead on quality and traditional replayability. The levels are challenging enough, tasking players to collect coins of increasing difficulty. With plenty of stages and worlds to explore, they should keep you preoccupied for hours. There’s also Kingdom Builder, a basic village design mini-game, and Toad Rally, an aysnchronous multiplayer mode that emphasises style over brute-force level completion. The three modes feed into one another too, unlocking one-time “rally tickets, ” enemy score multipliers and more. It’s not all rosy, however. Nintendo has been criticised for demanding an always active internet connection . (The company says it’s to stop piracy.) If you’re the type of person that likes to game on their morning commute, or has to ration a modest data cap each month, this could be a deal-breaker. Regardless, it’s a landmark moment for the company and it’s beloved mustachioed mascot. Miitomo was an interesting experiment, sure, but it pales in comparison to the potential of Super Mario Run . This is a true platformer, albeit one with limited controls, that could make a ton of money and improve Nintendo’s standing in the public conscience. Source: Super Mario Run (iOS)