Why is Super Mini Mario such a good homebrew?

April 14th, 2006, 20:24 Posted By: DraconumPB

Recently I've discovered Super Mini Mario by Arguru and PSP3D ( http://PSP3D.com with many mods availible at http://pspsmm.com) and I'd like to discuss why it is not only popular but an excellent homebrew to boot.

1. Super Mini Mario has fairly low overhead for what it is.

In other words, it doesn't take up a lot of space. That's a GOOD THING when ROMs and Emus take several MB at times, and when not everybody owns a 4 GB MS!

2. Super Mini Mario is very moddable. Anything from new art to new music to new levels can be done.

This is one of the biggest selling points of SMM - it can be modded by ANYONE with very, very little knowledge. I made a level the other day in like 15 minutes, and I have no real coding knowledge other than web dev and some C++ - not that it was necessary.

The other good thing about this isn't just customization, but the fact that you can expand SMM to have as many levels as you want.. you can download them, create them yourself, etc.!

3. MANY mods are already availible and cover alot of popular characters and franchises.

So far we have a Chocobo mod, several Sonic mods (for different characters), Pokemon mods, Halo mods... and of course more on the way I'm sure. All of these are also not just cosmetic, but also contain new levels.

4. SMM is great for playing on the go!

It's just one of those simple and fun games that isn't shallow enough to get boring but not deep enough to deter you from playing in a few minutes of your spare time.

5. SMM works on any firmware.

Indeed, SMM works on any firmware up to 2.6 to the very best of my knowledge. This isn't true with every program these days so it does count as a selling point in my book.

6. SMM is original on a technical level.

SMM isn't a 'port' of Mario - the engine is brand-new. That's why it's so easy to create mods based on any franchise (or, yet to be seen - an original idea, haha) imaginable.

7. SMM has the potential to keep growing through FANS of the software, not just devs!

This is a big point. Since anybody can mod it, anybody can contribute to content for the game.. there's already a fan-created level pack on the website I linked to of 25 levels. This also helps prevent SMM from becoming stale like so many homebrew releases sadly do after the dev either works on newer projects or no longer has time to do coding...

I'd have to say, next to Quake, this is the only homebrew on my MS right now! I just think that SMM is going to keep growing, at least for awhile. What are your guys's thoughts and feedback on this homebrew 'series'?

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