More than 25 years after its original release, Super Mario 64 has just landed on a completely unexpected platform: the Sega Dreamcast. Thanks to the relentless work of developer jnmartin84, this native port turns SEGA’s console into a Nintendo time machine.

A “AAA-Quality” Port

Developer Falco Girgis describes the result as “a port that plays like a native AAA version.” Unlike simple emulation, this version uses the decompiled source code of the original game to create an experience perfectly tailored to the Dreamcast’s hardware.

The port runs at full speed in the Dreamcast’s native 480p resolution, with complete audio support and VMU support for save files.

A Technical Feat

This project would never have been possible without the full decompilation of Super Mario 64’s source code carried out a few years ago. That decompilation opened the door to native ports of this iconic game not only on PC, but also on other consoles.

The current Dreamcast port significantly improves upon an earlier version released in 2020 by mrneo240, which suffered from audio and visual issues. jnmartin84 took up the torch to fix these shortcomings and add essential features such as VMU save support.

The Dreamcast, a Console with a Thousand Lives

This port joins an impressive list including Sonic Mania, GTA III, GTA Vice City, Star Fox 64, DOOM 64, Mario Kart 64, and Duke Nukem 3D. The Dreamcast homebrew scene has never been this dynamic, 24 years after the console was discontinued.

As previously mentioned with Star Fox 64, jnmartin84 and Falco Girgis form a formidable duo that continues to push the Dreamcast’s technical limits, proving that SEGA’s console still has plenty of life left in it.

Availability

The project is available on jnmartin84’s GitHub repository, but requires a legal US Super Mario 64 ROM to extract the assets. No copyrighted content is included in the source code, making the project legally viable.

For nostalgia lovers and video game preservation enthusiasts, this port once again proves that the Dreamcast stubbornly refuses to die.