Kaizo Hacks

Super BunBun World

Fun, medium lengthed Kaizo Hack. An interesting mix of old ideas and new.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 16:52:35

Super Mario and the Cretaceous Castle

Humbling back with "beginner friendly" in it's decription - reminding me I'm still a Kaizo noob. Solid overall medium difficutly hack though.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 18:36:52

Momoku Mario World

Short and creative hack that can be played blind. I couldn't imagine what that meant until I played it, but it makes sense now - cool concept.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:43:22

Also Sprach World

Small, fun, easy to medium difficutly 10 exit hack. Some new mechanics, a bit of jank, and a unique Thwoomp as the final boss

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 08:56:43

Super BunBun World 2

After being out of the Kaizo world, decided to jump back in with this hack. Everything I love about Rom hacking. 19 polished levels of pure easy to medium difficulty Kaizo fun.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 10:34:33

Kaizo Kong Country

Different kind of Kaizo - focused on precision platforming. Could be classified as a normal difficutly hack. Short hack that will improve your raw precision jumping.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 05:56:32

Take It Easy World

Damn. Great hack. Was described as an 'intermediate' hack but served itself as a nice transition between that and beginner difficulty, at least for me. Creative levels, smoothe platforming - everything you want in a modern day kaizo. I've read this is a candidate for best hack of the year, and although I'm not sure I'd go that far, it's fantastic and reminds me of all the reasons I love playing this genre so much.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 17:53:32

Cute Kaizo World

Very fun beginner hack. These were generally short and easy levels sprinkled with a few semi tough and unique set ups. The completion time I think shows a huge improvement in my Kaizo skills to be able to run through a hack this quickly. This hack also had an insanely good sountrack which is a reminder to always play this hacks with the volume on.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 01:21:48

Hangin' With Mr. Koopa

A hack comprised of short, fast paced, no checkpoint levels. The creative setups were there, but the levels fell into a bit of a pattern of a tough section followed by a 'hold right with a button' section. No overworld and no boss fights - not a bad thing. The comments suggest this hack is approachable by beginners, but I disagree. This may be true for some levels, but the final three especially had a very steep difficutly curve that required some fairly advanced tech. All in all, good stuff.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 03:20:48

Dancer to a Discordant System

Fantastic hack. This was described as 'intermediate' difficulty and perfectly fits that description and perhaps why SMB central should really further categorize their Kaizo lights. I lost track of the completion time because this one took me a while, but was a solid test of my skills. A couple of setups I found annoying, particularly in the last ghost house, and some coin indicators would have been much appreciated. Regardless, overall a fun, lengthy, skill testing hack - I look forward to playing the author's other entry which is apparently in a similar vein.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Newbie Kaizo World

Uh, yah - this was bad. After Dancer I was looking to play a few quicker, easier hacks before jumping in to the next big challenge. This was challenging, kinda, but for all the wrong reasons. Poorly designed levels, poorly designed overworld and horrendous boss fights plagued this hack. The last boss fight may have been the most poorly designed boss fight of any hack I've ever played. This went by rather quickly so it was nice to add another hack to the completion list, but that's about it's only redeeming quality.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 1/5

Time: 01:05:27

Super Joe Bros.

Now this is more like it. Coming off the heels of the pretty terrible Newbie Kaizo World, I was still looking for a relatively easy, well designed hack before jumping into the next challenging one, and this was it. The levels were fast and short but well designed and the perfect amount of Kaizo:Easy difficulty. Most levels only took a few tries, with the long ghost house taking a little longer. A perfect hack for beginner's, perhaps after getting some of the beginner staples under one's belt first. I look forward to Super Joe World 2 which I hear is significantly more difficult.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 01:02:33

Sleepy World

I wouldn't say the easiest introductory hack, but a fairly easy Kaizo experience that focuses mainly on the regrab technique. Not a bad design and a great place to pratcie said tech.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 01:45:55

El Dorado

Very fun and challenging intermediate level Kaizo light hack. Some setups were a bit confouding at first, but this was a great way to test my skills and see how far I've come. I think this hack let me know I may be ready to test my skills at some of the more difficult intermediate Kaizo hacks, if not ready to move on to some of the more daunting hacks out there.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time:

Akogare Mario World

Ah - a classic. When I first started Kaizo'ing I tried this hack and made it about 6 or 7 levels before deciding I needed to get a bit better before continuing. This time around, I breezed through most the levels while having a great time - either I got much, much better or the author has made it easier or maybe a combination of both. Regardless, fantastic hack that's great to play near the beginning of one's Kaizo journey.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 5/5

Time:

Silencio

This was an ok hack. Definitely edging on intermediate difficulty with quite a bit of chocolate sprinkled throughout. The focus was moreso precision platforming rather than shell jumps and other traditional Kaizo tricks. Absolutely terrible water level and pretty annoying boss fights. Also - insanely tight timers for the levels that required it. This did have some solid uniqueness and creativity though, and was enjoyable for what it was.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 06:54:57

Nightmare Cafe

Instead of your typical hack with x number of exits, this one was listed with no exits - something I had never encountered before. It turns out, this hack is 60+ single screen rooms with your progress saving every time you enter a door. This felt at times like it should be in the hard category, but there was just enough Kaizo tricks needed to warrant the difficulty it has. This was definitely a nice change of pace from the typical hack, and I look forward to playing the two sequels which are already out.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 01:52:35

Super Mona World

This was a cute little hack. And by little, I mean only three nice polished levels with a gradual difficutly increase as one progresses. This is definitely the right start for a full fledged, great hack but I felt this would have made more sense and served better as a demo. Difficutly was definitely on the easy side, with a slight spike in the last castle where you had to clear 4 consecutive rooms without a save point. A nice way to spend half an hour or so.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:36:37

Kink's Awakening

Awesome. This hack was on the easier to verging intermediate side of Kaizo lite. Creative setups, fun, flowing platforming and no boss levels. This was 10 exits or so and proved for nice little challenge that could be completed in a decent amount of time.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Lani World

This hack pushed me - but in a good way. Lengthy, well designed, polished Kaizo hack definitely firmly in the intermediate difficulty. I thought everything was fair except for the last checkpoint of the final castle, which was a very tight water section followed by a bit of a janky saw section with no checkpoint. Overall great hack and great experience.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

G-Fazo

A true shell hack, and one of my first at that. The levels were filled with shell jumps and not overly difficult, until the very last level where I struggled quite a bit. Admittedly, I had to look up a certain drop shell jump tech in one spot, but that's ok and to be fair part of the rules. The last level did have some weird setups, but overall a fair and fun and challenging 10 exit hack.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Ides of March

Unique hack, and mostly in a good way. Very short sections but with tight, precise platforming. Creative setups and tricks - entirely vanilla. There were annoying Kaizo blocks but forgiven because of how short the sections were. The final castle was a classic 'clear five rooms in a row' which did prove to be the biggest challenge. Overall, solid hack which taught me a thing or two.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Cindy World

After a string of tough hacks for my level, this one was the polar opposite. This might be the easiest Kaizo hack I've ever played. The hour playthrough isn't quite accurate, but regardless the 15 levels averaged about 2-3 minutes to complete. A nice hack to play even before the Kaizo tutorial hacks.

Difficulty: 1/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:58:23

Super Cindy World 2

Decided to go back to back Cindy's and the creator definitely improved his romhacking skills in this second installment. The sequel offerred a notable difficutly increase, but this was still a quick and easy hack. The amount of time needed to clear this 24 exit hack flew by, but I'm sure there were lots of secret exits and bonus worlds that I was happy to miss and see the credits after the final boss.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 01:14:22

Super World

A very fun and creative hack of low intermediate difficulty. Tons of innovative stuff here with an awesome overworld to go with it. From what I remember mostly vanilla, but could have been one or two chocolatey things. One annoying part was getting to the final castle, and beating the first section of it, only to realize I needed the switches to save my progress. This made me do all the exits to see the credits, as per the rules, but wasn't that much of a bad thing with this very solid hack.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

TIAGHTPIYJSPKW

The full name would probably break this site but the jist of it is a hack to play when getting into Kaizo. Great hack - very easy but still provided more difficutly than the Cindy World's out there. Awesome cape level that actually taught me some new spin flying tech. Informative prompts in levels with lots of coins to guide you. Cap it all off with a very creative final castle that was a true mix of a normal level and a boss fight. Oh, and the intro piano music was very, very nice.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Mario Story: Return to Sweet'n'Sour Land

Fun, very easy hack. I think this might fit better in the Standard:Hard or even Normal category but I suppose it may have had enough Kaizo elements. Had a great, relaxing playthrough - in my opinion this might be the ideal starter hack for non-Kaizo players to get some confidence up before diving in the true starter hacks.

Difficulty: 1/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Nightmare Cafe 2

See Nightmare Cafe for the description of this hack, as it was pretty much the exact same thing with new levels. These hacks so far could arguably be classified as Standard but a few Kaizo elements pushes it into the Kaizo: Light category. Most of the single rooms could be one shot, with a few needing a couple tries, and a very select few being quite precise and requiring a few more attempts. Good fun, I will likely paly this entire series.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Dreams

Fantastic, easy to intermediate difficulty hack with beautiful background palettes and artwork. Slight difficulty curve towards the end with a final castle requiring multiple room clears before any checkpoints. Chocolate mechanics are included, but mostly fun ones like being able to switch your jump type in midair. Loved this hack and will look for more from this creator.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Kaizo Kidz

Meh. Easy hack as the name would suggest but it didn't have the same charm as other intro to Kaizo hacks in the same vein. This was still solid and a nice and easy playthrough. The background layers threw me off often as they were tough to distinguish from real obstacles. Not great, not terrible.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:00:00

Ninji Story

This was a fun, easy hack with a lot of charm. I didn't realize you could actually play as Ninji itself til after, so I ventured as Mario and conquered this long yet short hack that was a lot of fun. Some chocolate elements such as the following Big Boo which behaved differently than normal, and great, fun, simple levels most of which could be one shot. Great stuff.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Blue's Revenge

Admittedly, I took a big break in this hack. But from at least the finish, this hack was super solid at about a begginer to intermediate level. Lots of creative setups and interesting ideas blended with cool background palettes. Final castle was a fairly tough 3 room, no checkpoint sorta deal but manageable. Final boss was from the original game and a bit underwhelming, but a nice easy fight.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Nightmare Cafe 3

More of the same from this series which is slowly getting necessary. One exit with about 50 rooms or so varying in difficulty but can all be beat with relative ease. This one seemed to have a bit of a SMB2 theme going on but it could be a coincidencce. Beginning to love these.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Full Bloom

Labeled as an easy Kaizo hack but this is definitely trending towards intermediate. The first level seemed a bit tough but it did smoothe out and become more forgiving after that. Fantastic platforming and fun hack. This would be a great transition from beginner to intermediate.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

EZ Kaizo

Despite it's name, not a pure beginner hack, with some odd setups and weird difficutly spikes. This was almost like a slight advanced tutorial of sorts, with usually one slightly more advanced trick before a checkpoint. Overall pretty generous and forgiving - it can't deviate too far from it's name's implication.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 01:34:07

Super Germdove Hack

Another slightly above easy difficutly hack, but it does smoothe out as it goes along. A fairly simple vanilla hack with a few spikes, including one double shell jump setup near the end I had totally wrong. Creative credits but the boss is the first one (I think) from the original game which is a bit disappointing.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 01:50:23

Super Husky World

Interesting concept as a easy to medium difficulty hack with a totally open overworld. Cool idea, but messed with the challenge a bit as you can skip to the final castle or go right to the credits. I decided to just beat every level and call it a day. Sections are relatively easy and one shottable, but fairly long gaps between checkpoints. Good hack.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Scary Bosses & Nice Sprites

This is a game that stays true to it's name and play like more of a Standard: Very Hared hack than a Kaizo hack - although it does have enough retaining Kaizo elements. The focus here is completely unique sprites and enemies with out of the box, and increasingly cool mechanics. At first I was a bit thrown off by this non-standard Kaizo, but grew to really enjoy it and began to appreciate the creativity in these completely new mechanics that this creator invented.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Nightmare Cafe 4

The legendary series continues. Not much to comment that hasn't been already said about the NM series, but it's become a regular on whatever next batch of Kaizo hacks I'm about to play. I'm still not convinced entirely, however, that this meets the standard for a Kaizo hack.

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Beachside Blitz

Easy hack with a fun, summertime beach vibe with crab sprites. No checkpoints, but you don't really need'em. The Kaizo element was more directed in precision platforming than traditional Kaizo tricks, but this was short, sweet and fun.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:44:22

Ukraine, Detroit

Gives off a bit of a Standard:Hard vibe because some sprites seemingly have no purpose, but maybe they're for speedrunning strats. Similar vibes to Beachside, but this is a tougher. There was a cloud level that immediately docked .5 from the score - hacks do not need cloud movement levels.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 01:13:45

Super Destructive World

Despite a seemingly very tight spin jump on the first level, this is a chill and fun hack. It does have wall jump chocolate mechanicsm, which I hate, but this hack almost endeared me to them as I learned a thing or two. As I progressed through, I turned out loving this. There was a theme of collecting retro items, like pokeballs and megaballs, which was nostalgic and fun. Good stuff.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 01:35:22

Day In The Life

Ok, this hack pushed me. The first Kaizo:Intermediate hack I've played after the new rating system, and man I felt it. But this was great. Tight setups with little room for error, saw and shell riding galore - this is a true Intermediate hack. It felt incredible to hit a level's checkpoint - which means you know this is good stuff.

Difficulty: 4.5/5

Rating: 5/5

Time: 00:00:00

NH World

Short for New Hampshire World, this hack is quite literally an ode to New Hampshire. Every level has a info box with a little anecdote about the state. Creative premise, fun, and relatively easy hack

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Quickie World - With A Vengeance

This was no Quickie World. The difference was significantly ramped up, but this was explained in the title. This plaid more like a hack edging on intermediate rather than what many consider to be the standard introductory hack. Good stuff.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Cindy World 3

Long, but easy and relatively fun hack. Lots of non rage inducing trolls. Unique boss fights and intuitive setups.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super LSG World

Continuing a streak of relatively easy hacks, this Super LSG did up the difficulty but was still an enjoyable clear. A fun, fairly difficult cape leve near the end and a final castle which had multiple paths.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

The Sweet Sweet Love

Awesome hack with probably the most creative title screen I've ever come across. Bordering on intermediate this is still an relatively beginner hack in my mind and was lots of fun.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

A Christmas Gift

A 4 level Christmas themed hack. Creative sprites which all went with the Christmas tradition and this was a fun, short, enjoyable and easy experience.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Kazue World

Contendor for hack of the year. A shell based back - setups were smoothe, intuitive yet fair. First time encountering a certain shell regrab mechanic. Awesome stuff.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 5/5

Time: 00:58:28

Super Joe Bros. 2

Long-ish sections of beginner Kaizo. Diverse and very well made hack. Easy, but a serious step up in the special world with cape tech I wasn't too familiar with.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 02:53:32

SV Practice World

First hack I've played in a different language throughout. Plays like a bit of tutorial hack that's on basic regrab and shell mechanics. Good hack.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 01:28:33

TMD

Having some deja vus yet no record of beating this hack. Dipping into intermediate territory but manageable. Short little hack, but I didn't love the high boss to normal level ratio.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Cuter Kaizo World

Insanel fun first level. No overworld - each level has introductor screen with title. Really creative and unique hack. Cuphead-esque final boss that I didn't love, but still great.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Slider World

Fun and easy hack with beginner written all over it. Very short and has a relatively steep difficulty spike at the final castle. Enjoyable.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Love Yourself

A string of one shottable levels of pure platforming. Making me realize I need to turn my attention to Intermediate hacks. Unenjoyable final rhino boss but with a beautiful message upon completion.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Beco World

Somewhat forgettable hack - longish levels, firmly intermediate, and very easy bosses despite overall level difficulty. Not too much to say here.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Toshio World

Incredible opening and heartwarming message. This felt firmly in the middle of intermediate difficulty. Really fun final castle and solid final boss makes for a fun and solid hack.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Orcus

Interesting overworld design - 3 'worlds' which can be accessed in any order. Not much difficulty spiking between them and all ending with a simple Boo boss. Hampered a bit by a very lame final Rhino boss.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Baby Kaizo World 2

Another hack of the year contender that I decided to 100%. Easy for sure, but great design throughout. The secret exits suddenly turned the game Mario for Gameboy style - very cool. Nice and easy bosses - awesome hack.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Kaizo Kidz

A solidly intermediate hack with a one screen overworld - always a bit disappointing. However, the levels themselves had beautiful backgrounds and palettes. Final boss was an old school one on steroids.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Popi World 2

A sequel to a hack I don't think exists or at least I can't find. The text was a language I couldn't recognize. Blend of typical and unique chocolate mechanics, with a boss similar to Kaizo 3 but much easier.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Husky World 2

Unlike the first one, not an open world which is a good thing. Vanilla hack consisting of tight sections with lots of regrabs. On the lower end of medium difficulty. Introduced a brand new mechanic - wall climbing.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Video World

Playing as a cute fox. This is even easier than a tutorial hack. However, weird difficulty spike at end with final two levels being in air P speed with A and B alternating regrabs.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:00:00

Cube Kaizo World

One screen overworld with a series of castles. Firmly intermediate hack focusing on chaining shell jumps - very fun. No credits, but a GG appears on overworld upon completion.

Difficulty: 4.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Everything is Not All Right

Clever title as the entire hack is entirely left in direction. Obviously not ideal and feels strange, but easy enough levels to make up for it. Art and overworld has apocalyptic vibe to it - kinda cool.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 4/5

Time: 00:00:00

Nighmare Cafe 5

Always nice to throw one of these in a set of Kaizo Hacks. Same old, same old. One screen levels somewhere in between Normal:Hard and Kaizo:Light

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Struggler World

Easy hack to re-enter Kaizo hacks. Upper end of begginer - great music, no bosses, and an easy clear.

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Super Video World

Another easy hack. A few janky setups, lack of indications, but a quick and fun clear.

Difficulty: 2/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:00:00

Quest for Milk

Not the best Lush hack ever made. Waiting sections and partly blind setups. However, short with nice music.

Difficulty: 3/5

Rating: 3/5

Time: 00:00:00

No Biggie World

The hack started out with promise but playing 'Fences' is easily up there amongst the worst Kaizo experiences I've had since starting to play these hacks around 2 years ago. The rest of the hack was ok, but that level is pure bullshit misery.

Difficulty: 4/5

Rating: 1.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Lucky

A beginner hack which should be in the intermediate category. Definitely starts easy, but progresses in difficulty enough to justify a higher difficulty. Another ok Lush hack.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 3.5/5

Time: 00:00:00

Liquid Metal

This is a contender for my favorite hack of the year thus far. It's probably a great reflection of where I'm currently at in terms of Kaizo hacks. Very difficulty and precise but inredibly rewarding.

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Rating: 4.5/5

Time: 00:00:00