Add rumble to these Super Nintendo classics through the power of emulation

Now you can do what Nintendidn't

Limited Run Games teased rumble support for the Super Nintendo back in July, and soon after, the company released the recipe of its secret rumble sauce to the public. You can find it on GitHub, which is where the multi-system emulator Mesen’s developers likely found it, and it has since been incorporated into the emulator with full support. But what good is support in an emulator without SNES games that contain rumble?

Mesen wasn’t the only project with crafty developers who took advantage of Limited Run’s rumble. There are already several SNES ROMs that support rumble, including Star Fox and Super Metroid, with more to come. These are fan-made ROM hacks, and from my testing, they work a treat.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what Super Nintendo games would play like if they offered rumble support, wonder no longer.

What you need to play SNES ROMs on PC with rumble support

^{Source: Retrode}

You’ll first need to secure a way to rip a ROM off your SNES carts. The Retrode 2 is the most popular option. For $100, you can read and dump SNES and Genesis carts. However, I’m sure the more crafty readers out there already know how to procure their ROMs with ease.

Once you’ve nailed down your ROM supply, you should head over to ROMHackPlaza.org, which just so happens to carry the necessary SNES ROM hacks that offer rumble support. So far, there are two finished titles available on the site, Star Fox – Shindou Edition and Super Metroid – Rumbled, with more coming soon for Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart.

What’s especially nice is that you won’t need to track down a patcher; ROM Hack Plaza links to online tools, making the patching process that much easier.

You will also need a copy of the multi-system emulator Mesen, which offers versions for Windows, macOS, and Linux. So no matter your platform of choice, you’re covered.

^{Mesen emulator screenshot from homepage}

Lastly, you need a controller that supports rumble and connects to your PC over USB. I’m using a recent special edition Xbox controller, but any ‘ol Xbox controller should work.

^{All electronics look better with transparent casings; that’s an undeniable fact of tech}

Needed software

How to mod your SNES ROMs with rumble support

So far, only a few Super Nintendo titles have been hacked to support rumble. You’ll need a ROM for Star Fox and/or Super Metroid. I live in the US, so I used US ROMs. However, don’t worry if your ROMs are from a different region, as the hacks support all regions for both games.

Hacking Star Fox with rumble support

^{Screenshot from ROMHackPlaza.org of Star Fox – Shindou Edition}

Jump on over to ROM Hack Plaza’s page for Star Fox – Shindou Edition. Scroll down to the Download button. This brings up a table with the patch file, which should be titled something like Star Fox Shindou Edition v1.2.7z. Click the link to download the patch file.

Below the patch’s download link you’ll see a box titled “Help about patching:,” and below that is a link to Marc Roblero’s online patcher. Click that link. From here, simply upload the ROM file and the patch file. It doesn’t matter if the ROM is zipped or not; the patching process locates the .sfc file regardless. Click the Apply Patch button, and the patched ROM will download to your PC.

Hacking Super Metroid with rumble support

^{Screenshot from ROMHackPlaza.org of Super Metroid – Rumbled}

Much like Star Fox, the patching process for Super Metroid is similar. Head over to ROM Hack Plaza’s Super Metroid – Rumbled page. Scroll down to the Download button, and click it. This brings up a table with the download link named SM_Rumble.bps. Ignore the file download and instead look at the right side of the table, where there is a link called “Patch It.” Click this and you’ll be brought directly to Marc Roblero’s online patcher with the patch already loaded.

Simply upload your ROM file and click on the Apply Patch button, which will automatically download the patched ROM to your PC.

How to turn on SNES rumble support inside the Mesen emulator

Now that your ROMs are modded for rumble support, you need to enable the functionality inside the Mesen emulator. The good news is this is incredibly simple.

^{Mesen SNES settings}

Open the emulator and navigate to the Settings tab at the top. Scroll down to the line that says SNES and click it. From here, you need to navigate to the Input tab in the center of the top menu and click it.

There are options for two controllers, Port 1 and Port 2. Click on the dropdown for Port 1 and select SNES Rumble. Now you are done. Click the OK button on the bottom right of the window.

Now you can play two hacked SNES ROMs with rumble support

Now that you have your hacked ROMs and rumble support enabled in Mesen, it’s time to boot a game and start playing. Click on File, and then Open to boot your hacked ROM.

I’ve personally tested both, and I must say that the added rumble support doesn’t interfere with gameplay; it simply enhances it. At the beginning of Super Metroid, there is a scene where Samus’s Gunship speeds down to a planet, and the added rumble to this scene made the game feel so much more modern.

Relive a few classics with a modern touch

From my perspective, it’s exciting to see classic SNES games receive new functionality, especially when it comes from the community through hacked ROMs. Still, we ultimately have Limited Run Games to thank for SNES rumble support, and let’s not forget that it’s releasing a physical (sadly sold out) rumble controller that will work on original Super Nintendo consoles in February of next year. Thankfully, impatient gamers like me don’t have to wait for that controller to launch to experience what rumble support in SNES games can offer.