The First Mario Romhack I Couldn't Beat

Romhack Wednesday playlist: www.shorturl.at/bchA9
Spreadsheet with every hack: www.shorturl.at/aqBVZ
Here's the TAS video I watched at points during the playthrough: www.bilibili.com/video/BV11T4...
‣ Patreon: / kosmicd12
‣ Merch: store.streamelements.com/kosmic
‣ Twitch: / kosmic
‣ VODs Channel: / @kosmicvods
Edited by Bismuth:
/ bismuth9
/ bismuth9
/ bismuthi
Outro music: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjOIG...
#Kosmic #SMB1 #Puzzle

[@kosmicspeedruns]

Apologies for the low moments in this playthrough, this hack did mental damage 😶‍🌫

[@ecernosoft3096]

FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and yeah :( we forgive you, our mario god. :)

[@pozzumgee]

It's ok we're having fuuuuuun!

[@-Keith-]

No need to apologize, that timer going from 1:35 at world 4-1 to 4:37 by 7-2 is pretty self explanatory.

[@mikeprado30]

When there were low moments? You never lost it and your enthusiastic behavior was still there, even in the most pressured moments.

[@qactustick]

Props for making it as far as you did. Both for knowing what to do to get through most of the levels, and being able to actually do it. At least the difficulty of the hack seemed fairly consistent, in that it only continued to get more difficult and didn't really bounce between easy and hard all that much.

[@louisng114]

"The First Mario Romhack I Couldn't Beat" I think you were looking for the phrase "chose not to"

[@kosmicspeedruns]

that is true

[@MegaMJoker]

The "temperature" thing is a mistranslation. It says "from here now on, the difficulty will skyrocket". It feels surreal watching Kosmic watch a video on bilibili tho lol

[@kosmicspeedruns]

haha, yeah sometimes it's just funny to roll with whatever comes out of google translate. Thank you for the proper translation though!

[@qactustick]

The whole sequence starting at 11:14 seemed like something outta Looney Tunes. "Uh oh" lol

[@vinterbjork4128]

Level presents a really hard trick. Kosmic: I'm not sure I will be able to do this. Kosmic, 2 sec later: Did it!

[@mitchratka3661]

The fact you got to world 7 for a hack that no human should even consider playing is incredible.

[@far2ez539]

Would've been cool if you opined a bit about things you liked or didn't like at the end of the hack. I think given your channels' directions, establishing yourself as more of an authority on good game design would be valuable. One thing I didn't see you comment on (but should definitely be lauded) is how they managed to squeeze so many worlds into an SMB1 hack by reusing previous world data. Your comment on the 5-3 hardmode flag is a great example of how it was done, as well as your comment on "Was this all so we could bring a mushroom back into 1-1?!" -- I think specifically commenting on how they overcame the limitation by doing some cross-world stuff like that would be a good idea, because they truly made a little metroidvania feel out of the hack. It's honestly a shame it became so TAS-heavy with tricks, because I think if we had seen you solve those puzzles and come to those realizations in realtime, we would've been mindblown.

[@kosmicspeedruns]

theres only 1 stage in world 1, and 3 in the rest- for that reason there really aren't that many stages. But I agree, the mushroom to 1-1 and re-used 4-3 in hard mode things were crazy and brilliant. It's too bad they are marred by a couple of other really ugly things lol.

[@Nunya644]

Dude, was this really made in 2008?? WHO TF had this level of Mario knowledge in 2008, and an even bigger question who was this hack made for in 2008? I'm blown away at the level of knowledge of glitches required to complete this, I'd have thought like next to Noone knew enough about the glitches in 2008 to complete this hack back then.

[@dougneon9550]

The skill demanded is far surpassing unreasonable honestly

[@trik0me]

In Japan in the 2000s there were some insane SMB gamers

[@davelewis8270]

It might have been meant for the tas community tbf.

[@TheGirugamesh1000]

People had already completely dissected the game by 08. Your youth shows. Dude by 1992 people already knew the majority of glitches.

[@mr.business2922]

​ @TheGirugamesh1000 sure just take minus world

[@MrCheeze]

Unreasonable difficulty aside, that 1-1 puzzle was a genius idea.

[@VinsCool]

There are some really creative outside the box thinking involved in this one, and it was really cool to see honestly.

[@novafawks]

Fancy seeing you here Vins, I recognize you from GBATemp ;)

[@QQyoko]

I heard Todd Rogers and Billy Mitchell beat this no savestate and no death, 2 players 1 controller.

[@mattpierce5009]

Billy did it in one contiguous run without any help back in 1985, and he did it on authentic SMB arcade hardware, and has the VHS tape to prove it. Expect to hear from his lawyer any day now

[@TommyVinMI]

Not for human consumption

[@victorsoung]

I'm very impressed with your skills dude. That was really tough

[@zionfortuna]

Too bad this hack went from fun to Rohrleitung Gate's level of ridiculousness.

[@ckellyedits]

Now we need a romhack for inexperienced players :(

[@kosmicspeedruns]

truuuue. What would that look like?

[@ckellyedits]

​@@kosmicspeedruns just 1-1 except at the end the Princess was at the flagpole all along

[@Average_K]

What about a romhack that places motivational quotes between levels? Everything else is exactly the same.

[@saphcal]

@@ckellyedits isnt that just like the training course from the super mario bros movie trailer at that point? :P

[@ckellyedits]

@@saphcal good point haha

[@LotoTheHero]

Saying this hack is for "experienced players" is the understatement of the century. ☠ I'm impressed that you kept going as far as you did. Like, it did have some cool ideas, but I feel like that was ruined by the monotony and extreme difficulty.

[@MichelleSleeper]

The first half of this hack was really cool, it's a shame it wound up making lemons out of lemonade.

[@reesecarlton]

I'm stealing that expression and nobody can stop me (not even you)

[@MichelleSleeper]

@@reesecarlton It was either that, or "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory".

[@reesecarlton]

@@MichelleSleeper I like that one too, heard it from Freezai (if you happen to know who that even is)

[@erikeriksson1920]

This hack is more like "for experienced TAS only".

[@reesecarlton]

Loved the 2 videos on this hack, as well as part of the game itself, but it really does highlight how developers sometimes just make a game hard because they think that makes it more fun. The difficulty should enhance the experience (be it easy or hard, both can work), but there needs to be more to the game, and that's one of the biggest takeaways from all this, especially since we've seen the game be good at the start! But hey guess that's why Romhack Wednesdays are a thing, to try and sort the good and bad SMB1 hacks

[@vitanpatel9342]

If your hack needs solution that make viewer think "no human could do this" instead of "it's incredible that this mario player can make this magic appear on the screen" - you crossed the line

[@piemaster310]

Me at 30:01 : wow, Kosmic is giving up on kaizo levels faster than most people give up on dark souls bosses Me at 30:05 : this would not be fun to watch anyone play under any circumstances

[@Freddie7191]

I'm so glad Kosmic did not improve the temperature.

[@djcolossal]

bless your heart for doing so many levels manually

[@JakeRazorClawson]

Indeed unfathomable, but all the way to a funny appropriate ending message. This hack reminds me of music albums that start really good but drag onto awkward irrelevance. Appreciate you giving more than a fair chance at this one and some others that had potential.

[@tylerroberts1276]

Exploiting the game mechanics is cool for experienced players, but obtuse puzzles and literal guessing games isn't worth it for any player of any skill level.

[@kosmicspeedruns]

yes, my thoughts exactly!

[@mikeprado30]

This romhack reminded me the infamous one called Air and its sequel. Those ones are designed especially for TAS.

[@kosmicspeedruns]

huh, i never thought AIR was very hard at all

[@mikeprado30]

@@kosmicspeedruns You have played it before, bro?

[@kosmicspeedruns]

@@mikeprado30 yeah a long time ago. I should play through it again because the stream wasnt saved anywhere and i dont remember it too well

[@SamWeltzin]

Aw man, this hack was so cool to start off. How disappointing it started throwing bullshit at the player.

[@chrisjagon]

sorry for the inconvenience....

[@ActuallyLydia]

The new setup looks amazing Kosmic!

[@trik0me]

Man seeing you tap out, now I don't feel so bad about not being able to get past the 2nd level :D Still amazing to see you know most of the tricks and only really want to stop when it was getting a little too ridiculous

[@hfcriske]

This was supercool, probably the most interesting romhack I've seen you play so far :)

[@PavoneSoftworks]

Tfw you will never be as good as the famous speedrunner known as TAS

[@claytonbaber]

sans tas completion would be beyond legendary, sans save states might actually break the universe

[@quadpad_music]

unertail

[@Ryusuta]

This genuinely makes Kaizo Mario World seem completely reasonable by comparison. Kudos do you for playing such an ASTONISHINGLY bad game for Romhack Wednesdays.

[@saphcal]

that was wild. i dont blame you at all for calling it. that got absolutely absurd.

[@Atsumari]

This was meant for a TAS after a certain point...

[@JacktheRacoon]

19:13 Escorting Bullet Bills? What a “blast”!

[@arrosoir4544]

this joke wont fly, young man !

[@rays7805]

You made the right choice. I was experiencing your frustration vicariously.

[@LettersAndNumbers300]

This one’s a lot of fun to watch!

[@thepeternetwork]

Not even Mario Maker could replicate this travesty of level design.

[@litelbrown]

New Series: Fun for the People

[@16bitHi5]

i think this shows how amazing you are at this game to have made it that far. DAAAAAAAAAANG

[@KenSch2020]

Maybe you should give yourself an easier game to do next week. Maybe a game that has Sonic the Hedgehog in a Mario game for next Rom Hack Wednesday.

[@kosmicspeedruns]

lol. Oddly specific 🤔 But I will do something along those lines at some point!

[@KenSch2020]

@@kosmicspeedruns I figured that might be a change of pace with all those Mario rom hacks that like to have hidden blocks that make you hit them and die.

[@you41041]

As unfortunate as it was to see the last few worlds become such a mess, the idea of going through worlds 2-7 just to get a powerup into 1-1 to access world 8 is just amazing

[@allegorysplatterpunk1829]

Ridiculous hack 😅 Thanks for the upload man

[@cold_warrior]

This hack is very clever, but it gets pretty unreasonable. It's crazy that you even got so far. Can't imagine someone playing it without savestates

[@LeoStaley]

A true Kaizo romhack for smb1. I love it..

[@Patralgan]

This is like Kaizo squared. Approaching Kusottare Mario -levels of nonsense

[@so_bendy]

Hey you got the razzle dazzle on the wall :D This hack looks IMPOSSIBLE btw lol.

[@quinn7894]

When you started to pretend to have fun, it reminded me of chonnygame doing the anger management episode of cat mario

[@BUGFlower413]

This romhack just wasn't made to be played by humans TwT

[@shovel_salesman]

hard mario 1 levels are either "interesting puzzle" or "invisible bullet bill parkour"

[@mkwilson1394]

This is like... close to AIR level. Wild!

[@jonothanthrace1530]

8:05 you found some Koopa construction worker's creepy Mario shrine.

[@RaceBandit]

Not even Rohrlietung Gate _(I probably spelled that wrong.)_ was that brutal. geez

[@askthepizzaguy]

Sarcasm: *I guess you just weren't experienced enough.* Real thought: This was starting to get painful when I saw how long you had been at it. I felt glad when you threw in the towel, I was right there with you, ready to be done.

[@RetroGamingBoards]

Good Job 👏

[@gamingSlasher]

This started out as Olympic level Super Mario but went into ridiculous area.

[@MarxMayhem]

That princess ain't worth it. lmao

[@ogedeh]

OK, you're too good at this game, there needs to be a law

[@wolfguy423]

this hack may have bested you but your still a god gamer.

[@quadpad_music]

Hey Kosmic, would you mind linking the TAS video you consulted?

[@kosmicspeedruns]

oh yeah for sure! Great point. Here it is, and I added it to the description www.bilibili.com/video/BV11T411s7U6/

[@quadpad_music]

@@kosmicspeedruns Somehow I didn't get notified about this. Thanks!

[@Nob1ej0n]

Wow, I'm super glad you stopped playing at that point. That's nuts!

[@lukahmad5683]

This hack belongs to the bottom of the iceberg of Mario Romhack Icebergs lol

[@TheDoctorofOdoIsland]

That 8-2 is pure nonesense.

[@vitanpatel2061]

That's one threatening title

[@alexanderpedersen1401]

The knowledge is insane.....

[@Skul1ManEXE]

What's wrong with the soundfont?

[@davelewis8270]

Not going to do a dram55 and start running this then?

[@Frigidevil]

The fact that you got as far as you did in under 5 hours of gameplay is ridiculous.

[@quinn7894]

2:26 So satisfying

[@tg3205]

Kosmic should do SMM one and two streams

[@DiegoLeonardoAl]

My brain melted trying to understand this :(

[@LeoStaley]

You know what I want to see? More kaizo hacks like this, with the super hard tricks that only someone of kosmic's skill and knowledge can pull off, but WITHOUT the impossible to figure out bullshit. It's sad that SMW gets all the kaizo love when there seems to be so much potential for SMB.

[@staudinga]

Amazing how far you got, considering this hack is clearly not meant for normal play.

[@nugboy420]

Wait a two parter?

[@JouvaMoufette]

brb going to world 7

[@AltairEgo1]

So basically, the biggest challenge in this romhack is clipping through walls.

[@DaveGamesVT]

That's gonna be a no from me!

[@klop4228]

Ok but I unironically love 8-2

[@teemupennanen8359]

stressful hack is stressful

[@googlesucks1]

Man, I think filing taxes with a Schedule C would be more fun than playing through this.

[@NHLroyrocks]

lol, i have never seen you look so uncomfortable!

[@Newtination]

This hack was great up 'til World 5 lol

[@ColdAndBrew]

Lol I know some of it wasn’t fun, but it was very entertaining.

[@goldenhog]

SMB grandmaster tech

[@matthewguinn7977]

I have Cube Root of 3.

[@nicknosov8497]

This is a kaizo puzzle hack.

[@whtiequillBj]

you played up to and a little farther then what is humanly viable.

[@BenutzerWalter]

8:25 that is a

[@SidusuC]

Honestly that’s a skill issue. I could pass that entire game first try if I had 200 years to prepare.

[@LettersAndNumbers300]

What’s with the Chinese subs?

[@whthafk]

is this the 500 iq one still? that one lookd tricky af

[@kosmicspeedruns]

yep

[@ben949]

kosmic how do you have 2 silver play buttons?

[@kosmicspeedruns]

One is for NRG Speedrunning

[@ben949]

@@kosmicspeedruns ohhh

[@suyashagrawal1102]

@@kosmicspeedruns What's that?

[@ben949]

@@suyashagrawal1102 its a channel kosmic was a part of

[@suyashagrawal1102]

@@ben949 oh ok

[@realDonaldMcElvy]

Super Mario Bros. 2.236068

[@AndaRafa]

See u still smile play this.. make me frustrated

[@AFrenchman31]

Anyone who can't bear a Mario game lacks the skills of a 6yo 🙂

[@mr.business2922]

Won't*

[@elecman748]

Mad cuz bad lol -This message was written by ChatGPT

[@ramiel555]

yo, I beat this in like 20 minutes, obviously this kosmic guy is a #fake_gamer 👀 nah, but seriously, this is some ridiculous stuff and I learned about the existence of probably a dozen new tricks/clips/wtfs of the SMB1 engine from these videos. I'm always flabbergasted thinking about how all this stuff even gets figured out having to play 7 worlds just to bring a powerup to the first level is kinda cool though, that feels like some TSRPR stuff (I think that was it, but might be some other well known SMW romhack) where you have to get the star in your item box from some late level then go back to an earlier one and use it to swim through the lava to find the secret way forward. Except the game actually gives you clues about it...I think, lmao, it's been a while

[@Kowalth]

Dude, this hack is cursed! Never play it again, please. It was painful to watch even using TAS!