Prepare for a healthy dose of Nintendo nostalgia as one fan unveils their downloadable demo for Super Mario 64 using the Unreal Engine 4. Gamers can now see what it would be like to scale Princess Peach's castle in search of that slice of cake all over again, but this time, it's with a whole new generation of graphics.
The Nintendo 64 continued the company's success with groundbreaking consoles, and even 22 years after its release, it still represents some of the best games ever made. Alongside groundbreaking titles like The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and GoldenEye 007, Super Mario 64 holds a special place in the hearts of many, but what would the portly plumber look like with a 21st Century upgrade?
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Retro game enthusiast CryZENx has made his Super Mario 64 demo available for download via Patreon. Hitting fans right in the feels, CryZENx has beautifully recreated the game's opening sequence using the Unreal Engine 4. Although the demo doesn't allow Mario inside Peach's castle, it does let players hop, skip, and flip their way around the grounds and even take a dip in the level's crystal clear waters.
Super Mario 64 is no stranger to getting a remaster thanks to the DS version being released in 2004. More recently, one player added a Super Mario Odyssey mod to Super Mario 64 to give Mario his new Cappy powers. The game has still remained popular in other circles, with someone only just breaking a two-year Super Mario 64 speedrun record.
Although there is no news on whether CryZENx plans on giving fans more or whether he is working on a full game, the revelation that he whipped up the demo in just two weeks after coming back from vacation is a pretty impressive feat. CryZENx is something of an expert at this kind of thing and has already made a name for himself with Unreal Engine 4 demos for Diddy Kong Racing and recreating Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time.
Sadly, Nintendo has a checkered past with fan remakes. In 2015, Nintendo issued a takedown notice against a Unity recreation of Bomb-omb Battlefield that was part of a project called Super Mario 64 HD. CryZENx's work will hopefully stay up a little longer, but it might be a case of download it while you can. Either way, with a Nintendo 64 Classic possibly on the way, it might not be too long before Mario gets to squeeze down the warp pipe all over again anyway.
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Source: CryZENx/Patreon