Developer runs Super Mario 64 on original SNES hardware

A developer known as Game of Tobi has created a version of Super Mario 64 that runs on original Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) hardware. The project, titled ‘Super Mario FX’, utilizes a custom-built engine rather than being a direct port of the original Nintendo 64 game.

To accommodate the technical limitations of the SNES, the developer had to reuse assets such as textures and Mario’s animations from the original title while significantly shrinking levels to fit within a 2MB storage limit. The project currently allows players to explore Peach’s Castle and the Bob-omb Battlefield level.

The software runs on original hardware via a flash cartridge that supports the Super FX chip, a specialized graphics processor used in certain SNES cartridges to enable 3D polygon-based graphics. The project name references long-standing rumors that Nintendo once considered a 3D Mario title for the SNES prior to the release of Super Mario 64.