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Coder Gets Super Mario 64 Running On A Game Boy Advance

A coder has shown off a video of a from-scratch recreation of Super Mario 64 "limping" on Game Boy Advance hardware.

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We know that Doom can run on almost anything these days, but it seems that one ambitious coder has tried his best to get Super Mario 64 running on Game Boy Advance hardware. And while it's far from the smoothest experience, it's a pretty impressive feat of engineering.

Programmer Joshua Barretto showed off a video of the build in action. The swimming textures and basic Mario model take some getting used to, but the overall effect is clearly recognizable as Super Mario 64. Barretto notes in the video description that the build uses "real" 3D, rather than the fixed 2.5D-perspective tricks of games like Doom. When you consider that then-contemporary GBA games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 had to rely on zoomed-out isometric camera angles to achieve the illusion of 3D, you can see how far this build is pushing the GBA hardware.

While the project is still in early stages, Barretto says there's no timeline for its completion, or if it'll continue to be worked on. Regardless, it's unlikely to ever be released in a playable state, given Nintendo's litigious reputation. For example, Nintendo recently shut down the popular Switch emulator Yuzu and 3DS emulator Citra by winning a judgment against the developer group Tropic Haze.

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StickEmUp

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I will never understand doing things like this. It’s such a waste of time.

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GirlUSoCrazy

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GirlUSoCrazy  Online

It looks like they made their own engine that can use processed versions of Mario 64 map files, but this isn't a port of the Mario 64 engine. None of the physics are there, objects are missing, no NPCs.

It's still cool that someone is making a 3D engine on GBA, that can be difficult to do.

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BlackRoseDragon

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Huh?

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clockworkengine

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Or the non-clickbait, non-deceptive alternative headline: Coder makes wobbly Super Mario 64 tech demo for GBA.

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MrWhalo

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@clockworkengine: Only comment needed for this article. Lol

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