12-15-2009, 04:07 PM
There is this one Mario game you've never played before: Super Mario Bros. Special. It is a game by Hudson Soft for the PC-88 and Sharp X1 microcomputers, which were never released outside of Japan. This game was released before SMB2J - that means it is the true sequel to Super Mario Bros. It also reintroduced enemies and hazards from Donkey Kong and Mario Bros., meaning you had to also fight Sidesteppers, Fighter Flies, and fireballs (Trouble Bug). However, Mario also had some new powerups at his disposal: the Hammer from Donkey Kong, and the Wing which lets Mario "swim" in midair.
In the Sharp X1 version's ROM, the tiles are stored in a format that graphic editors can't handle. However, I was able to modify the tmspec.xml file in Tile Molester to enable support for the format, which I labeled as 3bpp composite (1bpp+1bpp+1bpp). I then figured out the palette, and thus created what are probably the very first Sharp X1 graphic rips ever:
![[Image: smbs_tiles.png]](/image.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fholenet.info%2Fjunks%2Fdumpster%2Fsmbs_tiles.png&hash=3f431a2326ede2c4b12430d88904f2a3)
Unorganized because it's raw, but the overall technical achievement is badass. I will have to organize these later. Also, the sprites aren't visible in the ROM... I will have to pull the file apart later.
In the Sharp X1 version's ROM, the tiles are stored in a format that graphic editors can't handle. However, I was able to modify the tmspec.xml file in Tile Molester to enable support for the format, which I labeled as 3bpp composite (1bpp+1bpp+1bpp). I then figured out the palette, and thus created what are probably the very first Sharp X1 graphic rips ever:
Unorganized because it's raw, but the overall technical achievement is badass. I will have to organize these later. Also, the sprites aren't visible in the ROM... I will have to pull the file apart later.