12 of the craziest Mario hacks

THE IMPOSSIBLE

Hard Relay Mario

A hacked version of: Super Mario Bros.

What makes it crazy: How to make a difficult Mario hack, step 1: Make glitches a requirement to beating the game. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit. Just looking at the starting screen perplexes us; we’re not accustomed to using wall-jumps and inexplicable mid-air jumps, as well as running through blocks just to progress through a stage. Even the flags at the end of each level are designed to kill you; Hard Relay is almost like a Mario puzzle game, where you need to decipher which glitch will let you inch closer towards victory.

Our favorite part: When World 1-2 kicks off at 1:42, you’ve only got 100 precious seconds to traverse the MASSIVELY glitchy stage. Good luck!

Item Abuse

A hacked version of: Super Mario World

What makes it crazy: Instead of playing this hack, you might just want to smash your hands with a ball-peen hammer – it’ll likely save you time and frustration. In order to beat this game, you must have encyclopedic knowledge of the mechanics and inner workings to Super Mario World, on top of the skill needed to carry out your master plans. It also features what has to be the most absurdly grueling final boss of any Mario hack – and that’s saying something.

Our favorite part: 2:18 to 2:25: WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

Lucas Sullivan

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.