Back in the days when mascots were firmly attached to certain systems, we often wondered, what would Sonic look like on the NES, or Mario on a Sega Console? Such questions “sort of” get answered by these ROM hacks. The amount of work that went into these is surprising really, considering there was little or no profit to be made. That said, it sure is interesting to see familiar nostalgic game elements mixed and matched into something new.
In fact, the recent amazing hack Metroid: Rogue Dawn even has a little homage section (I won’t spoil it here) to one of the classics. Here’s a few more to get your nostalgic mash-up fix.
Sonic the Hedgehog / Somari
Somari is not actually a ROM hack, but a unlicensed NES game that puts Mario into the world of Sonic the Hedgehog. Apparently it was sold illegally in asian countries as it clearly has stolen art from both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Somari is a bit buggy and glitchy, so recently a hacker created the Sonic the Hedgehog for NES Rom Hack based on Somari. It puts our favorite blue Hedgehog back in the mix and corrects lots of sound and physics glitches in the original Somari ROM. It also does a better job of creating those iconic Sonic songs on  the NES. It was often argued in the 90’s that Sonic was impossible on the NES, and while the speed does’t quite measure up, the gameplay actually does.
Megaman In The Mushroom Kingdom
Megaman is the subject of many, many Rom Hacks. And with good reason! Capcom’s 8-bit platformers are some of the best music, controls and gameplay ever seen on the NES. Megaman in the Mushroom Kingdom sends the blue bomber through a variety of stages from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2 and 3. It’s a very high quality ROM and tons of fun. The music is mostly yanked from other NES Megaman games and graphics from all the Mario games. Each Robot’s stage represents a different area from one of the three originals. This is one of the most enjoyable cross-over games I’ve ever played.
There are some more whacky crossovers out there, stay tuned for more.
