[@Raddum]
Amen to that!  Fun fact: Toby Fox started games with Earthbound romhacks.
[@Shadow007]
While the romhacks list is vast and I do not feel comfortable sharing the links out in 'public' given what often happens when [s]Kotaku[/s] someplace big draws C&D-happy company attention, there are very good stand-alone fangames out there.