Anyone with a web browser can now play a fully emulated version of Super Mario 64 for free – but it’ll probably be taken down by Nintendo before long. The video game juggernaut and Switch manufacturer has been on the warpath when it comes to piracy of its various games and properties even more than usual lately, filing (and winning) lawsuits and sending out cease-and-desist letters about as fast as Lakitu drops Spinies on the plumber’s capped head.

Among the emulators, copycats, and unapproved creations that have been caught in Nintendo’s legal crosshairs over the past few years were a PC port of Super Mario 64 that caught the internet’s attention in May 2020, as well as a painfully obvious Pokémon rip-off and some lewd Bowser fan art that are each better off forgotten, anyway. Speaking of Mario’s spiky nemesis, Nintendo recently filed a lawsuit against a piracy operation run by a Gary Bowser, who had been hacking and redistributing 3DS and Switch games for several years. That’s not even to mention as the company’s own legal drama surrounding a drifting glitch in the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, over which it’s still fighting a class-action lawsuit.

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As such, the newly released Super Mario 64: Browser Edition (thanks, NintendoLife) might be the next to draw Nintendo’s legal ire. However, the port’s creators have stated that they aren’t too worried about any DMCAs since their project isn’t a threat to the 25-year-old original’s sales figures. The completely free-to-play Super Mario 64: Browser Edition is exactly that: a 1:1 emulation of the Nintendo 64 classic that can be run on a simple web browser with virtually no lag. It even supports PlayStation and Xbox controllers on top of a standard mouse and keyboard.

However, given that the aforementioned PC port of Super Mario 64 was taken down only last year despite requiring a legal copy of the game to work, Super Mario 64: Browser Edition‘s developer may be underestimating the lengths the Big N will go to protect the 25-year-old game. While the Nintendo Switch continues to host a diverse variety of interesting indie titles, Nintendo’s sour opinion of fans’ own takes on its IP is no secret.

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Given how low-key the web browser-based emulator of Super Mario 64 seems to be at the moment, it might slip past Nintendo’s radar for at least a little while. However, it probably won’t be long before it ends up shut down like so many others over the past couple of years, so anyone interested in reliving the magic of Super Mario 64 in webpage form should check it out while they still can.                    

Source: froggi.es, NintendoLife

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J. Brodie Shirey
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J. Brodie Shirey is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe, but aren’t we all? He currently lives in York, Pennsylvania. He is a big comic book, video game, and science fiction fan, and likes writing articles for ScreenRant or scripts for some of his crazy TV show ideas.

A graduate from York County School of Technology, he’s self-published several books on Amazon, and once won 1st place at a regional computer fair for a CGI animated short. He might post it on Youtube someday. He hopes that working for this site will be his first step into the larger universe of online writing, since Megazord technology hasn’t been invented yet and he doesn’t seem to have any Force powers. You can check out his work at The Uncanny Fox, purchase his books on Amazon.com, see his posted scripts on Script Revolution, or see his portfolio here or here. He can also be followed on Twitter @FoxUncanny.

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