I started writing reviews of rom hacks because I had a hard time finding good ones to play and I was noticing a lot of new people coming into the Mario rom hacking community at the same time I was. My reviews site was born to help everyone find a rom hack they’ll like. I don’t think of myself as an objective reviewer. I’m just a guy, and my opinions don’t matter any more than other people’s. It only matters to me if you’ve found what I do helpful!
The majority of the games/rom hacks I review are fan-made rather than created by a development studio. This makes a significant difference in how I’ve chosen to approach them. I always do my best to balance criticism with the knowledge that rom hacks are someone’s passion project. The creators aren’t doing this for a job or money, they’re doing it for the fun and art of it. And so I always try to to highlight all the positive attributes of a game in my reviews to encourage the creators and to couch any criticism in a clear and constructive manner. And if a rom hack is genuinely bad, I’ve decided not to post a review of it even though I’ve gone to the trouble of playing the game, unless an honest review is requested by that rom hack’s creator.
I also endeavor to keep the quality of my reviews at professional standards, writing in-depth and descriptive copy about the gameplay, aesthetics, story, sound, and sprite work among other attributes of each game, only reviewing games I’ve completed or nearly completed, while being humble enough to accept help and correction where needed since this kind of journalism has not been an area of study until now. In other words, I know I’m not all that. I currently use a rating system that is not based on a scale but on my own subjective experiences of what I find enjoyable.
I am counting on each of you to send your feedback to me in much the same way I try to give feedback to others in my reviews. Please politely and clearly tell me about what was awesome and how I can improve!
