Hacks and Homebrews 5

Brief Summary

This episode of Game Sack explores a variety of homebrew games and ROM hacks across different retro consoles, showcasing the creativity and technical skills of the fan community. It covers titles for systems ranging from the Genesis/Mega Drive and Super Nintendo to the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, highlighting both impressive original creations and enhancements to existing games.

Batman Returns (Genesis): A tech demo port of the SNES beat 'em up.
Super Boss Gaiden (SNES): A humorous game where you play as the boss of Sony destroying equipment and killing employees.
Grand Theft Auto 3 (Dreamcast): An impressive port that runs in higher resolution than the PS2 version.
Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Saturn): An ultimate patch that restores transparencies and fixes flaws.

Intro

The host welcomes viewers to a new episode focusing on homebrew games and ROM hacks. He clarifies that all content featured is free, though obtaining the games may require sourcing them independently and potentially owning a legitimate copy of the original game for patching. Some projects are demos for products that may eventually be sold.

Batman Returns (Genesis)

A tech demo of Batman Returns for the Genesis, developed by Tiagos Pyon, Lebard, and Vector Oritex, is presented. This isn't the official Sega of America release, but a port of the Konami-developed SNES beat 'em up. The demo includes the first part of the first stage and is not intended to be a complete game. The port is well-executed, running at a higher resolution and full screen compared to the letterboxed SNES version. It also features more characters on screen, two-player simultaneous play, and a digitised image of Batman. The music is well-done, with extra voices not present in the SNES game, and includes music lifted from Dragon's Fury and a boss laugh from Streets of Rage.

Fine Luigi (SNES)

Fine Luigi on the Super NES from Maxwell Olinda is a simple game where Mario universe faces bounce around the screen in a DVD logo screensaver style. The player controls a heart and must touch the Luigi faces to score points, while touching other faces results in losing hit points. The game features easy and hard modes, with the goal of reaching 30 points in easy mode or 20 points in hard mode to win. Despite its simplicity, the game is fun and features great music.

Super Boss Gaiden (SNES)

Super Boss Gaiden from Deer laser and Chrono puts the player in the role of the boss of Sony, enraged by the leaked and emulated Nintendo PlayStation prototype. The objective is to destroy equipment and eliminate Sony employees, including characters like Paraa the Rapper and Sack Boy. The player must maintain their heart rate to avoid death and setbacks, with checkpoints available. The controls are generally tight, though enemies can sometimes seem impervious to attacks. The graphics and music are good, but the text occasionally covers the action. The game is compatible with the actual Nintendo PlayStation if burned onto a CD.

Shinobi (Genesis)

Shiny Shinobi on the Genesis from Trion is a demo attempting to port the original arcade game to the Genesis. It includes the first stage and two levels from the second stage, but lacks bosses and Ninja magic. Trion has done a good job, especially considering the Genesis's colour limitations compared to the arcade hardware. The music is faithful to the arcade version, but the sound effects are quiet and fuzzy.

Shinobi (Neo Geo)

Shinobi on the Neo Geo from Hoffman is a complete port of the arcade game. It is very impressive and closely resembles the Sega 16 arcade version. Differences include slightly different colours due to the Neo Geo's colour palette, occasional slowdown, and rougher voices. The music is nearly perfect and in full mono, like the arcade version. The port may be based on the system 16a version of the arcade, which has worse audio. The boss of stage one makes strange noises when he dies. The game allows continues in the last stage via the BIOS.

Double Dragon (Neo Geo)

Double Dragon on the Neo Geo from casad ruivo aims to bring the arcade original to the console. Only stage one is playable in the current build. The fighting feels good, with punch, kick, and jump actions, as well as special moves. The player gets stunned when hit by enemies. The graphics look great but use sprites from the iOS version and backgrounds from various other games. The music, done by vomatron, is streamed in mono.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 (32X)

Sonic Robo Blast 2 on the 32X is a port of a fan-made PC game based on the Doom engine. The performance can be rough, with significant slowdown in some areas. The demo includes two full stages plus a boss fight, with large, confusing stages. The developers aim to finish the game, but may need to dial back the ambition to improve performance. The 32X handles all the graphics, while the Genesis handles the music, which is fantastic.

Open Lara (32X)

Open Lara on the 32X from X proger is a port of the first Tomb Raider game. It is impressive, though not fully optimised, with a frame rate that can be rough at times. The game runs full screen.

Cube Cat (Saturn)

Cube Cat on the Saturn, developed by various contributors, features a cubically shaped cat trying to reach the goal. The player can move, double jump, and dash, and collect bells. Analog controls are supported but must be enabled in the options. The controls are slippery, and some levels are difficult to complete.

Hell Slay (Saturn)

Hell slay from XL2 is a deathmatch game for the Saturn. Players set up deathmatch rules and try to get as many kills as possible. The game features various weapons with limited ammo, portals, and support for the analog controller. It can be enjoyed in multiplayer split-screen mode for up to four players. The visuals are impressive, with phenomenal lighting and draw distance.

Grand Theft Auto 3 (Dreamcast)

Grand Theft Auto 3 for the Sega Dreamcast is a port that requires the PC version of the game and patching to create a CDI image. The game runs in a higher resolution than the PlayStation 2 version and supports 16x9 widescreen. The camera control can be poor, and the audio can be glitchy. Trails can be turned off. The game saves to the VMU and displays various stats.

Doom 64 (Dreamcast)

Doom 64 on the Dreamcast from JN Martin 84 is a port of the Nintendo 64 game. It features smooth 60 frames per second and analog strafing. Everything is easy to see, and the game is much better than the N64 version. The goal is to solve mazes by finding keys and killing monsters. The game includes a features menu with options for invisibility and key cards.

Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition (Dreamcast)

Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition on the Dreamcast, ported by Ivan goober, uses a faux dual-stick approach. The analog stick aims, while the A, X, and Y buttons move the player. The look controls are very sensitive. The game moves well but has screen tearing. Saving requires an external IDE or SD save device.

Special Ninja Squad (Turbo Graphics 16/PC Engine)

Special Ninja Squad for the Turbo Graphics 16/PC Engine from FG software is a demo of a game that will eventually be sold commercially. The player controls a ninja and must kill bad guys with a blade. The game controls are similar to the first Ninja Gaiden on the NES. The graphics are detailed, and the music has a PC Engine flare.

Invasion of the Stasta Star People (Turbo Graphics 16/PC Engine)

Invasion of the Stasta Star People is a working title for a Jumping Flash-like game for the PC Engine from gory muchu. It is early in development but completely playable. The game pushes polygons.

Former Dawn (NES)

Former Dawn on the NES from something nerdy Studios is a demo of an RPG with action elements that will have a physical release. The game uses its own mapper and expansion audio. The graphics use the old hold and modify technique to give the appearance of more colours.

Hayato's Journey (Genesis)

Hayato's Journey on the Genesis from master linki is a spiritual sequel to Conan on the Master System. It borrows many assets. The player slashes with a sword and can collect projectile weapons and special attacks. The music is new but arranged from other games. The sound effects shift left and right. The level design is poor, with many gaps.

Mega Splatterhouse (Genesis)

Mega Splatterhouse on the Genesis from cyber dasas is a port of the arcade game. Only two levels are available so far. The graphics are faithful, and the music has been arranged. The sounds of the monsters and ghouls moaning in pain are a nice touch.

Mega R-Type (Genesis)

Mega R-Type for the Genesis from the Robos aims to remake the arcade version of the original R-Type game. Four levels are playable. The game has extensive configuration options, including a choice of soundtrack. One of the stages is the special stage from the Master System port. The player can also play as a Leo prototype ship that doesn't use a force.

Windjammers (Genesis)

Windjammers is coming to the Genesis. It is fancy pong, just like the original Neo Geo game. It is brutal in single-player mode but fun and addictive with two players. The conversion looks fantastic, with spot-on details and colours. The bonus round is included, and the characters have transparent shadows. The music is excellent.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors Hack (Genesis)

A hack for Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the Genesis removes the black bar on the right side of the screen, increasing the viewable area.

Road Rash Hacks (Genesis)

Road Rash Improvement by Tai improves the frame rate of Road Rash on the Genesis and allows the use of a CD for the music. Similar hacks exist for Road Rash 2 and Road Rash 3. A patch for Road Rash 3 provides more frames per second with a Sega CD attached. The Sega CD version of Road Rash also gets an enhancement patch.

Ghostbusters Special Edition 2.0 (Genesis)

Ghostbusters Special Edition 2.0 on the Genesis from Billy Time games adds Winston to the game and allows the player to play as Lewis, Janine, and Sigma from Mega Man X. The patch includes new cheats and a save feature.

Golden Axe 32X Edition (Genesis/32X)

Golden Axe 32X Edition from J Visser is a hack that applies to the Genesis version of Golden Axe to make it more like the arcade version. The hack replaces the Genesis backgrounds with those drawn by the 32X. The levels are more continuous, and the eyeball on the turtle and eagle now move.

Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Saturn)

Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight on the Saturn, also known as Castlevania Symphony of the Night, has an ultimate patch released by Paul Matt. The patch restores transparencies, removes black bars, and makes minor adjustments to the graphics. It also adds a hard mode and R's alternate costume. The English translation is great.