Language…
11 users online: Cristian Cardoso, howardadam1126, Isikoro, marvisjj, masl, Oskise, RenkoV2,  Segment1Zone2, SpacePea,  Telinc1, Zavok - Guests: 254 - Bots: 303
Users: 64,795 (2,377 active)
Latest user: mathew

Riff World 2

Super Mario World Hacks → Riff World 2

Submission Details

Name: Riff World 2
Author: Freakin_HA
Added:
Demo: No
Hall of Fame: No
Length: 32 exit(s)
Type: Kaizo: Expert
Description: Riff World 2 is a kaizo Super Mario World hack that I have been working on for quite a long time, it has been in development since mid 2018. This hack features a blend between modern and old kaizo level design.

The main inspirations for the hack are familiar to most who play or watch these games

The Kaizo Mario trilogy
Banzai Mario World
Grand Poo World 1/2

This hack is fairly difficult and meant to serve as a sequel to Super Riff Wolrd. Much like the original it remains very largely vanilla (few custom enemies/gimmicks) although there is the odd custom thing here and there, similar to the first game.

The driving idea behind the hack was to constrain the design to similar limitations as the first, so it keeps that same feel. Working within those limitations was very difficult as it was very hard to continue to come up with ideas that felt fresh and fun while largely working with the same toolset as the original, which makes it hard to innovate. Hopefully those goals have been met as fun was the most important thing while designing it.

There’s lots of tileset mixing, both foreground/background and sprites, which hopefully leads to some interesting and fresh combinations of enemies and themes.

The game does not feature what many consider to be common “quality of life” patches or blocks, such as instant/prompt retry, nor does it feature instant death blocks, fast overworld, or auto save, however, these design choices were NOT made with the intent of punishing the player or being inconsiderate of their time etc. These were decisions that were not quickly or lightly made, and were largely to preserve the mood and feel of the game, which the levels are designed to reflect.

The design in the levels is very often intentionally lenient at the start of sections to prevent repeated death in a very short period of time. The obstacles are all designed around the idea of consistent “first cycling” allowing the player to get back to where they were quickly once they know the level, and the sections are generally in the area of 35-45 in game seconds. All of these choices were made to compensate for what many consider mandatory features in modern kaizo hacks.

Obstacles are also designed so they can be played going quickly (one cycling) or taking your time to look at and size up. I have designed it in a way so going slowly will often change how you need to approach an obstacle. Sometimes an entire section may play differently, at times even similar to a non kaizo hack when played at a slower pace.

I very often allow the player to respawn needed items for a second chance or to approach something in a non optimal way. For example killing enemies that serve as obstacles and then respawning the remaining setup to play in an easier manner, or using a cape to slowly fly through a section rather than use the fast one cycles built in.

The game features 32 exits and has taken nearly 3 years to complete. Thank you to all of the people who helped make this game, it wouldn’t have been possible without you.

I have also included 3 versions of the game, one with custom music, one with vanilla music, and one with no music, so you can listen to your own!

Hope you have fun!
Tags: bosses music vanilla
Comments: 19 (jump to comments)
Rating:
5.0 (9 ratings)
No rating
Download 4.83 MiB | 4,666 downloads

Screenshots

View all

Comments (19)

PaneraBred64 Link
What an incredible hack this was. Riff 1 was made excellently, with a large amount of variety and unique design choices. But the sequel does what the first hack did and multiplies it by a million. Even though this hack came out in 2021 in an era filled with chocolate hacks and custom gimmicks, this hack manages to be fresh, fascinating, and fun with vanilla mechanics. Only slight tweaks to the original engine were needed to make the hack look beautiful, clean, and ambient, like the Autumn level (which looked amazing). So many things I've never seen before were used. Even though there were some glitches used in the hack, it wasn't anything over the top and the hack's main focus was platforming and precise movement that made levels fun. This may be the last brilliant vanilla hack for years to come. Awesome job, Freakin_HA!
obermedo Link
Is it possible to have this amazing soundtrack of this hack in youtube?
Dr.Moe Link
Best hack I've played so far, although it really pushed me to my limits. ... strongly recommended if you search an expert hack, thats not chocolate overloaded and still unique and creative!
om_nomnom Link
Just finished 100% this game, and it is my new favorite RomHack. I never had a single answer for what my favorite hack is, but now I do. What a phenomenal, challenging, and rewarding experience that was.

It is definitely not an easy hack, but I would strongly recommend this to anyone comfortable playing Kaizo:Expert hacks.
Fryinb Link
another incredible project from ha
ZX497 Link
I was put off by the lack of fast retry at first, but that quickly turned around when I found myself enjoying the hack so much regardless. The sections, more often than not, are just short enough to keep you motivated and the mini breaks you get due to lack of fast retry actually add to the "leisurely" pace of the hack, and give it kind of a unique feel from everything else I've played.

Tons of content with some neat secrets and optional stuff. Very original level design with absolute lack of repetition. Highly recommended.
SethOsDotEXE Link
A fantastic hack. One of my all time favourites.
Every level was fun and challenging with great aesthetics.
Don't let the lack of fast retry turn you off of playing it.


Great job Freakin_HA
 YouFailMe Link
One of the best kaizo hacks ever released. The amount of care and polish that clearly went into each level is unrivaled. Great work Freakin_HA.
TomNook Link
Phenomenal hack. The the shell juggling/catch section was so unique. Can't wait for 3 =)
3dsalmon Link
If you're a somewhat experienced player and are looking for a fun and challenging hack, it quite literally does not get much better than this.
SteamyPanini Link
Straight up awesome from start to finish! Hats off to Freakin_HA and everybody who worked with this. 10/10 and one of my favorite hacks of all time.
StacheAttack Link
Freakin_HA, you are the best. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to Riff World 1 & 2. Seriously. You're awesome.

-Stache
PastaNoSauce Link
The first hack I've played to bridge the difficulty gap between Invictus and the Kaizo Mario Trilogy genre of hacks. If you're comfortable with
Invictus and want a challenge, but hesitant to grind a hack with significantly heavier difficulty spikes, Riff World 2 gives that balance of increasingly tough setups with fun and fair level design.

For the final world, I have two setup-specific tips for players who might not be sure what is intended (and have no intention of using save states or rewind for their playthough). They are not spoilers necessarily, but challenged me in a not so intended way:

Eminence Front
At the end of the second section right before the midway, there is a mid-air thwomp bounce. I had to keep repeating this until I got it. What I wasn't aware of, until I came back to that jump to find a clear strategy, is what I'd describe as pumping the jump button - cycling hold and release, hold and release with what feels like pumping - rather than finding the perfect time to either let go of or press jump. It's very easy to duplicate, but I'd never been taught or required to use it before. Glad to now know such a seemingly basic but useful controlled slowfall.


Glitter Freeze
I might've been the only person who experienced this, but I'll mention it because it involves cape. In the first section, after gaining spin flight, you're meant to land on the rotating platform only once. This makes the setup trivial. I'd assumed, this being a late-game level, this was some insane cape tech with multiple jumps on the platform. It set me back when the intended way is laughably simple, and painfully obvious.
eronios Link
There is not much to say that has not already been said about this hack. It was worth the wait to be able to play it. It is easily in my top 3 hacks of all time. Thank you Freakin_HA for the time and energy it took to put this together.
keygen92 Link
i would prefer the quick retry system.
Goldberg3210 Link
What a Great Game! Definitley One of my favourite hacks! Thank you for making it!
 Amethyst Link
I could not have asked for a better romhack to start off 2021 with - it has instantly became one of my favorites. Thanks freakin_ha. <3
cur Link
This hack is seriously next level. Amazing work.
Copyright Link
One of the best hacks I have ever played 10/10