In this article, I will show you how to apply .ips files (ROM Hacks) to SNES ROMs which will enable you to play SNES ROM Hacks. In order to play a SNES ROM Hack, you need to download the ROM Hack (Which will be a .ips file) and apply this file (known as a patch) to the original SNES ROM file.
There are two ways that you can apply this patch to a SNES ROM file, I will show you both methods. Below is a video I created on youtube which shows you the process.
How To Apply .ips Files (ROM Hacks) To SNES Roms
In this article I am going to show you how to play the Super Mario Kart R hack. First thing you need to do is head over to romhacking.net and download a rom hack for the super nintendo. For this guide I am using Super Mario Kart R. Once you have downloaded a game unzip the game and you should have two files.
- d4s_mario_kart_r_v11.ips
- readme.txt
The d4s_mario_kart_r_v11.ips file is the ROM Hack / Patch. The readme.txt will contain information we will need to patch the game. Open the readme.txt file, In here it will tell us what SNES ROM we will need to use. I can see we will need the “Super Mario Kart(U) ROM” with version 1.0.
Now we have all the files there are two ways we can play this SNES Hack, Start with Method 1 and if that does not work try method 2.
Method 1 To Play SNES ROM Hacks
You will need to copy the Super Mario Kart(U) ROM file into the same folder as the d4s_mario_kart_r_v11.ips file. Now you will need to rename both files to have the same name but different files extensions as below.
- Super Mario Kart(U).ips
- Super Mario Kart(U).rom
Now using your favorite emulator (If you are unsure which emulator to use check out this article) open the “Super Mario Kart(U).rom” file and the Super Mario Kart R SNES Rom Hack should play.
If method 1 does not work for all Rom hacks, If it did not work for you we will need to patch the ROM file as shown in method 2.
Method 2 To Play SNES ROM Hacks
To patch the Super Mario Kart R Rom Hack we will need to download the Lunar IPS application from here Once downloaded unzip the file and double click on “Lunar IPS.exe” Now click on “Apply IPS Patch” a windows explorer box will now pop up, you will need to select the “Super Mario Kart(U).ips” first, then select the “Super Mario Kart(U).rom” file.
Next, a message will pop up saying “The file was successfully patched!” Now close down the Lunar IPS application. Now using your favorite emulator (If you are unsure which emulator to use check out this article) open the “Super Mario Kart(U).rom” file and the Super Mario Kart R SNES Rom Hack should play.
How To Apply .ips Files (ROM Hacks) To SNES Roms Q and A
Question: I tried both methods above and they don’t work?
Answer: If you are still having issues then it is most likely because you have the wrong version of the ROM. The SNES ROM files are region-based (Japan, Europe, and the US) and they also have version numbers (v1.0, v1.1, v2.0, and so on)
Question: Where is the best place to download SNES ROM Hacks?
Answer: The best site I know of is RomHacking.net please let me know if you are aware of any other good sites.
Question: What is a SNES ROM Hack?
Answer: This is a hack of the original game. For example in “Super Mario Kart R,” the developer has taken the original Super Mario Kart game and has changed the Toad character to Kirby and also changed the layout of some of the tracks. Some ROM Hacks change the characters/sounds/level within the game, some slightly, some hacks create completely new games such as Zelda Parallel Worlds. Other Hacks translates game text to English which means we can not understand and play some games we couldn’t before.
Question: What is a SNES ROM Hack Patch?
Answer: The patch is the code for the hack which is applied to the original SNES Rom which enables the SNES ROM Hack to work.
Question: What is “Auto Patching” or “Soft Patching”
Answer: That is method 1 I went over where you don’t need to edit the files just copy them into a folder and rename both the .ips and .rom files the same name.
Question: What is “Hard Patching”
Answer: That is when you need to patch the .rom file with the .ips file using the Lunar IPS application as shown in method 2.
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