Andrew Heinzman
Do you ever stare at the tasteful, heavily-stylized Super Mario 64 promotional art and wonder why the game doesn’t look half as good? The Render96 team brings Mario 64 promo art to life with its SM64 SGI mod, which uses new models and textures to nail that ’90s Silicon Graphics aesthetic.
The SM64 SGI mod is one of many fan projects for the unofficial Super Mario 64 PC port, a version of the game that runs on Windows without emulation. While still in its early stages, the SGI mod already fulfills some gamers’ fantasies and blurs the line between fan mods and game restorations.
But for some, the SGI mod also raises questions about game piracy. It comes at the heels of Nintendo’s rumored Mario 64 remaster, which could pursue the same Silicon Graphics aesthetic or aim for a more modern look. Which would fans prefer, and would the SGI mod siphon sales away from Nintendo? (The answer is almost certainly “no,” but Nintendo might think differently.)
Future updates for the SGI project will include a playable Luigi, refreshed stages, and modern lighting. To keep up with SM64 SGI updates, follow the project’s official Twitter page. If you want to try the mod yourself, follow the SGI mod tutorial.
