When it comes to New Super Mario Bros mods, the DS one has generally always gotten the short end of the stick. Okay, there was Newer Super Mario Bros in 2017 or so, but that’s about it. The game hasn’t had too many crazy overhauls in the same sense as the Wii game, let alone more commonly modded games like Super Mario World or Super Mario 64.
But there’s one very interesting project and team that seems to be bucking that trend. One New Super Mario Bros hack that’s so crazy, you wonder how it’s even possible.
Sakura Super Mario Bros DS.
Created by the folks at Shuriken Team, this is probably one of the most advanced games of the DS game we’ve ever seen. It’s got multiple new powerups including the Boomerang Suit and Flying Squirrel Suit. The aesthetics are beautiful, with some gorgeous new graphics and incredibly well-composed songs…
And there are so many new enemies and objects it’s almost insane. Rexes, Eeries, Shy Guys, Goonies… the list just goes on and on, with a menagerie of Mario monsters that stretches across the entire franchise.
It’s an incredibly ambitious hack, and one of the most exciting projects we’ve seen in a long, long time.
So, let’s learn more about it, shall we? Let’s interview lead developer JPG64, and get the rundown on everything there is to see in the game, and how it was all made…
The Interview
Who is JPG64? Where did that username come from? Does it stand for anything?
The history of that name is kinda funny, I first just started with my name (initials are J and P) and then I found it was going to be funny to add a SMG6 reference, so I added the glitch 64 at the end. Then after a while I noticed it was similar enough to the image format .jpg. I found this kinda silly and just abbreviated it, so now it just means the literal image format X3
What was your favourite game?
My favourite games would be either Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros, but mainly NSMB.
What titles are you playing now?
For the titles I currently play, if its Mario related, then it’s definitely New Super Mario Bros 2, and if its in general, it’s Sky Force Reloaded, especially for the past months up until now.
How did you first get into the Mario series?
I actually learned about the NSMB series because I always liked watching my dad play Super Mario World, and got a Nintendo DS when I was around 5-6. That had Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros, with the one I liked the most being NSMB.
What’s your favourite New Super Mario Bros game?
My fav NSMB I would argue is between New Super Mario Bros and New Super Mario Bros U. But NSMB DS is probably the one I like the most.
Super Mario Bros Wonder changed up the formula quite a bit, with a new art style, world themes and enemies. Did you like this change of direction?
I actually liked it a lot, it looked pretty solid and refreshed, which is why SSMBDS has a lot of Wonder inspired graphics and mechanics.
How did you get ROM hacking, and game development as a whole?
As for how I got into modding, it is kinda funny cuz, I started modding games when I was around 12-13. My first mod was a Mario Kart DS mod that looked really… peculiar (I even remade it again some months ago but with better quality), after that, I did a bit of SMW modding, starting on a really interesting mod but never finishing it (I plan to also rework it after the current mods I am working on) and around the end of 2023/start of 2024 I began developing SSMB, specifically on December 10th 2023.
Why modify New Super Mario Bros for DS rather than say, the Wii or 3DS game?
There are 2 reasons really.
The first is because when I started my mod, I had a PC that wasn’t that powerful, so all I could do was mod DS games and what not.
But the main reason is because I have a lot of nostalgia for NSMB DS itself.
What other ROM hacks are you a fan of?
I love Super Mario Bros Next, New++ Super Mario Bros and Newer Super Mario Bros Wii, but I also like New Super Mario World 1 (the SMW hack) and Super Mario 64 Star Road
Onto Sakura Super Mario Bros now. Why did you decide to make the game?
Surprisingly enough, I got the idea for SSMB after playing an oriental themed NSMB mod that was unfortunately cancelled. I liked it a lot and decided to do it. The Japanese aesthetic is inspired by this mod, while the name was inspired both by:
- Sakura Super Mario Bros U
- Sakura Village from Newer Super Mario Bros Wii
Speaking of a story, what exactly is the story in this game? Who’s the bad guy anyway?
Basically, Bowser found out that there were 6 stars on the Sakura Archipelago (the place where SSMB takes place) and he had the brilliant idea to steal them to create a castle in the space.
However, the stars had the power to control the host. So, once Bowser stole them, the stars manipulated him into trying to destroy the whole universe rather than just making a space castle.
That’s why Mario and Rexy (the only inhabitant of the archipelago not mind-controlled by Bowser or the stars) are working to stop him.
Aesthetically, it looks very different from your typical NSMB hack, with lots of new tilesets and backgrounds. How did you design those?
For the art style, first it used NSMBU tilesets, but then, a member called afterlight joined the server. He was making original tilesets, and that inspired me to make those too. Hence why the game uses the SMBW like style it currently has.
Who created the soundtrack here? It seems to have a lot of songs specifically created for this game…
The songs were composed by my friend Kourtiss; all the soundtrack on SSMB is composed by him, making it so the mod has actual new soundtrack.
That said, it also seems to have ports of tunes from other Mario games too. How did you choose which songs to use?
Some of the jingles such as P-switch and secret exit themes came from games like Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario 64.
Still, the most impressive aspect has got to be the sheer number of new enemies and objects found here. How did you create those?
The enemies were created by willsmith2 and illycat, and they made them using the ncpatcher template. This ncpatcher template made those custom enemies waayyy easier to do, to the point that even I could make some good ones without too much in the way of programming knowledge.
Are they getting more common in NSMB DS hacks nowadays? We don’t recall any other hacks having this many custom actors, not even Newer Super Mario Bros DS…
Yes. In Newer DS, most of the new enemies were retextures and remodels, since at the time, it was REALLY painful to work with any custom object. That’s why so few new enemies existed in Newer compared to this game.
What are some of your favourite additions here?
My favourite additions are for sure the Torpedo Teds, Eeries and Rexes, which are enemies from Super Mario World that unfortunately got forgotten, even by big mods like Newer or Mario’s Final Adventure Wii.
It seems like these additions come from a mix of Mario games and sub series too, including Yoshi’s Island. Are lots of enemies and objects going to be from Mario spinoffs and sub series like this?
The enemies come from a lot of games, such as SMW, Mario Galaxy, Yoshi’s Island and a bunch of other new and old Mario games.
What sort of bosses does the game have? Are those going to be custom as well?
For the bosses, the game is actually expected to have some, but specially the final boss which will be a really interesting fight and the idea will be fire (its already planned, but I’ll keep it as a surprise 👀)
There also seem to be some interesting new powerups too, like the Boomerang Flower and Squirrel powerup from NSMBU. Is the selection of items greatly expanded upon compared to the vanilla game?
Yup it has 3 custom powerups so far, but if anything, we could add a fourth one too.
How do you even program custom powerups into a game like this? They seem incredibly rare in NSMB mods outside of maybe the Hammer Suit in Newer…
They were all coded by the programmer willsmith2, he is very talented with those.
The map seems to have received a huge overhaul too, with far more interesting theming and layouts than NSMB DS usually has. How did you design that?
For the world maps, they had a LOT of redesigns. The current ones are final, but we used 3 tools to make them; Blender for creating the models, Goombatlas for the layout, and RicBent map editor for the whole part where Mario walks on it
It was pretty hard to do, but in the end it was worth it.
Onto level design now. What are some of your favourite levels so far and why?
I have a lot of favourite levels, but my top 5 will be:
- Special 2-3 by mariorrt
- 1-1 by louistendo
- 4-2 by mariorrt
- 5-6 by illycat
- 2-train by me
Those look very different from everything NSMB ever had.
Any that didn’t work out and needed to be scrapped?
A lot of them got scrapped, but mainly:
- Old 1-1 by me, replaced by the loustendo one
- Old 1-2 by me too, replaced by the mariorrt one
- 3-Train, which was made by me
Theres also 2-A made by mosquito (and remade by afterlight), but it was more a remake than a scrapped level. Still, it was worth mentioning
Either way, what do you plan to do when the project is done? Do you have any other ROM hacks planned out?
Yes, I am currently working on a SM64 hack, but I only plan to focus on it once Sakura SMB is finished. It’s a game with more of a horror focus, but one I hope looks as interesting as my other projects :3
Will other New Super Mario Bros games get the same treatment? We recall seeing talk of a Sakura Super Luigi Wii in the Shuriken Team Discord server…
The other projects will absolutely have the same care and love we are giving to SSMB, specifically because we like to make the mods look like whole new games.
Do you have any plans for indie games or non-fan game related projects?
I actually have plans to develop more games in future, like perhaps a game focused on psychological horror like DM, or a shoot-em-up. Those genres interest me a lot.
Finally, what advice would you give people looking to get into NSMB DS hacking, or game development as a whole?
Always focus on quality over quantity, and always take your time, art will look the best when it’s not rushed, after all, it should be made with love, Passion and care!
Makes sense! It’s definitely a good idea not to rush your project, let alone throw out a poorly tested, poorly thought-out mess just for the sake of having more content as quickly as possible.
Take your time, test your game well, and release something you’re actually proud of. You’ll be a lot happier if you do.
Regardless, thanks for the interview JPG64! It was really interesting to learn more about Sakura Super Mario Bros DS, and we’re excited to see what’s next for the game. It’s definitely one of the most ambitious, technically impressive mods we’ve seen so far, and for New Super Mario Bros DS, something we didn’t even think was possible before watching the trailers.
If Newer Super Mario Bros DS was the Star Road of New Super Mario Bros Mods, this has to be the Return to Yoshi’s Island. The one that truly pushes the engine to its limits, and shows exactly what the DS game is really capable.
Still, what did you think of the interview? Was it interesting to learn about Sakura Super Mario Bros DS and all the crazy ideas and tech that’s gone into it? Are there any questions we should have asked here that somehow didn’t come up?
Tell us your thoughts on social media, or over on our Discord server today!