Blossoming Buds

Blossoming Buds is a ROM hack created by usernamesarespiders for scuttlebug raiser's 2nd Hacking Competition, in which placed 1st.

In 2025, an expansion and sequel of this hack was released, titled Blooming Blossoms. The present levels reappear in but are majorly improved in this version.

The beginning of the Flower Festival causes Bowser to start collecting the stars. Mario must collect them before Bowser, before the Flower Festival is in peril.

Overview[]

There are 3 Stars per course, with each course having a linear style. There are no coin Stars in this hack, and Stars do not warp you out of levels or areas. The overworld is divided up into 3 areas, with each containing one course and a connected side course.

Areas[]

Main Courses[]

Name	Stars	Notes
Bright Green Field	3	Set on a cliffside for the player to climb, with palm trees and waterfalls. The water in this level is not actually water, and can be walked on like any other ground.
Marshland Majesty		This level is set over several floating islands in the sky with purple lava-falls in several locations.
Haunted Crawls		A dingy valley with purple grass, lots of shrooms, and many Boos. There are also many pits of quicksand, and a cannon to spice things up a little.

Side Courses[]

Name	Stars	Notes
Vibrant Height Hills	3	A series of tall islands for Mario to climb, with Mario's iconic eye-hills surrounding the level.
Burning-Hot Brimstone		A cave-themed level with some fun little puddles of lava. The second set of warp pipes in this level are optional, and can be skipped by wallkicking up between the white bricks.
Lava Heat Dome		A field of lava with some islands for the player to traverse, and a large stone tower in the centre.

Music[]

Used in	Track	Source	Author
File Select	Beach Theme	Super Mario 3D Land	TheGael95
Overworld 1	Training Course	Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island	Blakeoramo
Overworld 2	Sky Peak (Forest)	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky	mosky2000
Overworld 3	Mimiga Town	Cave Story	Quote
Bright Green Field	Sunshine Seaside	Super Mario 3D World	mosky2000
Marshland Majesty	Keelhaul Key	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	ToasterKetchup
Haunted Crawls	Forever Forest	Paper Mario	ShrooboidBrat
Vibrant Height Hills	Shy Guy Falls	Mario Kart 8	Pablo's Corner
Burning-Hot Brimstone	Darkmoon Caverns (Drum Solo)	Diddy Kong Racing	ShrooboidBrat
Lava Heat Dome	Flowing Lava	New Super Mario Bros.	Midoji
Bowser Fight 1 & 2	Ganondorf Battle	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	ShrooboidBrat
Final Bowser Fight	Darkblade	The Enigma TNG	ToasterKetchup DarknessKittie

Walkthrough[]

Course	Star 1	Star 2	Star 3
Bright Green Field	Located directly ahead of the Start point, inside of the grey brick hut.	Found at the end of the course, just before the warp pipe.	8 Red coin Star. Coin locations are as follows: Left of the bridge at the Start in the air Across the bridge at Start, and down on the right in a fern On the window sill of the grey brick hut, accessed by jumping onto the right side's window sills from the outside Behind the metal grating by the brick hut, accessed via an underground passageway next to the nearby Piranha Plant Under the palm tree just past the brick hut Next to the top of the stairs, above the grass slope Under the second bridge passing over a waterfall/river Under the third and final bridge just before the warp pipe, submerged in water. This Star spawns after the second bridge, down on the left.
Marshland Majesty	Past the purple lava pool with a curved wooden bridge.	After the curved wooden bridge behind the red coin Star's spawn location; before the warp pipe at the end of the course.	Red coin Star. Coin locations are as follows: On the wooden crescent platform at the start On one of the three platforms in the first pond Underwater in the first pond Up the slope to the right of the first pond, in front of a purple lava-fall At the end of a wooden platform after the first pond On a floating platform over the lava pond, next to the curved wooden bridge Up at the Start of the path that climbs the mountain after the first Star After jumping through the first warp pipe, the final red coin is on one of three platforms in the lava The Star spawns on land just after the last coin.
Haunted Crawls	Reached via the cannon on an island above blue quicksand.	Found just before the final warp pipe for this level.	Red coin Star. Coin locations are as follows: In the first water pool, underwater on the right Under a tree next to the first Mr I. At the start of the path that follows up the cliff face After the first Star, reached via a cannon There is a coin on an island to the left of a path crossing over quicksand... ...And another coin an an island to the right of this path After jumping into the wooden well, there is a coin next to the well you emerge from There is a curved path above a quicksand pit before the final warp pipe- the last coin is located on an island to the right of this path (can be reached via a long jump) The red coin Star spawns on an island to the left of the aforementioned path.
Vibrant Height Hills	Found on a floating island near the end of the maze of wooden platforms.	Located at the end of the area, just before the warp pipe that leads to Bowser.	All 8 red coins are located in the maze of floating wooden platforms. The red coin Star spawns near the middle of this maze.
Burning-Hot Brimstone	Past the second lava pool with switch boxes to cross, in front of a metal grate wall.	In the final cave room with towering lava and floating platforms, the second Star is located at the top of this room in front of the warp pipe. that leads to Bowser.	Red coin Star. Coin locations are as follows: On a stepping stone in the first lava pool On a floating purple wooden platform after the first lava pool Past the first Star on a stepping stone in a lava pool, just before a warp pipe On the floating wooden platforms after entering the first warp pipe After the wooden platforms, in a lava pool on a large stepping stone After the second set of warp pipes, in front of a metal grate to the right of an entranceway (this coin could be seen but not obtained at a much earlier point in the level) In the large room with towering lava and floating platforms, there is a coin in the centre of the metal grate flooring, and another coin at the back of this room The red coin Star spawns in the aforementioned room, on the lowest floating platform.
Lava Heat Dome	On the fourth island to the right of a tree.	At the top of the stone tower, before the final warp pipe that leads to the final Bowser fight.	Red coin Star. Coin locations are as follows: On the second island to the right of the lava pool On an optional island near the start featuring a striped tower, there is a coin behind this tower On the third floating island (not including the optional island) under a wooden platform On a large fork-shaped wooden platform after the first Star, there are two red coins located on the left and right prongs of the fork On the island after the fork-shaped wooden platform On the wiggly wooden platform that leads to the stone tower, the final red coin can be found here. The red coin Star spawns on the aforementioned wiggly platform.