In our article discussing how to play the entire Mega Man franchise on one handheld, the existence of DX ROM hacks that colorize the original black-and-white Mega Man Game Boy titles was briefly mentioned.

Today, modders have released the newest in a line of DX ROM hacks for the Mega Man Game Boy games (often referred to as Rockman or Mega Man World) for the 4th title, Mega Man IV.

In Japan, the games were titled Rockman World, but in America, the titles followed a more confusing structure. For the NES titles, the original classic series was referred to as Mega Man 1, 2, 3, etc even though the title screens showcased Roman numerals. The Game Boy games are titled with the Roman numerals and are different games in their own right.

Brief History of Mega Man Mania

In 2004, celebrating Mega Man’s 15th anniversary, Capcom released the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PS2 and GameCube (Xbox came in 2005). Alongside its announcement, Capcom proclaimed that they had plans to do a similar collection for the Game Boy Advance — Mega Man Mania.

The GBA version of the game was going to feature colorized versions of the original five Game Boy games alongside a sea of “extras” to be unlocked, much like the Anniversary Collection.

Mega Man Mania was to be a part of Mega Man’s 15th anniversary.

However, the game would never see the light of day. It was advertised in magazines and discussed in interviews, but somewhere along the way, Capcom claims to have lost the source code.

Another rumor was that the game was simply lost due to the transition from GBA to DS. The DS was released in late 2004, and with such a massive shift from 2D-pixel art to a handheld capable of 3D graphics and dual screens, it was a no-brainer to take advantage of the additional power the DS would have provided.

But regardless, the game was never to be seen. The exact reason is still entirely unknown considering Capcom would not need the original game’s source code in order to colorize it, but it is possible they lost the source code to the GBA game they had created. Having to restart development at that level could have been seen as a waste of money overall; thus killing the project.

Mega Man Mania: Fanmade DX ROM hacks

But today, that has changed. Thanks to the efforts of Marc Robledo (creator of Rom Patcher JS), SpecialAgentApe, forple, and Kensuyjin33, all five of the original games have been fully colorized.

Each game features a full colorization but also included are small tweaks and improvements that fix things that may have been awry in the original releases. On top of this, some additional remade sprites and animations can be found throughout the collection.

While it’s not packaged as a singular GBA game with the games included within, the base ROMs running on any retro handheld would net a better visual experience.

Best Experience?

The GBA had a resolution of 240 x 160, while the Game Boy and Game Boy Color had a resolution of 160 x 144. Meaning, that the viewable area would be slightly smaller with black bars on every side unless stretched to fill the entire 3:2 aspect ratio.

With numerous handhelds being form fit for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, the best possible way to view these DX ROM hacks may already be in your hand. With a plethora of devices like the Powkiddy RGB20SX and RGB30, Anbernic RG Cube and RG Cube XX, Game Console R46S, and R36MAX spouting screens with 1:1 aspect ratios, Game Boy games can look their absolute best via software emulation with its 160 x 144 default resolution.

While 160 x 144 isn’t a perfect 1:1 ratio, the black bars that would appear on the above devices would be at an all-time low.

How GBC games can look on a 720p 1:1 screen like on the RGB30.

For FPGA users, the FPGBC allows for 4x integer scaling of GB and GBC games, while the often critiqued Analogue Pocket has an impressive 10x integer scale on the same set of games. Even the newer ModRetro Chromatic features a 160 x 144 backlit screen giving a “perfect” representation of Game Boy titles, just with a proper lighting mechanism.

These Mega Man World DX ROM hacks take the original games and make them feel as if they’re brand new. Admittedly, one of the main reasons I avoid the original Game Boy is because these colorized DX hacks make the original games feel archaic. Nintendo, to some extent, aimed to phase out the original Game Boy for the same reason when they pushed out both Link’s Awakening DX and Tetris DX for the Game Boy Color in 1998 and Super Mario Bros Deluxe the following year.

Downloading the DX ROM Hacks

DX ROM hacks, however, have been made by the ROM hacking community for years. They all aim to bring the same colorized upgrades the official DX titles brought to games that would otherwise be stuck in the green-light-green color palette on the DMG Game Boy.

Mega Man V DX color differences — beautiful

Mega Man Mania seeing its core brought to life via the efforts of fans and modders alike just goes to show the dedication people have to both the series and the gameplay itself. Some older games struggle to grip fans because of their lack of color, depth, and playability, but with colorized versions of great games being made, it’s possible for fans — both new and old — to enjoy them like never before.

All of the Mega Man Mania ROM hacks can be found at these links:

• Mega Man World GBC (Dr. Wily’s Revenge DX)
• Mega Man World 2 GBC (Mega Man World II DX)
• Mega Man World III DX
• Mega Man World IV DX
• Mega Man World V DX

If you need help applying the ROM hacks, you can follow our guide to get you up and running. Marc Robledo’s entries for each of the ROM hacks also feature an on-page patcher that only requires you to supply the original ROM.

Are you going to check out more DX ROM hacks? Are you excited to dive into a Mega Man sub-series? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!

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