Mario 64 is one of the easiest games to just turn on and play for any amount of time. 5 minutes, 2 hours, whatever. The game needs no introduction, really, it's as essential to 3D games as its predecessors were to 2D ones. What makes my most recent playthrough unique, however, is my discovery of the PC port and its wonderful modded content.
One of the most appealing factors of this PC port is the fact that there's an subset of its modding community who are dedicated to preserving the art style of the game's concept/promotional art. Seriously, these character models look nearly exactly like the models on the boxart and in the manual.
What really impresses me now is the implementation of global illumination and ray tracing into the game! It seriously brings the original art style to life in a way that no modern Mario game could ever hope to achieve:
View: https://youtu.be/ChqP2ecA8qE
Applying all of this great stuff, plus some HD textures and HUD elements has brought the game back to life substantially more than Nintendo's $60 3D All Stars could ever hope to achieve. Mind, my PC isnt powerful enough to be able to use global illumination and RTX, but the game still looks really damn good. There are a few audio bugs here and there, but it's a damn fine port
Anyone interested in downloading this port should do some digging around the official website:
One of the most appealing factors of this PC port is the fact that there's an subset of its modding community who are dedicated to preserving the art style of the game's concept/promotional art. Seriously, these character models look nearly exactly like the models on the boxart and in the manual.
What really impresses me now is the implementation of global illumination and ray tracing into the game! It seriously brings the original art style to life in a way that no modern Mario game could ever hope to achieve:
View: https://youtu.be/ChqP2ecA8qE
Applying all of this great stuff, plus some HD textures and HUD elements has brought the game back to life substantially more than Nintendo's $60 3D All Stars could ever hope to achieve. Mind, my PC isnt powerful enough to be able to use global illumination and RTX, but the game still looks really damn good. There are a few audio bugs here and there, but it's a damn fine port
Anyone interested in downloading this port should do some digging around the official website:
