Tag: Hacking
News The Genesis / Mega Drive Mini Hack Is Finally Here
More games! More emulators!
When the NES and SNES Classic Editions were released it didn't take long for hackers to find a way of installing new games onto them, so it shouldn't come as a massive shock to discover that the same thing has happened to the Genesis / Mega Drive Mini, a rival system from Sega. As was the case with Nintendo's...
News You Can Now (Unofficially) Run Android On Nintendo Switch
Netflix, emulators and more
On the one hand, we love the simplicity of the Nintendo Switch, and the fact that it acts as a dedicated games console and nothing more is a rather charming thing. On the other, it's sometimes frustrating that we need to boot up another console or device to run things like Netflix, and we wouldn't say no to a simple web...
Feature Inside The World Of Pokémon ROM Hacks
"I just wanted to make a game people would enjoy"
Games often inspire their fans. Sometimes they make tournaments. Sometimes, players bring themselves into the world of the game. The core of this inspiration, though, is when players take a game they love and mould it into something completely new. This is the way of the Pokémon ROM hacking...
Random Nintendo Shuts Down Its Anti-Piracy Website
Farewell, angry Mario
Like many other video game companies, Nintendo does not tolerate piracy. Over the past year, we have heard about the Japanese publisher and developer taking action against individuals selling modified systems and sharing ROMS online. This has resulted in a number of legal battles and some hefty fines. As part of its measures...
Random Game Boy Classic Super Mario Land Gets A Fan-Made DX Update
A splash of colour, plus a facelift!
Everyone found ways to celebrate the Game Boy's 30th anniversary (we certainly contributed our share) but toruzz's effort certainly went above and beyond. Nintendo never gave us an updated 'DX' edition of their first Mario outing on the Game Boy, but if it did, it might just look a bit like this. Sarasaland...
News Nintendo Switch Firmware 7.0.0 Already Hacked Just Four Hours After Going Live
Worrying times
The Nintendo Switch's security issues appear to be going from bad to worse, as the very recently implemented 7.0.0 firmware update has already been compromised. Launching just hours ago, firmware version 7.0.0 brought with it the usual system stability improvements and new security codes to fend off any potential hacking threat...
News Nintendo Seeking Senior Security Software Engineer With Hacking Expertise
If you can't beat them, hire them
Given Nintendo's recent crackdown on emulation, piracy and hacking, it comes as no surprise the company is now seeking an individual who specialises in tightening up security and identifying any vulnerabilities. Nintendo Technology Development - a known hardware division of the company - has posted a new job listing...
News Hackers Have Now Found A Way To Emulate Nintendo 64 Games On Switch
Pokémon Stadium anyone?
Nintendo 64 games have now been successfully emulated on Switch, teasing those who would love to see the classic console's stellar library come to the new system for real. We've been hearing of multiple stories surrounding hacking on Switch over the last few months, with players forcing adult-themed imagery into Super Mario...
The very definition of irony
There's been a lot of chatter about Switch piracy in recent months, with various groups releasing code which cracks open Nintendo's security measures and allows users to run homebrew programs on their machines, as well as play emulators and run pirated Switch software. One such program, SX OS, has recently been...
News Switch Hackers Are Now Forcing Adult-Themed Imagery Into Super Mario Odyssey
The Switch hacking woes continue
Just lately, every day seems to bring more troubling stories of hacking issues on Switch; already this week we've seen Splatoon 2 players being forced to play with unreleased content by game hackers, as well as some rather bold movements from Nintendo itself to combat attempted piracy. This
Rumour Nintendo Is Banning Online Features For Suspected Pirated Game Carts
Impossible to know if pre-owned games are safe
Update: To avoid any upset or confusion on the matter, and for the sake of clarification: as we currently understand it, only game cartridges that have been used to create illegal copies of its software will receive online bans from Nintendo. Most pre-owned cartridges, and those that you have...
News Splatoon 2 Hackers Are Forcing Unreleased Content Onto Other Players
Taking things one step too far
We've heard an increasing number of stories surrounding hacking attempts on Switch recently, and this latest Splatoon 2-centric hack has taken things a little too far. There have been several reports of Splatoon 2 users using all manner of hacks to cheat in online multiplayer, or otherwise disrupt the natural content...
News Hackers Create A Way To Replace Models And Text In Switch Games
Already modded Skyrim and Super Mario Odyssey
The Switch hacking community has had another major success this week thanks to a brand new program called LayeredFS, allowing them to replace in-game models and text with pretty much whatever they like. LayeredFS is a tool that works in a similar fashion to those more commonly found on PC, giving...
News Hackers Have Already Found A Way To Maximise Items And PM Tickets In Pokémon Quest
Free-to-complete-by-cheating
The free-to-play pocket monster RPG Pokémon Quest only launched on Switch at the very end of last month, but hackers have already found a way to manipulate the game's save files to net themselves as many items and PM Tickets as they like. A member of the homebrew community has released a save reader and writer...
News Programmer Gets SNES Games Running On The NES With A Little Bit Of Hacking
SNES-ception!
Wherever you look, people seem to love hacking into games systems and cartridges to create gameplay experiences that just would never be possible through official means. This latest project is no exception, and amazingly allows SNES games to be played on a real, unmodified NES console. Tom Murphy, aka Tom7, has found a way to...
News Nintendo Bans Online Services For Prominent Hacker's Switch Console
Tut tut
It would appear that several Switch users have found themselves receiving online bans from Nintendo after attempting to hack into the console's operating system. One such user is Shiny Quagsire, a prominent member of the Nintendo Switch homebrew community, who has explained his predicament via Twitter. When trying to load up the...
News Fancy Some SNES Classic On Your Nintendo Switch? There's A Hack For That
A real 'virtual' console
Nintendo's plans for retro games on Switch don't seem to include the Virtual Console, and at the time of writing the company is going to focus on 8-bit titles when its online subscription service launches this September. However, one hacker has decided that they can't wait for SNES games to appear on their Switch and has...
News Hacker Praises Nintendo's Switch Security Efforts, But Says Console Is "Completely Compromised"
"All current hardware can be compromised"
Nintendo takes the security of its consoles very seriously, and puts a lot of effort into making sure they're as hard to hack as possible. However, in the case of the Switch, we've seen exploits and vulnerabilities appear quite swiftly in the system's lifespan - it's now possible to hack the console to run...
News NIS America's Online Stores Hacked, Credit Card Details Compromised
"We are committed to earning back your trust and confidence"
Publisher NIS America is contacting customers to inform then that the company's online stores have been hacked and user information - including credit card details - has been stolen. The attach occurred sometime between January 23rd and February 26th on the...
News Hackers Are On A Mission To Port More Doom To Switch
We heard you like Doom
Last year, the unthinkable happened - the Switch got a new Doom game, the first since the '90s. A remarkable technical accomplishment, Doom gained rave reviews - but if industrious hackers have their way, it won't be the last slice of hellish FPS action we get on Switch. As reported by Kotaku, there are other Doom games...
News Hackers Turn The Nintendo Switch Into A Functioning Linux Tablet
"Code execution is all the rage these days, but can your Switch do this?"
Nintendo's reputation for fighting hackers every step of the way in commendable, but it would seem that by pairing itself with tech giant Nvidia - whose Tegra silicon powers the console - the Japanese giant is going have to accept that things aren't as nailed-down as they used...
News Hackers Get Linux Running On Switch And Claim Nintendo Can't Patch The Exploit
Wide open
No piece of hardware is totally hack-proof but Nintendo's consoles usually put up a pretty good fight - this a company that is prepared to offer a reward to people who find exploits, lest we forget. However, the Switch has fallen to the hackers pretty swiftly. Last year it was reported that a homebrew launcher was incoming, and we've...
Video Retro Emulation Finally Comes To Switch Following Homebrew Hacking Efforts
NES, SNES and Jaguar emulators shown in action
Just before 2018 arrived hackers declared that a custom launcher would be made available for Switch that would allow users to run homebrew apps on their systems. We're now seeing the first fruits of this development, and unsurprisingly a host of emulators have appeared, covering platforms such as the...
News Switch Hackers Declare That a Homebrew Launcher Will Be Available 'Soon'
Detail given on how the hack was discovered
In November it became clear that homebrew was going to be a reality on the Switch, with a breakthrough declared for those most determined to use it. That process appears to be continually moving forward, with a Homebrew Launcher apparently coming 'soon'. This was confirmed by hackers Plutoo, Derrek and...
News Naughty Hackers Have Homebrew Running On Switch Now
But your mileage may vary
It's not like the Switch has any shortage of amazing quality games, but that never stops homebrew enthusiasts from trying to get experimental with Nintendo hardware. After all, the Wii U and 3DS were eventually opened up to play homebrew, so it was only a matter of time before an exploit was found on the Switch. Over on...
News Captain Rainbow's Fan-Made Translation Patch Is Now Available For Testing
A rocky rainbow road to English text
Captain Rainbow was one of the Wii's most original titles but sadly it never got localised for western release. While it's certainly possible to fight your way through the game without any knowledge of Kanji, a western translation is something fans have been holding out for for years - and it's now a reality...
News The Inevitable SNES Classic Mini Hack Is Now Complete
"75% of games are working fine"
Last week we reported on Russian hacker Alexey 'Cluster' Avdyukhin's intention to modify his popular hacking tool hakchi2 to add support for the SNES Classic Mini. He's stayed true to his word that this work would take around a week and now v2.20 of hakchi2 has been released which offers the following...
News The Inevitable SNES Classic Mini Hack Is Well Underway
Chrono Trigger is playable already
Given the ease of hacking the NES Mini to add additional games, due to the efforts of Russian hacker Alexey 'Cluster' Avdyukhin with his hakchi2 software, it was only going to be a matter of time until the SNES Classic Mini got the same treatment given that it uses basically the same hardware under the...
News Looks Like The SNES Classic Mini Is Just As Hackable As The NES Classic Mini
Why stick to just 21 games?
Those of you lucky enough to have gotten your hands on the NES Classic may well have been tempted to hack the system in order to load up hundreds and hundreds of additional games thanks to a program called hakchi2. The process - which is entirely reversible - also allows you to pull in box artwork so you can maintain...
News The First Nintendo Switch Cartridge ROM Dumps Are Emerging, But It's Early Days
Currently unusable, but the hacking community seems hard at work
As soon as the Switch arrived in stores we saw the inevitable start of homebrew and hacking efforts as coding enthusiasts see what can be done with the hardware. It often takes a while for discernible progress to be made, but there have been some early landmarks for that community,...
News Nintendo Switch Hackers Claim to Have Made Key First Step
"We got the kernel"
We love joking about frequent 'stability' updates to Nintendo systems, but in the case of the 3DS this often meant blocking off various hacks and exploits. Homebrew and broader hacks have been common on the portable, and in a few cases were damaging to developers as they caused games and apps to be abruptly removed from the...
Random Super Mario Odyssey's Cap-Throwing Powers Have Been Modded Into Mario 64
Super Mario Modyssey
Super Mario Odyssey looks set to be one of the most innovative entries in the series but the feature which has cap-tured and cap-tivated (sorry) the imagination of the general public is Mario's ability to possess certain enemies by hitting them with his new, sentient headgear. This new power may have you counting down the days...
Random Miyamoto Was Once Quite Interested In PSP Game Boy Emulation
"Did you make this?"
While we're a Nintendo site first and foremost, here at Nintendo Life we do occasionally embrace formats produced by other companies - and back in the days of the Nintendo DS, we admit we also dabbled in the world of PlayStation Portable ownership. Sony's handheld was a massive success, despite the incredible dominance of the...
News The Nintendo Switch Can Be Hacked Via Known Webkit Vulnerability
Well, that was quick
An individual by the name of qwertyoruiop has hacked the Nintendo Switch already, despite the fact that the system has only been on the market for just over a week. This particular hacker is apparently well-known for cracking several versions of Apple's iOS, as well as the PlayStation 4 1.76 version hack. The screenshot he has...
News GBA Title Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo Gets Translated Into English
Won't cost you an arm and a leg
Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist is the spectacular (and often tragic) tale of the Elric brothers Edward and Alphonse, who attempt to seek redemption in a fictional world where alchemy is very much a reality. The popularity of the series has ensured that it has been given the full works in terms of merchandise...
News Super Famicom Title 3x3 Eyes: Jūma Hōkan Gets Translated To English
All eyes on you
Classic manga and anime fans should gather and rejoice as news arrived of a complete English translation for the second game in Banpresto's 3x3 Eyes Super Famicom series. 3x3 Eyes: Jūma Hōkan was released in 1995, a late generation title for the Super Famicom. In this game you take control of Yakumo who has just arrived in Hong...
News New Hack Offers A Full Game Library On Your NES Classic Edition
Legally questionable, of course
A while back we reported on news that a hack had been released which allowed NES Classic Mini owners the ability to edit and add to the 30 games which come pre-loaded on the console out of the box. A new hack has now emerged which goes one better; you can now put the full NES library onto the machine. The process...
News Fan-Made Prequel Metroid: Rogue Dawn Released On NES
Set before Metroid Zero Mission
Time and time again fans surprise us with projects born out of their love for Nintendo franchises despite the obvious legal issues. One franchise in particular that seems to generate substantial fervor is Samus Aran's very own backyard, the Metroid series. As years go by without a new mainline entry in this revered...
Random Hacker Finds Hidden Message Inside The Famicom Mini
"This is the hanafuda captain speaking"
Both the NES Classic Mini and its Japanese sibling the Famicom Mini have been hacked already, with the ultimate objective being the installation of additional games. However
News Nintendo Is Looking For Hackers Who Can Discover 3DS Vulnerabilities
Join the Bug Bounty program if you are a "1337 h4x0r"
While the humble Nintendo 3DS might not be around for too much longer with the impending arrival of the Nintendo Switch, it should not come as a surprise that the Big N are still interested to learn of any vulnerabilities on their 3DS family of systems that might still be exploited. Nintendo...
News A Japanese Hacker Has Cracked The Famicom Mini Already
Opens the door for NES Classic Mini homebrew, as well
The NES Classic Mini and its Japanese sibling the Famicom Mini both run Linux, and because of that Nintendo is duty-bound to share the source files for the hardware. As you might imagine, this has led to industrious hackers - always on the lookout for something to crack
Random Raspberry Pi Hack Takes The Wii U GamePad One Step Closer To Switch
Build it and they will come
Nintendo Switch comes out next year, and is already shaping up to be quite an impressive concept - a stand-alone gaming system which not only connects to your TV but can also be taken on the road. Thing is, some people don't like to wait and hacker banjokazooie has taken it upon himself to create the next best thing - a...
News SNES Classic Mega Man 7 Gets Screeching Guitars Thanks To Digital Audio Patch
Putting the "Rock" in "Rockman"
DarkShock is back with another quality MSU1 effort to bring a digital audio soundtrack to a Super Nintendo classic: this time, it's Capcom's Mega Man 7. Replacing the original SPC soundtrack is none other than the complete soundtrack of covers by Polish musician Krzysztof Slowikowski taken from his album
Video Ben Heck Creates The Ultimate Pokémon GO Survival Kit
Not at all cumbersome, honest
Seasoned Pokémon GO players will no doubt have their own techniques and strategies for catching as many monsters as possible in a typical 24 hours, but for the average person, a little help is sometimes needed. That's where Ben Heck's amazing "Pokémon GO Survival Kit" comes in. The famous hacker and his team have...
Random You Can Now Fly A Drone Using Your Game Boy, If You So Wish
Pocket power
Not so long ago we reported that one industrious individual had turned the Nintendo Power Glove into a device which could control a drone. Now, Gautier Hattenberger has gone one better by turning his dusty old Game Boy into a remote control for his Parrot AR.Drone 2.0. Hattenberger - who is Assistant Professor of Flight Mechanics and...
News Pokémon GO Player Apparently Gets Belgium's Biggest Mobile Network Banned
UPDATE: Ban now lifted, Proximus confirms "security" issue was to blame
Update: It would seem that the ban has been lifted this morning, with Proximus confirming that a security issue was indeed to blame. Original story: Niantic has been stepping up its game when it comes to banning people in Pokémon GO. It would seem there are quite a few ways...
News Sailor Moon Super S: Fuwa Fuwa Panic Translated To English
For Love And Justice, Sailor Moon… will pop balloons!?
When the anime craze finally picked up steam around these lands in the '90s, the high school playground was divided between boys who watched Dragon Ball and girls who watched Sailor Moon. A few more enlightened people actually enjoyed both shows, refusing to accept that gender should decide...
Video This Raspberry Pi-Powered, 3D Printed NES Mini Puts Nintendo's Effort To Shame
Complete with tiny NFC carts and scaled-down controller
The recent announcement of the NES Classic Edition (or NES Mini if you're in Europe) caused quite a stir, triggering feelings of intense nostalgia with thirtysomethings all over the globe. While we can't wait to get our hands on the unit, there's definitely room for improvement here - for...
News Someone Has Finally Cracked The Sega Saturn's DRM, Can Load Games Via USB
A solid state future for Sega's underdog
Sega's 32-bit Saturn console wasn't the success story the company had hoped for, and its failure against the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 is considered by critics to be one of the many reasons the Japanese company walked away from producing domestic hardware. However, the machine is home to some of the...
News Japan-Exclusive Satellaview Zelda Game Gets Translated And Dubbed Into English
Yes, we said dubbed
The Satellaview truly stands as one of the most unique and visionary peripherals Nintendo has ever developed. Downloading games from outer space (well, Low Earth Orbit if you want to be technical about it) truly sounded like science fiction back in 1995. In the five years this Japan-only add-on operated along with the Super...
