Yesterday, the talented ROM hacker Stivi revealed a closer look at his new "Magnum Opus", a yet-untitled Super Mario World hack that has already got many on the internet turning their heads.
The new hack will feature original graphics, a brand-new soundtrack, and 7 distinct worlds (each containing roughly 6 levels each). It will also include a bunch of new enemies to avoid, promising gameplay features (like a level that gradually floods as you progress through it), in addition to shops, and secret levels to explore. From the looks of it, it's shaping up to be something truly special, with the sprite work, in particular, being incredibly expressive and colourful from what we've seen of it so far.
Stivi was previously the developer of a Super Mario Flash 2 remake hack, as well as original hacks like Another Mario World 2: Luigi's Mission, and Phenomenal Mario World. From 2018 to 2022, he was working on an ambitious new ROM hack called Super Mario Travellers, but has since scrapped that project and is reusing some of its level ideas and aesthetics as the basis for this new endeavour.
Posting on SMWcentral, Stivi wrote the following about the hack:
"I present to you my new magnum opus. I originally wanted to reveal it when the hack was at least halfway finished, but who knows how long that will take.
A year or two from now I will hopefully have enough finished to show off more, and even make a trailer."This hack is meant to be my best and likely last full fledged hack, much like what I wanted with Super Mario Travelers. Originally I wanted to continue on Travelers, but I felt like starting completely from scratch would be a better idea. I'll come up with a new name for the hack as well.
"A lot of things from Travelers will be reused and repurposed. Such as level themes, world themes, level ideas, aesthetics, etc. I would almost call it an overhaul of Travelers, but it has pretty much become its own thing now. The graphics in this hack were all drawn by me (with one or two tiny exceptions for now). I also learned a lot more ASM, so expect some new sprites, level mechanics, and even bosses! The only people that have been helping me with this hack so far are Donut and Burning Loaf, mostly with ASM things that are still too complex for me."
We don't expect many updates for a while, given it's still early days, but we will try to keep you updated as the hack progresses. For now, you can take a look at more of the sprite work and level mechanics on SMWcentral or follow Stivi on Twitter.