Fan Project Super Mario 64 Online Returns, Now With Sonic and Knuckles

There are savvy fans out there that always try to do something creative with licenses. Take the Mario community for instance. We've seen some incredible projects over the past few years only to see them quickly shot down by Nintendo with legal cease-and-desist orders.

But that isn't stopping them from trying. One has managed to resurrect Super Mario 64 Online, an ambitious project that allowed up to 24 players to partake in the classic Nintendo 64 game with each other.

First developed back in September, the project was halted by Nintendo just days after its debut. But now it's back and some new additions have been made including some unlikely characters you never thought would show up in Mario's universe.

According to Kotaku, the project, now served under a client called Net64 2.0, pretty much does the same thing as the original game. But now it's got some new characters in tow -- Sonic and Knuckles from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. And based on what you can see in the video above, they fit right into this world beautifully without missing a beat.

There are technical improvements to the program as well including the ability to look for open servers so you can join other players in the fray; as well as mini-games including fan-favorite Capture the Flag.

Kaze Emanuar, who's been working on the project for some time, spoke with Kotaku about how he hopes the program will last a little longer this time around. "I don't know if they'll go after Net64 too, but I believed that they only took down SM64 Online because it got so super popular and came out right before Odyssey anyway," he said, talking about Nintendo. "I think this client will stay up for a little longer than the SM64 Online one."

But even if Nintendo does eventually shut the project down, Emanuar is already hard at work on new ones, including a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask that utilizes Mario characters and power-ups; and a Super Mario Sunshine remake that uses the Nintendo 64 visual engine. Whether he can pull it off has yet to be seen but if he can make Super Mario 64 Online work with fellow modders, anything is possible.

You can check out the project for yourself at this link.