The Ultimate Legend of Zelda Hidden Gems Collection

Hey guys Penguin here and i genuinely have an idea i'd to share, if anyone remembers the Legend of Zelda games for the Satellaview system for the super famicom. I'd like to revive those titles in a big Rom Hack Collection. Basically what i'm suggesting is make a legend of zelda game collection where each of the Satellaview games are completely brought in with each part merged all into complete games. In conjunction with that take Legend of Zelda 1, 2, Links Awakening, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition Reimagined all in the A link to the Past Engine all into one huge package. I know it's a lot to ask but i feel this would be an AMAZING collection fans have been waiting for years to play. and i know thats a lot of games just to even consider to put in the collection 8), but just imagine how much people would be lining up just to try it, i know i would . Well hopefully someone out there is interested in this and i have know experience in programming or hacking in any shape or form but i'd like to try and bring a new and familiar experience to all LoZ fans out there that love the classics as well as the games out there. Please let me know if you are at all interested.

I'm not sure, what exactly you want to do. Obviously merging the Satellaview Ancient Stone Tablets 4 files into one game/file is not happening, nor is merging any group of games into one game/file at all. The package is also a relative term. You can take 20 SMW hacks and put them into one zip and you have a huge package.

Bringing other Zelda games into Alttp is also a difficult job, since you need to know, that the game basis is Alttp, so Oracle of Ages and Secrets are really not happening, since they have the "seasons" rod and the time warping back and forth. Gameplay is incompatible.

The most compatible game to Alttp is Sattelaview Ancient Stone Tablets, which could be brought into Alttp (without the events of course and remodeled in general; such a game with Alttp core would be "quite" different from the original AST), as well as Link's awakening. But both would mean a lot of effort for a small outcome, since the games would not be original designs. Of course it would be interesting to play such adoptations/remodels though.

Since I hack these AST games 15 years now, generally nothing to add Puzz's point out, except that it is impossible to merge all the 4 weeks into one rom. Except I think this need 10 hackers working 2 years non-stop on this, the task is would be awful. You need to re-map every pointer and jumps to another bank.

Uh just outta curiosity why would it take 2 years non stop to do it, details please

saix4raw8 wrote:Uh just outta curiosity why would it take 2 years non stop to do it, details please

This is meant for AST game, which Conn now mods for over a decade and he knows it best. The AST are 4 rom files, which can never be one, due to the fact that each file starts at hex address 0x00. If you put the file-2 into file-1, the file-2 no longer starts at 0x00, but on 200000 for instance. So you would have to repoint all game pointers, which is not doable (maybe a robot/program could do it).

But the other problem is also the room layout. Each week uses different dungeons, with different global grids, which might not be compatible to each other on one main-global room-grid.

But it is of course possible to take Alttp as a base, and start remodeling the dungeons of Alttp to be at least similar to the ones in AST, while having the same overworld. But the result would be something similar to AST, which would still have Alttp events with dungeons based "loosely" on AST.

so it is somewhat possible to merge them but the result would not be the exact same as the original product.

saix4raw8 wrote:so it is somewhat possible to merge them but the result would not be the exact same as the original product.

If you think about it, you are really not merging the games with this method. Your game is Alttp and thus you are remodeling Alttp to have AST dungeons. This really is not AST, since AST has events (like Zora-attack appear), different sprites, timer, different menu, stone tablets (you would have crystals - can be changed, but very difficult with the 3D crystal element editing) etc.

The Idea maybe "novel" but i'm just trying to get some ideas out there and i'd like to see a lot of Legend of Zelda games we played in the past brought back in a much better look. Ever since the guy who made AM2R came up with the idea, i thought it would be cool for all old games in good franchises brought back to form. Just imagine Castlevania 2 reimagined in Symphony of the night Engine. That kind of idea.

one thing I would like to see Nintendo do is actually do a full remake of a link to the past and have an ancient stone tablets remake where link is actually the main character. the events could take place after link's awakening and while the dungeon layout is almost unchanged, the over world allows for less dungeon linearity and ganon's tower is a full dungeon. it would be like a second quest to a link to the past that it deserves.

one thing I would like to see Nintendo do is actually do a full remake of a link to the past and have an ancient stone tablets remake where link is actually the main character

I thought he was busy with Link's Awakening while this game takes place.

Besides, the mascots r kool.

ast could be a non-canon second quest or at least a hypothetical scenario where link never leaves hyrule. the game is considered non-canon after all. ast had a better desert palace and the death mountain dungeon was cool because defeating the boss opened the exit to the top of death mountain.

The only idea I could ever come up with on the matter involved compiling the weeks into one rom via hex, and constructing a menu that allows you to select between weeks.  I would imagine such a menu would have to be the first thing to show up when loading the rom (atleast that would probably be the easier solution).  The only benefit I can come up with for this option would be not having to rename the sram when moving on to the next week.  Though this would certainly come in handy if you're playing the game on real hardware, a modded Wii, Ouya, smart phone, etc.  In other words, on platforms where renaming your sram is a bit more tedious.

Euclid, what do you think about "possibly possible" to merge the AST weeks?
I think without the sourcecode and compiling it anew it is close to impossible.

As for RH, I know that RedScorpion made a custom cartridge with 4 2 MB memory units, and copied all 4 weeks, each to one of these units. Switching between the weeks is thus possible through a button. Since the memory units share the same sram, it is thus possible to experience all weeks in a natural way in one cartridge without renaming the sram.

RedScorpion will surely give the technical spec to chosen people, as he do not like people making profit out of his "invention".

wouldn't it just be easier to use HM and replicate the level design from AST? yes, this would take some work to observe every room, but it would be the closest we can have to have to a full version of AST.