Reimagining doesn't just keep old games alive for newer generations; it helps us to relive our favourite adventures and tap into the nostalgia that we had the first time we slotted cartridges into consoles or clicked discs into place when we were younger. It's why I'm such a huge fan of ROM hacks and the way people reinvent classic titles decades after they first came out.
Take Mario's Endless Nightmare, for example, a new Roguelike ROM hack of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars that puts players skills to the ultimate test. Endless waves of foes are crashing against you, and you've got to defeat them all if you've got any hope of waking Mario from his terrible slumber.
Mario's Endless Nightmare comes to us from AnAxemRanger, a name you might recognise from previous Super Mario RPG hacks 'Super Koopa RPG: Here Come The Koopa Bros' and 'Super Mario vs The Koopa Bros'. This is their fourth hack of the classic SNES RPG and turns the heat all the way up to 11 (especially when Bowser is playing, that guy has lots of fire in his belly!).
The new ROM hack has the same main campaign mode as the original game with the same progression, which you can do things like shop or heal in between various battles. You also have the opportunity to do some Dragonyhm-style levelling up, by going back and replaying previous battles to increase your stats.
Then there's The Pit of 100 Nightmares, which sees players fighting through 100 floors of battles with extras like random allies and enemies thrown into the mix and other roguelike elements to keep you on your toes. There's an optional Pit of 100 Trials to complete, which is different from the Pit of Nightmares mode, as well as new items and enemies not seen in the original game.
You'll need a legally acquired ROM of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars to be able to play this hack - head to the project's page for more information!
