ROM hacking

ROM hacking is the process of modifying a ROM image or ROM file to change or alter the contents contained within, usually of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, or other elements.

ROM hacking is used to improve an old game of importance, as a creative outlet, or to essentially make new (unofficial) games using the old game's engine. ROM hacks are generally accomplished through the use of a hex editor (a program for editing non-textual data) and various specialized tools such as tile editors, and game-specific tools which are generally used for editing levels, items, and the like, although more advanced tools such as assemblers, compilers and debuggers are occasionally used. Once ready, they are usually distributed on the Internet for others to play on an emulator or a games console.

Fan translation (known as "translation hacking" within the ROM hacking community) is a type of ROM hacking; anti-censorship hacks exist that restores a game to its original state (which is often seen with older games that were imported, as publishers' content policies for video games (most notably, Nintendo's) were much stricter in the United States than in Japan or Europe); randomizer hacks were created to shuffle entity placements within a game; some hacks also reimplement features that exist in the game's code but are not used in-game.

Communities

Most hacking groups offer web space for hosting hacks and screenshots (sometimes only hosting hacks by the group's members and hosting almost any hack), a message board, and often have an IRC channel. Several hacking groups and individuals have also created guides for those who wanted to learn more about ROM hacking, such as the Rom Hacking Bible for the NES written in the mid-to-late 1990s, as well as guides designed for beginners and skilled hackers who wanted to learn how to add or change things from start to finish.

There are many sites on the internet dedicated to world of ROM hacking, with each of them focusing on several hacks and translations of games across multiple series, franchises and platforms. One of the most notable sites online dedicated to ROM hacking was ROMhacking.net, which first went online in late 2005. From its inception up until 2024, it served as a hub related to all things ROM hacking, hosting a repository of hacks, translations, utilities, documents, and patches for many well-known and obscure video games from the third generation up to the seventh generation.