"This shouldn't work": Super Mario 64 now runs on the most expensive console of the '90s, and it's even "sort of" functional

Screenshot of Mario 64 for 3DO featuring Peach's Castle Courtyard and Mario sprite facing the camera.

The Panasonic 3DO and Super Mario 64 are two things that probably shouldn't go in the same sentence. One is a stupidly expensive retro console from the '90s that couldn't remotely keep up with proper fifth-gen contenders, while the other helped usher in a new age of 3D gaming.

That contrast hasn't stopped one Panasonic FZ-10 owner from trying to run Super Mario 64 on the 3DO, as developer Eyepatch Entertainment is working on a cursed conversion (h/t, Time Extension). Rather than trying to make a traditional "port" of Nintendo's iconic plumber platformer, the retro console enthusiast is building a 3D engine that uses "real Super Mario 64 decompilation assets" that are then rendered using the 3DO's CEL co-processor.