Mario X World Chronicle is one of those weird, unofficial SNES hacks that somehow feels both familiar and totally off. You start off thinking it's just another Mario World romhack, but then the level design throws curveballs—some clever, some just brutal. The physics feel a little janky at first, like someone tweaked the gravity just enough to mess with your muscle memory.

It’s got that classic 16-bit look, but with enough new sprites and palette swaps to keep you guessing. Found myself laughing at some of the enemy placements—who thought putting a Hammer Bro right after that narrow jump was a good idea? It’s the kind of hack that’ll test your patience if you’re used to vanilla Mario, but there’s a weird charm to its roughness.

Not gonna lie, I died way more than I expected in the first world. You’ll either love it or rage-quit by the third level.