News:
ALERT:
Hacking Utilities:
Welcome all! On this page you will find many of the key programs used for hacking all games in the EarthBound series. Along with the latest version of CoilSnake, you will also find other tools for editing EarthBound's map, music, and other features, as well as tutorials and links to websites where you can download Super Nintendo emulators.
I try to keep this page up to date as updates and new programs and tools are released. If you find a problem with a tool, leave a message in the forum thread for that tool, or ask in the PK Hack Discord server. If you find anything wrong with this page, or any out-of-date information, please send me a PM on the Forum: BossCrafty | Or message me on Discord: You can find me in the PK Hack Discord server as Crafty++
I try to keep this page up to date as updates and new programs and tools are released. If you find a problem with a tool, leave a message in the forum thread for that tool, or ask in the PK Hack Discord server. If you find anything wrong with this page, or any out-of-date information, please send me a PM on the Forum: BossCrafty | Or message me on Discord: You can find me in the PK Hack Discord server as Crafty++
The Main Editing Tools:
CoilSnake
version 4.2
Author: Mr. Tenda • Official Forum Topic
CoilSnake is the latest and greatest data extraction/insertion utility for EarthBound written in Python. As its description would imply, CoilSnake can extract and insert data from the EarthBound ROM, such as images and table data. CoilSnake avoids PK Hack's data overwriting by just taking the data out of the ROM. You can then edit this data with your favorite text and image editors. When done, you can import the data back into the ROM. CoilSnake automatically takes care of sorting the new data through the ROM and changing pointers to refer to the new data. This basically allows for bigger, yet cleaner modifications to the EarthBound ROM, and it’s all neatly placed in a project folder. Literally everything in EarthBound can be changed with this; even if Coilsnake doesn't support editing it directly, you can write ASM or insert data using its built in CCS compiler!
EBME
version 1.0.0
Author: SupremeKirbo • Official Forum Topic
For years, EbProjEdit was the only map editor we had. It did its job well, but it was difficult to add new features and thus remained unchanged for nearly 12 years. SupremeKirb has finally taken on the task of creating a completely new map editor from scratch, with brand new features to make map editing so much easier! It's completely compatible with Coilsnake Projects and will continue to be updated in the future to fix bugs and add new functionality.
version 4.2
Author: Mr. Tenda • Official Forum Topic
CoilSnake is the latest and greatest data extraction/insertion utility for EarthBound written in Python. As its description would imply, CoilSnake can extract and insert data from the EarthBound ROM, such as images and table data. CoilSnake avoids PK Hack's data overwriting by just taking the data out of the ROM. You can then edit this data with your favorite text and image editors. When done, you can import the data back into the ROM. CoilSnake automatically takes care of sorting the new data through the ROM and changing pointers to refer to the new data. This basically allows for bigger, yet cleaner modifications to the EarthBound ROM, and it’s all neatly placed in a project folder. Literally everything in EarthBound can be changed with this; even if Coilsnake doesn't support editing it directly, you can write ASM or insert data using its built in CCS compiler!
EBME
version 1.0.0
Author: SupremeKirbo • Official Forum Topic
For years, EbProjEdit was the only map editor we had. It did its job well, but it was difficult to add new features and thus remained unchanged for nearly 12 years. SupremeKirb has finally taken on the task of creating a completely new map editor from scratch, with brand new features to make map editing so much easier! It's completely compatible with Coilsnake Projects and will continue to be updated in the future to fix bugs and add new functionality.
Tutorials:
EarthBound Hacking 101
Author: Lyrositor
Starmen.Net Mirror: EBHack101Latest.pdf
CoilSnake Tutorial
Author: Reg
Author: Lyrositor
Starmen.Net Mirror: EBHack101Latest.pdf
CoilSnake Tutorial
Author: Reg
SNES Emulators:
In order to run the EarthBound ROM, you'll need an emulation program that simulates the hardware in an SNES console. Because the programmers of said programs are always updating them, and we're too lazy to host all of the ports they've made, here are some links to the ones we reccommend.
zSNES (Recommended!)
For various reasons, zSNES is the preferred emulator of many PK Hackers.
SNES9X
The jury's still out on which is better, SNES9X or zSNES. More than anything it's a matter of what you tried first, and what you're used to. Try it out if you're feeling adventurous and what to see what works for you best.
Geiger's SNES9X Debugger (Recommended for ASM hacking!)
Geiger's SNES9X Debugger is basically SNES9X with an added debugging program. If you are doing some in-depth ASM hacking and need to figure out how things work in-game, then you'll DEFINITELY need to use this emulator.
zSNES (Recommended!)
For various reasons, zSNES is the preferred emulator of many PK Hackers.
SNES9X
The jury's still out on which is better, SNES9X or zSNES. More than anything it's a matter of what you tried first, and what you're used to. Try it out if you're feeling adventurous and what to see what works for you best.
Geiger's SNES9X Debugger (Recommended for ASM hacking!)
Geiger's SNES9X Debugger is basically SNES9X with an added debugging program. If you are doing some in-depth ASM hacking and need to figure out how things work in-game, then you'll DEFINITELY need to use this emulator.
Other Useful Tools:
EarthBound Music Editor
version 2.01 • 31 KB compressed • .zip
Author: Goplat • Official Forum Topic
"Whoa wait, what the hey is this? A music editor for EarthBound? Surely you jest?" That may be what you're thinking right now, but we assure you, this is reality. This little program will allow you to edit the music files in EarthBound. It's a bit complicated to use, however, but maybe some day one lucky PK Hacker will write up a music editor tutorial...? ;D
PK Hack
version 0.5.14 • 898 KB compressed • .zip
Author: AnyoneEB • Official Forum Topic
PK Hack was the premier EarthBound hacking utility way back in the day. The problem with the tool, sadly, is that it is highly unstable, as it would tend to corrupt roms to to its nature of editing data in place. It has been completely replaced by Coilsnake and it is important you use Coilsnake, not PK Hack, for hacking EarthBound! However, some people may have certain needs to reference information that Coilsnake does not show, such as the credits photo editor. So we're leaving this download here in just in case. Again, I stress that you must not use this to make your rom hacks! If you use it, make sure you edit only a COPY of your project, and you can use Coilsnake to decompile it after and extract your edits to use with a Coilsnake project
PSI Animation Editor
version 3.0.1.0 • 68 KB compressed • .zip
Author: JeffMan
The PSI Animation editor is a fun tool that allows you to edit most of the PSI Animations in Earthbound. You can really make whatever you want - there's endless possibilities with full arrangement editing. The program will only support ROMs that have been expanded to 4 MB, not 6 MB or the original ROM.
EarthBound Save State Editor
version 3.1 • 629 KB • .exe
Author: Unknown
The EB Save State Editor is a handy tool that allows you to open and modify the save states created by the ZSNES emulator. Change names, stats, items, and toggle event flags at will! Also supports custom event-flag descriptions for assisting in debugging the event flow of your hacks. There are a lot of hidden easter eggs stashed away in this program too, so look hard enough and you might find something amusing.
version 2.01 • 31 KB compressed • .zip
Author: Goplat • Official Forum Topic
"Whoa wait, what the hey is this? A music editor for EarthBound? Surely you jest?" That may be what you're thinking right now, but we assure you, this is reality. This little program will allow you to edit the music files in EarthBound. It's a bit complicated to use, however, but maybe some day one lucky PK Hacker will write up a music editor tutorial...? ;D
PK Hack
version 0.5.14 • 898 KB compressed • .zip
Author: AnyoneEB • Official Forum Topic
PK Hack was the premier EarthBound hacking utility way back in the day. The problem with the tool, sadly, is that it is highly unstable, as it would tend to corrupt roms to to its nature of editing data in place. It has been completely replaced by Coilsnake and it is important you use Coilsnake, not PK Hack, for hacking EarthBound! However, some people may have certain needs to reference information that Coilsnake does not show, such as the credits photo editor. So we're leaving this download here in just in case. Again, I stress that you must not use this to make your rom hacks! If you use it, make sure you edit only a COPY of your project, and you can use Coilsnake to decompile it after and extract your edits to use with a Coilsnake project
PSI Animation Editor
version 3.0.1.0 • 68 KB compressed • .zip
Author: JeffMan
The PSI Animation editor is a fun tool that allows you to edit most of the PSI Animations in Earthbound. You can really make whatever you want - there's endless possibilities with full arrangement editing. The program will only support ROMs that have been expanded to 4 MB, not 6 MB or the original ROM.
EarthBound Save State Editor
version 3.1 • 629 KB • .exe
Author: Unknown
The EB Save State Editor is a handy tool that allows you to open and modify the save states created by the ZSNES emulator. Change names, stats, items, and toggle event flags at will! Also supports custom event-flag descriptions for assisting in debugging the event flow of your hacks. There are a lot of hidden easter eggs stashed away in this program too, so look hard enough and you might find something amusing.
Editing Tools for Mother 1 and Mother 3:
Wait, what's this? Editing tools for Mother 3 and Mother 1? You can't be serious! Well mysterious disembodied voice, yes, we are completely 100% serious about 50% of the time, and you can bet that this time we are 100% serious. Although editing of Mother/Earthbound Zero is fairly limited due to lack of interest, and Mother 3 editing is severely limited by just how dense and tightly-woven the ROM is, it's entirely possible to get your editing on with these fabulous tools:
BBHack
version 1.0 • 84 KB compressed • .zip
Author: uyuyuy99 • Official Forum Topic
The brainchild of forum user uyuyuy99, BBHack is the PK Hack community's second attempt at creating a PK Hack program for EarthBound Zero. As of right now, it only serves as a map and tile editor, but uyuyuy99 eventually plans on expanding into other realms, such as graphics editing and text editing. In order to run BBHack, you will need the latest version of Java and an EarthBound Zero ROM.
MOTHER 3 Funland
version 0.0.1.2 • 247 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan • Official Forum Topic
MOTHER 3 Funland can best be described as "PK Hack for MOTHER 3." This handy tool allows you to edit the essentials of MOTHER 3: level up experience, items, shops, enemies, PSI, battle backgrounds, battleswirls, town maps, and character names. Sadly, due to the structure of the MOTHER 3 ROM, maps, enemy sprites, the script, and descriptions of items, enemies, and skills cannot be edited, and likely never will be in the near future. You can, however, view maps and text using this tool. Overworld sprite editing must be done using the standalone sprite editor below.
MOTHER 3 Sprite Editor
version 0.1α • 145 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan • Official Forum Topic
This was the first-ever MOTHER 3 hacking tool released to the public. This tool allows you to edit every single overworld sprite in the game, allowing you to create entirely new characters and insert them into the game.
MOTHER 1+2 Tools
259 KB compressed • .zip
Author: Tomato • Official Website (hosted by EarthBound Central)
This nifty little package was released around the same time when Tomato released his translation patch for the MOTHER 1 portion of MOTHER 1+2. These tools, when used in conjunction with the MOTHER 1+2 translation, will allow you to edit the text of the MOTHER 1 half of the game, allowing you to create your own text hacks!
PK Hack Zero
version 0.2 • 72 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan
A hidden gem of the PK Hack community's infancy, this program allows you to edit various details in the Earthbound Zero ROM. However, it is severely limited in its capacity. Still, if you're interested in looking at random numbers and data, then this is the tool for you. Don't bother JeffMan about it though. He hasn't updated it in EIGHT years! :O
Earthbound Zero Text Editor
9 KB compressed • .zip
Author: n42
A long-lost gem created by n42, this little program allows you to edit the text of the Earthbound Zero ROM, if for whatever reason you prefer not to use Tomato's Mother 1+2 Tools. The text editor operates in a similar manner to PK Hack's text editor.
Earthbound Zero Pointer Calculator
Author: vince94
A program to calculate EarthBound Zero pointers, making text editing a lot easier.
BBHack
version 1.0 • 84 KB compressed • .zip
Author: uyuyuy99 • Official Forum Topic
The brainchild of forum user uyuyuy99, BBHack is the PK Hack community's second attempt at creating a PK Hack program for EarthBound Zero. As of right now, it only serves as a map and tile editor, but uyuyuy99 eventually plans on expanding into other realms, such as graphics editing and text editing. In order to run BBHack, you will need the latest version of Java and an EarthBound Zero ROM.
MOTHER 3 Funland
version 0.0.1.2 • 247 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan • Official Forum Topic
MOTHER 3 Funland can best be described as "PK Hack for MOTHER 3." This handy tool allows you to edit the essentials of MOTHER 3: level up experience, items, shops, enemies, PSI, battle backgrounds, battleswirls, town maps, and character names. Sadly, due to the structure of the MOTHER 3 ROM, maps, enemy sprites, the script, and descriptions of items, enemies, and skills cannot be edited, and likely never will be in the near future. You can, however, view maps and text using this tool. Overworld sprite editing must be done using the standalone sprite editor below.
MOTHER 3 Sprite Editor
version 0.1α • 145 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan • Official Forum Topic
This was the first-ever MOTHER 3 hacking tool released to the public. This tool allows you to edit every single overworld sprite in the game, allowing you to create entirely new characters and insert them into the game.
MOTHER 1+2 Tools
259 KB compressed • .zip
Author: Tomato • Official Website (hosted by EarthBound Central)
This nifty little package was released around the same time when Tomato released his translation patch for the MOTHER 1 portion of MOTHER 1+2. These tools, when used in conjunction with the MOTHER 1+2 translation, will allow you to edit the text of the MOTHER 1 half of the game, allowing you to create your own text hacks!
PK Hack Zero
version 0.2 • 72 KB • .exe
Author: JeffMan
A hidden gem of the PK Hack community's infancy, this program allows you to edit various details in the Earthbound Zero ROM. However, it is severely limited in its capacity. Still, if you're interested in looking at random numbers and data, then this is the tool for you. Don't bother JeffMan about it though. He hasn't updated it in EIGHT years! :O
Earthbound Zero Text Editor
9 KB compressed • .zip
Author: n42
A long-lost gem created by n42, this little program allows you to edit the text of the Earthbound Zero ROM, if for whatever reason you prefer not to use Tomato's Mother 1+2 Tools. The text editor operates in a similar manner to PK Hack's text editor.
Earthbound Zero Pointer Calculator
Author: vince94
A program to calculate EarthBound Zero pointers, making text editing a lot easier.
