Janky, Fascinating, and Totally Unsanctioned: The PlayStation Port of Super Mario 64

It might have seemed unimaginable a few years ago, but a determined modding effort has brought Super Mario 64 to PlayStation 1 — at least in the form of a PS1-compatible build that runs on PlayStation 1 emulators. Nintendo’s seminal platformer, first released for the Nintendo 64 in 1996, has been reconstructed to run on PlayStation-era hardware/software.

The port was developed by a modder known as “Malucard” and is hosted on GitHub. View the project on GitHub. A playable demonstration was uploaded by the YouTube channel Video Game Esoterica, which shows a working but imperfect rendition of the game. As the author notes in the project description — and as the clip makes clear — the build is a work in progress, with occasional physics glitches and graphics issues.

Even if you own a contemporary PlayStation console like the PS5, the technical feat here is meaningful: after nearly 30 years, seeing Super Mario 64 adapted for PlayStation is an impressive display of reverse engineering and hobbyist persistence. For many players who’ve encountered the frustration of a beloved title not being available on their platform, projects like this carry emotional weight as much as technical interest.

That said, unofficial ports can invite legal scrutiny. Nintendo has a track record of acting against fan-made ports and unauthorized distributions — a high-profile PC port was removed in 2020 after legal pressure — so this PS1 effort could face similar challenges. The port leverages an existing decompilation of the original game, which has circulated for years, and while the classic N64 vs. PS1 rivalry is long past, there’s no guarantee Nintendo will permit unofficial console ports to remain public.

 

Source: Polygon