The 10 Strangest Video Game ROM Hacks

10 Strangest ROM Hacks

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Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’ll be going over 10 of the strangest ROM hacks. For this list, we’ll be going over some of the most bizarre ROM hacks and other bootleg games created by fans. If there’s a weird ROM hack that we forgot, please tell us about it in the comments!

“Donkey Kong 5: The Journey of Over Time and Space” (2001)

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Yes, that’s actually the title. And it’s just the first of many grammatical disasters in this bootleg game. Despite starring Donkey Kong, it’s actually a clone of “Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'' for the Game Boy…or at least the first few worlds of it. The player shifts between D.K. and Diddy Kong, depending on if you have a power-up or not. It’s super floaty and not very good, but the sheer number of bizarre choices here help put it on our list. D.K.’s spin attack turns him into Taz from the “Tazmania'' games. The soundtrack is from “Pokémon Pinball.” But what about the story? Well, Donkey Kong sets out to rescue a girl named Sodoma from “the Lombado,” which, as best we can tell…is Dracula.

Created by Toby Fox, the guy who created “Undertale,” “Earthbound Halloween Hack” is a hack of “Earthbound.” But unlike the game it’s based on, “Halloween Hack” is less quirky and more…terrifying. Set in an alternate timeline, where the main characters never returned, “Halloween Hack” instead follows Varik, the protagonist of the “Brandish” series of RPGs instead. Varik is charged by the former mayor of Twoson to locate and kill a monster that ate a girl’s parents. And it only gets darker from there! Influence on Fox’s later work is evident, from the meta examination of gamers’ choices, to the presence of the hit song “Megalovania.” It’s not for everyone though, and Fox himself has referred to it as – “a bad ROM hack with swears.”

“Zelda’s Birthday” (2008)

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Released in honor of the 10th anniversary of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,” “Zelda’s Birthday” is a hack of the game it’s celebrating. Unlike “Ocarina of Time,” “Zelda’s Birthday” follows Link trying to recover presents for Zelda’s birthday from all over Hyrule. Along with the new story, several areas have been modified and there are even a few original dungeons to play through. This hack may be odd, but it’s a gift you shouldn’t wait for a birthday to give to anyone who loves “The Legend of Zelda.”

“Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa” (2006)

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The “Metal Gear” franchise can get pretty weird, as anyone who has tried to follow the storyline can tell you. Naturally, a fan game based on the franchise would follow suit. In this Christmas themed stealth game, you play as Solid Santa, who must deliver presents to children, while avoiding their notice and using nonlethal weapons and gadgets on them. The gameplay takes cues from 2D “Metal Gear” games, while its story is more in line with the “Metal Gear Solid” games’ penchant for overcomplicated nonsense. Let’s just say it involves Metal Gears, cloning, and President Andrew Johnson having beard-envy.

“Super Mario 64 Chaos Edition” (2014)

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Most hacks feature alterations to levels or environments, but this one keeps the game’s structure fairly intact. The weird thing about it is that “Super Mario 64 Chaos Edition” makes everything else about the game into, well, chaos. It has been coded to enact random effects without warning. Sometimes the camera will turn sideways, or Mario will turn giant. Maybe your health will slowly drain away. Or you might turn into a sign. You never know what will happen or when. It can make “Chaos Edition” frustrating to play if you want to complete the game, but as an experience, it’s pretty fun.

“Pokémon Sweet Version” (2011)

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There are a ton of “Pokémon” ROM hacks, but one of the most bizarre is “Pokémon Sweet Version.” In this hack of “Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen,” everything has been changed to be dessert themed. This includes the world itself, as well as the Pokémon living in it. There are 151 confectionary creatures to capture and collect, with 12 different flavors. The hack features redesigned versions of existing Pokémon, as well as original music. The battle system also favors double battles more than single ones. As delectable as the execution is, the concept is enough to give you a cavity if you don’t have a sweet tooth.

It wouldn’t be a weird game list without Waluigi! Waluigi may have been around for 20 years, but the memetic Nintendo character has yet to get an official game all his own. That hasn’t stopped fans from memeing for years that Nintendo made a game featuring the mustachioed purple fiend called “Waluigi’s Taco Stand.” And then that meme was real! An enterprising fan created a ROM hack of “Super Mario 64” with Waluigi, you guessed it, running a taco stand. By performing platforming challenges and defeating enemies, Waluigi collects taco ingredients and improves his taco stand’s business. There’s even a fake commercial to lend to the illusion that it’s a “lost” game.

“Mega Man in The Mushroom Kingdom” (2006)

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Taking the hero of one game and dropping them into another franchise is actually fairly common in ROM hacks, but this one takes it further than most. A hack of the original “Mega Man” for the NES, “Mega Man in the Mushroom Kingdom” pits the Blue Bomber against 6 Robot Masters as in the original, but in worlds themed after the first three “Super Mario Bros.” games, as well as “Super Mario World.” Basically all the enemies and environments, except the bosses, are from the “Mario” franchise. For as frequent as this kind of thing is, seeing “Mario” settings, but with Mega Man jumping around in them is a real trip.

There are actually a few ROM hacks featuring the late Wilford Brimley, best known for his association with Quaker Oats and his distinctive way of saying the word “diabetes.” Our pick went to “Wilford Brimley Battle,” a hack of “River City Ransom.” The plot, such as it is, involves Brimley seeking to stop a clone of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg from “ruling breakfast.” To do so, Brimley has to beat up a bunch of elderly men and guys in short shorts in classic beat ‘em up fashion. The breakfast-themed premise, along with other odd details, like Player 2 being a clone of Brimley with a blue mustache, make this a strange hack indeed.

Before “Super Mario Maker” made it easy to make punishingly difficult “Mario” levels, one fan took it upon themselves to do it the hard way. “Kaizo Mario World'' and its sequels features absurdly difficult gameplay, like precise jumps on flying enemies, fast auto scrolling levels, and enemies that kill you during “safe” times, like after you’ve beaten the level! The games are so antithetical to typical “Mario” games that they’re kind of novel. They’ve certainly attracted gamers who are either perfectionist speedrunners or who are gluttons for punishment. Or both.