Cleopatra no Mahou - The last RPG that Square made before Final Fantasy is fully translated

We haven't featured many translation hacks for a while now because of being so busy with other articles but now is the time to tune in RPG retro gamers, as we've just learnt that the full English translation of Cleopatra no Mahou has been released and is not to be missed. Yes indeed, Cursed Treasure of Cleopatra ( English name ), published by Square in 1987 for the Family Computer Disk System is regarded as the RPG that made Square call their next RPG Final Fantasy now can be played and understood by all!

Romhacking Spotlight - Mario Land, Turtles and Balloon Fight!

 

Welcome to the first installation of Indie Retro News Romhacking Spotlight! There are a lot of hacked rom files out there and new hacks gets released every week and it's very easy to miss some really amazing hacks. So I decided to create this segment to spotlight some of those hidden gems that might have passed under the radar.

Sheep it Up - Baaaaah new Gameboy cartridge game goes online for FREE!

It's strange to think that not long ago I found my original Gameboy, which was lost for all those years with only memories to go by. Thankfully after finding it and looking out for more games, I was pleased to hear that games were still being developed for it such as this one ' Sheep it Up ' by LudoScience and Catskull Games. The idea behind this arcade game is rather unusual, climb as high as you can by hanging yourself from flying velctro straps while trying not to fall.

Super Mario Ultimate - A full hack of Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES!

It seems as if people can't get enough of Mario, as throughout the previous year we had seen countless rom hacks released that either change the game into a different story, or completely overhaul the game with new graphics. Once such Mario game, as in Super Mario Bros 3, has got a new rom hack today and it's called 'Super Mario Ultimate' released by Silas; a very large hack of Super Mario Bros 3 from the NES!

L’Abbaye des Morts - A cool retro platformer released as a Sega Megadrive Rom

Once again L’Abbaye des Morts has made an appearance in our news feeds as we've been contacted by
MoonWatcherMD (Mun) to let you know that this rather cool retro game, which was originally released as a platformer in a ZX Spectrum style developed by Locomalito. Has finally been released as a Sega Megadrive Port that can be downloaded as a freely available Rom. This version published by Playonretro, was created in collaboration of a team of people such as Locomalito, Gryzor, Mun, Darkhorace, Fran, Dani Nevado, Alfonso, Igor, Gerardo, Manuel Gómez, Manuel Millán, Rubén, Bruce, Stef, José Zanni, David Lara , Leander, Jose Antonio, Borja, Migue, Salva, Ricky and Felipe!

Fantastic Dizzy Superior - An enhanced Dizzy hack is in the works

Artwork by Piotr "Pit" Gratkiewicz

We haven't featured any Dizzy related news for some time now, especially as there hasn't been any grand adventures this eggy hero has been on. But what we can tell you is at some point this year Łukasz Kur is going to release a rather large Fantastic Dizzy hack called ' Fantastic Dizzy Superior ' for the NES; which doesn't just change and add features to the original, but also pays homage to past and possibly future Dizzy games.

Super Mario Land 2 DX - A brilliant Gameboy platformer enhanced for GBC!

Of all the games released on the original Gameboy that got me addicted through late nights and long car journeys, was Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, a game published by Nintendo in the early 90's which was ranked 44th in the 100 Greatest Nintendo Games by the Official Nintendo Magazine as the sequel to the ever popular Super Mario Land. So how would you go about improving a classic? Well if you ask toruzz, he knows just the thing! As this week he has released Super Mario Land 2 DX, a full colour hack for Super Mario Land 2.

Castlevania 5 - A ROM hack with new additions and more for Castlevania!

What a great start to Monday as during the weekend the Romhacking website gave mention to a rather special Rom hack called ' Castlevania 5 ' for the original Castlevania released in 1986 on the NES. This hack by xXbelmontXx isn't just your usual tweak of a famous game, but will make it feel fresh and new with not just new graphics, but new stage designs, new sprites, new music, even a new ending screen!

Star Cruiser II The Odysseus Project - Action role playing game for the PC-98 is fully translated

Another awesome heads up by our translation source Romhacking as they have said the action role playing game 'Star Cruiser II: The Odysseus Project ' published by Arsys for the PC-98, has been fully English translated by Nebulous Translations! First released in the mid 90's, Star Cruiser II was only ever released in Japan and is the sequel to Star Cruiser, which came out initially for PC-88 and was later ported to many other systems.

Wrecking Crew ‘98 - A rare Mario Puzzler on the SNES, English translated!

Mario is in the news again and no this isn't a replay on the SNES Mini OR a quick bash on the Switch, but he's coming at you via a rare game called ' Wrecking Crew '98 ',  which has since been English translated by ShadowOne333 and team! Yes indeed this Mario game, a game I haven't heard of before due to Nintendo’s International Division shutting down sales of all SNES games in ‘97, is classed as a Puzzle game that never came out from Japan and as such was only ever playable in Japanese, either through import or a rom.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors The Sequel - A fabulous unofficial SNES hack that aims to impress!

It was only just a little while ago that we mentioned a much harder hack of the great SNES game ' Zombies Ate my Neighbors ',  as well as Zombies Ate my Neighbors: Dr. Tongue’s Revenge, which featured many of the levels remade with unique ideas by Skylar Brock. But this time we are going much further, as announced recently via the Romhacking website, Droter and team have released the Zombies Ate My Neighbors - The Sequel; A complete hack of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, meant to be a sequel to the original game

Super Mario Bros. 3: The Forgotten Worlds - Unofficial direct sequel to Super Mario Bros The Lost Levels

It seems as if Mario has taken over Romhacking, as during the last month or so, we've seen countless rom hacks released that either change the game into a different story, or completely overhaul the game with new graphics. Once such Mario game, as in Super Mario Bros, has got a new rom hack today and it's called 'Super Mario Bros. 3: The Forgotten Worlds' by szemigi, an unofficial direct sequel to Super Mario Bros The Lost Levels.

Toads Autumn Adventure - Play as Toad and rescue Mario in this new NES hack!

It was only just recently we featured teeporage777's ROM hack of Super Mario Bros, in 'Mario's Moonlight Adventure Hack' and 'Luigi's Summer Adventure', but true to form as a heads up by the creator Edward Shane, we are now looking towards the next seasonal NES hack of ' Toads Autumn Adventure '. This time featuring one of my personal favourite characters as Toad, you must go out on a rescue mission to find the legendary hero Mario. It looks as if he has been captured, and after a complete failure to find him by Peach, you'll have to battle through Bowsers minions and hopefully save the day.

CRW: Metal Jacket - PC-98 tactics game featuring mechs gets a full English translation

As a retro based site with the odd bit of Indie we do love to feature Rom hacks and English translations, but CRW: Metal Jacket, which got its own English translation today, stood out by a mile. This game which was released way back in 1994 for the PC-98, is a rather interesting looking tactics game featuring mecha pilots battling against criminals and insurgents in a futuristic Japan after World War III. As the main site says "It plays a bit like X-COM or Front Mission, and came out in late 1994, between the original release of those two series."

Aigiina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori - Charming NES platformer is now in full 100% English

The Hacker wasn't the only NES game to get an English translation this week, as we've just learnt that Aigiina no Yogen: Balubalouk no Densetsu Yori (From The Legend of Balubalouk, also known as Aighina’s Prophecy) has now been 100% translated into English by Psyklax, which is far beyond the previous translation released some time ago. The game puts you in control of Jason, and it is down to you as the main hero to collect and re-unite the Aura Stars and finally rescue Princess Laira,  the daughter of Aighina, as only she knows to use them.

The Hacker - NES action platformer fully translated into English

Looking towards the NES now for the latest ROM hacks or translations, and the first one to appear is Shenzhen Nanjing Technology's action platformer ' The Hacker ', which was released in 2002 and fully translated from Chinese into English today by pacnsacdave. The information regarding this game is very sparse but according to the main site, the story revolves around a computer hacker that must go online into the virtual world in order to rescue them from an evil computer programming agency.

Luigi's Summer Adventure - NES Hack - Luigi embarks on a new quest to save the princess!

It was only just recently we told you about teeporage777's ROM hack of Super Mario Bros, in 'Mario's Moonlight Adventure Hack'. But it looks as if the same person has done another NES ROM hack and this time it stars Luigi in 'Luigi's Summer Adventure'. Unlike the previous twist of the original game, this one puts you in the shoes of Luigi, and it's down to you to save the princess as Mario has decided to take a summer vacation, and leave Luigi in charge of the entire Mushroom Kingdom!

Mario's Moonlight Adventure Hack - A late night rescue, Peach has been kidnapped!

If blasting away the undead isn't to your liking but you still want to check out the latest ROM hacks, then how about playing teeporage777's 'Mario's Moonlight Adventure', which is an extensive NES hack of Super Mario Bros that is played entirely through the night. Once again Peach has been kidnapped, but this time she's been taken in the middle of the night, and it's down to you as Mr Mario to traverse this now dark landscape and rescue her!

Zelda II - New Adventure of Link - Even more classic gaming with all new Overworlds and more!

Are you bored and want something fresh to play on your NES but sticking with that Zelda theme? Then how about playing the latest release of 'Zelda II - New Adventure of Link', which turns the original action JRPG with platforming elements released in 1987, into an almost new game! Yes that's right Link is back, but this time in an all new Zelda II adventure with not just all new overworlds but new battles and different side views!

Brutal Zombies Ate My Neighbors - A brilliant SNES classic has just got much much harder

There's a game I used to love that involved blasting away monsters in a top down view, while saving as many residents as I could such as babies, old ladies and even the odd cheer leader. It just had to be the highly enjoyable and humorous game ' Zombies At My Neighbours ', developed by Lucasarts, released by Konami for the SNES and Sega Mega Drive in 1993, which has since been turned into a much much harder game by Skylar Brock!