Koopa Cold Snap is a ROM hack created by kfp for the in, which it placed 57th.
This is a short hack made for Simpleflips' 2024 slide hack competition. It's my first hack so it's pretty bare-bones: one slide level with four stars on branching paths, plus a 50-coin star.
Gameplay[]
This hack contains one level with five Stars to collect, including a coin Star that requires the player collect 50 coins. After collecting a Star, Mario will be warped back to the starting point, without the option to save the player's progress.
Mario's lives counter and his HP have both been disabled. If Mario dies, he is warped back to the level's starting point. Any coins collected will be retained. The pause menu no longer displays the option to exit the course.
Upon starting the game, the player will spawn into this hack's only level, which takes place in the course 1 area ID. Nearby at the top of the slide is a Koopa NPC, who explains to Mario that the weather has become so cold that they need to run in place to stay warm. The Koopa requests that Mario collect some Power Stars so that the Koopa can power their space heater, and states that it will require five Stars.
After collecting all five Stars, the player will be warped to a different area where the Koopa can be seen bathing in a plume of fire. After talking to the Koopa, the player is immediately warped the endscreen.
Stars[]
The level consists of a slide that periodically branches off to different paths, with each new path being indicated by large red arrows.
Star 1[]
The first branching path is right after the start, and is indicated by an arrow pointing upwards. To reach the upper path, the player needs to burn Mario on the cyan patch of ice in front of the arrow. After a short section of slide, the player needs to burn Mario again and use the momentum to bounce across a high wall with a blue coin on it; the top of this wall is covered in quicksand, so the player needs to drop down onto the next section of slide below before the quicksand's collision takes effect.
After that, the slide spirals down into one loop, and has two platforms made of burning ice that are intended to help the player get enough height to land on the nearby platform with the Star. However, it may be easier to jump off the slide before it loops around, then wallkick up between the two cliff faces to reach the Star.
Star 2[]
The second branching path requires the player to wallkick off of a cliff face to reach a higher platform. After that, there's a section of slide that dips down into a steep slope, from which the player needs to jump to clear the chasm and wallkick up between the cliff faces to reach the Star. On the two cliffs near the Star, there are two coin rings.
Star 3[]
The third branching path requires the player veer off to the left and between two cliffs. Then, they can get a Koopa shell from the box on the platform, and start navigating across the large 3D shapes to reach the Star on the circular platform.
Star 4[]
The fourth Star does not require the player follow any branching paths. Instead, a timer will start when Mario crosses a green square on the slide, and begin counting down. Should the player run out of time, Mario will be instantly killed.
To lengthen the timer, Mario needs to collect 1UPs as he goes down the slide, which become more plentiful as he gets closer to the end. As long as Mario reaches the end before the timer runs out, the Star will spawn.
Coin Star[]
The final Star is obtained by collecting 50 coins. The majority of coins in this level are in coin formations on the earlier parts of the level; there aren't many on the path to the final Star. An extra 16 coins can be obtained by wallkicking up to the top of the cliffs, as described above for the second Star.
There is also a small ledge on the side of the cliff behind Mario's starting point that can be reached with a longjump, where a retextured coin worth two coins can be collected next to a Goomba NPC.
Gallery[]
