SNES Classic news: Renewed console can be hacked to play downloaded games

Packshot of the sold out SNES Classic Mini.Nintendo Co. UK

Nintendo fans who were lucky enough to acquire their own Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Classic are about to be even more fortunate, as a hack has been discovered for the rekindled console which will allow owners to play custom games.

It should be noted that, as always, hacking the SNES increases the risk of breaking the device and voiding the warranty. For those who are confident enough to follow the hacking instructions, it will allow users to play games that the SNES Classic does not usually allow them to. The SNES Classic has a library of old SNES games, but beyond that, there isn't anything else that owners can play on the console since they cannot use old SNES cartridges, and the SNES Classic also does not have any online library of games available for download.

The tool which hackers made to expand the user options for the SNES Classic is called HakChi, the same hack that was used to hack the old NES Classic. It allows the owners to add more games to the storage of the SNES Classic by connecting them to a PC. Owners will have to bear in mind though that the SNES Classic only has 300 megabytes (MB) of storage, and a fraction of this is already being used by the pre-loaded games, so the additional games that can be added by the HakChi are somewhat limited. Thankfully, the games can be swapped out.

The hacking process is rather arduous and involves installing several additional tools to the owner's PC to be able to hack into the SNES Classic. HakChi also improves upon the existing user-interface (UI) and control problem of the SNES Classic, namely, the lack of a home button, which is not included in the controllers for the console. HakChi allows implementation of a home button function to the controller of SNES Classic.

As of now, there are more than 200 games that can be added to the SNES Classic via HakChi. Interested fans may download the tool in GitHub; it is now in its updated version, HakChi 2. This is all provided that fans can acquire the SNES Classic since units for the said console revival have been scarce.