Reimagined
Release date: Apr 17, 2016
Author: SavageWizzrobe
Download: Version 1.5, Unheadered (1536 downloads)
Genre: Exploration [?]
Game: SM
Difficulty: Veteran [?]
Average runtime: 6:29
Average collection: 72%
Read Me: [None]
Forum Thread: Release Thread
Rating: Star Star Star Star Star
Awards:
  • Top Hacks 2016: Best Exploration
Description
A hack I started working on in 2013 while messing around with SMILE. This hack is a balance of being authentic to the look and feel of the original, but with a new world map, new item progression, some custom code, and other, smaller changes.
Difficulty-wise, Reimagined is a bit harder than the original mainly on the exploration front. There is also a short heat run (optional if you're good at wallumping) and navigating part of Maridia without Gravity. Some basic walljumping, bomb jumping, and midair morphing is required. Shinesparking is required for 100%. Infinite bomb jumping, mockball, opening gates from the wrong side, and short charging aren't required. If you've beaten the original with 100% at least once, Reimagined should be doable without savestates.
Some sequence breaking is possible.
Screenshots
Screenshot Screenshot Screenshot
Ratings and Reviews
By dcr on Jun 29, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
78% in 7:11
Great hack. Nicely designed hack that engages the player to look hard to find its well hidden secrets. If you're the type who likes to truly explore and find everything hidden in every nook and cranny, then this hack is for you. Overall this hack flows really well and has great level design.
By MetroidMst on Jul 28, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
51% in 4:22
I would say this is a slightly above average hack. It offers a large world with plenty of secrets and hidden items. However, there are a few aggravating instances of being completely lost without any direction. The seeming lack of short paths means running wild over a long distance to find out you really aren't where you need to be at, and that adds some tedium the hack could really do without.

The hack does stay very vanilla with it's tile work. Some of the hidden pathways are worthy of facepalms, and advancing onward after finding one of the required hidden paths usually doesn't offer enough satisfaction to warrant how hidden the path was.

I would also say there are a few unfair spots. To get the most enjoyment out of the hack, you'll probably want to be a pretty good player in the first place, otherwise I would suggest tackling some easier hacks first, then coming back to this one. I do give this a recommendation for those seeking a pretty good hack with a lot of exploration.
By Lenophis on Jul 28, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
52% in 5:17
This review is based on v03 of the hack.

This hack was a nice breath of fresh air. It didn't try to destroy you with unfair difficulty. Major upgrades are spread out fairly well. It's a very large hack, that for a first-timer is put together extremely well. There are opportunity for sequence breaks if you know where to look, but they're not obvious unless you're paying attention.

However, the hack is super-saturated with "you must find the secret to continue" type passages. Some are arbitrary enough that even if you're paying attention, you likely won't notice them. It reeks of NEStroid in that sense, but probably worse since the hack is much larger. If those types of needed discoveries were dropped by about 20%, the hack would flow much more nicely.

Nine of us got together to do a blind race, and it evolved into everyone helping each other find things and getting everyone through it.

Overall, I do recommend giving it a go, but I caution the player to be patient. It's a Redesign-level of big, but with some elbow grease very completable. Props to Savage.
By Dynastyx on Jul 31, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
82% in 6:05
Fantastic hack! Version 04.

Great item progression, huge map, top level design and a lot of secrets. Very vanilla design, backtracking included. Bosses aren't sponges and upgrades feel rewarding.

Exploration is key for this hack so pay attention to details when stuck. I never needed the X-ray to find my way, but some expansions are well hidden.

Best find of 2016, well done SavageWizzrobe!
By RT-55J on Sep 03, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
68% in 6:35
I'm becoming a crotchety old man losing his patience for vanilla-style sprawl-fests. You did good work, bud, but this ain't my taste anymore.

The overall map strikes me as very disjointed. Still, in spite of everything of interest being hidden behind some sort of fake/shootable wall/ceiling, there is a certain logic to how the gameworld and navigational puzzles are arranged. For instance, in many cases when you run into a dead end, the path ahead is hidden a handful of screens behind (or in plain sight). Eventually you'll start to be able to read the author's mind, and things will start running a bit more smoothly.

Even so, progression felt overly slow for my tastes, and the world just wasn't compelling enough to keep my interest. (Another issue is that being in school kills my motivation for longform entertainment, but that's beside the point.) By the time I beat Draygon, I was just wishing the hack was over. Fortunately, will say that everything after getting the Screw Attack was smooth sailing for me, so in a sense my wish did come true.

In other words, I give this 2 points for fun, and 1 point because Ridley was kind enough to get himself trapped in a corner just for me.

(Review based on v1.4)
By Vismund Cygnus on Sep 11, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
By SacredHooves on Sep 12, 2016 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 5:15
Okay so first hack rating: let's do this some justice.

So I've now done three separate runs for this hack: two for 1.0 and one for 1.4, I will be discuss 1.4

Layout: Very good, but still somewhat confusing on where to go sometimes. As it does take some ques from Redesign it can seem somewhat chore-ish to get through.

Difficulty: Aside from running around stupid until you find what you need, I'd call it balanced

Pathing: Very Redesign heavy with going to one end and then another just to get to areas and items you need, also the heated run wasn't bad but its kinda redundant you need to go back and around to get a few items.

Overview: All together Reimagined manages to take a fresh look into Super Metroid, but at the same time it feels stale because it rips a lot of call backs to both the Metroid Series and Redesign. Even with the updates it still feels a bit too much. The map setup is just an endless guessing game when your new, and even when your better at it you still feel lost.

This really starts to hit home by the time your ready for Phantoon, and even worse after you get Power Bombs and finding Draygon. Worse thing in hand is the fact that almost 50% of the items are hidden in rooms where you'd NEVER think to look. I know Metroid is suppose to be a good luck finding it all, but todays Metroids atleast give you a map or a signal to find all the items. The fact that the author of this hack took the time to hide some items, and removed the little 'look here' dot just made 100%ing this NOT worth the waste of time.

With that in mind though, I give this my official score of 2/5 because there is a lot of things I didn't like, but there was JUST enough forgiveness to compel me to finish and attempt a speed run
By kojakt on Feb 11, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
It's hard for me to be critical of Reimagined. There's a healthy amount of exploration. It doesn't force the player to be unreasonably knowledgeable or skilled to complete the game. It takes the standard Super Metroid formula and puts it to good use. My opinion is that the core objective of a hack is to be fun, and I think Reimagined accomplishes this. I think it is in the upper tier of very good hacks, and falls just short of great, and that's because it doesn't seem to attempt to be unique. This, of course, is a very subjective criticism, but it is the one thing that keeps this hack from really standing out, from my perspective. With that said, I really did enjoy the pace of the game and the high potential for sequence-breaking, which I may actually look into one day, and would recommend others do as well. I'd recommend this hack for anyone who's beaten the original game more than once. 8/10
By chozen-one on Apr 13, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
% in 8:15
This being the first SM hack that I've played from start to finish, I am not disappointed.

The only thing I would complain about is game progression is a little confusing at times, but again, this is my first hack from start to finish. The musicless planet surface with thunder/rain is one of my favorite things. Just creates a feeling that can't be matched, like you actually just landed on the surface.


I also got the stuck Ridley bug, but I was wanting to finish up at this point anyway so it sped up that battle.
By Pixel_Tiger on Jul 15, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
73% in 7:11
Good hack with a few shortcomings but the overall experience was good. If you're able to beat the main game then you should be able to beat this hack aswell. Some areas were a bit too large in my opinion. Also i finished this with just 5 e-tanks... I might've missed em even tho they were quite obvious or they are just too well hidden, anyway 5 e-tanks and 3 reserve is all you need!!
By LadyRena on Aug 22, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
62% in 8:24
Alright, I'll be honest. I've played pretty much every major overhaul/expansion hack listed on this site. I have never rated one before - I've never felt my input would be worth much. But this hack? It frustrated me, to the point where I really feel I need to air my feelings and calm down.

So...like, maybe I'm just an impatient and unobservant player or something? But I felt lost CONSTANTLY. I was never quite able to understand what the author wanted me to look for, spending unnecessary amounts of time searching for the path forward. I spent a solid hour of my time simply trying to comprehend the setup to obtaining the Varia Suit, and I mistakenly felt I was expected to heatrun Norfair at that point. I don't remember where I got the ice beam or how I managed to crawl back to the Varia Suit's location, and honestly? I never even found the Plasma Beam. I had to complete the game wondering if it was even there...I felt like I was being laughed while I was scrubbing walls with bombs, holding left or right and praying for a secret passage. I genuinely felt like the author was playing a prank on me for believing I was going to understand this hack and get through it with any enjoyment at times.

But what really ground my gears here, were the missile packs. Dear lord, the missile packs...I was rewarded with a measly missile expansion for defeating Ridley! Is it too much to ask that major battles reward you with something better than 5 more missiles? Because honestly, sometimes, I felt like the author was making rooms for the sole purpose of placing a missile pack in them - a few times, I felt like I was being prodded at for expecting anything else. With so many packs lying around, there was hardly a need for more...

...I digress. Despite all these angry complaints, once I finally found those hidden tunnels, things tended to flow smoothly for a little while. I enjoyed finding those small, hidden spaces, even when I was constantly disappointed that they contained nothing but missiles again and again.

Lastly, as a minor gripe which is more personal - I felt like every Power Bomb expansion I came across was locked behind PB blocks, as opposed to like...actually HIDDEN. I also felt I had an unnecessary amount of Power Bombs in total, as you rarely need them for anything other than opening yellow doors.

Overall, I think this was a decent hack that just didn't click with me very well. I rate it highly for the creativity in hiding passages and the feeling of exploration I think I WOULD have had, if I could understand what was going on around me.

ITEMS @ TIME OF ESCAPE:
=EXPANSION SETS=
Energy Tanks: 6
Reserve Tanks: 3
Missiles: 140
Super Missiles: 30
Power Bombs: 25
=SUITS=
Varia
Gravity
=BEAMS=
Charge
Ice
Wave
Spazer
=MISC=
Morph Ball
Bomb
Spring Ball
Screw Attack
=BOOTS=
Hi Jump
Space Jump
Speed Booster
By Aran;Jaeger on Aug 25, 2017 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 6:24
[Watch Video]  
Animals saved.

Quick Summary of the meaning of my SM hack ratings:
5 orbs: SM hacks within the 80% to 100% (90% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; SM hacks for outstanding wholesome playing experiences and at most minor inconveniences.
4 orbs: SM hacks within the 60% to 80% (70% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Well done SM hacks with noticeable design problems.
3 orbs: SM hacks within the 40% to 60% (50% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Normal decent average SM hacks.
2 orbs: SM hacks within the 20% to 40% (30% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Overall messy, confusing, or punishing SM hacks with some upsides.
1 orb : SM hacks within the 00% to 20% (10% ± 10%) range of perceived perfection; Ruthlessly unplayable, broken, or barely from the original game changed SM hacks.

Judgement parameters summary:
° Creative ideas and features, polished design, how enjoyable and fun the hack can be, lack of hard to find or cryptic required game elements, the difficulty, and if the hack can be finished without major guides or tools.
° Note that the length of a SM hack will not necessarily contribute to my rating of the SM hack, since instead the averaged out experience over the whole hack will be taken into account to get a relative comparison between SM hacks.
° Besides this, lack of impactful changes from the original SM game also went into the evaluation of SM hacks (otherwise one may consider them among the 3 stars hacks) as follows: Ultimately, for my ratings I consider a situation in which an SM enthusiast that already has, knows about and is familiar with the original game and its prominent mechanics could only choose 1 new SM hack to play and thus would really want to make sure he/she will get a fresh and fantastic experience or journey out of his/her 1 choice.

The goal of all these SM hack ratings is so that rather new players have an overview of the whole spectrum of SM hacks and how to sort them in, in relation to each other, where SM hacks that are rated lower might still be enjoyable for more experienced players.

Finally, sometimes for SM hacks it can be relevant that they may be significantly more enjoyable from a player standpoint at which the player is well practiced and familiarized with Super Metroid's game mechanics in general, and that in particular some of the best SM hacks may not be the outright best first SM hack choices to play otherwise because of this, and for beginner SM hack players this typically steers the best first SM hack choices towards some of the SM hacks that I rated with 4 orbs instead of 5.

Rating for some hacks may be off by 1 Star, but arguably not more, and ratings are not attempted to be provided within the precision of ''half orbs''.
By MSlayer on May 21, 2019 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
So, I make it into Maridia, only to find out that I'm unable to jump high enough to morph through a high beam, to shoot a super missile door open-Leading to the snake boss, the gravity suit, and a power bomb. I've tried running all the way back to Samus' ship location, to enter Maradia from a super missile door located high up top, only to get into Maridia, to be held back by a door that only activates from the other side.

Soooooo, I can't proceed.

Odd Phantoon battle, btw-Having to shoot so many of those blue eye things for additional health.
By PHOSPHOTiDYL on Dec 31, 2019 (Star Star Star Star Star )
58% in 5:18
Finding secret passages buried in the sands of maridia is pretty fun.
Got lost a lot, didn't find many e-tanks, also didn't run into gold torizo or screw attack..

Thankz for the hack!
By Syphon on Apr 18, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
77% in 4:40
(1.5 review)

This hack is pretty much what I imagined most Metroid hacks would be when I first started getting into rom hacks in 2013. I was simply looking for "more Super Metroid but different layout". This hack delivered and is a very good vanilla-style Super Metroid hack.

I didn't have too much trouble finding all the major items and never really felt lost. However I did Wrecked Ship without Grapple which I believe I was supposed to have at that point. Props to the author for not blocking the player from going off the intended path.
Optional items were well hidden. I missed a good number of E-Tanks and ammo.

I fully recommend this hack.
By alexman25 on Apr 21, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
Good hack, play
By SeanCass on Apr 29, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
60% in 6:48
Not bad, but way too many little holes and non-solid walls that power bombs or xray don't help you with, as well as far too many blind jumps and enemies swooping in/jumping at you from offscreen.

Way too many instances of going through a door and it locking behind me. I can't overstate this. I see many folks here complaining about not having a sense of direction in this hack, and while at times I did feel this, I felt it to be reasonable given my situation and where I was. I'm unsure if this was the proposed solution to helping players feel less lost, but doors locking behind me to force me in a direction was frustrating. Probably more frustrating that just being lost and unsure if I'm moving towards progress.

I think I didn't do the intended boss route nor did I ever find Gold Torizo. Props for allowing multiple boss orders and entry points to places.

The most enjoyable feature of the hack was the amazing amount of utility speedbooster had. Really nailed it. It was very rewarding just trying to spark in different places often finding a new door leading to uncharted grounds. It was by far the driving factor to keep me playing.

Overall it was fun.
By Sickwood on Oct 30, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
I've been on the periphery for a long time, but actually made an account to rate this hack specifically. I still don't know why, but this Vanilla hack was a lot of fun. I found the exploration and item finding to be very rewarding and within the first 30 minutes I was motivated to find 100%. I still haven't found 2 missile packs and 1 e-tank and every once and awhile boot up a save file trying to find them. Like others have mentioned, it can be difficult to find the right path, but I never got frustrated and I've been lost way longer in other hacks. It's hacks like this that assure me that Vanilla hacks can still be a thing. It was kind of like a less intricate Z-factor. Great hack, definitely recommend.
By caauyjdp on Dec 16, 2020 (Star Star Star Star Star )
77% in 8:34
Well made, but kind of plain? Would really benefit from a better map, navigating through the hack was kind of tiresome, having to check map often and having to turn around because you've taken wrong elevator to the area.
By Kandier on Mar 04, 2021 (Star Star Star Star Star )
73% in 12:50
I remember an impossible Shinespark challenge in Norfair & I couldn't access in a couple rooms in Maridia, most areas are very fine but some are too tedious & boring especially in Maridia & Crateria, also I didn't get the Screw Attack & I was not interested in getting it, if the map screen showed the room's hallways similar to Hyper Metroid or Super Metroid: Escape II, that would help a lot, the escape was confusing & annoying, I didn't rescue the animals due to lack of time, & finally... it forces you to go underwater... the worst... those areas aren't funny
By Kremit44 on Aug 13, 2021 (Star Star Star Star Star )
75% in 6:06
I think this hack is very underrated I hummed between a 4 and a 5 but settled on the 5 as it's underappreciated IMO. It's tougher than vanilla but not by a whole lot. It does nothing special but it does mostly everything right and it's a large experience. Larger than the vast majority of hacks which makes it scope more impressive than what it is on first blush. It's a complete "reimagining" of the world which is always the most important thing a hack can do.

My biggest complaints would be the map could be a slog to traverse through with areas bottlenecked and not quick to get through if just passing by. Also the progression can be tough to figure out but the game tends to give you a hint if you're going the wrong way and leaving an area too soon. If you're damage boosting off spikes or running through acid to leave an area it means you need to look better. It was largely very fair if you're paying attention as the player. I think suitless Maridia went on a little too long.

Overall an excellent and underappreciated hack that I was happy to play. It's not perfect and it's vanilla but it's large and well designed overall for a very impressive experience. Thanks to the creator and all who may have helped.
By Zhs2 on Dec 02, 2021 (Star Star Star Star Star )
71% in 6:21
While DMantra hasn't officially reviewed this hack, the most apt description I can think to give it is in his words: "I was fine with its whateverness, it was just more Super Metroid to spend my night on." And you know what? That's exactly what it is. Moreso is it like Redesign minus Drewseph, but at its core it is another Zebes from another timeline to explore and uncover. It is correctly labelled "Veteran" difficulty, as there are many scenarios where walljumping is required and many, many expansions are hidden off of map squares you will need to search thoroughly to enter, but it is by no means challenging, nor is it frustrating to progress through the major item chain. Filling out the map in complete pink is enough to uncover roughly 70% of the items, and that's all you need to beat the game. No bosses seem altered for difficulty. It really was just more Super Metroid to spend my night on, and that's exactly what it aims to be. Definitely recommend a playthrough if you're good at the original game.
By Sapphron on Feb 13, 2022 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
Vanilla-style full hack. It's actually pretty good, more than I used to give it credit for. I think finding Ice was quite hard for some reason. Item puzzles are good and stuff. Brinstar was bigger than I'd like it to be personally, maybe some other areas deserved some love. I remember Norfair being pretty weird too. But, if you're looking for a full hack similar to vanilla you're in the right place.
Finished.
Recommend.

retroactively rated
By Zincoshine on Sep 03, 2022 (Star Star Star Star Star )
No completion stats.
Best exploration/metroidvania hack in 2016? This? Arrival is clearly a much better metroidvania than this despite Arrival's faults.
By Tundain on Feb 12, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
66% in 4:25
Really great vanilla hack. The world is bigger than vanilla (especially crateria) giving you a lot to explore, which is very nice. A few touches of m1 level design here and there.
Progression wasn't very obvious, i got supers early, and i have no clue on what the intended way was to get to powerbombs.
Also sometimes you're travelling really far only to find a minor pickup like a missile, but that's really not so bad.
There are some nice qol changes here and there.
Overall, a very decent vanilla hack that succeeds at being vanilla.
Recommended
By RX-78-2 on May 23, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
100% in 4:16
one of the best full hacks I've played, along with redesign and phazon and a few others that I can't remember the names of atm.. I really like this hack, it's pretty cool and fun to play through.. 10/10 would recommend
By neen on Sep 01, 2023 (Star Star Star Star Star )
47% in 5:42
i enjoy an off center door as much as the next person but if you do it all over the place it doesn't feel as special

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