Sony and Nintendo once planned to release a joint console. After more than 30 years, PS1 fans are finally getting one of the best N64 games.
The Nintendo PlayStation is arguably one of the most famous stories in console history. Even today, many console gamers still dream about what would have happened if Nintendo and Sony had actually joined forces in the 1990s.
We can only speculate about this in 2025. An amateur developer named Malucard is now taking matters into his own hands.
He is porting one of the best and most popular N64 games to the very first PlayStation.
Super Mario 64 PS1 Edition
The title was not only the first on the N64, but also marked Mario’s initial steps into 3D.
What would it look like on Sony’s PlayStation? You can see for yourself in the following video.
Two things immediately catch the eye that seem strange.
1. Mario and the assets used look unusual.
There are several reasons for this:
- Super Mario 64 was decompiled. This means that the game was broken down to its source code in order to use it as the basis for the port to the PS1. The decompilation was done openly, so you can view the individual files at Github.
- Numerous routines had to be rewritten, which means they look different from the N64 version.
- The PS1 has less RAM than the N64. This means that a 64-bit version of the game has to be converted to a 32-bit version. As a result, some assets and animations (still) look suboptimal.
2. The port is still full of bugs
Right at the beginning of the video, it is noticeable that the port of the game is still under construction and far from complete.
- Some objects float above the ground.
- The sky sometimes turns black.
- Textures are distorted in places.
- Animations are jerky.
- Glitches plague the gaming experience.
- The famous camera from the N64 version sometimes doesn’t work properly.
Nevertheless, this port shows the enthusiasm of retro gamers for old consoles. Especially since you can already travel through several levels of Super Mario 64 and even fight Bowser.
What once seemed unthinkable—playing Super Mario on a Sony console—is now possible with hard work and the necessary know-how.
Back in the late 1980s, Sony was working on a CD expansion for the SNES, now known only as the Nintendo PlayStation. You can see an example of this at Reddit .
However, Nintendo dealt Sony a blow. Just one day before the add-on for the console was unveiled, Nintendo announced that it wanted to develop such an extension with Philips. This resulted in the Philips CDi – and one of the biggest flops in console history.
Sony developed the PlayStation from its add-on, which was launched in 1995. The rest is history.
