How to play Super Mario 64 on Mac
| Platforms | Operating system, Portable console |
Game summary
This version of Super Mario 64, originally released only in Japan, under the title Super Mario 64 Shindou Pak Taiou Version, is an enhancement over the International release of the game, as it retains all of the glitch fixes as well as graphical and sound changes. The main differences of this version are the Rumble Pak support, some small glitch fixes, the most notorious being the removal of the backwards long jump, a very important technique for the speedrunning scene, and a new title screen easter egg. This version would later be released on the iQue Player in China (without Rumble support), on the Japanese Wii and Wii U Virtual Console. It was finally localized and released internationally as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, with small visual enhancements.
First released: Jul 1997
Play Super Mario 64 on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)
The easiest way to play Super Mario 64 on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.
Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.
Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).
Super Mario 64 installation steps for Mac
Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Super Mario 64 like you would on any PC.
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