Super Mario 64 runs on PS1 now, because nothing is sacred to modders: "The best reason to do something is simply because you can"

Super Mario 64 has seen a lot of wild mods, but there's perhaps nothing wilder than seeing the Nintendo classic get a PS1 port thanks to the efforts of one modder.

The 2020s have been an interesting time for Nintendo's first (and best, if you ask me) 3D platformer, with the decompiled Super Mario 64 project leading to an extremely popular PC port, which in turn led to a litany of mods. As well quality-of-life improvements, these include more out-there ones such as the one which adds ray tracing to the nearly 30-year-old game, another that adds Sonic Adventure 2 levels, and probably some NSFW ones knowing how game mods go (like Mario not putting wet floor signs down, I don't know what you were thinking about).

The mod was shown off in a video by Video Game Esoterica, and obviously with the mod being a work-in-progress build – and the PS1 not being as powerful as the N64 – it isn't exactly as good looking as the N64 original, with completely black skyboxes, floating trees, and a whole boatload of performance and visual glitches prominent in the current build. My personal favorite is that Mario just decides to die as soon as he lands on the ground after collecting a star.

Super Mario 64 Decomp Gets Ported to PS1 - YouTube

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But regardless, despite the port not being quite there yet, it's already an incredibly impressive feat given the differences in hardware between the two consoles. And the top commenter of Video Game Esoterica's video puts it perfectly: "The best reason to do something is simply because you can."

Obviously it would have never happened officially, but my mind goes back to those official miracle ports like Capcom managing to get Resident Evil 2 onto one cartridge for the N64. Plus, if the PS1 got Mario 64, there really wouldn't be a discussion when it comes to which is the superior console (it's the one that had Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman).

The "elegant design" of Super Mario Bros levels has inspired devs for over 40 years, but it was Super Mario 64's 3D leap that was a "watershed moment."