I tend to find that GSC ROM hacks are a lot better than 3rd generation hacks because a lot of people get scared away by the fact that there are not many tools for GSC and go off to hack the 3rd generation, leaving their strands of sub-par hackery over in that generation instead of the second.
Though I will admit I'm not the greatest hacker in the world (Coolboyman is, without a doubt), I keep pushing at it, trying to further my understanding of how the games work. Once you realise that the hexadecimal code actually means something, it's a lot easier to begin manipulating the code to do what you want it to do. The games are very well documented it seems, with the scripting compendium and the information on the Data Crystal wiki.
People who use tools aren't true hackers. As previously stated, they're simply editors, tweaking the game ever so slightly, barely impacting the storyline and drowning the community in "cookie-cutter" hacks, all following what seems to be the same template. What the hacks of Coolboyman have shown us is that the games don't have to follow that template, and with enough effort an entirely new game can be born out of an existing game. I don't see Prism as a hack, I see it as a new game built on the GSC engine. That's the sort of hacks we need to see.