Even though the likes of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – particularly given their relative infancy – can churn out a pretty high-end, graphically-intensive gaming experience, there’ll never be a true replacement for nostalgia. When we go back and wipe the dust off the SNES, Dreamcast or N64, for example, we’re not looking to be wowed by stunning visuals, but taken on a trip down Memory Lane as we relive the retro classics. Easily the simplest and cheapest way of reigniting these old flames is to use some kind of emulation software as opposed to, say, setting up an old rig, and thanks to the work of one dev, you can enjoy Super Mario 64 from right within your browser.
The first thing to note about this throwback experience is that, while it looks and feels rather smooth – developer Erik Roystan Ross used the Unity engine to recreate the look and feel of the classic platformer – it’s a one-level title that the computer science graduate has no plans to expand upon. With the disheartening news out of the way, it’s still a very, very enjoyable play, particularly given that can be picked up and played right from your browser, and Mr. Ross has done a commendable job in dragging the graphics up to ballpark present-day standard.
The HD remake, as aforementioned, will not be the subject of further development, but should any major bugs arise that would render it unplayable, then he may consider chiming in with subsequent fixes.
If you want to try Super Mario 64 HD, or at least, the very first level, then you will need to point your browser to this link: mario64-erik.u85.net/Web.html. Furthermore, the Unity Web Player will also need to be present and running before you get started, since it’s the engine that will keep everything ticking over.
We’ve tested it out on one of our machines and can report that it is nice and slick, although your results may vary dependent on the speed and general capabilities of your setup.
So, if you still long for the casual, pick-up-and-play gaming that the likes of the N64 offered in abundance, then do check out this HD humdinger and leave your comments below.
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