How to modify star count in FDS SMB2

This requires a hex editor such as HxD

1. Open HxD and load your FDS Super Mario Bros. 2 ROM into the Hex Editor.


2. From here, go to the menu bar, click "Search" and select "Go to...".



3. Once you have selected "Go to...", a window will appear asking you enter an offset. Enter the offset "CC2C", this is where the game stores the number of times you have beaten the game.



4. Enter a number between 00 and 18 (24 in decimal) as that is the range SMB2 expects, entering a number greater than 18 will have no effect and will written back down to 18 after completing 8-4.
   
   Please note HxD uses hexadecimal numbers by default, meaning that the number 10 is repesented as 0A. For the example screenshot, I have chosen to modify the number at offset CC2C from 00 to 08, so that I have 8 stars and can access Worlds A-D.



5. Save the file, close HxD and load your newly modified ROM into an emulator such as Mesen.