Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

SNES Classic library likely to be expanded thanks to compatible NES Classic hack

SNES Classic
Les Shu/Digital Trends
The SNES Classic offers an impressive lineup of about 20 classic Super Nintendo games (plus the previously unreleased Star Fox 2), but there’s a good chance plenty more games will be playable on the machine via hacks. And soon. The system doesn’t launch until Friday, September 29, but modders have already determined that Hakchi2, the hack used to expand the NES Classic‘s library, indeed works on the

SNES Classic

.

According to Polygon, a Redditor who received the console early thanks to a Best Buy shipping error tinkered with the system and learned that it behaves exactly like the NES Classic when Hakchi2 is used. Like the NES Classic, the SNES Classic’s kernel (the core of its operating system) can be dumped and written over, making it compatible with Hakchi2.

Recommended Videos

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Digital Foundry performed a system teardown and concluded that the SNES Classic reuses the NES Classic’s technology and processing components. Essentially, the SNES Classic has a different shell, but its virtually the same system — just with the capability of playing 16-bit games rather than 8-bit games.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The Redditor tried to use the NES Classic kernel with the SNES Classic, but the only thing that happened was the power light blinked. In other words, don’t expect to turn your SNES Classic into an NES Classic. Do expect, however, for the SNES Classic to eventually support more games.

Less than two months after the NES Classic launched last year, the Hakchi2 program gave NES Classic owners the power to have up to 90 games on the system — 60 more than the 30 in the retail version. Even better, the process for expanding the library was fairly simple, as was outlined by our guide earlier this year.

Shortly after the news of the SNES Classic’s compatibility with Hakchi2 was broadcast on Reddit, users already started discussing ways to optimize the tool for SNES Classic use.

It remains to be seen when the first hacked SNES Classic will be shown running a Super Nintendo game not included in the 21-game library, but we imagine it will happen sooner rather than later.

The SNES Classic hits stores September 29. If you’re looking to pick one up on launch day, check out our buying guide to see which stores will have them in stock.

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
The best abilities in Avowed
A player casting an ice spell in Avowed

As a new arrival in the Living Lands of Avowed, your character has to learn a lot of tips and tricks to survive in this powderkeg of an island. You have an important mission to find a way to cure the Dreamscourge, but there's a lot of danger between you and that goal which will require more than just your weapons. Leveling up will let you spend your points on new skills, just like most RPGs, but they are split between several pages. You are not locked into a single class and can invest your points into one or all of them, but there are some skills that you will want to prioritize getting first. Here are the best abilities you should work toward unlocking in Avowed.
Best Fighter abilities

Charge
Charge is an easy pick to invest your first few points into on the Fighter tree. It is a powerful dashing attack that can interrupt enemies with an explosive hit that breaks through guards. For bosses, saving this move to stop a deadly attack while staying in melee range is always reliable. The explosive damage is good for splash damage but also has utility outside of combat. Instead of wasting grenades to break walls, you can just use this skill to blast down cracked walls.
Constant Recovery
No matter what weapons you focus on, you're going to get hit eventually. Melee fighters especially will be tanking a ton of hits, so Constant Recovery will keep you alive without draining all your potions. When hit, you can recover 50% of your HP lost over time, and with further upgrades, this skill can eventually let you restore all the damage you took.
Devastating Criticals
There's nothing more satisfying than a critical hit. You can increase the chances of landing one with your character traits, but this skill makes each one count by upping the damage by 30% at the first level and 60% at max.
Reflect
The main issue with being a melee class is all those pesky rangers. Having a second loadout with a ranged weapon is always a good idea, but Reflect can almost do the job on its own. If you time your block perfectly when a projectile is about to hit, you can send it back to hit the attacker.
Best Ranger abilities

Read more
Lost Soul Aside: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
lost soul aside everything we know

Gamers have gotten used to waiting for upcoming video games for years, with games like Elder Scrolls 6 and Perfect Dark having been announced half a decade or more ago at this point. However, there is one upcoming PS5 game that has been in the works for over 10 years now but is finally ready to release this year. Lost Soul Aside is the passion project of just one person that looks like one of the most stylish action games of the year. A lot as changed in the decade since its initial reveal, and some might even have thought the game was canceled, but we'll set you straight and go over all the information you need to know about Lost Soul Aside.
Release date

After over 10 years of development, Lost Soul Aside finally has a firm release date. The game will launch on May 30, 2025.
Platforms

Read more
Succession meets Return of the Obra Dinn in this thrilling mystery game
A black and white photo of five siblings posing together.

One thing about me is that I am a sucker for a good mystery. That’s why I’ve been delighted by the so-called "Metroidbrainia" genre rising to prominence. That label includes games like Return of the Obra Dinn and Rise of the Golden Idol that champion more involved information gathering and deduction on the part of the player. Yet as great as the puzzles these titles offer are, the narratives surrounding them are rarely as satisfying. Genealogical mystery The Roottrees are Dead, however, fixes that problem.

Centered on the secrets of the titular family, The Roottrees are Dead is both a compelling puzzle box and a surprisingly deep story. What begins as a simple challenge to identify every member on the family tree quickly turns into a subtle statement on how this one family, the descendants of a Logan Roy-eque business mogul, are beholden to one dead man’s obsession with legacy.
Down the rabbit hole
To anyone who has played other Metroidbrainias, the core gameplay loop of The Roottrees are Dead will feel familiar. Information is gathered and then applied to blank fields for each member of the Roottree family. Specifically you need to correctly identify the name, face, and occupation of each direct blood relative of the family’s patriarch, Elias. The twist is in the method of information gathering. The Roottrees are Dead is primarily played through a simulated computer desktop equipped with a search engine.

Read more