It’s not every day that you see a review of a ROM hack, but I had nothing else in mind to review so might as well, huh?

Before we begin, here’s a bit of information you need to know before we start. ROM Hacks are modified files of games from older consoles, usually changed into something new  and creative using the base game. Super Mario World is probably one of the most popular games ever modified. With the help of LunarMagic, a software used to edit and change the game, creators and players have made wonderful and interesting hacks that can be found primarily on a website named smwcentral.net. All games are free and you don’t know what wonders you can find there…

Or in this case, horrors. 

‘the, or CORONATION DAY__ is a Super Mario World horror ROM hack made by Medic, Torchkas and underway. Upon first look, it seems like another generic game. “Mario goes on another quest to save the kingdom,” the hack’s description says, “What obstacles will he be facing this time? …Also known as Coronation Day.”

The game starts with no Nintendo logo and no Super Mario World title screen. It just throws you into the heat of the moment.

You can’t run, your jumps are short, you feel a bit helpless with this much limitation. The normal run-of-the-mill scare tactics, like bones dropping from the trees and the game getting more broken as you progress are used in a unique way, making this whole hack feel like it’s cursed. Text boxes with ambiguous and cryptic text pop up every now and then and they change every time the game restarts. Mystery surrounds the ROM, you feel like you’re being tracked down.

There’s not really much you can do with art regarding pixels on a screen, but the pallets stay loyal to the original game with a few tweaks here and there.  

So what can I take away from this game? It’s amazing that’s all I can say. Sure, it’s a mario game but it totally outshines other creepypasta/horror mario ROM hacks I’ve ever played, because the 3 creators took the limitations of the game and the SNES (emulator) and used it against the player to make the horror feel logically correct.

9/10!