The ROM hacking community suffered a great loss recently with the closure of ROMhacking.net after almost 20 years, a site that dedicated its time and energy to changing the perception of ROM hacking in the space and providing a place for creatives to come together to share creative ideas. The site is still open for news, however, and while the news of the closure was sad, the community continues to create epic new ideas and games – it’s what ROMhacking.net would have wanted…
The latest hack I’ve come across is, for want of a better phrase, creative chaos. Can you remember the first time you became embroiled in the Marvel Multiverse? Things started to get pretty confusing, but the whole concept was very interesting. ROM hacking creates the perfect situation to create mashups; just look at Kurko Mods work with Banjo-Kazooie & Zelda, and indeed with his upcoming Nostalgia 64 release.
Still, what would it be like if Mario transcended the Nintendo Universe and ended up in the Nickelodeon world, for example? How would it be if he interacted with Pokémon or wore the Aku Aku Mask from Crash Bandicoot while bashing Nitro Boxes? Have I caught your attention? Great, because this latest creation from Rovertronic is one that you’re going to want to take a good look at.
Mario in the Multiverse sees our favourite dungaree-wearing plumber taking on so many different challenges that would usually be out of his comfort zone that it’s hard to list one to talk about first. Seeing him running around with a Katana in Katana ZERO-esque levels and wielding a shotgun while gunning down DOOM demons is all a far cry from the usual cutesy shenanigans of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it’ll certainly appear to adult gamers!
It’s especially nice to see Mario in situations linked to different consoles, and it’s clear that Rovertronic has a love of multiple retro gaming machines rather than just sticking to one platform. The teaser trailer is looking brilliant, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the game when it drops in 2025!
