I don’t know what kind of courage or ignorance it takes for people to keep pumping out these incredible fan projects based on Nintendo’s ferociously-protected IP, but I love to see it.
The latest amazing bit of creativity from the Nintendo modding community to catch my eye is Mario Builder 64, a game that takes inspiration from Nintendo’s own 2D level-building Mario Maker series and translates the idea to 3D within the scope and limitations of the iconic Super Mario 64.
But not only does this project allow players to make their own Mario 64 levels within a user-friendly, custom in-game interface on PC via emulation, it can be played on a real N64 console running natively on the ancient hardware.
You can see Mario Builder 64 in action in the video below, showing off the simple tools and huge amount of scenery, enemies and items that can be used to create levels. There are even elements and systems not included in the original game that have come from some other legendary Super Mario 64 hacks. If the official Mario Maker games are anything to go by, there’s no doubt there’ll be some pretty devious creations concocted here, and you’re even able to share and download levels using SD storage.
Take a look at the video:
You can find out more about the project here. There are also instructions via a link on that page on how to play it for yourself, though you’ll need access to an N64 flash cart as well as a legal ROM backup of the actual Super Mario 64 game to be able to try out Mario Builder 64 – and naturally we don’t encourage or condone downloading ROMs illegally.
Now if we could just get Nintendo to take “inspiration” from this project and craft a proper 3D entry in the Mario Maker series, we’ll be absolutely set.
