Kaze Emanuar released a video on his YouTube channel showing details to his modded version of Super Mario 64, which can be played online with other people.
Super Mario 64 was originally released for the Nintendo 64 back in 1996 and stands as one of the Mario franchise’s classic games. Nintendo revisited the unique 3D and blocky styled game with a remake created for the WiiU virtual console service in April 2015. Now the game is seeing yet another ‘remake’ of sorts, as modder Kaze Emanuar has used rom hacks to construct a version of Super Mario 64 that allows people to play the game online and with friends.
Kaze Emanuar released a video on his YouTube channel featuring gameplay using his mod; viewers can see Emanuar used a variety of levels from the classic Super Mario 64 game, in addition to settings that allow multiple people to play at the same time with a character of their choosing. This multiplayer aspect of the game has not been visited in official versions released by Nintendo.
In the description of another video, Emanuar states that the game “works with up to 24 players now,” but has not announced if there will be a limit to how many people can play at once.
Since none of the mods or rom hacks have been sponsored by Nintendo, the Super Mario 64 Online may be short lived. In the past, Nintendo issued a DMCA takedown order for Emanuar’s mods of Super Mario 64: Last Impact. Due to the DMCA, Emanuar can no longer upload any versions of the game because he does not own rights to it.
It would not be the first time Nintendo put their foot down in regards to player mods however; players have been banned from using their 3DS devices, online 3DS games, and accounts associated with the hacked devices after they were busted for modding. Nintendo also took down fan-made Pokémon game last year, Pokémon Uranium, which was created using data and mechanics from official Pokémon games without permission.
Fans of Emanuar’s work can currently download Super Mario 64 Online at their own risk, but Nintendo may choose to take it down at any time.