I haven't been getting much use out of my Nintendo DS lately, and want to try developing games on the handheld, importing games, downloading free games and roms for use with the DS, including hacks and translations. So what do I all need for this, what Flash Card or hardware is the most recommended?

Would something like the NinjaDS be recommended, or something else? Anyone here take part in the DS homebrew scene, and might know something? I'd appreciate some help, and thank you.

I just realized this would be better suited for Rom Hacking section of the forums. Could a moderator move it there? Sorry for the hassle.

No, its not. Does this mean he gets to ask a question about the game, or I have to leave another hint?

My hint is: It's a vampire opera.

Considering your money problem, and not knowing your gaming preferences, its impossible to make a suggestion in good consciousness. For example, only the niche-based hardcore strategy and RPG gamers would appreciate Disgaea 3 or Cross Edge.

I'll break down a few games in certain categories though, picking three games for each genre - one for casual gamers, one for moderate gamers, and one for the very hardcore in that genre. Also, some genres might not have all three picks, since I'll only pick good games, and sometimes more than one game.

Action:
Casual - Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Moderate - Batman: Arkham Asylum / Metal Gear Solid 4 (if you've played the other ones)
Hardcore: Ninja Gaiden Sigma and the upcoming Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Action / Adventure:
Moderate - Uncharted 1 and 2 / Dead Space

Fighting:
Moderate - Street Fighter IV / Marvel VS. Capcom 2
Hardcore - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Platformer - Little Big Planet

Racing:
Casual - MotorStorm and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
Moderate - Need for Speed Shift
Hardcore - Wipeout HD and Wipeout HD Fury (the best of the bunch, but gets incredibly challenging very fast)
Note: If you can wait for it, hold off on these until Gran Turismo 5 comes out

RPG / Strategy RPGs:
Moderate - Elder Scrolls 4: GOTY Edition (wait for the same treatment for Fallout 3 before getting it)
Hardcore - Valkyria Chronicles / Disgaea 3 / Cross Edge

Shooters: Resistance 1 and 2, Killzone 2, Bioshock, and Modern Warfare are very good, and all fit in the same Moderate section

Downloads: Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, Metal Gear Solid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Suikoden and Final Fantasy VII are the recommended games for download. Only the WipeOut HD games are true PS3 games.

Now, that is a lot to pick from. If I were to narrow it further, by picking the best game from each genre, no matter if its casual or hardcore, it would be these games:

Batman: Arkham Asylum for the Action category, unless you're familiar with the Metal Gear Solid games, then buy Metal Gear Solid 4. I'll skip the Action/Adventure genre they're mostly action games, and I found Batman and Metal Gear to be more enjoyable. For the Fighting genre, I'd actually say BlazBlue is better than Street Fighter IV. Yes, its appeal is more limited, but it has a user-friendly interface with an insane amount of depth, with much more variety in the characters. The only platformer I'd really recommend is Little Big Planet, and the Game of the Year Edition at that, now that its available. Of all the racing games I mentioned, they're all good and all very different, so if you can, I'd just wait for Gran Turismo 5. As far as RPGs go, it really depends on you. If you don't want a strictly hardcore title, pick up either Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition or Fallout 3 (I'd wait for an edition that has all the DLC as well). But if you want a hardcore title, the best one would Valkyria Chronicles. For shooters, there all good games, so it really depends on what type of shooter or setting you like the best - and if that doesn't matter, go by the online component - Killzone 2 probably would have the best multiplayer component, due its to class system. And finally, if it doesn't have to a true PS3 title, but even a PSONE classic, I say get Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Whew, sorry if I got carried away. But I hope it helps.

Final Fantasy VII.

What are you're favorite type of games and how much are you willing to spend?

I believe this would be the right place to put the thread, don't worry about that. Can put up a link to your doujin, and also to info about the games you helped work on?

I agree with you on that one. But, even though he listed the game as an NES title, I wasn't sure if he wanted more the game to be remade for the sake of him liking it, or because he wanted a T2 game that could do the movie justice.

Venom, when you mentioned Bionic Commando being a good example of a great remake, did you mean Bionic Commando: Rearmed, or the 3D version released a litte while afterwards. Because I hope you meant Rearmed.

Also, Xfighter: a remake of Terminator 2 could be a great idea. The fact that the game was terrible is a perfect example of why it should be remade. The movie and story have great potential for creating a great game. Instead of being a remake of the game, it would be a game based off the movie. We can all agree, most of the time, games based off movies are terrible. A great way to avoid that trap for a T2 game is to create a game based off the movie, as well the following trilogy of books.

And also, the Turtles game is stuck somewhere between a port and a remake. The reason it was terrible is its stuck in the past, where what was acceptable then is definitely not now.

So is it mostly going to be a graphical hack, or will the gameplay be fairly different as well?

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm going to write the second part fairly soon.

How do you become a Trusted Member?

That's too bad. Any particular reason for it being stalled?

I have listed and discussed in extensive detail 3 hacks and 3 hacking utilites. All of the hacks here are considered as some of the best romhacking has to offer. You wanted a Super Mario 64 hack, right? I'll start with that:

http://sites.google.com/site/messiaen64/themissingstars

The Missing Stars is the very first COMPLETE hack of Super Mario 64 that features completely new, original levels. The game uses none of the levels from the official game and changes many aspects of the gameplay.

Main Features:
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- 38 stars in about 10 levels
- A Day/Night cycle replacing (most) act selectors
- Choose to play as Mario or Luigi
- Modified enemies, objects and bosses (too many to list!)
- Custom music, including one original song (the town "night" music).
- A new final boss fight

More info, as well as video of the game is available at the address listed above.

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[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]
[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]
[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]


Here are some hacks all Chrono Trigger fans need to try:

Chrono Trigger: Prophet's Guile is a fan game made by Kajar Laboratories. It tells the story of Magus' rise to power in the Kingdom of Zeal after his arrival in 12000 B.C. because of the time distortion at his lair in 600 A.D. In his attempt stop Lavos at the Ocean Palace, he must gain Queen Zeal's trust to defeat all his opposition. The length of the game is around approximately two regular Chrono Trigger chapters long, and said to have many surprises.


Chrono Trigger Coliseum is another hack, and it adds an entirely new challenge for old veterans and breathes new life and replay value into the renowned battle system of the game. It is also the most complicated event hack of the game ever, showing that the Temporal Flux editor indeed has created countless opportunities for enhancing and reshaping the game. There are three modes of difficulty available for both solo or party battles, and points can acc Three modes of difficulty are available for solo or party battles, and you can earn points that can be spent to buy rewards like weapons, armor, and other items. For an added bonus, for those who beat Solo on Hard mode, a legendary swordsman will make a cameo appearance.


I will not put up where to get these Chrono Trigger hacks, or the ROMs. Vizzed may do so if they desire, but in case of legal issues, I will remain out that.


[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]
[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]
[Spoiler Alert] Chrono Trigger [Spoiler Alert]


There is one last thing I'll talk about, which is for anyone who wants to wants create their own hack, though doesn't have any programming experience. There are two programs you will want to check out. First, the best Chrono Trigger editor out there, followed by two Super Mario RPG editors.

1. Temporal Flux (For anyone, from people with no experience to those with advanced experience) - The best CT editor, makes it possible to edit level data for the overworld, different locations, in-game text, and even EVENTS!. If you do not understand what I mean by EVENTS, or are confused at the importance of this editor, check out the Chrono Trigger Coliseum hack (the Coliseum is found in 2300 A.D.). If you want create any type of hack for CT, be it simple editing of stats for characters and monsters to more complicated changes like adding entire new plot points, areas, and more - this is the way to go. Simply put, Temporal Flux is the RPG Maker of Chrono Trigger Romhacking.

2. Super Mario RPG Editor, created by J-Dub, is great for anyone with no experience in romhacking. The problem however is its a very limited editor. The Super Mario RPG Editor is used for editing the starting stats of each character, change the shops' inventory, changing the stats of some enemies, and tweak just a few other values. Use this for learning purposes. If you have no experience and want to learn, I have an idea for you. Nobody can deny Super Mario RPG is insultingly easy, where I've heard its actually possible to beat the game with only a couple levels. Edit the game to make it a more challenging, yet balanced game. For example, make it so players have to plan more on which stat to raise and what item to buy. Also, perhaps even make it so items and inns cost more, so reserving your money is important.

3. Lazy Shell (for those with ADVANCED experience) is a comprehensive editor for Super Mario RPG, capable of modifying nearly every aspect in the game. Properties you can alter and change world maps, location maps and their tiles, NPCs, exits, EVENTS(like in the Temporal Flux editor for Chrono Trigger) and/or their scripts (you can create original events or just edit the scripts of preexisting ones), battle scripts, monsters, items, spells, attacks, shops, dialogues and font graphics, sprite graphics and sprite animations, and much more.

Here are some special features the editor comes with. The option to, when using ZSNES, preview the levels, event, and battle scripts, which is used to preview the hack without having to save it; an automatic palette generator for level palettes that creates new palettes; and a font table image generator based on fonts installed on your OS, though it won't work with all fonts.

Like the Temporal Flux editor Chrono Trigger, Lazy Shell is best for its particular game. However, unlike Temporal Flux with its middle-ground for people who only want to do a little editing and those who want to do extreme changes, Lazy Shell is only suited for those who have ADVANCED romhacking experience going into it to begin with. That is why I talked about the other Super Mario RPG editor above, in case you wanted to learn the ropes of editing this particular game.

Let me know what you think of these hacks and editors. If anyone wants to pursue creating a Chrono Trigger or Super Mario RPG hack, talk about it here. You might have quite a few people who are willing to participate and help. I myself have been thinking over some type of Final Fantasy game, though I'll discuss that later. If anyone wants more game-specific editors, let me know. If you want, I'll also expand to include some editors for games in other genres, and not RPGs alone.

Links Awakening is a great game, but the cartoon series is not good. If I remember correctly, it full of bad animation and campy humor that does injustice to what the Zelda plot and characters are capable of.

I don't know how far along this game hack is, but I had an idea for a direction you could take that I think you might like. However, it really depends on how far along you are in development.

I have an idea for this hack so it can be enjoyed with single player or multiplayer in mind. First and foremost, as a hack of SMB, it would obviously be a platformer. Now, about the single player mode and its story. The game would be about Ash Ketchum (who is forced to choose Pikachu after oversleeping) and about his travels from gym to gym, region to region, to become the best Pokemon Trainer in the world.

I'm not sure which Super Mario Bros. game you are using for the hack, but I hope its the third. This will make it possible to have something akin to a world map. If that's the case, then I think the game should take place in the Kanto Region, divided into Zones, which are made up of levels. Let's say the object of the game is to become number one in all of Kanto. To do this, you would need to go through each Zone to reach its City and Gym, where you would face the Boss of the Zone.

Like SMB 3, there are optional levels which would be used for finding rare Pokemon; then there would be places to stop on the Zone Map to buy Pokeballs and Rock Candy to evolve the Pokemon. As far as gameplay is concerned, you would see Ash in the background like the Pokemon Trainer in Super Smash Bros: Brawl. Switching between Pokemon is for using their abilities to get to secret and hidden areas a la Metroid style, since some Pokemon might not be able to get to it. Also, when it comes to enemies, be it wild Pokemon, Duelists, or Team Rocket ( Team Rocket should have a level in each Zone, dedicated to just them to expand the story), switching to the right Pokemon and using tactics is key.

A short take on multiplayer - this could either be a co-op mode in the game which lets you and someone else tackle levels together, two Pokemon at a time. For this to work, to avoid balancing issues the enemies might need to be harder and more challengin. Also, there could be certain secrets to find in each level that can only be obtained through cooperative play. Multiplayer could also have two players selecting their favorite Pokemon they've collected and taking them into a duel.

When I saw the artwork a while back my mind went crazy with visions and ideas. I talk about on my blog's article about how they should make the next Zelda game. Proller, could you check it out and let me know what you think - the link is http://thewritersguild.spaces.live.com/blog/

Don't worry about it. Perhaps in the future, if all goes well. Also, I knew you were just hosting the download for the FFVII game - the original creators were from China, if memory serves me correctly.

If you ever want other ideas, ones that are much more simple to execute, let me know. I'd like to help.

No, its not the saddest. While it was sad, what made it feel sadder for many gamers was the fact that it felt more real and prevalent due to such a leap in graphics that immersed them into games like they hadn't been before.

Buts its been about fifteen years now, with more graphical leaps as well as better stories. I'd also argue that it wasn't even the saddest death in video game history at its time, but it was close.

The game needs to use Wii Motion Plus exclusively, but they need to avoid the problem that is prevalent in Sword Dueling in Wii Sports Resort, which is spamming and flailing can easily result in a win. My idea is that they have "Duel" or "Focus" mode, where locking onto an enemy with Z-Targeting enters you into dueling stance with the targeted enemy. When in this stance you circle the enemy left or right by which way you hold the analog stick - think of a way two Samurai circle each other when they face off in a duel, before the final strike.

This makes it possible to get behind harder enemies defenses, pull off parries and counter-attacks, and even use special moves that are learned in the same fashion as in Twilight Princess's special moves. The last thing I can think uses the mechanic found in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, where you can aim outside the Auto-Lock On zone of the enemy you are targeting. In this case, it makes it possible to attack an enemy outside the locked-on enemy, while focusing on the original enemy.