Ever since I discovered this hack, I had a theory that, Mario, with his basically infinite amount of lives, is trying every single possible variation in an attempt to destroy the god of the forest to free peach of whatever terrible demise was brought upon her. In the burning forest, he is successful, he won, but in The King ending, it depicts a hollow victory, as he lost the person he cared most about, and by the end, he feasts upon flowering organs, so that Peach may always be with him, forever.

I looked it up, july 31 1992 is the exact date Nintendo stopped manufacturing arcade parts. Thats probably where the whole downfall started, because their arcade machines were very popular

It's really interesting to see how Peach had a demonic or maybe even "Dragon-like" appearance in the cut Pink room, considering there was text in the Burning Forest room about a Dragon/creature with similar features

One detail that you missed in the game: After escaping the glitch peach and entering the glitched underwater area, it's really hard to see but if you can remove all the glitch sprites so you can clearly see the background or just find the background sprite, the scrolling background has blue text that says "DROWN HER".

I personally believe that the whole "coronation" thing is actually referring to Peach and not the being of the forest, mostly because of the phrases like "Crown her" and also the fact that Peach has always been referred to as "Princess Peach" despite there being no Queen or King of the Mushroom Kingdom. Maybe this is something much more twisted than we originally thought and perhaps Peach meant to come to this forest specifically, so that she could become the Queen of the Kingdom in some sort of Ritual, bringing Mario along with her to make him her "King" by getting him to build the house and then having him be sacrificed within it. But due to Mario not really being able to die and coming back eternally, he's trapped within the forest alongside the transformed and demented Peach. Perhaps the themes of drowning comes from Mario attempting to stop Peach by drowning her and killing her, but she wasn't able to die either and so now the two simply exist to abuse and torture one another eternally.

You know, one of these days, I just want a ROM Hack to just make Mario go "Fuck it." And beat up the eldritch abominations. Just let our boy live :(

one small detail you could have potentially missed: during the cliff ending of the peach segment, the text boxes that show "and then you" " tried" never seemed to be a complete thought to me. but i recently noticed that, directly after that segment, the game resets, and you see the "again?" text box. "and then you tried again"

An interesting little detail is if you use sprite sheets or cheat codes to switch to playing as Luigi... he also appears as a shadow of himself.

I love the "I am the one that- 🐍🐍🐍" 6:33 is the moment

The fact that it has been 7 years and it’s still hasn’t been solved makes it even creepier

The “peach falls under the bridge” ending not only has underwater sounds, but a underwater effect over the stage and even fish. It’s very clearly underwater.

Couple things: - In the future, I promise to use ACTUAL static sound effects for "obscured" text, and not the abomination of a noise that I used here. - Thanks so much to everyone sharing their theories and discoveries in the comments! I didn't expect this to get as many views as the last video, so I'm glad people enjoyed this one.

6:36 i like how he doesn't even bother to add in a glitch sound effect to the glitched text. he just does it himself.

Even if it was cut for lore reasons or "being too obvious", I do wish the "Pink Room" was used. Both because that sprite of Peach is way too sick to not be, and also I feel like the dialogue boxes and enemies looking like organs is the "pay-off" so to speak of the hack's fixation on body horror and mentions of organs. It just makes it feel more complete, maybe it's just me.

i think that peach was killed by mario directly, rather than falling on her own. "please stop, i cant breathe" and "bring me back up" imply much stronger that she's "speaking" to a person drowning her. "my lungs hurt" also pretty much confirms she was drowned

It looks to me like the Mario falling in the pink forest landed on top of the house building Mario leading to him being crushed in the other ending. Almost like all of these endings are taking place simultaneously, interacting with each other.

The idea of the "Coronation Day" being the God or demon spreading to the mushroom kingdom and dooming it is kind of an insanely fucking raw concept. Just the hopelessness of that final ending of "For He Is King." Is utterly insane. Fantastic work on video and fantastic work for the hack author for creating an insane story.

I don't know why but 'the Coronation Day feels like the most probable title of the game but I am most likely wrong Also couldn't help it but if you put together the words from pink and blue worlds you get a sentence "I'm the heart that you need"

The "unfinished" and "never meant to be seen" endings... honestly i believe thats just a loe meant to imply the entity made the part. It also suggests that mario is not mario, and the crushed mario that can be found was crushed by the mario we usually play as. It's not unheard of story makers lying about spooky things coming from nowhere

A little detailed that I haven't seen anyone talk about is how the "I'm the heart" text that would otherwise be a non-sequiteur is actually completed at the start of the pink forest section, with "that you need" "I'm the heart that you need" Fittingly, the first enemy you see in the level is a heart. Maybe there was originally going to be a bigger focus on Mario and the repercusions of his terrible deeds before the king plot took center stage? I'm just hypothesizing, for all I know this wasn't even meant to be part of the story and it was just a random one off level. Edit: On retrospect, considering the text that shows up right after the "I'm the heart that you need" box, this sequence might be completely literal, at least judging by the dismembered Peach that crashes the game.

Mario: *Constructs a treehouse.* "THEY": "Noice, 10/10."

wtf all these years and i never even knew half the stuff that you went over

The actual answer is quite simple, the Pink Route was unfinished because it removed all mystery. The organ removal and someone holding a person under water add mystery, all of which are lost when you consider the only party to drown someone and remove organs is Mario. Mario was influenced to sin by harming the forest. When you sin you give it power. We also get hints that Peach's corpse was being made hollow, which given we see the entity wearing her missing part of the body this is the implication Mario resisted its influence to make a perfect vessel for it. He also destroyed his own body so the entity couldn't use Peach to edit Mario's into a perfect host. (Mario falling onto himself if he doesn't look at the demon peach. Like if you don't look at Cthulhu you won't be driven mad. He didn't look at it but rather the past things it had him do.) The random messages are Mario trying to recall his reasons to resist, trying to resist both the player and it. Consistent messages are tied to events we relive but the most common and notable ones seem to match with the entity. Making the house frees it and makes it excited. This is a typical depiction of a holy forest. If the entity kills Mario and Mario doesn't come back it can hollow out Mario's body for it. That is also why in the Ember Forest it is and endless loop, Mario sets himself and everything on fire. He is resisting both the player and entity. This can even be further hinted at by his lack of ability to run or spin jump. He doesn't lack it, he is resisting control. It also explains why standing still doing nothing gets that frustrated message. Both the Player and Mario resist it. It is also why the entity can recognize YOU helped it, because Mario wouldn't. Why it calls out your detective work. Had you not been looking for answers you wouldn't have freed it. So only by removing the Pink room would you have enough incentive to free it. It is also why this old hack the devs won't cover anything. It would literally undermine it. Think of if in Undertale doing the Geno route immediately told you "This will ruin your good endings forever." there would be no incentive to do that at all. You'd be discouraged. Only if you don't know you're making the worst possible choice does it work. And people think they are above consequences, so they would play this hack up to the Ember Forest and stop calling it a win as this outcome made it literally impossible for it to escape through Mario. The only way to get them to do that last part is to not have them realize they are making a mistake or have the ability to edit files to get around it.

During the ending where you built the house, there is a hidden timer, and if it runs out Mario will die as he usually does in the vanilla game. However, after losing a life, you will not return to the house, but back to the map, with a halo on Mario sprite, just like when you get a Game Over in Super Mario World. You will be unable to re-enter the forest or do anything, meaning the game will get soft-locked at that point.

Nice deep dive! Even if the pink area is unfinished, I don't think it's too far off to say that the crushed Mario in the house could have been crushed by the Mario that fell in the pink hole. Especially considering the multiverse/multiple lives/players interpretation.

I see it as this: the beginning is where it starts The caller is when someone told mario about the death of peach The memory is a flashback to what happened The death is when peach died The rage is mario after he finds out The end is the end

14:42 I heard that, in the final fall in this ending The twisted peach is just below, waiting for mario to fall (literally as an sprite) But she might have just stunned him, so the mario from the pink forest fell on him, which actually fits, bc i believe is the same mario from the ghost ending (in which you see the dead mario, and you entered a door to arrive to that house, but it looks like you just popped there, so i believe the ghost ending has to do with the pink forest's mario) And the ghost of the ending could be the dead mario, as it's in the super form

I wonder if the ROT room also had to do with it. The hack has an obsession with the color red. Although "rot" leads to things like corpses, "rot" is also German for red. Just something to throw in.

I think the story is about Mario and Peach getting Married and Mario being crowned King of the mushroom kingdom being the coronation, then they both become corrupt rulers. The harmless "enemies" you can kill could be civilian subjects , and talking about Mario's fall from grace would be him becoming a corrupt king. Mario could've had Peach assassinated to take her power, before a revolution forced Mario out into the forest where he was Coronated. Peach's ghost could haunt him from there, and result in a decrease in Mario's sanity, which would drive him to try and burned down the mushroom kingdom, before dying himself.

I was hoping someone would make a video like this! I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know about the game, that was awesome!

42:35 I think if we look at the other two tracks "the caller" could actually be "the cellar". And the actual order of them could be: "the ladder", "the cellar", "the dark."

This rom hack/creepy pasta is actually under evaluated even when creepy pastas were in their prime on youtube. Its one of the few really good ones.

Honestly, the fact the pink world with the satanic peach goes “unused” and isn’t cut, should mean something, as well as there not only being a possible answer to what happened to “Super Mario” in the house ending, as well as more possible level AFTER the satanic peach. It isn’t a large, expansive hole or one with a wall infront.

I appreciate how you made the sounds for the scratched out text yourself on your microphone instead of just looking up static noise

I’m inclined on the first theory, though I think that in order to full control Peach, they needed to kill her, so they forced her drown herself, hence the “DROWN HER” message. Also I think it _might_ be possible that the “they” said in the King Ending to referring to Mario and Peach’s spirit trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Also I’m wondering what exactly that stuff about the “cat” was about

"Yield All Upper Xanthic Bodies. Left Behind Rotten Anthropy". Does this mean anything more than just button commands? Xanthic means "Yellowish". That hidden Peach behind the custom pallette was yellow, and it's found at the top of the screen. So, by disabling the pallette, we "Yielded the Upper Xanthic Body" of Peach. And then we found the code on how to get the King ending, where it's assumed that the demon won and became King. In giving into this, we allowed the demon to triumph, betraying our fellow humans, and "Left Behind Rotten Anthropy". The "Anthropy", or People, are now victims of the Demon King. "Rotten" just seems to be an insult, unless it's linked to the bloody letters spelling "ROT". I still have questions about Colors. They ask "Which color is your favorite", and mention "He loves red". I get that blood is red, but the bit where someone asks if the color was too much, it gave me the vibe of someone painting a room, maybe in a newly built house, perhaps awaiting the arrival of a baby?

FINALLYYYYY I'VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH THIS ROMHACK FOR YEARS AND NEVER GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MYSTERY THANK YOU SO MUCH

Having finished the video; I'm honestly not sure what theory I believe in, but the most compelling one, at least, to me, is the Possession story. I honestly love horror that keeps you in the dark, I don't like cheap jumpscares and boogeymen, I prefer the dread of what's coming next constantly being there, and.. Well, I can't believe I'd never heard of (the) before! Thanks for covering it!

This may be my miracle musical pilled brain talking, but this roms story lines up really well with the song 'murders' I mean even just the first line of the song syncs up really well "He was in the forest looking to see the trees But none were there He found a girl She found the Erlking" In my mind, the erlking lines up well with what ever is possessing peach. It *could* have been inspiration for the rom, but in all honesty it's probably just the fact that any tragic incident involing 2 people and a forest can fit the song-

I like the iconic mouth sound you make impulsively when you see unreadable words 6:33

My personal theory to what the story is implying is a more Draconic one. The references to "Him" and a King immediately reminded me of Bowser, and the ''They/Them" sounded like it was referring to his army and minions. Bowser is often described as a Dragon-Koopa, and I wonder if he maybe captured Peach while Mario was building the house, and attempted to turn her into a dragon so Bowser could take her as his Queen. But, whatever magics he used came at a cost and Peach became a half-dragon, half-human being full of predatory instinct and as such, developed a bloodthirsty persona. Hence the over-killing of the prey, the forest being on fire (as dragons can exhale flame) and the switch Peach's mind takes to finally accepting her "King". Sorry if my theory seems very out there but that's what came to me immediately after watching this deep dive.

Following the demon theory, drowning seems to also play a role in this narrative. After Mario unleashes the demon and dies, Peach seems to see a spirit, either Mario's phantom or the demon, likely _the_ devil given the reference to the dragon later. The devil seems to goad Peach into willing murder, commanding her to return and show who she really is, but on the way back she falls into a river and drowns. Perhaps then the demon supported her life force or spirit, seemingly revolving around alleviating her choking through the removal of her lungs. As for the Mario cycle, some dialogue (the crop this year, give me your lungs) implies the demon was trapped in the forest for some time before finding the princess, and remains stuck after Peach's accident. If Mario is in purgatory or his life system is being abused, the progression of endings indicate that the devil wants to open a scenario to free himself, enacted when Mario falls into the burning woods and uncovers the secret code via the greatest of God's sins: emulation. The devil, with Peach, can now return to the kingdom, becoming ruler of the overworld. Interestingly, if the unfinished levels were being built in accordance with this story it would make sense, as it seems the demon ascended with Peach's body only to realize Peach was too deteriorated and/or his power was being held back in the confines of this area. Maybe it is too literal, but it does encompass the most aspects of the game.

The pink forest, to me feels like it implies a self fulfilling timeloop. Though this story was likely cut

She was drowned as the sacrifice, you built is means Mario was forced to build the bridge Peach was thrown off of for the sacrifice

I am VERY happy the algorithm got its shit together enough to show me this channel. As a fan of web horror stuff whos always assumed there was more to these hacks, seeing this kind of succinct explanation and analysis is so gratifying. I was honestly kinda annoyed when I learned MARIO was kind of just a shitpost, but this more than makes up for it. I look forward to more, and I wish you luck!

"YOU BOW TO ME, CROOK." "I AM THE TRUE KING." "what colour is your favourite" BRO WHAT LOL

Im suprised nobody tried to change their computer date to the date that appeared in the true ending😅

I think the Pink map was originally intended to be like, a branch between 1 path and the one where you build the house. Since it leads to you falling on that Mario, and that Mario didn’t like, take fall damage before. It was probably originally intended to be he was killed by the pink room Mario instead of him falling through the roof and dying. But the dev decided that map was unnecessary since it doesn’t seem like it really gives us anything majorly significant so just didn’t bother working on it further and scrapped it. It seems like it could have even branched off into it’s own path entirely honestly, which could also be why the dev abandoned it, as if it was already unnecessary, making another whole path or even trying to connect it to another path may have just not been worth it. Why build a bridge when there’s already a clear path, y’know?

This is my favorite Mario creepypasta and yet I didn't know most of the things you went over. I hope you continue to make content like this.

This is the first creepypasta (if that is the right word..) to ever make me genuinely terrified. I've been thinking about it for days ever since I first found out about it, the song in the hell area has been stuck in my mind and pretty much been making me afraid to go to sleep in fear of having a nightmare, lol. The thought of being trapped in such a hellscape for all eternity, or being taken and harvested of your organs has been making me paranoid for days now. Very well done!

Something I'm curious about and I haven't seen any comment or the video talk about is why Mario building the house is responded to so sensual? I suppose it's implied to be Peach in most interpretations. Doing this kind of thing in a horror story basically means that you're going be dead by the end, but 'building a house' and 'cutting down trees' I think might be metaphors for something.

I remember seeing some guy on a emulator spawn some really freaky and weird enemies, which is something you might have missed. I’m unsure what else you could have missed though other than those garbled letters being a cipher?

Some things I'm speculating about: - HE is not only a King, but also a Dragon with an army of Followers... Like Bowser. - The speaker in the forest sections (sans the playing as Peach and maybe the chase scene (hear me out)) appear to not be HIM speaking, but a follower of HIS if we take the idle, cabin, and half the phrases said in the red ending into consideration. The narrator could very well be manipulating Mario into becoming another victim of whatever happened. Maybe even to the point of pretending to be Peach to lure Mario in. - The person speaking in the white room also doesn't appear to be HIM speaking, as the narrator of it says that he "didn't even need HIS help." Maybe, with the player's help, either Mario or the previously mentioned Speaker has usurped HIM and was coranated the new king to either punish those who tormented him (Mario, which is why he stays in hell) or to create a new reign of terror (Speaker, who keeps Mario in hell as he's no longer needed)

not gonna lie, when you revealed the Peach at 24:46, I legitimately got chills! I've never known these things of this Romhack....

7-8 long years of this hack being out and about, and I still think it’s one of the greatest pieces of horror media out there. Everything about the hack is designed to not Jumpscare you, but to simply unsettle you, leaving you to ponder over the grueling details and implications of what that… thing has done to what May be either Mario and Peach or they’re meant to represent two “real” people. Gives off major Silent Hill vibes honestly. I think we can only ever wonder if there really was ever a plan to continue the world of this hack at some point, Since underway implied that there was meant to be more to the pink forest than the unfinished garble that we actually got out of it.

I'd say the demon one is the most likely. It makes the most sense, in my opinion. Edit: It's mainly the alternate title of the hack. "Coronation Day" it implies that there is a crowning of some new monarch. Peach is possessed by a demon, and Demon is then crowned the new royalty. The burning forest is either set ablaze by the demon to kill Mario, the only other person who could know what's going on, or like he said Mario set it ablaze as an attempt to kill the demon. Either way, it still ends with the coronation of a demon in the peaches' body.

“My through is full. Cut it open.” And “my lungs hurt. Take them out.” Probably means they are filled with water backing up the 2nd theory

7:20 don't touch you my dare prey

I like that you did the distortion sound for the redacted words using your mouth, very convincing honestly.

Nah, the pink level was 100% intentional and if not, it is still genius. You are literally pillaging the carcass of the game to access it, which directly connects to the whole peach carcass thing. It is like a fourth wall break.

Thank you SO much for making this deep dive! Coronation Day is genuinely my favorite Mario romhack (actually just romhack in general LOL), so it's always a joy to see more and more people spreading awareness of it. There's just something so haunting about it that makes it stand above all the other creepypasta/internet horror-- there's this pervading sense of mourning throughout it, kind of like how you'd feel while playing Silent Hill 1 or 2.

The voices getting kinda freaky with that house-

That burning forest thing is one of the most scariest things I've ever seen in my life. It's like if every living thing died except for you. There's no way to live on. You're trapped. The only option you have is to accept your fate and let everything that everyone made turn to ash and dust. It just makes everything feel so... useless.

always hoping for there to be More, since it’s so compelling, but i really love this hack and really need to look into what else the creators have done. thanks for reminding me of this gem :)

"a loud dirty song starts playing" Me: *gets a call from someone*

The part in the pink forest where small Mario falls on another Mario happens inbetween the first and second event, because shortly after we see the aftermath.

This is one of the best creepypastas I've heard... But to be honest, I listened to this at 1.75 speed and I loved how the distorted text sounded as if someone was licking my eat for some reason XD

I don't know why but i see it as the king taking over peach's body (through the help of a cult) and later getting a obsession with mario (likey cause mario had so many lives so it knows it can hunt mario over and over) mario is the perfect prey for the king to hunt. It can figure out different ways to kill mario, trapping him in a endless cycle of pain, killing him in different ways

This hack has always haunted me for some reason. Just the way this game plays and how it shows it's story is just so unsettling.

i love your scratched out text noise at 5:30

Nice work KTB! This hack released during my time away from the site so I never really paid it any attention, but wow there was a small rabbit hole here! Thanks so much for unpacking it and discussing the possibilities, the video was great.

This video is excellent! Your writing, editing and delivery is all so professional. Clicking on random videos about spooky topics can be a gamble, but you're one of the best that KZfaq has ever recommended to me. I hope you keep making more of these!

Maybe its me being morbid but the last bits of dialog in the pink forest made me think they were pulling a baby out and it fell. Possibly a spawn of satan or a sacrifice.

The first thing that came to mind with the "gjdtzfu" message was that it could spell out "good job ditzy fuck you". Though i doubt thats what it is compared to the other hidden messages having relevant meanings relating to the rom hack.

I know a few other ones were called "Eyeless", "I hate you" , and "Game" , though I'm not sure they gained as much notoriety as "'the" and "MARIO" from an outside view of it/from someone who never checked out the forum boards or the reception those ones got

None of the endings graphical horrors disturbed me as much as the king ending did.

Your voice is so calming i could literally fall asleep, despite you reviewing a creepy ROM hack

Excellent video. I'm glad someone put all the content that's out there for 'the, cause I've been dying to find all I can on this thing. Its actually inspired me to make a brief D&D campaign based off this, taking what my own interpretation of the hack is. I have a feeling that Mario and Peach are not intended to be seen as Princess Peach and Mario, and are merely two different mediums to tell the story. It is interpreted that they go out into the forest, and a possession occurs with Peach being forced to kill the creatures in the woods. These are quite easily seen as the bodies found through the stage at the start, with Peach being in the middle of slaughtering what remains as Mario arrives. What Mario sees is what happens after Peach falls into the water, and becomes grotesque. This explains the various shadows that resemble this disfigured Peach, as the damage to her body is shown and the way she is presented, she comes off as a monster to Mario. This leads into the chase sequence, where Mario either "escapes" by falling into a pit, or by getting caught, and it splits off from there to the various endings. However, despite this, there is no escape, as even after reaching an ending, you come back, again and again and again. The "again?" to me, is that we've already done this before, and with the part where peach walks off the cliff, we get mention of how futile it is to try and change things. Peach can try and change things, by walking off the cliff to change what she is, but a reminder that she becomes as the silhouette is there as a reminder. The only way to escape is the burning forest, where you are trapped without a means to escape unless you input the sequence, which comes off to me as an Easter egg and not part of the story, as it looked like a send off to the player, and the fact it comes off track wise as the ending, further cements this being less of the story and more of "congratulations!". With the burning forest, Mario is free from the monster Peach has become, the triumphant music playing in the background showing this But, the lack of a means to escape the burning forest brings about the idea that this is at the cost that Mario can never escape, trapped forever to witness what it cost to overcome this monster. The burning forest description, as well as a few other random texts clearly seem to be referencing the Pink Forest Peach. I believe the Pink Forest is actually part of the story, but it is of Mario, in another of these divergent endings, invading the domain of the monster he witnessed or rather what its true form is. From what I have gathered as well, it seems that since you'll find evidence if not the Pink Forest looking into how to get to the "congratulations" at the end of 'the, its intentionally left there to be found. With the dialogue presented, Mario has entered the forest, witnessing atrocities performed by a woman he once knew, within the domain of the self proclaimed "God" who has taken over Peach. Mario is remembering pieces of this as he goes over each ending, again and again, forced upon by this god that makes him repeat everything. We see glimpses of what led to this with the dialogue presented which is intentionally out of order and placed randomly, because everything has happened and will happen again, over and over, until the monster is destroyed. For He is King

the music you used at the beginning brought me right back to SOG haunted gaming. unrelated but i couldn't not mention it

'The's creator made another hack with a possibly different creepy story, is not nearly as convoluted as this one, but you should play it I think it was called "level forest" or smt like that

Unrelated, but what I love about the current state of YT is that you might just find a video that captivates you with content and quality only for you to notice afterwards that judging by numbers you just discovered a hidden gem. Nice work, man c:

Great timing, i just finished the M A R I O video, your voice is great.

Ah yes *The* My favorite Mario Game

This SMW ROM Hack will always be my favorite creepypasta ever.

Im glad someone finally went through every secret and ending in this game I've been waiting a long time to see if this game had anything else in it other then the surface level endings everyone can find. Thanks for this in depth look over the game.

I actually remember this! I've seen videos about this hack back in 2016. I even remember the unused pink level. I do kind of like the idea of meta-narrative about Nintendo. For me they have become like a Lovecraftian Old One that I worship because my life has spun into chaos.

I’ve been obsessed with this hacks “story” since discovering it

This was such an amazing deep dive and totally earned yourself a sub from me! I hope we see more creepy rom hacks from you!

fucking FINALLY people are looking into this

Came here from the M A R I O video; not even half way in and I am pinned. Your storytelling is fantastic. I can't believe you don't even have 1000 subscribers yet! Can't wait to see you hit four digits!

I love this video, but I can’t help but laugh every time a scratched out word appears, because I can tell your just making chortling noises with your mouth and I just find it funny.

NGL it was a bit jarring as a long time hockey fan to realize that Ryan Johansen was somehow connected to this bizarre ROM hack lmao.

What really weirds me out is the amount of sensuality in the building house and the organ ripping out section. Masochistism?

Man never stop doing video's like this, love ya man your underrated af

Your videos analyzing rom hacks are so good! Very good voice, creepy atmosphere and the long videos make your videos so good! I don't understand English THAT well but keep up the great content!!!

Oh boy, oh boy! This is probably one of- if not my favorite Mario ROM hack!! Thank you so much for covering it. I think this hack is underrated and I love seeing content made about it :)) Also, my personal theory is sort of a mix between the demon and loss theories. I thought maybe Peach dying in the forest released the demon, which wanted to kill Mario for extra organs or something. But I do much rather prefer separating them, lol

Thank you so much for taking apart this game. Always wanted to know more about it!! ❤

24:39 I can’t take this hack seriously 💀

One thing i find interesting about this game is that it has something that could be considered a Jumpscare, (with most of those forms of peach) you just have to go out of your way to find them. The only one that you'll find by progressing normally is the one that chases you.

seeing an analysis of this hack is truly a wonderous thing. I've speculated and theorized but never discovered just as much as you did! incredible video, great work.