Mario 64’s PC port, by the grace of a fantastic Modder, is now all set to feature ray tracing, making it better and more viable of an option than Nintendo’s re-release of the game!
There’s no feeling more satisfying than watching an old game given new life by people dedicated to reviving it. In the situation we’re talking about, though, things are slightly different since the game we’re talking about never really died.
Judging from the title, all of you will already know what game I’m talking about. It’s none other than Super Mario 340348, a classic that is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential games of all time!
Go and ask anyone who’s played this game, and you’ll know why it is held in such high regard, even after 25 years of its release.
You see, it’s one of the few games that did everything right in one go, and did it all so well that Nintendo didn’t even have to change the base mechanics of the game even after so many years.
The primary thing it stood out for was the freedom of movement and exploration that is offered. I mean, go and watch any speedrunner of this game, and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
It was so refined and so ahead of its time that many games of the current generation still fail to catch up to it.
Anyway, this isn’t a retrospective of Super Mario 64; it’s about what the community is doing with the fan-made PC port of the game these days, and trust me, it’s nothing short of amazing.
So, the reverse-engineered version of Super Mario 64 for PC has already become a darling for the modding community, providing them with a lot of liberation to improve and modify the game to their liking, ranging anywhere from adding a co-op mode to redefining the game’s textures.
Although my favorite one is the one that adds milord Waluigi into the game, Modder Darío has been working on something on an entirely different scale, adding ray tracing into the game!
Something about the game feature such high-res reflections is genuinely poetic, in my opinion.
Not to mention, it makes me realize how ray tracing’s capabilities are way more visible in older games or those with stylized graphics like Minecraft than the newer, current-gen ones.
Also, it seems that Darío will be making his ray tracing renderer quite flexible for other Modders to incorporate into their own, as seen in one of his latest tweets:
However, the mod is still a work in progress, and according to Darío, there’s still a lot of optimization left to achieve.
But considering how he also stated that the game is playable (720p on 30 FPS) on a GTX 1080, which, as we all know, doesn’t have ray tracing, I believe that it won’t be long before the ray tracing is easily achievable in a series 2000 or 3000 graphics card.
Regardless, I’m undoubtedly excited for the day when it finally lands in our hands, and we get to Super Mario 64 anew! If you haven’t already checked out the port, do so as soon as possible to experience the magic of Super Mario 64!
About Super Mario 64
Launched in 1996, Super Mario 64 was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 and Wii. It was the first 3D game of the Super Mario series and allowed for open-world gameplay.
The plot of Super Mario 64 revolves around the kidnapping of Princess Peach. She is imprisoned by King Koopa and it is only Mario who can rescue her from the antagonist of the Mario franchise. The game gives Mario a wide range of abilities. As a result, the protagonist can walk, swim, jump up to three times at a go, swim, punch, kick, climb, crouch and crawl. Mario can also perform stunts like backflip and long jump simply by using the buttons and stick of a controller.
Super Mario 64 was well received by the fans and critics alike. Many popular gaming sites like Game Informer, Edge, Nintendo Power and IGN etc called Super Mario 64 one of the greatest games of all time.
No Comments on The Fan-made Port of Mario 64 Is Better than Ever Now!