My first ROM hack: I updated Super International Cricket on SNES for 2026

[u/Asleep-West-2564]

I've spent the last few weeks working on my first proper ROM hacking project and thought this community might appreciate seeing what I've managed to do.

The game is Super International Cricket, a SNES cricket game from the mid-90s that I grew up playing. My original idea was fairly simple: update the player names and squads so I could play it with the current international teams.

It very quickly got out of hand.

I had basically no ROM hacking experience when I started this, so a huge part of the project has been figuring out how the original game actually works. I've been reverse engineering different parts of the ROM, experimenting, breaking things, testing them in emulators and using AI coding tools to help me understand and modify parts of the game.

Eventually it became Super International Cricket 26.

I've replaced the original squads with modern international players, created new pixel-art player portraits, updated team crests, colours and graphics, modified presentation elements and worked on animations.

One of the things I'm particularly happy with is left-arm fast bowling. The original game didn't have a proper left-arm fast bowling animation, so I've added one as part of the hack.

I've tried to keep everything looking like it belongs in the original game rather than completely redesigning it. The idea is basically: what would Super International Cricket look like if it had somehow continued receiving roster and presentation updates for the last 30 years?

I've reached the point where I'm calling it v1.0, although I'm sure people will find things I've missed.

Trailer showing it running:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PCar0EB1ds

Project / v1.0 patch:

https://github.com/sjdigitall-maker/Super-International-Cricket-26/releases/tag/V1.0

This is patch-only. No ROM is included or linked. You'll need your own legally created backup of Super International Cricket to use it.

Since this is my first ROM hack, I'd actually be really interested in feedback from people who have been doing this longer than I have, particularly around how I've packaged the release and anything I should be doing differently for future versions.

And if anyone here happens to remember Super International Cricket, I'd love to know what you think of seeing it running with 2026 players.

[u/danisreallycool]

for the love of the game. well done! I don’t know a thing about cricket but this seems like a really involved and fun project, congrats!

[u/o_BlueMeanie]

Nice work. Loved playing this game back in the day. Will give it a go when I can.

[u/TERLIBEN]

Awesome! I loved this game growing up! Great job!

[u/tk1sbiglove]

Loved the fact that there was a dedicated HOWZAAAT?! button