Super Mario 64's superior version is finally getting a PC port

Super Mario 64 is fondly remembered as one of Nintendo’s best games, and a must-have for anyone who currently owns or wants a Nintendo 64.

It stands alongside The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as a genre-defining title that never gets hold, though in fairness that’s probably due to how many times Nintendo has re-released it…

Anyway, years later, Nintendo remade the game for the Nintendo DS, and there’s been a lot of debate since about whether it’s the superior version of the game or not. This upcoming PC port might just settle that debate though.

Super Mario 64 DS triple jumps onto PCs with the next big decompilation

The reason Super Mario 64 DS is considered by some to be superior to the OG Nintendo 64 game is due to its playable characters.

Instead of just Mario, you also get to play as Yoshi, Luigi and Wario, who all control differently and have their own unique abilities. It also features all-new levels not found in Super Mario 64.

Nowadays, you can even play the game with multiplayer enabled via an unofficial fan project.

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Some of the drawbacks, however, are the graphics (which look fine on a DS but less so on a bigger display) and the controls.

The Nintendo DS used to be Nintendo’s best-selling console for a reason before the Nintendo Switch showed up, but as far as modern handhelds go it’s very dated. For instance, the d-pad was fine for 2D games but was far from ideal for controlling a 3D platformer like Super Mario 64.

Nintendo

The PC decompilation being worked on by tangosdev and other contributors could solve all of this, however, as like other decompilations, it opens the door for alterations and mods that’ll fix its so-so features.

Better resolutions and framerates are a given, of course, but what fans should really be excited for is a potential merger of both versions of Super Mario 64.

Super Mario 64 DS with the visuals of the original version plus control stick support would literally be the perfect game. You’re getting the best of both worlds in that case.

It’s going to be very exciting to see what modders do with this port when it’s out, but unfortunately there’s still a lot of work left to do.

Progress is being made and you can see where it’s currently at via GitHub. It’s not going to be finished in the next few days though.

It’ll be worth the wait when it is completed. The debate over which version of Super Mario 64 is actually superior has dragged on long enough and unless Nintendo plans to remake the game like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a decompiled PC version might just earn the crown.

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