12 of the craziest Mario hacks

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“Mamma mia” just doesn’t cover it

THE UPLIFTING

Kumikyoku “Nico Nico Douga”

A hacked version of: Super Mario World

What makes it crazy: Not every Mario hack is designed to whittle one’s soul away until it's utterly destroyed – some build up your spirits instead. Automatic Marios are levels designed to play themselves; without a single input, Mario will zoom about each level in time to some rad music. This one’s set in tune to a medley of popular Nico Nico Douga videos (essentially Japan’s YouTube), clocking in at an insane 11 minutes of precisely-placed “notes” to play along with the song. Bonus points if you can name the tune each melody hails from.

Our favorite part: The sick koopa-stomping bassline that drops at 5:07.

Automatic Mario - Little Busters!

A hacked version of: Super Mario World

What makes it crazy: Think it’s difficult syncing up one Mario level with a song? How about four at once? We cannot even imagine how long it took to put this together, but we’re eternally grateful for its creator’s time and effort. With each level acting as a “part” for the guitar, drums, bass, and vocals, each changing their role constantly, it warps the mind trying to figure out how this was planned out so perfectly. If poppy Japanese rock isn’t really your thing, you can always go with the equally impressive Auto-Mario rendition of Queen’s Don't Stop Me Now.

Our favorite part: We try to use the word “epic” as sparingly as we can – but no other word could so perfectly encapsulate the amazing moment at 2:21.

Lucas Sullivan
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.