Legend of the Grand Star
Demo: LotGS v0.3
SMW:LotGS is a romhack that I've been working on on-and-off for quite some time. Between real life obligations and becoming frustrated with romhacking (usually related to music porting) and taking a break, I've yet to release a full demo version. (I have released a few betas under a different title though)
Hopefully this is about to change. The main things left for me to do before the romhack is complete enough for a one-world demo is to decide and port three more songs, and to design the actual game intro. Infact, the only thing preventing me from putting out a beta version is the fact that AddmusicK is currently incompatible with the Layer 3 ExGFX patch (which Kipernal says is a minor fix, so hopefully the next version won't have that issue)
Various things SMW:LotGS has been influenced by several different games. Paper Mario was a big influence on the Mushroom Kingdom itself and there are several smaller aspects influenced by other games such as Donkey Kong and Megaman.
Story
One day, Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach. This is never a good sign.



Thankfully, she hasn't been kidnapped this time. Still, trouble is brewing in the Mushroom Kingdom and only Mario can stop it. Off to the castle to see what's wrong!










Screenshots
The Mushroom Kingdom

Every adventure starts somewhere.
Goomba Road

As I said, Paper Mario was a big influence on the Mushroom Kingdom and so the first level was inspired by the area of the same name. SMW:LotGS uses a modified version of the SMB2 Health Bar. This one also heals you when you pick up Fire Flowers (Capes are unused in this hack since they're so broken. Spin-jumping is disabled for the same reason). In addition, 1-UP Mushrooms only give an extra life when your health is full. If Mario is hurt, they restore him to full health.

Up above is a Star Coin. These play an important role in SMW:LotGS. Princess Peach will explain exactly what once a playable version of the hack is released. There is one in every level and they're usually better hidden or harder to reach than this one.


Yoshi does not carry over from level to level. However, if you reach the end of the level with him, you'll be rewarded.
Toad Town


Toad Town is the first town Mario encounters in the game. It features a shop and a Toad House where Mario can heal. The shop doesn't offer anything amazing, but the prices are cheap and the Toad House is free. Other towns may have better selections, but they also come with higher prices. Note that the shop is selling a plush Yoshi doll, not an actual Yoshi.
Princess Peach's Castle


When Mario makes it to the castle, Peach will explain the situation and the adventure really begins. The castle also contains a few extra areas that are planned for later versions but not yet implemented.
The Sewers

Mario's main way of navigating the overworld is through the sewers. As his adventure progresses, more areas will become accessible. It will be perfectly possible for Mario to reach the final world without clearing a single castle, though he will still have to visit the various worlds for other reasons. (Ignore the Boo. I just didn't bother removing it when I modified the map.)
Sludge Trudge


Mario's first stop on the way to World 1. No one said being a plumber was glamorous. Or sanitary.
World 1 - Skull Island

Dr. Wily says: Skulls make everything 70% more intimidating!
Skull Island is a world that contains a little bit of everything. There's a grassland level, a sky level, a beach level, a snow level, a fortress, and a castle. Rather than having one specific theme, this world introduces several types of levels. (Again, ignore the Boos.)
This level doesn't have a name yet



It does, however have Hammer Brothers. The hack also uses the SMB1 Flagpole for level ends. It just feels more fitting for Mario than the vanilla goal bar.
Cloudy Crossing
No pictures to show. This level uses layer 3 to until AMK is layer 3 exgfx compatible, the background looks like a garbled mess.
Fungus Fortress



Hmm... I wonder what the theme of this level could be.
Shiver Slopes

The level is actually mostly outdoors, but I only had the one screenshot due to the AMK/Layer 3 issue. It's a snow level featuring an ice cave in the middle. When Mario enters the cave, there is light snowfall outside, but by the time he leaves, the snow has picked up quite a bit.
Castle #1 - Larry Koopa


Larry's castle starts off fairly standard. Some Thwomps, a bit of lava, some Dry Bones. There's a bit of a twist midway through though. I'll leave that as a surprise. There is also an outdoors portion before Mario enters the actual castle, but I have no screenshots due to AMK/Layer 3 incompatibilities.


Larry himself attacks by spitting fireballs and charging across the screen. When he is hit, he retreats into his shell for a while. At half health, he becomes a bit faster and learns a few new tricks, but as the weakest of the Koopalings, he's still a fairly simple boss.
Spiny Seaside


Though technically part of World 1, Spiny Seaside is not on the path to Larry's Castle. This level lies on the path from World 1 to World 2.
Also, this



Expanding on the Modern Spiny Pack I released for C3 (which allows Spinys and Buzzy Beetles to exist in the same level, among other things), I've created my own version of the Ceiling Buzzy Beetle sprite (with a Spiny variant).
Unlike the version currently in the Sprites Section, this Ceiling Buzzy does everything a shell does when it drops. It will kill other enemies and destroy bricks. If Mario stomps it or Yoshi eats it, it can be carried around and thrown/spit just like a Koopa shell. It isn't without flaws, but the behavior is more accurate than any previous attempts at this sprite that I've seen.
Videos
Random Yoshi Colors
In SMW:LotGS, Yoshi's color is randomly determined whenever he appears. This is a cosmetic effect only. Yoshi does not have special powers based on his color.
Cataquack Sprite
A demonstration of the Cataquack sprite I coded, as seen in Spiny Seaside.
Castle Intro
What can I say? I like Megaman games.
Other Notes
The romhack features a custom 4-digit coin counter (that does not disable score like the version in the patches section.
Levels are not timed.
Graphics and music are almost entirely custom. I do all of my own music porting and graphic ripping.
Mario learns new abilities as his adventure progresses. For example, in world 1, Mario can learn how to Ground Pound.
As I said before, the biggest thing keeping the first world from being complete is that I need to decide on a few more songs. I need a song for an underground cave area, for the introduction (the welcome scene. I wanted to use the letter from Peach from SM64 but couldn't find a Midi), and an overworld song for the sewer world. I'm open to suggestions if you have any.
I have a hack thread - Link (Now with a demo!)
Also a music thread - Link
C3 Projects
2013: Modern Spiny Pack
2012: MGSS v0.1
Spring 2010: SMB2 Autobomb Sprite