One of the most notorious tracks from the Mario Kart series is now part of Super Mario 64. A new hack called Super Mario: The Missing Memories adds a level inspired by Rainbow Road.
Like the Mario Kart incarnation, the SM64 Rainbow Road is a pain in the ass. The track periodically disappears and you have to rely on memory or enemy placement to figure out where the ground actually is. When you head off the road, you'll need to get through a series of difficult pendulum jumps. At least you don't have Luigi trying to murder you, though.
Rainbow Road is one of 27 levels planned for Super Mario: The Missing Memories.
"Mario was on his way to Princess's Castle, when suddenly feels like his memories were gradually lost, until a time when he could not remember any world except the Peach's castle and its grounds," creator Mariohacker14 said of the project. "Mario could not understand what was happening, and when Mario arrives at the castle, it was closed, and Mario worried. Here our adventure begins..."
Only a few other levels have been completed thus far. Here's some footage from one of the "main" levels, entitled "Bob-omb Pyramid." It involves a lot of bomb-throwing and Thwomp-dodging:
One of the bonus levels, meanwhile, takes players to an underground Goomba lair. The player starts out fighting Goombas on paths surrounded by lava and then climbs giant wooden towers:
The Missing Memories is still a long way from completion. I hope Mariohacker14 keeps at it, though. The levels he's shown off thus far seem like they fit Mario 64 very well. In fact, I'm surprised that Nintendo never included a Rainbow Road portion in that game. Seeing how well the idea works in this hack - and how beloved Mario Kart is, it seems like a no-brainer.
There doesn't seem to be a way to download the hack just yet. At least we've got these videos to watch in the meantime, though.
