Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Episode 537: Final Fantasy ROM Hacks (Patreon)

Published:
2023-05-29 11:00:03
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Downloads

Content

The internet of the '90s was slower than molasses poured on a turtle. Worse, it was only accessible by making a pact with a screaming demon. (Our parents told us it was just the modem, but we knew better.) A jpeg could take ages to load. A three-minute 176 x 144 video could take a lifetime. But we made it work. That is to say, we still found ways to find and download ROMs—and, by extension, how to find and download the fan-made patches that sometimes turned our beloved 8- and- 16-bit games into something else entirely.

While the earliest fan games attached a dong to Mario's sprite and called it a day, it wasn't long before enthusiasts got down to serious work. RPGs are popular subjects for patches, and the Final Fantasy series in particular has been blessed with some fan works that are nothing short of astonishing. This month, Nadia hooks up with old friends Andrew Vestal and Steve Tramer, two gentlemen who, like herself, know how much our beloved Final Fantasy games can offer us when fans step up.

Host: Nadia Oxford Edits: Greg LeahyCover: Leeann Hamilton

7:07 - Final Fantasy V (SFC): In Search of Light

20:54 - Final Fantasy (FC): Chaos Shrine

30:00 - Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls: Boss Battle A

43:30 - Final Fantasy III (FC): Eternal Wind | Final Fantasy IV (SFC): Prologue

57:34 - Final Fantasy IV (SFC): Lunar Whale

1:01:47 - Final Fantasy V (SFC): Dungeon | Final Fantasy VI (SFC): Omen

1:14:47 - Final Fantasy VI T-Edition: The Man with the Machine Gun

1:20:51 - Final Fantasy VI T-Edition: Town Theme 2

1:30:43 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Riding (Night)

Closing - Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster: Into the Darkness (Arranged)

Files

Comments

CapNChris

Did someone at Retronauts read my mind? ROM hacks and FF are two of my favorite things. I was also there for the early days of 8-bit and 16-bit emulation. I love how fans' passions are keeping these (and other) games alive, interesting, and relevant 20-30 years later. Great episode. Thanks for making it!

Jon Heiman

Our *parents* told us it was the modem? Please, it was us who told *them*!

John Simon

10:00 Thanks for pointing out how the 8 and 16 bit era is all "Maybe a year of development with a dozen people in the core staff, many working on other games concurrently (many of which don't see a US release_..." So, when the game has a certain "throw spaghetti at the wall and see which ones stick" bent mechanics wise, or story wise "This character has NOTHING to say in the second half". write all the fanfics and romhacks you'd like. This isn't a "half-decade one-person labor of love" like so many indies. I wonder if people are hacking the pixel remasters? They're unity games, none of the constraints and learning curve the NES/SNES are on. Re: Mother 3 - IIRC Mato said something that Mother 3 has its own little custom scripting/markup language for controlling the way text appears on screen that's a lot more advanced than what you'd get with any 90's games, and anyone attempting an english version is going to have to reverse engineer all of that.

TeamVenom

Man, Final Fantasy 2. There is something interesting there, but it's just an absolute struggle to play.

Gabriel Schray

V cool episode, would love to hear more along these lines!

Thad Boyd

Always a pleasant surprise to turn on a podcast and hear Steve Tramer's voice; I've known that dude since we were 12. He loaned me his copies of Final Fantasy 1 and 2 (and Secret of Mana) back in the day, and then we played through 3 and 7 together. I need to finish FF6 T-Edition one of these days; I stopped right before the Floating Continent. I keep meaning to fire it up again, but I'm in Tempe, Arizona and it's June and the room I keep my retro gaming equipment in gets flippin' hot, y'all.

Alex Atchley

Great ep. Wish there was a hack for FF6 where I don't have to put in those Street Fighter moves for that one dude. Just give me a menu list of moves.

Tall Rob

This was a wonderful episode! I’ve played Namingway Edition (FF4) and Ted Woolsey Uncensored Edition (FF6; agree about the somewhat misleading name choice) but the FF6 T-edition sounds incredible. Thanks for the recommendation.

Jason J

I really enjoyed this discussion as the 16 bit FF games were a big part of my childhood. I don’t have time now to get into ROM hacks but I’m very happy to know there is a community of dedicated fans who are putting as much if not more love into these games than those who own the IP.

CitizenMeh

Nadia's best episode yet, and one of my fave Retronauts episodes in recent months. Really enjoying the diversity of topics and voices the new hosts add. Also, I *need* to play T-Edition one day!

Thad Boyd

I went ahead and compiled a list of (I think) all the ROM hacks, fan games, and translations Steve and Andrew mentioned in the podcast. Unfortunately it doesn't look like I can include links in a Patreon comment, but I also posted in the comments on retronauts.com, so you can see the links there: http://disq.us/p/2ulo3wq

Joshua Boren

Hey, great episode. Just wanted to point out there are 2 FFV rebalancing hacks that majorly work with the classses. There is the Custom Classes mod for the GBA version available at Romhacking.net and New Game Plus (ngplus.net) has FFV Void Divergence for the SNES.