Play Super Mario 64 on Android without downloading an emulator

It corresponds to the edition for Nintendo 64, a version that was launched with an open world gameplay, very different from its predecessors, which likewise went from 2D to three dimensions. We know that emulators are a great tool, but there are many possibilities of crashing or performance problems.

Prerequisites for playing Super Mario 64

Can be applied to any terminal and to any Android version. That is the main advantage besides not depending on an emulator. Its save systems give many errors and the FPS processing is usually not good in many Nintendo ported titles, although it can also be due to the file with an NDS extension.

What we are going to do is generate an APK file of this game. We just need an app called Termux

to enter a series of commands. The fact comes from an XDA Developers user has managed to create a ROM of the game in a file equivalent to the C code, so that it can be read in programming, hence the implementation of commands. Unfortunately, the APK cannot be disclosed because it would be illegal, but we can compile it ourselves.

How to generate the APK of Super Mario 64

The process is unique because you only need this Termux app to insert the commands and generate the APK. The steps that we must follow are the following:

1. Install the necessary dependencies within the Termux environment:

   pkg install git wget make python getconf zip apksigner clang

2. Clone the appropriate repository to use as a builder and generate the APK:

   git clone https://github.com/VDavid003/sm64-port-android
   cd sm64-port-android

3. Copy the game base using Termux. Once again, we must provide your own copy .

   termux-setup-storage
   cp /sdcard/path/to/your/baserom.z64 ./baserom.us.z64

4. Get SDL includes:

   ./getSDL.sh

5. Begin construction:

   make --jobs 4

   We can increase the value of the “jobs” parameter depending on how many CPU cores you can dedicate to the build process.
6. If things go well, the resulting Super Mario 64 APK should be found inside the “build” folder with the following file name:

ls -al build/us_pc/sm64.us.f3dex2e.apk

It is a process that is not complex but heavy, although it is not too great an obstacle to overcome to be able to play Super Mario 64 with a method that will run the game as a native application without the need for an emulator gateway that consumes excessive resources. natively.

How’s the game’s APK going?

The game goes like a real shot. Because it is installed natively, there is no frame drops or bugs that impoverish the experience of the game. In addition, Super Mario looks very sharp, taking into account the graphical limitations of that time. We can access all parts of the title without crashing or having any type of lag.

On the other hand, we can make various adjustments as if we were in the console, since we can adjust, if the terminal does not allow us to go to the maximum, aspects such as the anti-alising, Vertical Sync, filtering textures or screen resolution, if we want it in full screen or in windowed mode.