The talent and enthusiasm behind the Mario modding community is unlike any other. Countless Mario titles have been deeply modified and experimented with, but unfortunately, many of these do not turn into full-fledged projects. If they do, many of them do not pass the planning phases or simply stop production midway through. Fortunately, there are a handful of Mario modders and hackers that are committed enough to have these projects see a final release, and this week Mario Party Legacy will be highlighting five upcoming projects that are very dedicated and each do things so interesting that they deserve a special mention.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
Super Mario 64 has been a beloved classic since its release back in 1996. The game brought Mario into a full 3D environment, and started his 3D platforming series. While Super Mario Sunshine followed up the game in 2001, a true sequel comparable to the original was never created. For some time, Super Mario 64 2 was said to be in development, but nothing ever came out of that project. Now over 15 years later, Super Mario Star Road fills the role for a highly requested sequel.
Created and released on Christmas day of 2011, Super Mario Star Road took the familiar and lovable engine of Super Mario 64 and expanded in all sorts of new ways. Almost everything is redone, from the brand new worlds and levels, to the custom music and altered enemies. New textures and objects are common here, as the castle and the original levels are nowhere to be found.
The game has a ton new content, including over 120 stars spread across 30 different worlds. Close to 50 customized audio tunes were made for the game, most of which resemble other classic tunes from throughout the Mario series, including games like Super Mario Galaxy and Paper Mario. The gameplay is just like its always been, but Star Road will push it to the limits as some of the courses are some of the most challenging we have seen in any 3D Mario platformer to date. Although there are some camera issues from time to time, the game has plenty to boast about and shines in everything it tried to accomplish.
What’s most impressive is the fact that this entire project was created by a single fan, Skelux. Every star objective and every creations comes from his talent, and this is by no means anything light to take on. What is even more impressive than that is his continued work on the project after it was released. After finishing a patch for the game, Skelux was back to work on a sequel to the game, simply known as Super Mario Star Road 2.
Talking specifically about Super Mario Star Road 2, the game is set to feature even more stars to collect, with an impressive 40 completely new worlds. Skelux has been hard at work tweaking at the engine, and it looks like new gameplay elements like collectible items and expanded boundaries will be programmed into the sequel. And new music, of course!
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haWDxT2QG34
Super Mario Star Road was and is a massive fan made game that is intuitive and original, and most importantly a blast to play. You can play Super Mario Star Road now, but the sequel is set to release sometime later this year.