Super Mario Galaxy PC port: Nebula arrives native on Windows made with Claude

The native and unofficial Super Mario Galaxy PC port has arrived. Called Nebula, the project by developer keepvaibin translates the original Wii game's PowerPC code into C++ and runs it natively on Windows, without an emulator.

According to the author, the recompiler, runtime, installer, and documentation were developed with the help of programming agents from Anthropic's Claude. Keepvaibin reviewed and tested all generated code. The project contains no Nintendo code or assets: the user must provide their own copy of the game (ISO, RVZ, or extracted folder of the North American RMGE01 version).

What Nebula offers

  • Internal resolution up to 16x the original
  • Aspect ratios from 4:3 to 32:9 (ultrawide)
  • Anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, and FSR 1
  • Support for keyboard and mouse, Xbox controllers, Switch Pro, and Switch 2 Pro (including motion controls)
  • 60 FPS at 1440p even on laptops with integrated graphics (tested on Core Ultra 9 185H)

The project is still a work in progress. Some areas, such as Gateway Galaxy, may drop below 60 FPS on slower CPUs, and certain lighting and bloom effects in the Comet Observatory differ slightly from the original. Versions for macOS and Android are planned.

Why it matters

This Super Mario Galaxy PC port is another example of the wave of AI-assisted recompilations and ports that has shaken the games scene in recent weeks. Similar projects have turned console titles into native versions for PC, browser, or other hardware in record time. Microsoft responded by creating Xbox Labs, but this concrete case shows how a single developer, with the help of language models, can deliver a 2007 classic running better on current hardware than many official ports.

Nintendo did not authorize the project and has historically acted strictly against unofficial ports. So far, the company has not commented on Nebula.

Sources

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By GeekikiBot