Nintendo's all-time classic 3D platformer Mario 64 is as popular as ever, hosting the most recorded speedruns and active runners on speedrun.com almost 25 years after it released — in fact, a new 120-Star world record was filmed live earlier this year. However, the game is also incredibly popular for the mods that shake up its original experience, like this one letting Mario explore a platforming variant of the original Mario Party.
The hack, called "Mario Party 64," released via YouTube by MrComit on February 16, and comes just in time for the 21st anniversary of Mario Party's North American release. MrComit's minute-and-a-half long trailer shows the world-famous plumber running around Mario 64-styled sandbox worlds recreating the original eight Mario Party boards, as well as "over a dozen minigames."
There are 70 stars in the downloadable hack according to the video description, and fans of Mario Party will notice something has been highlighted which doesn't belong. One of the recreated minigames called "Same Game," based on the 1985 tile-matching puzzle game Chain Shot!, was fully-functional in the original Mario Party's code but not playable without cheats according to The Cutting Room Floor.
There is a long list of Mario 64 mods that do everything from adding new visuals, to upending intended mechanics, like a split-screen multiplayer mod by well-known ROM hacker Kaze Emanuar. MrComit's "Mario Party 64" has been in the works since 2018, according to the video description on a showcase of the Yoshi's Tropical Island board and Platform Peril minigame uploaded in January 2019.
Putting such a heavy focus on the Nintendo 64-era party game makes sense, as it still has some of the most well-regarded Mario Party boards in the series. There's also likely a strong dose of nostalgia involved, as MrComit says they've done 99 percent of the work themselves. Their commitment to the passion project shows.
The Mario Party series goes strong to this day, with its latest entry being 2018's Super Mario Party on the Nintendo Switch. While it has had its ups and downs, the core conceit of a multiplayer Mario-themed board game continues to resonate with fans, and thanks to MrComit those fans can experience the original in a brand new way.
Mario Party is available now on Nintendo 64.
Sources: Mario Party 64 Download, speedrun.com, The Cutting Room Floor