A talented modder has finally given Super Mario 64 PC port.
Super Mario 64 was released in 1996 as one of the Nintendo 64's launch titles. The adventure saw Mario hopping into the worlds of various paintings and pools in Princess Peach's castle in an effort to collect stars and save the princess from Bowser. As one of the more popular 3-D Mario titles, Super Mario 64 ed Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine in the 2020 release of Super Mario 3-D All-Stars launched with minor upgrades to higher resolutions. Playing Super Mario 64 in its mostly original form on Nintendo Switch is fun for a day or two until players get frustrated with those poor '90s graphics.
YouTuber Dario has proven that ray tracing, a rendering effect to produce realistic lighting, is all Super Mario 64 needs to spice up the graphics. The video featured Dario playing the Wet-Dry World level of the Mario game on a $1,500 GPU with RTX. Thanks to ray tracing, the water appeared more clear and reflected the brick structures above. The electricity from the rotating balls glowed a bright yellow, while the sun left shadows all throughout the level. The fire even featured a bright orange glow that illuminated Mario's skin as he walked by.
As it turns out, this Wet-Dry World mod was just one example of Dario's ongoing Super Mario 64 project. On Dario's Twitter , a recent video gave a sneak peek at the basement area of Peach's Castle, where the blue and orange fires on the walls lit up the room. The is filled with other ray-traced scenes from Super Mario 64, so fans should keep an eye on Dario's Twitter for more.
Ray tracing has become huge in modern gaming, especially when added to older titles. Simply adding shadows and light reflection can be all a game needs to look more realistic. Back in November, three older GTA titles received ray tracing from a modder, while a Fortnite update from Nvidia brought updated ray-tracing graphics. Dario's upgrades to Super Mario 64 make the classic game look truly incredible. Now, can we get some better camera angles?
Source: Dario
