The Second Reality Project

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The Second Reality Project is a series of ROM hacks of Super Mario World by FPI. The games feature Mario's adventures in Another Dimension.

The series begins with Mario learning that Bowser had discovered a new power source and is using the resources to construct an invasion fleet of airships in order to strike the Mushroom Kingdom. Eventually, Mario discovers the Second Reality and must put a stop to Bowser's plot. The second game concerns Mario's unexpected return to the Second Reality and a new foe named Zycloboo. The upcoming conclusion to the trilogy will involve Bowser's return to the Second Reality as the primary plot.

After the release of the second game, FPI created The Second Reality Project Reloaded, a remake of the first game with improved graphics and a more original and coherent plot. A "reloaded" version of the second game is also in the works. Another ROM hack by FPI, a deliberately bad parody of bad hacks called Chaos CompleXX, is loosely connected to the plot of The Second Reality Project via Retcon in Reloaded.

You can find the games as .ips patches on either ROM hack archive SMW Central or FPI Productions.

Tropes used in The Second Reality Project include:

• Another Dimension: The Second Reality itself. The remake of the first game also features Thirdspace... and Mobius?
• Check Point Starvation: Since Mario World levels can only have one Check Point in them, this occurs in Bowser's Starship and Chaos CompleXX in the first game. This is even more common in the second game, which has extremely long levels.
• The Chessmaster: Zycloboo.
• Big Bad: Bowser in the first and third games, Zycloboo in the second.
• Cute Kitten: The Powercats.
• Giggling Villain: Zycloboo. "Hee, hee, hee..."
• MacGuffin: The Power Supply Switch in the second and third games.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the remake of the first game, launching Ludwig's castle into the volcano leads to the portal to Thirdspace being reenabled. In the second game, reactivating the Power Supply switch gives Zycloboo unlimited power.
• Retcon: Chaos CompleXX was retconned into the story of the TSRP trilogy as the result of the Roboxx's Glitch Cannon destroying Thirdspace.
• Stylistic Suck: Chaos CompleXX.
• Video Game Remake: The first two games.

Tropes that apply to the first game:

• Band Land: Sumo Symphony and Acoustic Castle.
• Blackout Basement: One section of "Pyra Psychodelic" goes dark repeatedly.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Zycloboo in the remake.
• Evil Versus Evil: Bowser versus the Roboxx', with Zycloboo playing them both against each other.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: A lot of the levels in the game are this. Moving Cave, Ghost Cave, Ice Bomb Bridge, Spiny Woods, Rhino's Road, Flying Fish Bridge, the list goes on.
• Final Boss, New Dimension: An interesting twist on the trope -- midway through the final stage, Bowser's ship starts travelling between dimensions, and upon making it to the room before the boss, you find yourself back in the First Reality.
• Green Hill Zone:
  • The Flower Plateau.
  • Also occurs literally in the Second Reality (as well as all of the other Sonic 1 zones).
• Hailfire Peaks:
  • The sixth world takes place in both the Rhino Jungle and the Koopa Desert.
  • Freezeflame Rock, which alternates between lava segments and ice segments.
  • Even though the level "Koopakick" is located inside the volcano on the overworld, the actual level takes place outside, with a lush, hilly landscape in the background, with castle decorations and lava in the foreground. The outdoor portions of "Volcano Castle" (the level right after "Koopakick") are also like this.
• 100% Completion: The remake of the game expands the ending upon achieving this.
• Lava Is Boiling Kool-Aid: In the map for the third world in the remake, Mario can swim through lava.
• Lethal Lava Land: Donut Volcano.
• The Lost Woods: The Magical Forest.
• Marathon Level:
  • Bowser's Starship.
  • Also the Chaos CompleXX in the remake.
• Mordor: Bowser's Valley.
• Mr. Exposition: Marty Mole in Chaos CompleXX.
• Multi Mook Melee: Some of the boss rooms consist of a barrage of enemies in an autoscrolling room.
• Multiple Endings: Find all 117 exits to add more to the ending.
• Non-Indicative Name:
  • Mole Ruins #2. There is not a single mole in the whole stage.
  • The level "Inferno" takes place in a ruin-filled grassy area at night.
• Nostalgia Level: The level "Echoes Of Birabuto" is a remake of World 1-1 from Super Mario Land.
• Platform Hell: Becomes more and more like this the farther you get into the game. This is especially bad in the original version, in which the final level forces you to be a One-Hit-Point Wonder for most of the stage, with no Check Points in sight. The difficulty in the remake is significantly toned down and probably only qualifies as Nintendo Hard for most of the game.
• Reality Is Out to Lunch / World of Chaos: Thirdspace--even more so after the Glitch Cannon goes off. The Roboxx' also planned on turning the First Reality into this as well.
• Ruins for Ruins Sake: The Mole Ruins.
• Save the Princess: Played straight originally, but averted in the remake.
• Sequel Hook: Present in the remake, though only after you get 100% Completion.
• Sidequest: The remake adds one in the form of Thirdspace.
• Shout-Out: Take a wild guess what the optional world Sonic Shortcut is about. Also, Thirdspace is based very heavily on FPI's joke hack, Chaos CompleXX.
• Space Zone: Makes up a good portion of Second Reality Assault.
• Theme and Variations Soundtrack: The Title Screen music comes up quite a bit in other tracks, especially towards the end of the game.
• Wave Motion Gun: The Roboxx's Glitch Cannon.

Tropes that apply to the second game:

• Advancing Wall of Doom
• Ascended Extra: In the original version of the game, the pirates were just one-off villains that appeared in a secret level. In the remake, they're prominent in World 4 and formed an alliance with Zycloboo.
• Hell Hotel: The aptly named "Hotel Horror".
• Kaizo Trap: In the secret level "Old Aquaria".
• Gang Plank Galleon: "We Are Pirates!"
• Instant Plunder, Just Add Pirates: See above.
• One-Winged Angel: Zycloboo upon Mario's activation of the Power Supply Switch.
• Punny Name: In the remake, the secret Lost World is renamed "Catgoom Kingdom".
• Temple of Doom: Literally. One of the levels is called Temple Of Doom.
• Recurring Boss: Zycloboo. FPI confirmed that the remake will handle him differently. Different bosses will replace him up until the Ghost Train.
• Womb Level: The penultimate level takes place inside Zycloboo.