The Inevitable SNES Classic Mini Hack Is Now Complete

Good news. Nintendo should have put a few more games on there. 21 was not enough and a few of them I'd remove. Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, ISSD and Secret of Evermore would be a few I'd replace them with and should have been included in the first place.

Now I'm kind of glad I forgot to cancel my spare order. May go through with this and turn it into a SNES Shm'up machine. Sure there weren't too many due to the SNES's slowish processor but those that did make it were quality.

I've done mine. have 60 games on there. Feels alot more complete and looks no different (except having more games)

To the untrained eye watching me play you wouldn't know it'd been done.

If it were REALLY simple and intuitive to do this then I'd probably try it, but the video I watched the other day had about 20 convoluted and confusing steps and took over 15 mins just to go through the stuff and explain everything, so it's not quite for me just yet.

Great news

@impurekind It's SO easy.

@kbshadow But is it REALLY. . . .

Hmmmm I dunno if I want to mess with it but I got to admit that once I've played the 21 games to death I'll probably be more open to something.

I just wish there were some way to officially get some xtra games from an eShop...

@impurekind If you can't do it, you probably have no business owning a PC, REALLY that easy.

If Nintendo HAD included an eshop feature it might have been worth buying one of these. As it is, I am over it, I just want VC on the Switch. The hack is a cool thing, but not worth risking ruining the device if you don't know what you are doing.

@Heavyarms55 Almost 0 chance of bricking it. Its very, very easy.

Any reports of bricked SNES minis?

@kbshadow OK--since you've now basically called me out in a slightly judgmental, demeaning, and offensive way (whether you intended it that way or not)--let's pretend I believe you for a second: Can you go through the steps right now in written form, in here, to show me just how easy it is. . . .

I mean, if it's SO easy, it should be something you can explain in a few very basic and obvious steps to a complete and utter layman, right?

You know: Put plug in wall, press power switch, go to this website, click on this link and download program, install program (without worrying about what it's putting on your PC), run it (without worrying about what it's doing to your PC), go here and download these simple and easy to find game files to your PC (which automatically work as you'd expect), drag them into this folder, click this finish button and job done--with basically zero chance of you getting lost at any point in the process or doing something wrong and bricking your console or permanently deleting/breaking files, and with total confidence it's all just going to work as you think it should, with no programming skills required or re-writing lines of code and the like, with no need to understand weird coder jargon or nerdy computer speak, and in a number of steps that isn't actually completely intimidating and off-putting, etc . . .

Go for it--I'm genuinely willing to believe you, if you can explain it here and now, clearly and concisely, such that I could pretty much hand my SNES system, computer and mouse to my mum and have her do it without any real hassle or confusion (let's pretend for a second that she knows the basics of how to use a mouse, keyboard, and open, copy and drag files, and plug in some cables).

Because, to be clear, unless it's THAT easy, it's not SO "easy", and certainly not from the perspective of this dude right here--but I'm willing to be convinced. . . .

I'm kinda wondering why you report on this at all if you don't advocate it. (which you shouldn't.) nothing about it is interesting. It's illegal. If they wanted you to play a ton of old games NOW, they would have released the Virtual Console.

@In_Ex_Fan You know something: Outside of using pirated ROMs--and you can't say for absolute certain that someone wouldn't just use a bunch freeware fan-made game ROMs they want to add, so it's not necessarily an illegal act as a matter of absolutely certainty in every single case/situation--I don't see how it's fair at all for it to be anywhere near illegal for a person, someone who has paid their own hard-earned cash to fully own a product (they're not renting it or anything like that), to then go in and tinker with that thing they own to their hearts content.

Why in the world should it be the norm that we buy a product, paying with our own hard-earned cash, and the company somehow gets to tell us how we're supposed to use that thing in the comfort and privacy of our own home, and especially when that usually means only serving the company's best interests and not the actual consumer's and end user's interests?

Why would you stand for that, for the company's best interests over the consumer's, rather than the other way around?

@impurekind if you watched a video a few days ago pal the official release only came out yesterday anything prior to that was pre release and was more convoluted. Hope this helps.

Y THO...SNES emulator has been there since ages.
I thought people buy this to support nintendo and nostalgia value...

Hmmm, I dunno. It could have done with more games but I think it's a good enough selection that I don't want to void my warranty.
Not that I suspect this is likely to break the machine but if it failed for any other reason then I bet they'd just refuse a refund because it was hacked.

@pattybean Well, it was yesterday I watched the video, and I didn't check when it was posted; so I don't know if it was the latest build or not. But, that video was pretty complicated. And the link above takes me to a site that has some instructions and a few more download links, but one of the instructions just says "download and follow instructions", and that requires me putting a lot of trust in some random site and homebrew hacker that it does indeed all just work, it will indeed be all simple and intuitive to follow (with no room for error or messing everything up), and that the end result will indeed be exactly what I'm after. It's a lot of faith to put out there on something that isn't exactly explicitly clear.

@impurekind yeah I watched a few videos on doing the hack too. It's simple enough tbh, but, I'm gonna play the games on it for the moment and wait till the new year and do the hack then when it's idiot proof lol.

@readyletsgo I might go with that approach too. I mean, I could play the games that are already there for a few months anyway, so I don't see why I'm rushing to add even more stuff before I've enjoyed what's already on offer.

@impurekind because you always accept an enduser license agreement. Which always includes NOT TO tinker around with the product. You can complain about it as much as you want, that's what you agree to willingly when you buy it.

@In_Ex_Fan You do know that EULAs didn't even exist until a handful of years ago (at least in terms of consoles and games and stuff like that) yet nowadays you really have no choice but to accept them or else you can't even have anything (you basically can't simply own a console or play most games these days unless you sign away most of your consumer rights), right?

So, even though the paying consumers were basically able to do whatever they wanted with the products they bought and owned in the past (although it would usually invalidate your warranty if you messed around with it), and now that basic freedom and right has been forcibly taken away from us without us ever asking for such a thing to be the case, you're fine with that?

I apparently can't legally hack and modify my own console, which I outright paid for and own, because Nintendo says I can't. And I apparently can't add a bunch of additional freeware games to it if I want to, because Nintendo says I can't. I basically can't do much with the product I own other than what Nintendo has decreed to be allowed--so says you (and apparently the law too according to you).

That seems completely fair and just and totally how it should be to you? That's what you think you should be advocating and defending?

@impurekind yeah that's my thinking. Enjoy what's on it for now, then after Xmas blow the whole thing open 😋

@readyletsgo Sounds like a good plan.

'While we don't advocate the use of unofficial ROMs for the system'

Nah we just advertise and link it on our website!!!! (then we write that line just to cover our arse)

I am really really tempted to hack my mini but I am not going to blot it with games I know I won't play. I will be adding games that should be on there and add alot more 2 players games that my brother and my self played alot on the snes even if they were not great games we still enjoyed them as kids and want to go back down that memory lane.

@FinalFrog Indeed . . . indeed. I have sinned and I must be punished according to the rules of our just and fair society!

@impurekind yup. Because you think you have "a right" to have those things. Guess what? You don't. It's Nintendos property and they can do with it however they see fit. If you don't agree, don't buy it. Easy. And if you want to play without buying, you're a criminal.

@In_Ex_Fan "It's Nintendo's property"

So, in your head it's fair that you should pay your hard-earned money to own something but someone else or some corporation should actually own it and tell you exactly what to do with it?

You basically just live in a box and have nothing in this life, no liberty or happiness, if you don't agree to a system where someone else or some corporation is telling you exactly what to do with the things that are supposed to be yours (things you paid your hard-earned money for)--that's your view?

I guess that's where we are at as a supposedly free, fair, and equal society then--we basically have no real/true freedom, fairness or equality--and people like you are perfectly comfortable and happy with that and clearly know what's best for us all.

Impurekind indeed.

"we don't advocate the use of unofficial ROMs for the system" but anyway here's direct links to everything you need.

This was the easiest hack I've ever done.

Got all the best SNES games, top 100 ever made. All 3 Fire Emblem games in English, including the Project Naga translation for Genealogy of the Holy War. Dragon Quest 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, DKC, DKC2, DKC3, Mega Man X, X2, X3 and Bass, Final Fantasy 4, 5 and 6... And countless other classics.

@impurekind

Idk what video you watched but it's outdated. This is the most simple hack ever made on planet earth. You don't even do anything!

Download the hatchi2 app, run it on PC, rest is self explanatory. you just add games and hit sync

@JaxonH Well, I'll give it a look at some point, but maybe after someone uploads a new video going through the process so I can see with my own eyes that it really is that simple.

Edit: Yeah, once I watched this video, it really was pretty simple and risk free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3PCskAVCi4

@impurekind and you think you need that kind of stuff to be happy? Now that's the real tragic thing here. Use it in the way it's design for. Then there's no problem. I don't understand why you're so upset about it. You don't tinker around with your washing machine, do you? But it doesn't do the dishes! And you still don't complain about that. You don't tinker around on your car so it swing in the water, right? And still it's no problem at all. Because you're happily use it in the way it's designed for. So why all the fuss when it comes to a video game console that is designed for one specific purpose?

@In_Ex_Fan Are you a corporate stooge or something?

Are you seriously continuing down this path, like you're genuinely trying to convince whomever that I'm being unreasonable here by arguing that maybe the paying consumer should [once again, and just like in the past] actually own the rights to do what they choose--within reason--with the thing they've paid their hard-earned money for and own?

I mean, seriously?

@impurekind

1: Download Hakchi2

2: Add games via the tool in front of you (That you have legally acquired ROMs for)

3: Add Boxart (done automatically if you click Google in the Boxart section on the right)

4: Sync games with SNES MINI by clicking the SYNC button and following onscreen instructions (Plug SNES mini into USB via MINI USB then hold down reset button, Turn power on, release after 5 secs)

5: Play new SNES games on the MINI.

@kbshadow Well that sounds pretty straightforward and reasonable. I'll wait until I see a video, just to confirm to myself for sure that it's as simple as it sounds (in a way I basically can't doubt because I'll have then seen the whole process with my own eyes), and then I might just give it a go.

@impurekind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3PCskAVCi4

6 mins long.

@kbshadow Cool. Cheers for the link.

PS. Thank God for a menu reset feature.

@impurekind Also forgot to add, only use NTSC ROMs

@kbshadow Good point.

@Suzakuryuu We DID buy it, Nintendo has been paid. Just adding to that value and nostalgia

@impurekind But surely Nintendo only ever enforces the EULA if you send them a bricked console to be repaired? And they’d probably just send it back to you. No-ones getting arrested or having their civil liberties taken away (with the notable exception of IP infringements, which they do still own).

They give instructions on how to properly care for it, and if you then break it by doing something else, they’ll just say “toldja so”. Just like in Gremlins.

Nintendo could have released the SNES Classic with 50 of the (arguably) best games released, fact is, people still would have griped.

@Heavyarms55

I agree! I think that Nintendo should have added an eShop to both classic consoles and only allow titles for that platform. Once you sell out of the classic consoles itself and no intentions of producing more, then, and only then, offer the games for those platforms at the eShop for the Switch to run on the VC. This was you don't compete with yourself. Thats just my thought

@MarioFanatic64 @dew12333 @In_Ex_Fan

This site clearly advocates hacking and illegal use of intellectual property,otherwise why would they write all these articles condoning it?

@SLIGEACH_EIRE While I agree that more games would have been better, the flip side is it would be more expensive. £80 is the upper limit that most people would pay for something like the SNES Classic. The SNES Classic is already half price compared to Virtual Console prices for SNES games.

@readyletsgo Well, I just tried it because it looked really straightforward in the video below, and it worked like a charm.

Here's the video just in case you feel like giving it a go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3PCskAVCi4

@kbshadow Thanks again.

@gaga64 You're mostly right, but there are times where it can [unfairly] work against you and come back to bite you in the ass (particularly when it comes to ownership and use of the [usually digital] games you've purchased)--and I have no doubt that it will all only get worse as we're going forward. I'm sure you can think of a couple of examples of where this kind of thing might not be best for the consumer if you really need to.

"While we don't advocate the use of unofficial ROMs for the system, we've never let that get in the way of receiving some easy clicks"

@FX102A you are joking, right?

@impurekind No worries pal

@Charco The spare SNES? The potential hacking? Or the SNES shm'ups?

I added another 30 games to mine. Based off the list of working games, I’m probably done until I jump into Super Famicom stuff, but a lot of it hasn’t been tested yet, so I’ll give it a week or two before delving into those

@impurekind

The one thing I discovered with that, is that you have to hold whatever your button combo is for a second or two (by default it’s down + select). I thought it wasn’t working the first time I tried it lol. It’s smart though, it tries to keep people from accidentally resetting back to menu

Ah, Nintendo may not mind people doing this. It's only for the people who got an SNES mini, and as we all know, that's a very, very small group.

And one that's not likely to grow anytime soon.

Go ahead, Nintendo, retail stores, and scalpers. Prove me wrong...

@impurekind true. And i do agree with the principle you’re making, “I bought it, I own it, I should be able to do what I want with it”, though I’m sure you can also agree that there are going to be certain times where ownership of a potentially dangerous item should rightfully be more carefully regulated.

Of course there’s a colossal difference between a console and a car or a gun, but that’ll be why there’s virtually zero actual intervention with video games..

@Jimsbo Actually there has been a few stores where I have seen a few SNES classics in-store. They were one per person.

But I might look into this. There are a few I would love to add. Bahamut Lagoon and Zelda Goddess of Wisdom being two of them.

@kbshadow so do the extra games just like like they've always been there and have save states?

@In_Ex_Fan booo hooo !!! Stop crying about other
People around the world playing games they love and probably purchased during their lifetimes, because YOU dont aprove. Ill do ehatever i want with whatever gadget i get, worst case scenario ill lose my warranty. Yo-ho yo-ho!

I plan on doing it just so I have the games I had when I was a kid.

@FX102A Oh yeah, which ones you have in mind?

@carlos82 yes

@YANDMAN

UN Squadron
R-Type III
Super Aleste
Biometal
Thunder Spirits
Axeley
Macross

These so far, a few more on top but can't remember.

I love my SNES mini it's great, yes it's abit annoying the there only 21 would of liked 50 at least but meh it's got Metroid on it lol

This is why Trump won.

@impurekind thanks dude!

@idrawrobots 'This is why Trump won.’

....eh

@Nookingtons You spelled fool wrong

@gaga64 True dat.

I bought one to unalter and I have a pi for everything else

I only have one question...Does this allow Turtles in Time to be played?

@eltomo Once you dump the stock kernel, it's brick proof.
@idrawrobots That's the stupidest argument I've heard in my life. If Clinton would've won, hacking consoles would be made illegal thanks to the TPP. Glad that proposal failed.

"Look, we don't approve of hacking your device and adding pretty much every game ever to it but here's all the info you need to get started."

Yup.

@Pete41608 yep. Played through it yesterday on my classic. Works like a charm

@gblock

Awesome! If I come across a SNES classic one day and have the funds then I'll definitely be sure to snatch it up.

@What_Sthat really what they don't aprove is the use of illegal roms.

Piracy is devastating for developers (and musicians!) but we are talking about SNES games, nostalgia here is an important factor so most people want to download the games they have already bought and played. It's a grey area and I haven't hacked mine yet but it doesn't harm sales like cracking a new game. Still, the hypocrisy in these articles is amusing. Piracy is bad, very bad for new games but not for old games even though Nintendo keeps selling the same NES/SNES games to the same people on Wii, 3DS and Wii U, while some are not available any more.

I'm loving my SNES Classic but I'm not ready to experiment with hacking it just yet. Maybe once I get through everything and am looking to find a reason to freshen it up a little. I imagine by then things may even improve by then.

But I feel like Nintendo missed an opportunity with the NES and SNES Classic to not have a feature that allows you to download additional games through an eshop and virtual console service. Having the ability to link up these consoles to your Nintendo account and download your purchased VC titles on each system (NES titles on NES Classic, SNES titles on SNES Classic, N64 titles on N64 Classic etc.) would have solved that problem in a way I would be happy to support.

If they're not going to release a full VC for the Switch, this would have been a great alternative. Maybe in an updated version of the Classic systems? One can dream.

Well that's mine done, this is so easy there is really no reason not to do it as nobody is losing money and you can't tell the difference between the games which should be there and those you add

@Meowpheel That's pretty much what most people will use this for, and giving it exposure as well as linking to the download is like saying "Here's a gun, but we don't support the use of firearms, so you'll have to find bullets on your own."

@SLIGEACH_EIRE For liscencing reasons they probably had limitations, however I have every SNES game from every region on my external drive so I don't care that much lol.

@Kayfios there's more to emulation than ilegal roms, you know. It's ok to be realistic about it, but they're only telling you it's possible to hack it now, not to go and download piracy.

@McGuireCode Honestly any games that are no longer available to purchase new outside of current available options or that you own the origionals are fare game. It is not my problem that the developers of a lot of these games no longer provide a way to get them thus I see no problem with emulation.

I want to do this but I really only want to add like 3-5 games to the system..
Can anyone who's already done the hack tell me, Is it even worth the effort for so few extra games?

@impurekind I don't need to convince anybody that you're approving of criminal activity. And that's just sick.

@Mart1ndo You could see it that way, but you would be totally wrong: SNES Mini ROMS aren't bigger than the ones found online, since they are the EXACT same sfc or smc files, which is the very reason that the console can be hacked to add more, because if the base ROMs wouldn't be the same, then they couldn't be converted to work with the Mini.

VC ROMs are bigger, but it is actually a bundle with an emulator included, and some extra stuff, such as the online/local manual and so on, which naturally makes the file as a whole bigger, but that is not the case with a standard ROM file. Those typically vary between 512KB and 3MB max for the more advanced games.

A so called GoodSNES bundle, which is a listed, verified collection of all known SNES games (there are 3 of them: one per region) typically weighs in at a little over 2GB.

Somewhere in my collection of DVD's, I have a disc containing both the GoodSNES and GoodGenesis collection, with a little bit of room to spare.

As for how these games run: from all I've seen, the added ROMs look and play just as good, with ALL the functionality that the original 21 games included in the Mini also have.

If you'd show them to someone who doesn't know that the system doesn't come with more than 21 games, he or she probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

@kuromantic Roms are not a "legal Grey area". It's simply piracy, theft of intellectual property. And if you're taking my argument with the car out of context, sure it's a bad example. But you're ignoring the others. And you're ignoring my underlying message: You don't change other appliances to fit other purposes. So why is it magically okay to do so with consoles?

@Ayurvedism I'm not crying about what you're doing. I'm just pointing out that you are a criminal. And if that bothers you stop doing it or stop crying that you're being called out.

Added 50 games to my SNES mini. Loving it!

@In_Ex_Fan actually there is nothing illegal about it. It's 100% legal to modify something you own. ROM dumps don't necessarily have to come from piracy. If you own the game, dump the ROM from a game you own and flash it to a modded system you own you are 100% in the clear. We all know there is a small percentage of people who actually dump their own ROMs but because it can be done it creates a grey area which we're all benefiting from.

@edimusrex I'm pretty sure ROMs are never "in the clear". There's still something called an enduser license agreement. And that will most definitely include that you are not allowed to alter the system beyond its designed purpose that it's shipped with. The only way I can see ROMs being in a Grey area, which actually means it's not in the clear, is for PRIVATE USE ONLY. Like you mentioned making a Rom yourself for yourself and yourself only. But that means you'd have to hack the device it's stored on and that probably also violates the enduser license agreement.

@In_Ex_Fan Now you're actually just making up junk.

Again, are you a corporate stooge or something?

@impurekind you know, do whatever illegal poo you want to do. But don't start complaining when you're being called out for it. If you created video games and did that for a living, you'd be the first to call foul when someone puts it online for free. Same goes for modifications to the designed purpose of the Mini SNES or whatever console. Just because you don't agree with the terms that come with buying that thing, doesn't make it right to ignore them.

@In_Ex_Fan Again, are you a corporate stooge or something?

I've bought and paid for my SNES Mini; I don't need you or anyone else telling me how to use something I have paid for and own (within actual reason).

And, if you seriously think any [apparent] laws to that effect--saying I can't tinker with my system after I've bought and paid for it basically--are worth defending then I feel like you are part of the problem with where our society is heading.

PS. I do create videogames for a living--and you're free to copy and share them all you want:

http://www.inceptional.com/inceptionals-games/

@impurekind "If you created video games... "
Oh, the irony. He must be new here...

@ThanosReXXX Indeed.

@FinalFrog And questionable--even challenge-able--law at that.

@impurekind and no, I'm not a "corporate stooge or something". But I'm also not a hypocritical millennial that acts like a martyr because I want to stick it to "the man".

I'm a fan of Nintendo. And being a fan means supporting them, not stealing from them. Do I agree with every decision they make? No. Do I turn to illegal means to still get what I want? No. A game is not available on the virtual console? I won't play it then. I don't want to buy a game multiple times? Sucks, but I won't play it then. You are the real problem here. Thinking that you're entitled to getting everything you demand. You're not.

@In_Ex_Fan You certainly talk like you're some kind of plant by the corporations or those who would take away all our rights and freedoms in the name of nothing other than money and power for the most part.

I mean, you're literally defending the notion that people should not be allowed to truly have any real ownership of that which they've paid for and own. It's just like saying "You bought that cow with your own hard-earned cash . . . but I'll tell you when you can and cannot milk your cow, and, without ever getting the actual consent of the people, I'll degree it illegal if you do otherwise."

I genuinely fear the "better" world that people like you are helping the corporations and rich elites of this world build.

@FinalFrog there's a difference to adding stuff to your car. It's not changing the the designed purpose. Im not saying that I agree with everything in those agreements but like you said, it's law.

@impurekind Nope, just talking like someone who's not a criminal.

@In_Ex_Fan I wonder how many of your rights they will have to insidiously erode and steal away, while still calling it "the law", before you begin to actually think for yourself and question such "laws". . . .

@in_ex_fan The EULA is nothing but a violation of our consumer rights, just like a lot of our freedom's over here in the states due to the patriot act and any other BS bills they've passed in the name of what they think is beneficial. It's beneficial to them and only them not us. You're not a criminal, you're a sheep, especially if you support and think highly of any laws such as the EULA. An insult in the face of any consumer. It's like they spit in your face after they take your money So if you're OK with that that's very hurtful mentality.

It's funny you called out @impurekind with " if you made video games for a living" because that's exactly what he does so yeah you're not quite right again.

@impurekind oh and your cow example doesn't fit. But let me fix that for you:

I go and want to buy a cow with my, as you like to call it, "hard earned cash". The person who sells it to me shows me available cows and I say, "I want it for drinking milk." He says "This one's specifically bred to give milk. But it's not for meat." Then I know what I can do with it and what not. And if I buy it, I agree to those terms. If I don't agree, I can't have it. Then I have to get another cow for meat. If there's no cow for meat, I'm out of luck. Guess I have to eat something else.

@In_Ex_Fan Oh it fits--but you just want to morph things to fit your bizarre corporation-friendly/consumer-unfriendly mindset.

@impurekind Gotta be a tough live without your "right to play videogames". Again: If you don't agree complain about it. Fine. But it doesn't make it right to break the law. No matter if it's a beneficial law or not.

@In_Ex_Fan You know, it was once law to be able to own black slaves. And I bet you're just the kind of decent and honest man who would have argued until he was blue in the face how wrong it was to oppose and maybe even fight against such "law" if you were alive back in the day--because it was the law, right. I mean, the law is the law, and it simply cannot ever be wrong or unjust or just there to serve the best interests of a bunch of corporations and rich elites while abusing everyone else's rights at the same time--right. Yup, the law is the law and if you aren't entirely on its side and following it to the letter at all times then you surely must be a heinous criminal and terrible human being who clearly doesn't know true right from wrong--and that's all there is to it!

@In_Ex_Fan what are you on? That cow may be bread specifically for milking, but if I so choose, I can butcher that cow for any meat I so desire. After I purchase that cow there isn't anyone on Gods green earth that can tell me whether I can kill it, milk or f**k it if I want. What the hell are you talking about? I Hope you remove yourself from this conversation because your examples are ridiculous.

@FinalFrog 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@impurekind well said friend, we don't agree often but damn that was just, well beautifully put.

Question: When you actually play these rom games on the SNES classic, do they work just like the original 21 games? Can you pause/go backwards/quick save?

@In_Ex_Fan You're making quite a few mistakes, assumptions and claims that are either misguided or just opinions. In principle, everyone is welcome here, and you've certainly got a right to your own opinions, but here, we don't go and call other people criminals, just because they don't speak or behave like we do, because THAT would actually be criminal.

You're also moving goalposts: you yourself gave the example of the car, and then when someone tells you that they actually do add stuff to their vehicle and tell you that it's not such a good example because of that, you say that they misread it or are taking it out of context. Which they clearly didn't, the fault was all your own.

And it actually DOES modify the purpose, if you're modding your car. You can turn it into a race monster, or a rolling sound machine or whatever the hell you like. And yes, it still drives, but a console still plays games, even if you mod it, so essentially, the two examples are actually quite the same.

And the whole ROM thing is also definitely grey: there are tons of games unavailable in cartridge or other form, that would either be lost forever or only be in the hands of collectors with bags of money to spare if it weren't for people dumping these cartridges and putting the ROMs online.

And you're also wrong where "hacking" your cartridge is concerned:
much like SD card readers, there are also cartridge readers, and they do exactly that: they READ a ROM and dump the contents either temporarily (as with all these clone consoles such as the Retron 5 and what not) or permanently to a storage medium.

No tampering or hacking required at all. It is similar to ripping a music CD to your computer with Media Player in Windows, which then converts the CD audio to mp3. Is that also illegal, or is that a grey area too? No need to answer me, it's a rhetorical question.

If it wasn't meant to be used as such, the functionality wouldn't be incorporated in Media Player.

And most of us actually DO use the ROMs for their own purposes, NOT to make a profit off of them, so that should tell you that it is indeed not as bad as you seem to be hell-bent on making it sound.

It's grey, and as long as they don't do anything commercial/profit-generating with it, it will stay gray.

And you're "fixing" of @impurekind's cow example is ridiculous as hell, and also wrong, as so many of your other statements.

If I buy a cow that gives milk, but at some point I decide that I don't need it for milk anymore, then I can damn well do whatever the hell I want to do with it. Now I'm a nice guy, so I'll probably sell it to a petting zoo or some kind of institution that adopts pensioned cows, but if I want to turn it into a fridge full of steaks and spare ribs, then I can.

It's my cow and no verbal or handshake agreement with the previous owner, that "specifically" told me that it's a milk cow, can do anything about that.

I suggest you try to distance yourself a bit from Lawful Land or the Bible Belt or whatever, and at the very least try to allow people to have their own views without attacking them for it, otherwise you'll always find yourself in conversations with multiple people at once who, in your view, will probably all "very weirdly" be in agreement over something that you alone think is actually quite different and wrong...

@MikeW Yes. They even added a soft-reset button combo to the joypad, so you don't have to push the button on the console itself anymore.

And all the games and the artwork look exactly like they do with the original 21 games as well.

@impurekind way to link to your games when he ruffled your feathers but when I go asking for 'em I was straight denied the pleasure 😓😋 but good one on ya. I retract a few of my statements as I once thought you were full of it. My apologies 👍🏽

@FinalFrog you're killing me bro, I almost wanna keep this going for your comments alone.

@MaSSiVeRiCaN well, depending on where exactly you live, bestiality is actually illegal too.

@In_Ex_Fan ... well yes.. yes it is but that's not my point. 🤣🤣

Point is your not allowed to tell me what I can or cannot do after I've purchased said product. It's a violation of my rights. If I go and break any laws using said product in a harmful/profiteering or just right down stupid and dangerous way putting others at risk, then that can be called illegal. Modifying my product to suit my needs/wants is not illegal and it's what tons of people do everyday in all sort of different areas not just electronics.

So, I recently bought me a nice new pair of white Nike sneakers, which I was planning to paint & decorate to make them one of a kind, but apparently, that's illegal, so I guess I'll just have to leave them as lily white as when they first came out of the box...

@ThanosReXXX actually you're taking my statement also out of context. I said that you don't modify it so it swims like a boat. But whatever, suits your argument better that way right?

If you choose to ignore enduser license agreements. In this case Nintendos, fine. Still would make you veeery vulnerable if they chose to sue you.

@MaSSiVeRiCaN Well, you got the link in end. lol

@FinalFrog congrats then. I guess.

@in_ex_fan you need to watch some George Carlin my friend and liberate yourself. Who knows you might enjoy it 😋

@In_Ex_Fan No, I'm actually adding to what the other person already said to you, and that is the part that actually matters: he bought the car, so whatever he wants to do with it, he can do.

Whether or not that's turning it into a boat, a mobile home, or any of the other examples I gave, is of no major relevance at all.

And there are no end user licenses on digital ROMs, and even if there were, these state that it is punishable to profit from it, or to spread it to multiple sources.

Home use is not specifically mentioned anywhere, and the fact that devices like the Retron 5 are allowed to exist by Nintendo actually prove that point. They also dump ROMs, and some of these devices have SD card slots to even be able to store the ROMs and their save games on.

And legally, it would also be a nightmare for Nintendo to hunt and sue every single person on this Earth who has ever downloaded or played a ROM, so that's simply never going to happen.

They only go after the big and important fish, and those are the ones actually making money off of it, not individuals like us.

@BinaryFragger Prison cellmates? But... but... I haven't even done anything to the Nikes yet...

@BinaryFragger Indeed. You wouldn't want to be in my shoes if that would happen, regardless of the fact that you might actually like Nikes...

I'm just gonna add/remove some games, I just wanna have all of the ones I grew up with. Also, custom borders, definitely doing this as well. lol

I've been following this and I think Cluster was assuming 75%~ of the games were working, but if you roll on over to the gbatemp boards and/or reddit (/minisnes) it appears to be quite a lot higher.

So far they know that SDD1 and SA1 games work, FX and FX2 not part of the system library work, and so does the C4(Mega Man X2/X3) in that list. A few screwball one off or nearly one off chips may not likely work but the bone stock LoROM/HiROM SNES games are apparently fine.

Because of this lots of speculation has been that NERD used their coding from the WiiU/New3DS VC emulator as a backbone as it runs the same stuff (and not) to date.

In the end this has far better global compatibility than the NES/Famicom Mini does due to all the squirrely memory mappers the Japanese had and others like the Sunsoft one that made it to the US (Return of the Joker) and EU (Mr Gimmick.)

It seems the big fight now is loading it up in the limited space trying to create a new compression algorithm so they can fit a lot more titles in the same area. Last I looked was maybe 100~ on there.

@tanookisuit If FX and FX2 games aren't working, then how come the Star Fox games in the original 21 game bundle actually DO work? The original ROMs don't seem to have anything special added to them.

@tanookisuit And last I saw, there are already people loading up to 300 games on it, but in all honesty: who would play so many games, and did any of us ever really own that many cartridges? Except for a handful of people, probably no one, so personally, I would indeed be looking at the games I used to play back then, which would make the total a 100 at most, including the 21 already on there.

@In_Ex_Fan
1. It is possible to use Wii Virtual Console ROMs that you bought on the SNES Mini.
2. It is possible to dump ROMs of physical games you own and use them on the SNES Mini.
3. Both of these methods are perfectly legal in most countries.
4. EULAs are not laws and by breaching them, you are not violating any law; so you are NOT a criminal. Thankfully privately owned businesses aren't yet allowed to dictate law.
5. Within the European Union (any maybe in other countries as well) EULAs are forbidden. On newer systems like the Switch you don't have to agree to any EULA if you are choosing Europe as region (since the system is the same worldwide, you can try it out for yourself, if you want!). Any EULAs you have agreed to on older systems are void, because THEY are what's violating the law. I guess some countries do actually give a nibelsnarf about consumer rights.

@ThanosReXXX I didn't say they didn't work. As as list of what is working I said 'FX and FX2 not part of the system library work' (as in the FX games that are not SF1, SF2, and Yoshi) do work.

I hadn't looked in over a day how many it was up to. Last I had read people argued around a 60 game cap before feature loss and others pushing around 100+ saying they worked.

For me I'd personally if I bought another to hack would likely to do a Top 100 list of games (including the 21 on it now) that I also own on my shelf, then some I miss, and beyond that imports. Many years ago I had at least a couple dozen Super Famicom games and I'd toss them on there too.

It's super easy to do if anyone wants to try it, I added around 50 more games myself, including final fight 1-3 (CANNOT believe they weren't included) along with tetris attack and many others

@tanookisuit Ah okay, guess I misread you then, my bad. Might also be in part because I read somewhere that Stunt Racer FX seems to be one of the problematic games, so perhaps I unconsciously connected the dots to come to that conclusion.

Anyway, good to know. I will find out soon enough myself, I guess. As long as we're sharing/trading information, another good thing to know is that each game also requires 2MB total reserves in space to accommodate the 4 save slots each one of them has, so even if we wanted to add way over those 100 games that we're apparently both aiming for, we would always have to leave enough space for those save slots, otherwise there will probably be errors along the way. So, better safe than sorry seems to be the rule to stick to...

And like I said: who would need that many games anyway?

@scamander Some very good points. Nice addition to the discussion. You might want to censor or change that f word in the last sentence, though.

You wouldn't want to alert the admins to you breaking the site rules and all that...

How about adding NES support to it too? If there is enough space, and if it is possible, I would love to have all NES and SNES games on one machine, playable on my HDTV.

@bonham2 Unfortunately, that's not going to work. You can only add SNES games far as I've read. Or at least only games of one kind of console, since at the start of the hack, you have to select your console, as you will be able to see in the video that I posted in comment #144.

And there's only 300MB of space available, so you'd never be able to add ALL of the SNES games, let alone adding the NES catalog. The entire SNES library alone takes up 2GB.

And then there's the space you need to reserve for the save slots, so if you want to make sure that all games will work as they are supposed to with all the functionalities that the original 21 games on there also have, you should probably keep the maximum number of games to around 200 total, including the games already on there.

@In_Ex_Fan

@ThanosReXXX
Hey Thonos, you seem to be the guy in the know.
Is it likely there will be new versions to make more games compatible? Or do you think it's just not possible with games like Asterix, Aliens 3 etc?

Could i also put gba games on my snes mini?

The hack works great and it's very easy to use. Glad to have Turtles IV and the Ninja Warriors on there

@In_Ex_Fan ROMs and modified game hardware are not illegal, how some people obtain these ROMs typically is though. Case in point, I have a modded Wii that I have ripped all of my games to a connected hard drive on. From there my kids can browse though and play any of our games without concern of them scratching the disks. If on the other hand I just started copying discs I didn't own or torrenting them online then yes, that would be illegal. But as I own the hardware and can produce the backup software myself it is not illegal.

Another point to using hardware beyond it's original scope. I have a Smartthings hub for controlling devices around my home. Typical on/off wall jacks typically sell for around $40 whereas modifying the code on some cheap $6 devices allows them to integrate without much effort, and the code is open source.

@tamantayoshi yes with the retroarch mod and GBA core which comes with it.

@FX102A Thunder spirits is a garbage port in my opinion. The others are all worth playing. Dont forget Aero fighters, Darius Twin, Ikari no yousai ( run n gun ) but still fun, Rendering Ranger, Strike Gunner is wortth a little blast but becomes repetetive, Dezaemon is o.k in short bursts, Imperium is the poor mans Spriggan and kinda o.k

@Nico07 actually it IS illegal to modify your console depending on where you live. In the US it is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That basically says you're not allowed to do it because it gives you the possibility to use illegally obtained software.

In Europe it's not illegal. Except for when the purpose is to use illegally copied or obtained games. And ROMs usually are obtained through the internet which violates the copyright. You can create a copy for yourself, yes. But it can only be a security copy if your original is broken. That means you can't even create a copy to use it on your or another device or for a family member to use on a (possibly) illegally modified console.

Added about 45 games last night , gonna add retroarch later , really easy to do.

GBA , megadrive , N64 and other systems are playable on the SNES classic , just install retroarch , tutorials are all over YouTube.

Wow! I just did the hack, and seeing how easy it was to add games (in a safe way), I need to get the NES MINI

This machine is a dream come true for me.

@FinalFrog don't know. Mope around with some Bats and say "I'm Batman!" in a deep and growly voice.

@impurekind ... Someone just got told.

I have done it yesterday! Works fine and nothing can go wrong!

Did it today:D Its actually super easy to do and the games run smoothly- I downloaded some roms and the program from the link in this article and then followed the steps. I wasnt expecting it to be THAT easy. I now have over 100 games on my snes mini and Im over the moon:))) If any of you is on the fence just go ahead and do it, it doesnt get any easier than this...

@Mart1ndo yes the same features are available for the games u add

@Fandabidozi In the know would be too much credit, but I do like to inform myself before I speak about something. I simply watched the videos on the subject, and read the GitHub site where the hakchi program can be downloaded, so that's where all the info is coming from.

I think it is quite possible that newer versions will be more compatible, but as it stands, there's already a compatibility percentage of well over 75%, which only leaves some special games and games that probably no one even plays, so considering that you can't put the entire SNES library on the Mini anyway, it wouldn't be too hard to select around a 100 - 150 that are sure to work.

@bolt05 A couple of USB hard drives? How many games do you have on there?
I only have one USB hard drive, 1TB in size, and all my games are on there: Wii, GameCube, N64, PSX, Neo Geo, SNES, NES, GBA, Game Boy, Megadrive, Amiga, MSX, Atari 2600, Colecovision and TurboGrafix16.

And the hard drive is just formatted to FAT32, none of that weird Wii format stuff, so I can read and change things on it, on my PC. Works like a charm.

@Mart1ndo But these ROMS really aren't bigger. Again: the package they are mentioning is a standalone package that contains the ROM, the emulator and other stuff necessary for it to work.

On a soft-modded Wii, for example, SNES9x, the go to emulator for all things SNES, takes up around 6 to 7MB of space. Then there's the ROMs, which vary in size between 512KB to 3MB, and it's easy to see how you could already get to 10MB. (EDIT: and then there's also a couple of MB's reserved for save states and so on)

The VC versions add all kinds of functionalities, and those manuals, so the other half of that 20MB they mentioned, is also quite easily achieved that way. But that is not the ROM itself.

The online ROMs are ripped straight from the cartridges, so they only come in one size, and that is their real, original size.
(EDIT: so, to be totally clear: there is no quality setting on cartridge reading devices. You either read or rip a cartridge, and the size of the ROM is automatically determined and is universal, regardless of what device you've used)

The difference you see in emulators all have to do with settings, and many emulators have a whole range of settings, but you have to know what you're doing in order to get the best or the "closest to the real thing" results out of it.

Most emulators are configured to work without changing settings, but that is an average setup, not taking into account specific games and so on.

Needless to say that if you'd play downloaded ROMs in the SNES Mini, then they would adapt to the settings that the Mini has, and as a result, games would be displayed in the exact same manner as the 21 already on there, with all the same functionalities available for them as well.

quick question , if I us hakchu2 , do the games pre installed still run just the same , ive used emulators before and found games like Mario kart not run quite the same ?

@kklol Yes, if you follow the instructions of the program exactly as instructed, nothing at all is changed concerning the original games already on there.

@ThanosReXXX
Thanks. 😃
You do all that and understand it tho. I’m a bit like - duh... 🤤
Typically, a few of the games I fancied were on the not working list but no biggie. Would I get time to play em all? Probably not.

@Fandabidozi Well, I have been in the IT sector for over 20 years, and I've always liked tinkering with computers and consoles, so it's also a bit of experience, mixed with being interested in those kind of topics...

Does this hack let me run Japanese games? The run video I saw said at this time it wouldn't run PAL region games, but he didn't say anything about NTSC-J region. Thanks!

@delt75 Most answers concerning the SNES Mini hack can be found in this Reddit FAQ:
https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNES/comments/7562pc/modding_the_snes_classic_with_hakchi2_faq/

@ThanosReXXX thanks!!

@ThanosReXXX
Wow! That's really cool! I haven't been able to get my hands on an SNES mini just yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to hack it!
Could you suggest any good website where I can download safe NTSC Snes Roms?

@delt75 You're welcome.
@MikeW Google emuparadise or planetemu. That second one is French, but they have all the GoodSNES sets, which are region labeled and "verified to work" bundles of ROM sets. Just hit the "translate this page" link in Google to read the site in English. (although the names of the systems and the games are all the same, so it should be more or less self explanatory).

And there's also the "Old Games Finder" search engine, in which you can type the name of the game and then select the system it's supposed to be on. It's like Google for ROMs and ISOs!

In any case, like mentioned earlier, look for the so called GoodSNES package, NTSC or NTSC-J in the case of the SNES Mini. Those are all clean and verified ROMs. You could also simply Google that instead of going to any of these sites.

@MikeW Hm, after just checking it for myself, I've discovered that the GoodSNES collections are no longer available on PlanetEmu, so they only have all the ROMs in separate form.

Another good site I forgot to mention is The ISO Zone, although they also don't have the GoodSNES collections, just single ROMs. Still a good site, though.

So, if you want the GoodSNES bundle, then Google is probably your best bet.

By the way: the Good collections are available for almost any system. Thought I'd mention that in case you'd want to find verified ROM collections for any other console, for example the NES Mini, in which case it would be called GoodNES...

@MikeW If by any chance you have a torrent program installed on your PC, then I've found a complete bundle for you:
Go to this page, it's Russian, but never mind. Then scroll down to where you see this symbol on the left:

Then click on the text right next to it, the bundle will then be downloaded to your PC by means of whatever download program you're using. And if you don't have any torrent downloader, look up uTorrent or Vuze. You can always remove the program again after having downloaded this bundle if you don't want to keep the program on your PC.

Anyway, it's the entire bundle of GoodSNES titles and translations as well, weighing in at a total of of 2.21GB. The ROMs are bundled in a compressed archive per title, so each archive contains all versions (EUR, USA, JAP) of a specific game.

You can decompress the archives with a program such as WinRAR or 7zip.

@In_Ex_Fan Completely agree! I was about to say the same. They are basically endorsing it.

@impurekind uhhh... calm down there bud.

@HawkeyeWii Uhh . . . stay out of it, bud. Or, is your intent here just to encourage ongoing conflict over something that's now a day or so old and has already been debated and argued to death in this comments section--with many/most people actually agreeing with my point of view for the most part. We all get it: You think the law is the be-all and end-all--no matter what. Other people don't think the same as you--and I think they might in fact just be right in this particular example. So I say we call it a day and let it lie. But, hey, you can keep this argument going if you're really desperate to do so.

@In_Ex_Fan The Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998 was created to stop the spread of rampant online piracy. Nowadays it basically is means for your ISP to disconnect you if the content you download is flagged. There are several cases where judges have ruled in favor of allowing consumers to alter their devices with code other than that provided by the manufacturer. Jailbreaking a phone for example is legal. Even the software running on the NES and SNES Minis are open source and found elsewhere for free download.
Where I agree with you is that most people that will add games to their SNES Mini likely don't own the ROMs they install on them. Will they face legal action for this? Unlikely. That's where it comes down to your own moral code and what you believe or feel is ethical. I want to support Nintendo so I don't download their games. I own dozens of original carts and many VC titles (probably around 500 Nintendo titles currently). For me using a backup ROM of my SNES titles on my SNES Mini is acceptable. Nintendo never saw a profit from the third party purchases I made for these but I feel good about it. As soon as Nintendo offers VC on the Switch I will be buying my games there as well. I think its a big missed opportunity that Nintendo didnt offer additional games on the SNES Mini.

@ThanosReXXX
Awesome! Thank you so much for the detailed responses! I'll definitely be following your notes when I get my SNES classic!

@Mart1ndo @MikeW You're both welcome, my pleasure.

Another tip for you guys: I ran into an issue when the SNES Mini was connected to my PC via USB3, which gave me an error message during the process several times. I looked it up and people suggested trying a USB2 port, and that worked like a charm.

So, if you're dumping the kernel, something you need to do first, and get the "can't write to USB" error, try another port, or another PC or laptop that does have USB2.

I've just finished hacking it myself and I was able to add 149 games to the 21 original games already on there, so I now have 170 games on my SNES Mini, and they look great, and play and sound just as good as the original ones already on there.

And there's also still some space left for save games. Not entirely unimportant, so keep that in mind...

This is the best tutorial video I've seen so far, that is the easiest to follow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCIsvZWGVHQ

I already posted it in comment #143, but I thought I just link to it again, in case you guys missed it the first time...

@MikeW

P.S.

If you downloaded that bundle I pointed out to you, only select NTSC ROMs. Those can be both American (U) and Japanese (J), and most of the base, unaltered ROMs in that collection have an exclamation mark behind the name, so for example, if you would want to select the Final Fight ROM, unpack the Final Fight archive from the bundle and look for the "Final Fight (U) [!].smc" file, or if you don't have "show extensions" selected in Windows, it will be the same name, only without the smc at the end.

All the other versions are either hacks or alternative versions, but the base ROMs should work well enough.

But to be sure, you could always test them with an emulator on your PC, such as Snes9X, the best one, in my opinion.

And the nice thing about that emulator is that it gives you a bit of information at the start of loading a game, that shows you if the ROM is okay or original, or has been hacked or isn't official.

All original ROMs display a message in white text, altered/hacked ROMs display text in yellow. These games should preferably be used with the SNES Mini.

Translated Japanese ROMs might work, but I haven't tried that out myself, and most of them are RPG's anyway, and I mostly put plug and play games on the Mini, that are good for a quick gaming session, but of course that's up to everyone's own taste.

And finally, some ROMs inside the bundle also have a [VC] label. Those are rips from Nintendo's own Virtual Console. Some base ROMs, like Street Fighter Alpha 2 don't work, but the VC version should, so then use that instead.

Here's a compatibility list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12HKfz4ZQBy6Ip5awvh8t2aV5cVswYlnsdKxn9xoIW2Y/htmlview?sle=true#gid=2014317767

The new SNES Classic Mini is appealing as it is etro and has some cool games.

See SNES Classic Mini full specs and Hack: http://snesclassicmini.yolasite.com

thanks for all good comments on here
top man ThanosReXXX

but another question , to run nes games on this do i have to install retroarch for them to work , i got some nes roms on my snes mini , but they wont start up , all other snes roms ive imported on it are working fine

ok all running now , managed to instal rectroarch correctly and all is good ,

Already have a list of games to add

Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3
Megaman 7
Megaman X2
Megaman X3
Super Star Wars
Super Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back
Super Star Wars Return of the Jedi
Castlevania Dracula X
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Harvest Moon
Tetris Attack
SimCity
Pilotwings
Top Gear
Super Mario All Stars
NBA Jam
Kirby’s Dream Land 3
Kirby’s Avalanche
Mortal Kombat II
and more

In the past the spirit of the law or the rule was to protect the developers wallets from people taking away from potential sales. In this case I don't think downloading roms is a bad thing for Nintendo. In fact, I believe it adds even more appeal to the system a d theoretically is adding more money toward the snes mini. The third party developers wouldn't have made anything since Nintendo decided not to carry their games on the snes mini. And this was part of Nintendo's plan all along. If they didn't want us hacking it they wouldn't have put 300mb of space for us to do so. Second, Nintendo didn't come out with a public statement condemning the hacking. Third, if the NES was easy to hack, why make the Snes easier and not harder to hack. Fourth, there was a special message for the hackers inside the snes saying to enjoy the mini and have a nice trip to the 90s. It all adds up to Nintendo wanting to sell us an 80 dollar emulator like the retro pie without having any legal ramification of saying on record that we can download.