Alianger

Today I bring you a Solomon’s Key (SMS) Control Improvements Hack!
Get it here: minirevver.weebly.com/solomons-key-sms---improveme…

While it could be the definitive console version as it adds password saving (short passwords too), makes it much easier to jump or drop into c-shaped block formations from above, gives you unlimited continues (throughout – not just up until level 31 or 41), features arguably the best ending and has pretty nice FM sound, it does have worse controls.

This hack makes the controls closer to the more responsive NES controls, reducing jump and landing delays, easier jumping on the move, and making crouching more intuitive by not having you stay crouched when letting go of Down.

It also adds Mega Drive controller support, with dedicated buttons for block magic, jumping and fireballs (no more up to jump), while retaining the original spell mechanics that let you decide if a fireball travels along the ground or goes straight.

A major graphics overhaul is also in the works, aiming to enhance the game’s use of color and animation compared to the arcade game. Stay tuned!

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1 day ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Alianger

Golvellius Improvement Hack v1.1 is now done!
Featuring a Zelda-style sword beam, corrected sword hit detection, rebalanced bosses, slower flying enemy spawns, improved cave layouts and a rebalanced Dina's health for gold trade, this update further refines the original game by reducing frustration, expanding combat options and improving the overall balance.
All this while squeezing every last byte out of the original 256 KB ROM.

Get it here: minirevver.weebly.com/golvellius-improvement-hack.…

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Accomplished hack goals:
-Add a Zelda 1-style sword beam - to see if it was possible and because it’s fun to have an alternate method of attack. To use it, buy the legendary sword and make sure your health bar is full

-Fix the game’s hit detection when attacking enemies (originally every other hit does no damage unless you hold the sword out - it only stuns the enemy slightly)

-Tweak the bosses further based on some observations and how the former two changes affected the difficulty. Since the original’s hit detection also affects the sword beam, the fix was needed for the beam not to suck (every other beam going through enemies without damaging them). If you apply it on its own, be warned that parts of the game will be easier

-Slow down flying enemy spawn rates - to avoid some cheap hits and make exploring such screens less annoying

-Top down cave wall tweaks (+ one enemy wave tweak) – to avoid the player being thrown out repeatedly through no fault of their own, and to avoid a cheap hit or two towards the end of the Haidee cave. Bachular, Warlic and Haidee caves were edited somewhat

-Dina's trade rebalanced (150 -> 2600 gold per 2 health bars): in the original, trading health with Dina is never worth it. That's fine as an early gag or trap, but finding her again and again deep in areas 4–7 is a bummer. I raised the payout so that players have to weigh whether it's worth it at any given moment, without making it too good. The figure comes from timed tests: round trips between Randar and Dina, compared with grinding the most profitable enemies in each area for the same time, including how long you can grind before healing and the trip back. The tests assume good map knowledge, most potions and bibles collected at each point, and decent play, all of which make her relatively less attractive. By those measures she only wins in the long run at Warlic's lake, but during exploration she can help you afford the bible or potion you're just short of

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5 days ago | [YT] | 10

Alianger

Hey everybody,
How about another Master System ROM hack? This one's for Cyborg Hunter, split into three files to let people pick exactly what they want.
minirevver.weebly.com/my-rom-hacks.html

Cyborg Hunter (SMS) - Tweaked bomb control hack, 2x bomb damage hack, and bomb control+tweaked area b chief cyborg behavior hacks (IPS files)
Here are three minor hacks for this action adventure game with light horror elements. In the original, just touching Up makes you drop bombs, which conflicts with opening doors (and you have to stand exactly in front of them to open them instead of dropping a bomb) - the first patch instead makes you hold up and then pressing 1/punch for about 0.2 seconds, which should make it impossible to use them by accident.

I also felt the bombs are very weak in this game considering they take a couple of seconds to trigger and look like they're supposed to be stronger. In the original they are equivalent to two regular punches. For this reason, I created a patch that doubles their damage, which make them a viable sub weapon (you'll take out smaller enemies in one hit and do decent damage against both the chief cyborgs and most of the bosses).

Finally, I've always thought the chief cyborgs in area B are pathetic in this game, since you can just walk up to them and punch (or hover slightly above ground once you have the jet engine) to deal with them jumping when you attack from the ground. The third patch adds both the bomb control tweak and makes them start jumping as soon as they enter the screen, which makes them actually dangerous.




Next up is a more extensive hack for Golvellius, and then I'll probably take a break for a while.

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Alianger

Hey everybody,
Enjoy a couple of minor SMS ROM hacks I've made recently!
minirevver.weebly.com/my-rom-hacks.html

Psycho Fox (SMS) - Mid-Air Acceleration Hack (IPS file)
This is a simple hack that lets your character (whichever animal you're using) keep accelerating in mid-air, just like in Sonic. It should make the game a lot more playable for most players, though keep in mind that the game still has various leaps of faith and some cheap enemy placements. You might also be able to reach certain platforms that you couldn't before, but having played through it once, it shouldn't break the game.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (SMS) - Player Movement Speed Hack (IPS file)
This hack should help even out the odds a bit in this brutal game. Both players move about 25% faster

1 week ago | [YT] | 7

Alianger

GVG is currently doing weekly polls on the top 10 OSTs for each year, since 1985.
Podcast
youtube.com/@GVG/videos
The 1986 poll: forms.gle/dndqQmYArsywjUdJ6"

I wouldn't normally share something like this, but 1. the participation is fairly large and 2. most non-Nintendo platforms are largely ignored so far, so maybe this can get the attention of fans of other platforms' music and make for a more interesting list.

In case you've missed it, you can quickly browse the top 20-ish most popular VGM from each year using these playlists:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 4

Alianger

Hey Youtube world,
I turned some highlights from a backloggd list and personal notes from my influential systems article on my site into a simple html presentation. Check it out!

mygamingjourney-naiad-3f2d98.netlify.app/

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

Alianger

Hey Youtube world,

Check out this new video by an up and coming youtuber, Genesis God Omega XL!
Proud to call him a buddy of mine.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

Alianger

Hey Youtube world,
I just published a write-up breaking down the best of the best retro soundscapes from the 1980s, analyzing music and sound effect mixing, sample fidelity rate limitations, channel economy and more, in iconic games like After Burner II, Ys Book I & II, Revenge of Shinobi, Shadow of the Beast, Mega Man 2 and Castlevania III. 118 deliciously raw and bloopy soundscapes covered!
minirevver.weebly.com/top-sound-design-in-retro-ga…

Give it a read/listen and tell me about your favorite sound design in games from the 1980s.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 10

Alianger

I ranked the most influential games of the 1980s by trying to trace actual documented influence chains rather than just going by fame or nostalgia, which tend to produce the same predictable list every time. Expect the big names (Mario, Zelda, Tetris, Wizardry, Ultima, Dragon Quest, etc) alongside less obvious picks: obscure PC games like Caverns of Freitag and Dragon Slayer 1-2 whose influence runs through years of the ARPG lineage that followed, Elite's influence on GTA, Megami Tensei's influence on Pokémon, and MULE, which Miyamoto has cited as a direct inspiration for Pikmin. Sources are mostly Wikipedia and mainstream articles (does shmuplations count as mainstream yet?), with some personal observations and speculation where the historical record is thin.

Full list with notes on each game: backloggd.com/u/residentleever/list/top-influentia…
Let me know what you think is missing or misranked - especially if you know more about the more obscure games!

3 months ago | [YT] | 11

Alianger

Games that made the most impact on me growing up:
backloggd.com/u/residentleever/list/games-that-mad…

3 months ago | [YT] | 9