Mario has appeared in many bootleg games for the Famicom and NES, including Somari, Kart Fighter, and Super Mario World (Famicom), but he has also appeared in cheap graphical hacks of other licensed video games. Often released for Famiclone systems, these hacks of games like Tiny Toon Adventures, Joe & Mac and Armadillo slap a Mario sprite over the main character's sprite(s), and sometimes with minor graphical changes in enemies and objects or change the number of lives you start with.
Numbered Hacks[]
These games were numbered in a possible attempt to make it seem like they were an extension of the original trilogy.
1990 Super Bros. 4[]
- Main article: 1990 Super Bros. 4
A hack of Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan) that changes the title screen, some of the graphics, and edits some of the power-ups to do different things - a Super Mushroom turns Mario into Fire Mario, and a Super Star allows Mario to swim in the air. Graphics are used from Super Mario Bros. 3, although some sprites are custom.
Trivia[]
- 921001 is written on the PCB, which likely means its release date was around October 1992.
- In an issue of Club Nintendo México (an official Nintendo magazine), a reader asked if a game they saw was "Super Mario Bros. 4", with a description very similar to 1990 Super Bros. 4 (see third photo below).
Mario IV[]
- Main article: Mario IV
Mario IV is a hack of Armadillo which changes the title screen and replaces the main character with Mario. Some graphics are taken from Dian Shi Ma Li and Super Mario Bros. 3. An alternate version of the hack has a stage select that enables starting from any of the eight worlds.
Trivia[]
- The game's origin is currently unknown. It might share a developer with Super Mario Bros. 7 (see below), due to one of Mario IV's numerous releases having an almost identical PCB and box-art to said game; it also somewhat hints that the J.Y. Company likely released it at some point.
- One PCB reads 911223, suggesting the hack was either first released very early into 1992 or had already hit the markets on or later than December 1991.
Super Mario 4 (Game Boy)[]
- Main article: Super Mario 4
An extensive hack of the Japan-only original Game Boy game Crayon Shin-chan 4: Ora no Itazura Dai Henshin, originally published by Bandai and developed by TOSE. There are four levels throughout the entire game and the game now has the player control Mario. Many changes are made to the original game for this hack, such as adding a new animated title screen featuring a depiction of Mario from the Japanese Super Mario 64 box art, removing the story elements, adding new level layouts, and reskinning the power-ups to be Mario-themed. The level layouts in particular are a major point of criticism with the game as they unfairly increase the difficulty compared to the original game. Various graphics used in this hack are taken from multiple Game Boy Mario games, including Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Mario & Yoshi (Yoshi), and Yoshi's Cookie, with a few being original to this hack.
While the title screen has a 1997 copyright year visible, it is currently unknown when the game was originally released. However, it is known that the game started appearing on multicarts as early as 1998.
Super Bros. 5[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 5
A hack of the PAL version of Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka Super Mario USA) except the title screen has been changed and Mario's name is now misspelled as "Merio" in the story text. An earlier variant exists under the name Super Bros. 2, is credited to CTC and dated 1989. Gameplay wise, it's still the same.
Super Bros. 6[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 6
A hack of Tiny Toon Adventures that changes the title screen to the words "Super Bros. 6" using the Super Mario Bros. 3 title screen font on a black background with no copyright text, a title screen style seen in many of these hacks. It also replaces some of Buster Bunny's sprites with a pink Mario; sprites such as Buster's map icon and powerup sprites, along with the rest of the playable characters, remain intact, however. The sprites for Mario are from Super Mario Bros. 3..
This hack can be found in various multicarts.
Super Mario Bros. 7 / 7 Grand Dad[]
- Main article: 7 Grand Dad
A well-known Mario bootleg of The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino and Hoppy which spawned into an infamous meme. The hack changes parts of the title screen, and replaces Fred Flintstone's head with Mario's on Fred's sprites. The copyrights at the end of the game had all letters changed to X's. The Mario on the title screen was taken from Dian Shi Ma Li and the sprite that replaces Fred Flintstone's head was taken directly from Super Mario Bros. 3. The game starts on the map screen, allowing you to choose any of the first 3 levels at the start of the game, and has a built-in level select accessed by pressing Select on the title screen.
Trivia[]
- The first release likely originates from J.Y. Company. One PROM on the PCB has JY215 written on it.
- Only the main gameplay graphics were altered, meaning any connections with Mario are minor. All references to Fred Flintstone via dialogue are also retained.
- During the basketball minigame, Fred's head was not replaced.
- This bootleg game even appeared in a commercial for an Argentine console family game brand, you can see it here.
- The bootleg game would eventually become an internet meme in the mid-2010s.
Super Mario World 7 / Super Mario Land 7[]
A title screen and sprite hack of the North American/European version of Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise. It was released for the Game Boy in 1998 by an unknown company. On some cartridges and multicarts, the game is labelled as Super Mario Land 7. However, they all contain the same game with the title screen on the right.
The intro cutscene from the original game is replaced with a custom splash screen in addition to the title screen being edited. Master Higgins' sprites have been replaced with Mario sprites based on ones from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - some of these sprites are directly ripped from that game, while others are either sprite edits or drawn from scratch. The fruit have been replaced with sprites of the Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Star items from the Super Mario games, and the snail enemy sprites have been replaced with original drawings of what is supposed to be a Goomba. The hack is otherwise identical to the original game.
The original ending and credits sequence from Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise is kept fully intact in this hack, with the only change being that Mario stands in for Master Higgins being repeatedly kissed by his girlfriend.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Video of the credits of Super Mario World 7
- Longplay of Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise
- Blog post about the game by fcgamer
Super Bros. 8[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 8
A hack of Don Doko Don 2 that changes the title screen and replaces the two characters with Mario and Luigi. Graphics are used from Super Mario Bros. 3. In the ending, the game is erroneously referred to as "Super Mario Part 6" instead. In some versions, the game starts with 9 lives instead of 3.
Trivia[]
- The first release was likely to be originated from J.Y. Company. The PCB has 2 PROMs suggesting this, one reads JY-A1 and another JY211.
- The PCB manufacturing code implies it would have been made during March 1992.
Super Bros. 9[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 9
A hack of Adventure Island II which replaces all of Master Higgins' sprites with Mario. Graphics are used from Super Mario Bros. 3. The game starts with 10 lives instead of 3. Another somewhat more common variant of this game exists under the name Super Mario World 9. Other variants exist that add in the area select code on the title screen: Right + Left + Right + Left + A + B + A + B.
Trivia[]
- 920618 is printed on the PCB. It is likely the manufacture or design date. It might be released on or after June 1992.
- One of the cartridge arts mistakenly calls the game "Super Warioland 9".
- There's also a version called Super Mario World 3.
Super Bros. 10: Kung Fu Mari[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 10: Kung Fu Mari
A hack of Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu which changes the title screen and swaps out Jackie Chan's head with Mario's. The graphics were taken from Super Mario Bros 3.
Trivia[]
- The reprint shown below has 810425C written on it (April 25th, 1992). It means Mario 10 had likely already hit the market by then.
Super Bros. 11 / Mario Adventures 11[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 11
A hack of Adventure Island 3 which replaces all of Master Higgins' sprites with Mario. The game starts with 30 uses of all items instead of 0 and 9 lives instead of 3, making it much easier. The graphics are from Super Mario Bros. 2 (FDS version) and Super Mario Bros. 3. The logo for Tiny Toon Adventures can also be found on the title screen (the text saying "Adventures.")
Trivia[]
- Mario 11 and Mario 14 both have almost identical PCBs.
- On a later reprint, "Mario" was misspelled as "Wario", even though the game itself does not feature Wario in any way.
Super Mario 12[]
- Main article: Super Mario 12
A simple title hack of the Japanese version of Yoshi's Cookie.
Super Mario Bros. 13 / Super Brother Mario 13[]
- Main article: Super Mario Bros. 13
A hack of Saiyūki World 2: Tenjōkai no Majin, the Japanese version of Whomp 'Em, that replaces the main character's sprite with Mario's. The graphics used are from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Trivia[]
- The PCB reads 820212C which translates to February 12th, 1993.
- The title screen is very similar to Super Bros. 11, using the same "Mario" text, hinting at the fact that they could be from the same developer.
Super Mario 14[]
- Main article: Super Mario 14
A hack of Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3: Taiketsu! Zouringen (AKA Kid Niki: Radical Ninja 3) that changes the title screen and replaces a few of Kid Niki's sprites with Mario. Some enemies are replaced with Koopas and Spinies (which seem to be walking backwards) and some items are changed to coins and mushrooms. The graphics used are from Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels) and Super Mario Bros 3. A variant of this game exists under the name Samurai Mario.
Trivia[]
- Humorously, the game is credited to "Wario" on the title screen.
- A rare alternate version is titled Super Mario 15, presumably to separate it from the other Mario 14 listed below. It also changes the copyright at the bottom to say Mario instead of Wario.
- Mario 14's PCB is almost identical to Mario 11.
Mario Bros. 14 Adventures[]
- Main article: Mario Bros. 14 Adventures
A hack of the Japanese version of Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland that, like Super Bros. 6, replaces Buster Bunny (along with other characters, such as Babs Bunny) with a pink Mario and uses graphics from Super Mario Bros. 3. Some cart labels show the number 15 but in-game it is still referred to as 14.
A further hack of this game changes the number on the title screen to 15, although it's origin is currently unknown. [1]
Mario 15 / Sonic Bros.[]
See Sonic Pirate Hacks#Sonic Bros.
Mario 16 / Super Bros Jurassic Park[]
- Main article: Mario 16
A hack of Joe & Mac that changes the title screen and replaces some of Joe's sprites with Mario. The game starts with 10 lives instead of 3. The game was released in 1993 and rereleased in 1996. The graphics used are from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Trivia[]
- The PCB manufacturing code reads 810936C, which translates to September 1993.
- Mario 16 for the Dendy was reviewed on the Russian game show Dendy: The New Reality. The original Joe & Mac was also reviewed later. The host was seemingly under the impression that Mario 16 was the original and Joe & Mac was the hack when it is the other way around.
Super Bros. 16[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 16
A hack of Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 2: Karakuri Land (AKA Kid Niki: Radical Ninja 2) that replaces the main character with a poorly drawn Mario. The game starts with 10 lives instead of 3 and 5 points of energy instead of 0. Several graphics are from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Bros. 17: Fighting of the Mali Lugi[]
- Main article: Super Bros. 17: Fighting of the Mali Lugi
A hack of Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers that changes the title screen and replaces Chip, Dale, and two enemies with Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser, respectively. The graphics used are from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Yoshi's Cookie.
Non-Numbered Hacks[]
These games were pirate hacks that were released on original Famicom cartridges.
Mali & Lugi Fighting 2[]
- Main article: Mali Lugi Fighting 2
A sequel to Super Bros. 17, based on Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2. The graphics are the same as the former title.
Trivia[]
- The game may have not received a retail release. The only copy of the game currently found was stored inside a regular Rescue Rangers 2 case.
Adventure Mario[]
A hack of Adventure Island exclusively found on multicarts that changes the title screen and replaces Master Higgins with Luigi, albeit poorly. Graphics are used from Super Mario Bros..
Mali Boss[]
A hack of Hammerin' Harry that changes the title screen and replaces the main character's head with Mario and enemies with Toads and the Ice Land King from Mario 3. The graphics used are from Yoshi's Cookie and Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Mali Splash Bomb / Super Mali Soda Water[]
A hack of Keroppi to Keroleen no Splash Bomb that changes the title screen and replaces Keroppi with Luigi. The graphics used are from Yoshi's Cookie.
Super Mali Hero Legends / Hero Mali Brothers[]
A hack of Little Ninja Brothers that changes the title screen and replaces the Ninja Bros. with the Mario Bros. instead. The graphics used are from Yoshi's Cookie.
Trivia[]
- The game is notably based on the American version of Little Ninja Brothers, rather then the Japanese version, Super Chinese 2.
M.C. Mario[]
- Main article: M.C. Mario
A hack of M.C. Kids (aka McDonaldland) that changes the title screen and replaces Mick and Mack with Mario, using graphics from Super Mario Bros. 3. The opening segment at the beginning showing Mick and Mack reading the story is cut out and takes you right to Ronald's house instead.
Trivia[]
- The cover variant shown below (middle) has a PCB with 811209C on it. It translates to December 9th, 1992. This is likely a reprint by another distributor, suggesting the game was released before that.
- Their names are still Mick and Mack in the cutscenes.
- Gregg Iz-Tavares, who was a programmer for the original M.C Kids, mentioned this hack on his blog. He said that, although he was sad to see a game he worked on ripped off, he still thought it was interesting to see the hack. The original post can be found here.
Pizza Pop Mario / Mary Pizza Pop[]
- Main article: Pizza Pop Mario
A hack of Pizza Pop that changes the title screen and replaces the pizza delivery guy with Mario. The game starts with 10 lives instead of 3. The graphics are taken from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Bros. Pocker Mali[]
A hack of Crayon Shin-Chan: Ora to Poi Poi that replaces Shinnosuke with Mario. Some of Shinnosuke's story graphics have been erased, leaving the other Crayon Shin-Chan characters, including the text, fully intact. All references to Shinnosuke via dialogue are retained. The graphics used are from Yoshi's Cookie.
Mario Rider / Super Mario Kart Rider[]
A Top Rider hack which replaces the head of the biker with a Super Mario Bros. 3 sprite. Some variants have multiple heads to choose from in the form of other characters from Super Mario Kart. This hack changes the controls to support a normal controller as the original game required a bike peripheral to play it.
Trivia[]
- The hack unintentionally predicted the inclusion of bikes in the Mario Kart series starting with Mario Kart Wii.
Mario Kart[]
- Main article: Mario Kart
A F1 Race hack that changes the three courses to Mushroom, Flower, and Lightning Cu, and allows the player to play as either Mario or Luigi. The graphics are used from Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart Super Circuit, and Mario Kart 7 (with a lower resolution and fewer colors).
Miss Peach World[]
A hack of Menace Beach (AKA Sunday Funday), possibly by Hacker (acording to the Box), that replaces Scooter with a character that very vaguely resembles Princess Peach (although she mostly looks to be based on Marilyn Monroe). It also revamps most of the game's presentation; having girls strip in the cutscene and completely redoes all of the enemies' graphics.
Mario Bobble[]
A small graphic hack of the FDS version of Bubble Bobble made by Sun in 1989 that replaces Bub and Bob with Luigi and Mario.
Trivia[]
- This can be the first Mario pirate hack out there, dated at 1989.
Warioland II[]
- Main article: Wario Land 2 (Famicom)
A hack of Kirby's Adventure that replaces Kirby with Wario. Despite its rather poorly-done visuals, it is a rather advanced hack technologically. The graphics used are from Wario Land II (Game Boy) and Wario's Woods.
Trivia[]
- The only known release originates from J.Y. Company. The PCB code (EL870914C) indicates it was manufactured during September 1998, which may make it one of, if not the final J.Y. Company single cartridge release for the Famicom with Final Fight 3.
Bugger Man[]
A hack of Bomberman featuring a poorly colored Goomba as the main character, only found on the JY-120A 45 in 1 multicart. The graphics used are from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Armadillo.
Trivia[]
- The game likely originates from RCM Group, as it is very similar to the hacks found on their 1500-in-1 multicart (see below). This is the only one of those hacks to have been republished elsewhere.
1500-in-1 hacks[]
The 1500-in-1 Multicart by RCM Group features literal hundreds of (very low quality) pirate hacks, many of which feature Mario, Goombas, and Koopa Troopas. The hacked games include Battle City, BB Car, Bomberman, Circus Charlie (starts on level 2), Donkey Kong, Nuts & Milk, and Road Fighter. Due to the gigantic amount of them, they cannot be fully listed here, although three examples can be seen below. Many Nuts & Milk and Donkey Kong hacks feature sprites from Armadillo.
Hacks of Mario games[]
These games are essentially vice versa of the other bootlegs, in that these are hacks of Mario games with different characters in them.
Pandamar (AKA Panda / Panda Adventure / Kung Fu Panda)[]
- Main article: Pandamar
A hack of Super Mario Bros. that replaces nearly all enemy and tile sprites, changes Mario into a panda, and poorly edits the music to be a short, looping tune. The game itself is based on 2, a title hack of Super Mario Bros..
Trivia[]
- On the 101-in-1 Arcade Action II plug 'n play system, the generic music is replaced with a rendition of Hello! Ma Baby.
- There is also a variant titled Impossible Panda, which features different levels seemingly ripped from a fanmade "Kaizo" hack.
Frog Prince / Mushroom[]
Both are hacks of Pandamar with different protagonists, enemies, music, etc.
Pika Chu / Pocket Maero / Pika / Pika Man / Pocket World[]
A hack of Mushroom featuring a Pikachu-Pichu hybrid (their small form being an anthropomorphic Poké Ball) and the same music as Pandamar.
Super Boy[]
Not to be confused with Super Boy I, this is yet another Pandamar variant. Seemingly mixing elements from both Frog Prince and Mushroom, with an original music track.
Trivia[]
- There is also a hack of Adventure Island II called Super Boy World, which stars the same generic protagonist and is seemingly based on Super Mario World 9.
Super Mario Sister[]
- Main article: Super Mario Sister
A hack of Super Mario Bros. 3 that replaces Mario & Luigi with female counterparts. The game starts with 10 lives instead of 5 and some graphics are modified.
Super Simpsons / Super Simpson IV[]
A hack of Super Mario Bros. that replaces Mario with Bart Simpson. The game unlocks the stage selection cheat and allows for worlds higher than 8-1 to be selected. Simpsons IV is listed in advertisements in the Action Game magazines of Argentina since 1993.
Super Shrek Bros.[]
A hack of Super Mario Bros. that replaces Mario's super mushroom form with Shrek while his normal sprite is an unidentified monster. The games' tiles have been altered heavily . The game is a hack of the PAL version of Super Mario Bros., meaning the game will run slightly faster than it should if played on NTSC hardware.
Trivia[]
- Even though the tiles are completely changed the hill tiles are based off the cloud tiles, much like the original tiles for these were.
Vs. Skate Kids.[]
A hack of Vs. Super Mario Bros. (the Arcade version of Super Mario Bros. released for Nintendo Vs. System series) that replaces the Mario Bros. with a skateboarder, among enemies turned into common animals or objects, and so on. It was released in 1988 by Two-Bits Score, without an official license from Nintendo (even if the Nintendo copyright info remains on the screen.) As far as it goes, this is the only commercial unlicensed hack of Vs. Super Mario Bros. ever released.
Teletubbies[]
- Main article: Teletubbies
A hack of Mario Bros. found on "Y2K" multicarts and Famiclones that replaces Mario and Luigi with poorly-colored versions of Dipsy, who is recoloured to look like Laa Laa, from Teletubbies.
Roge Brer / Rouge Brothers / Jump and Journey[]
A Mario Bros. hack found on plug 'n play systems that replace Mario and Luigi with generic characters or use the sprites of Milon from Milon's Secret Castle. A later revision changes the Shellcreepers into an orange Meowky from Mappy, although the other enemies remain the same.
Pest Place[]
A hack of the arcade version of Mario Bros. that changes the names of Mario and Luigi to, respectively, Peter and Jimmy, as well as several palettes. The game's framerate is much slower and choppier than the standard version of Mario Bros.. It also uses music and sound effects from the arcade version of Donkey Kong Jr.
Dora Bros.[]
A hack of Mario Bros. found on "Y2K" multicarts and Famiclones that replaces Mario and Luigi with poorly-colored versions of what seems to be the titular character from Doraemon, and pow text say DORA.
Super Boy World / Cross-Pacific[]
Super Boy World is a hack of the Super Mario World 9 version of Super Bros. 9, possibly made by Inventor. It changes a lot of the sprites to hide its original form.
Trivia[]
- Almost all Mario pirate hacks use graphics from Super Mario Bros. 3 and/or Yoshi's Cookie, as these official games were made around the time when the first Mario graphic hacks were made. These games were also made around the time when Famiclone systems (NES clones) were made.
- Presumably for copyright reasons, most of the Mario pirate hacks do not actually say Mario on the title screen. The few that do say Mario format the title logo to have Mario's head as the "O", likely so the name could technically be "Mari" instead.
- Several fan-made hacks have also been bootlegged as part of PocketNES compilations; these include Super Mario Mappy (Mappy), Mario Runner (Lode Runner), Balloon Mario (Balloon Fight), Koopa Invaders (Space Invaders), Mario & Luigi (Nuts & Milk), Maria Sisters (Mario Bros.), and Bomber Mario (Bomberman).
- Many modern-day multicarts feature a game titled "Giabbit", a hack of Super Mario Bros. based on Japanese baseball teams. This is a fan-made title, however, which likely got mixed in with some bootleg romsets.