Editing ROM image (section)

=== Hacks and fan translations ===
{{Main article|Fan translation of video games|ROM hacking}}

Once games have been made available in ROM format, it is possible for users to make modifications. This may take the form of altering graphics, changing game levels, tweaking difficulty factor, or even translation into a language for which a game was not originally made available. [[ROM hacking|Hack]]s can often take humorous forms, as is the case with a hack of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] version of ''[[Mario Bros.]]'', titled ''Afro Mario Brothers'', which features the famous brothers wearing [[Afro|Afro haircut]]s. The ''Metroid Redesign'' mod is a hack of ''[[Super Metroid]]'' that revamps the game and adds new objectives.

A large scene has developed to translate games into other languages. Many games receive a release in one part of the world, but not in another. For example, many [[role-playing video game]]s released in [[Japan]] go unreleased in the West and East outside Japan. A group of [[Fan translation|fan translator]]s will often translate the game themselves to meet demand for titles. For example, the 1995 game ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' was only officially released in Japan; DeJap Translations translated the game's on-screen text into English in 2001. Further to this, a project called [http://topping.zophar.net/vop/ Vocals of Phantasia] was begun to translate the actual speech from the game. An official English version was not released until March 2006, some five years after the text translation was released. Another example was that of Mother 3, a Japan-only sequel to the cult-favorite [[EarthBound (series)|Earthbound]]. In spite of massive fan response and several petitions for an English translation, the only response from Nintendo was that Mother 3 would be translated and released in Europe, which it never was. Instead, the fan website Starmen.net undertook a massive [[translation project]] and released the translated version of Mother 3 in October, 2008. The translation was praised by fans and even employees from Nintendo, Square Enix, and other industry professionals.

The Japanese [[Nintendo 64|N64]] game ''Dōbutsu no Mori'' (Animal Forest) has also been translated into English. The game was originally only released on N64 in Japan, but it was ported to [[GameCube]] and renamed [[Animal Crossing (video game)|Animal Crossing]].

Hacks may range from simple tweaks such as graphic fixes and cheats, to full-blown redesigns of the game, in effect creating an entirely new game using the original as a base.