For as much as the Switch 2 still needs its big moment, I didn’t expect so much of its early lifespan to revolve around the N64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is returning in 2026 as a Switch 2 remake, and Star Fox brings Star Fox 64 back on June 25, 2026 with enhanced visuals, new game modes, and online multiplayer. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Nintendo had more classic N64 revivals in mind.
While the most recent Nintendo Direct gave us a more extensive look at the Star Fox 64 remake and finally confirmed the long-rumored Ocarina of Time remake with a brief teaser, it left a new Super Mario announcement out of the conversation, making this the perfect time to start thinking about one of the N64’s other most beloved classics. Nintendo doesn’t need to stop at Zelda and Star Fox if it’s already treating that era like a major Switch 2 selling point. The next obvious candidate is none other than Super Mario 64.
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Super Mario 64 Helped Establish the N64
I, like many others, don’t think of Super Mario 64 as just one among many great Nintendo 64 games. Rather, it’s difficult to deny it was the game the N64’s legacy was built on. According to Nintendo’s life-to-date sales data, the N64 eventually reached 32.93 million hardware units and 224.97 million software units sold, and considering it was the best-selling game on the console, even selling over 4 million units more than Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64 was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for that.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
I know Ocarina of Time is usually treated as the N64’s most sacred game, and as a massive Zelda fan who got to experience it in its heyday, I fully understand why. I also know Star Fox 64 still has one of the cleanest arcade identities Nintendo has ever made. However, when I think about the N64 as a console, Super Mario 64 is the game that ushered both of those titles and many other greats in.
Mario could run, jump, swim, crawl, climb, and dive through spaces that felt enormous at the time. Peach’s Castle was a place we wanted to poke around in before they even knew where the next painting would take us. It made 3D worlds feel welcoming, which is why it still feels like such an obvious Switch 2 candidate.
And Nintendo has all but set the table for that conversation with its biggest announcements during its recent Nintendo Direct. If Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 are considered worthy of remakes, I don’t see how Super Mario 64 gets denied that privilege. Mario is the face of Nintendo, after all, and both the N64 and the developer itself owe so much to Super Mario 64.
Super Mario 64 Needs More Than a Visual Upgrade
I recently tried to go back to Super Mario 64 in a quest for a nostalgia-fueled gaming experience, and it didn’t go the way I expected. I thought it would hook me almost immediately, and I was perfectly fine admitting that the memory of my time with the game alone would do most of the heavy lifting through what I knew would be undeniable rough spots. Instead, I bounced off it after about 10 minutes with not much desire to keep playing.
The camera felt awkward, the movement took more adjustment than I wanted, and simple navigation sometimes felt more finicky than fun. The idea of Super Mario 64 still worked on me, but the feel of Super Mario 64 did not. So, it became nothing but an exceedingly short nostalgia trip instead of a return that I thought would last for several hours, at the very least.
The best case for a video game remake is when a classic game’s reputation is still enormous but its antiquated gameplay prevents modern audiences from enjoying it and longtime fans from treating it like anything but a brief chance to remember. That’s precisely the position that Super Mario 64 is in. This classic N64 game is still adored by many fans, but the majority of them who feel compelled to revisit it are likely to find a game that doesn’t feel worth investing in anymore—and modern Super Mario games make that even more obvious.
Games like Super Mario Odyssey and even Bowser’s Fury show how flexible, expressive, and creative 3D Mario can feel now. A Super Mario 64 remake could still keep everything that made the original what it was while also adapting its gameplay mechanics to fit modern standards and introducing concepts that today’s Super Mario games have found success with. It wouldn’t need to be Super Mario Odyssey with a Super Mario 64 skin; only something that bridges the gap between what it was and what it could be if it were made today without removing the gap entirely.
The best case for a video game remake is when a classic game’s reputation is still enormous but its antiquated gameplay prevents modern audiences from enjoying it and longtime fans from treating it like anything but a brief chance to remember.
A massive visual and sound upgrade would be expected, of course, but the harder work would be mechanical. I would want to see the kind of creative ideas Nintendo poured into Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario Odyssey brought into the world of Super Mario 64, whether that means more fulfilling objectives, stranger environmental interactions, or more playful surprises hidden throughout the world. The trick would be adding that modern Mario imagination without robbing the N64 classic of the simplicity that made it so easy to love.
Nintendo Would Be Leaving Money on the Table Without a Super Mario 64 Remake
This is where the Switch 2 timing starts to feel important. Nintendo has already shown that it’s willing to use N64 nostalgia as more than a subscription-library bonus to play old games just as they were back then. Ocarina of Time and Star Fox are both being treated like major Switch 2 releases, which makes Super Mario 64 feel like an obvious missing piece.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
I keep coming back to Star Fox because its remake makes the Super Mario 64 question harder to ignore. I’m glad Star Fox is getting attention, and despite this being the umpteenth time Star Fox 64 is going to be remade, I’m going to play it. But if that game is allowed to return yet again, Super Mario 64 should be an easy call.
Super Mario 64 has never had the kind of modern remake that could make it feel new again for a broad audience. Super Mario 64 DS was its own interesting version, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars brought the original back to the Nintendo Switch. However, neither one is an example of what a full Switch 2 remake could be.
I also think Nintendo would be leaving money on the table by ignoring it. Nintendo’s latest Direct lacked titles from major franchises like Super Mario, and the absence of a mainline 3D Mario for the holiday window is just a strange decision to make. Considering Mario’s absence can be felt even when Nintendo has plenty of other games to show, there’s an opportunity here I think it needs to jump on.
Ocarina of Time and Star Fox are both being treated like major Switch 2 releases, which makes Super Mario 64 feel like an obvious missing piece.
A Super Mario 64 remake would give the Switch 2 a Mario-sized event without forcing Nintendo to rush whatever the next original 3D Mario becomes. It would speak to players who grew up with the N64, and it would give younger fans a better way to understand why this game still gets talked about with so much reverence. It would also fit the nostalgia lane Nintendo has already opened with Ocarina of Time and Star Fox.
Of course, I would still want a new 3D Super Mario game more than any remake. Switch 2 will eventually need its own original Mario game instead of only borrowing from the past. Even so, Nintendo has already made the N64 part of the console’s early story, and Super Mario 64 is too central to that history to just ignore.
After Ocarina of Time and Star Fox, Switch 2’s next N64 remake feels obvious. Nintendo has already chosen two of the console’s most recognizable classics. If Nintendo is willing to go back to that era, I don’t see how it avoids Super Mario 64, the game that helped carry it toward success.
