Thanks to recent ROM hacks, players can enjoy Super Mario 64 online together. The multiplayer hack recently allowed a handful of YouTubers to race against a speedrunner.
Super Mario 64 Online is a ROM hack by Kaze Emanuar, Melonspeedruns and Marshivolt. It allows up to 24 players to explore the game together. A group of ten YouTubers including Hobo Bros and Muselk faced off against SimpleFlips, a Super Mario 64 speedrunner, in a race to collect 70 stars and beat the game. The YouTubers worked collaboratively, sometimes collecting multiple stars at the same time as they spread out throughout multiple levels.
SimpleFlips and the YouTubers were mostly tied until the very end. As the YouTubers battled against Bowser, the final boss, SimpleFlips was slightly behind and started to blaze a furious trail through the game’s final level. The YouTubers comically panicked as they saw SimpleFlips catching up, doing leaping over obstacles and using shortcuts the YouTubers were unaware of. In the end, SimpleFlips managed to easily dispatch Bowser and beat the YouTuber team. It took another two minutes before the YouTubers conquered the final boss and finished the game themselves.
Kaze Emanuar’s Patreon received a DMCA claim from Nintendo shortly after Super Mario 64 Online’s release, but the game is still alive and well as players share files and use it to find their own brand of fun. Better luck next time, YouTubers. I’m sure you’ll beat those speedrunners when some mad genius makes Ocarina of Time Online.