A dedicated modder is painstakingly recreating Super Mario 64 for the Game Boy Advance. This ambitious undertaking, seemingly impossible given the GBA's less powerful hardware compared to the original N64, is showing remarkable progress.
Super Mario 64, a 1996 classic and one of Nintendo's most beloved titles, revolutionized the franchise with its groundbreaking 3D gameplay. Its N64 release sold nearly 12 million copies.
Modder Joshua Barretto recently unveiled a video showcasing their GBA recreation. Abandoning a direct port due to difficulties, Barretto opted for a complete code rebuild. The results are stunning. What began in early May as a rudimentary red triangle representing Mario has evolved in under two months into a playable first level.
Modder's GBA Mario 64 Update
Barretto's GBA version currently runs at a respectable 20-30 frames per second, with Mario executing moves like somersaults, crouches, and long jumps. While imperfections remain, the feat of running this iconic game on the GBA is truly impressive. The project is ongoing, with Barretto aiming for a full, playable game. The hope is that Nintendo, known for its aggressive stance on fan projects, will not intervene.
Super Mario 64 has experienced a resurgence lately, with modders and dedicated players achieving extraordinary accomplishments. In May, a player completed the game without using the A button to jump – a challenge attempted since the early 2000s, finally conquered after an 86-hour marathon leveraging a rare Wii Virtual Console glitch.
Shortly before that, another player achieved the seemingly impossible: opening Super Mario 64's famously unopenable door in the Snow World, a decades-long puzzle solved through an incredibly complex technique.
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