# Super Mario Bros. Remastered: a Godot remake that still needs your NES ROM

> The project recreates four classic Super Mario Bros. titles in Godot 4, adds a level editor and resource packs, and ships as GPL-3.0. It will not run without an original SMB1 NES ROM that you supply yourself.

**JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public** — A Remake / Celebration of the original 'Super Mario Bros.' games. Features new levels, custom modes, new characters, alongside a full level editor / custom level system!

- Repository: https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public
- Stars: 3,175 · Forks: 309
- Language: GDScript
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-09-24 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/jhdev2006-super-mario-bros-remastered-public

## What Super Mario Bros. Remastered actually is

This is a fan remake of four games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. Special and All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros. The README describes each as "Fully recreated from the ground up", with reworked physics and level design rather than a straight port. On top of the base games it adds custom modes, custom characters, resource packs that change how the game looks and sounds, and a level editor with a custom level system. The whole thing is written in GDScript and built on Godot.

The audience is narrow and specific. It is for people who already own an original Super Mario Bros. NES ROM and want a modern engine around it, and for Godot developers who want a working 2D platformer codebase to study or extend. The README is blunt about the boundary: "Requires an original SMB1 NES ROM to play! None of the original assets are contained in the source code, unless it was originally made by us!" It also states the project "does NOT act as a replacement for the original Super Mario Bros. games", pointing readers to Nintendo Switch Online for the originals. If you want to play Super Mario Bros. today without supplying anything, this is not the route.

## Godot 4.6.1, GDScript and the ROM you have to bring

The repository is a Godot project. The top level holds project.godot, export_presets.cfg, Scenes/, Scripts/, Assets/, Resources/ and an addons/ directory, which is the standard layout you get when a Godot project is opened in the editor and then committed as-is. Game logic lives in Scripts/ as GDScript, scenes in Scenes/, and imported resources in Assets/ and Resources/. Two JSON files, EntityIDMap.json and SelectorKeyMap.json, sit at the root and look like lookup tables the game reads at runtime, though the README does not describe their contents.

Because it is a Godot project, the engine handles rendering, input and export. That is also where the documented problems come from. The Known Issues section attributes several defects to the engine rather than the game: "Physics are weird, when interacting with corners + the camera barrier", drop shadows jitter under "Smooth Rendering", and several entities jitter at times. Those are the kind of problems you inherit when you build on an engine and cannot patch around them easily.

The ROM requirement shapes the data flow. The source ships without Nintendo's original assets, so at runtime the game has to read art and audio from a ROM file the player provides. That is why the download is small relative to a commercial re-release, and why the first thing a new user must sort out is a ROM, not a settings screen.

## Installing Super Mario Bros. Remastered on Windows and Linux

The README gives a short download path rather than a build process. For Windows and Linux: go to the Releases page, find the latest version, download the .zip for your OS, extract it and run it. There is no package manager step and no installer. The current stable release listed is 1.1-stable (1.1.0), published on 2026-09-04, following three release candidates in August 2026.

If you want the game to keep its saves and settings next to the executable instead of in the usual user directory, the README documents a portable mode: create a file named portable.txt in the executable directory. The README gives the filename but no command, so this is a manual step in your file manager or shell, and the game expects that directory to be writable.

For macOS, the README is explicit that there is no official build. It links to a separate repository, yuriko-shimizu/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public-Mac, and labels it in capitals: "NOTE: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL FORK OF THE GAME". The steps there are to download the .zip, drag it into Applications and run it. Treat that build as a third-party artifact with its own maintenance, not as part of this repository.

## Opening the project in Godot to edit levels and characters

The editing workflow is separate from playing. The README's "Importing for editing" section lists four steps: download the source, download Godot 4.6.1, import the project, and start. The version number is pinned, so use 4.6.1 rather than whatever the engine site currently offers, because project files written for one Godot release do not always open cleanly in another.

Once the project is imported, the custom level system and the level editor are the parts worth exploring. The repository ships Scenes/ and Scripts/ as plain text, so you can read how levels are assembled before you change anything. The README does not document the editor's file format, its keyboard shortcuts or how custom levels are shared, so expect to learn those from the code and from the SelectorKeyMap.json file rather than from documentation.

The project also advertises "Level Share Square Partnered", which the README lists as a feature without explaining what the partnership provides or where shared levels live. That is a gap: if sharing levels is your reason for using this remake, confirm how it works before building anything around it. Custom characters and resource packs are described as supported features, but the README gives no schema or directory convention for either, so the practical reference is the existing Assets/ and Resources/ trees.

## The ROM requirement, unofficial macOS builds and engine-level bugs

The hardest constraint is legal and practical at once. The project is GPL-3.0, but the assets it needs are not. You must own an original Super Mario Bros. NES ROM, and the README says none of the original assets ship in the source. Anyone expecting a download-and-play package will be stopped at the first screen. This is also why the project cannot simply be mirrored anywhere: the code is free, the content is not.

Second, macOS support is a fork, not a build. If the fork falls behind, Mac users are on an older version with no guarantee of matching behaviour. The README does not commit to keeping the two in sync.

Third, the Known Issues list is short but honest, and all three entries are engine-related: corner and camera-barrier physics, drop shadows under Smooth Rendering, and intermittent entity jitter. Those are the kind of defects that are hard to fix from GDScript alone. The README also asks that issues be bug reports only, one per post, and explicitly says not to open issues for feature requests, suggestions or opinions. If you want to propose a feature, the stated route is a pull request, not an issue.

Finally, system requirements are delegated entirely to Godot's own documentation pages, with no project-specific minimums. If your machine struggles, you are debugging Godot's requirements, not this game's.

## How it compares with playing the originals on Nintendo Switch Online

The obvious alternative is not another fan remake; it is the official route the README itself names. Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels are available on Nintendo Switch Online, and the README states plainly that this project does not replace them. The difference in approach is total. Nintendo Switch Online gives you emulated originals with no ROM hunting, no build steps and no engine bugs, but no level editor, no custom characters, no resource packs and no source code. Super Mario Bros. Remastered gives you a Godot project you can open, modify and extend, at the cost of supplying your own ROM and accepting the documented physics and jitter issues.

If your goal is to play the games as they were, the official emulation is the lower-friction choice. If your goal is to build levels, swap characters or read a working GDScript platformer, the remake is the only one of the two that lets you. That is the real dividing line, and it is worth being honest that most people searching for a download want the first thing, not the second.

## Licence, maintenance and what upgrading costs you

The repository is licensed GPL-3.0, with the LICENSE file at the top level. For anyone distributing a modified build, that means the source you ship has to stay under the same licence. It does not grant you any rights to Nintendo's assets, which is exactly why the ROM is a separate requirement. This is not legal advice; read the LICENSE file and the README's ROM warning together before you publish anything.

Maintenance looks current by the only measure available here: the last push to the default branch was on 2026-09-23, and the repository is not archived. Release cadence in the recent past was steady, with 1.1-rc4 on 2026-08-08, 1.1-rc5 on 2026-08-23 and 1.1-stable on 2026-09-04. That pattern suggests the project is still moving, though the README does not state a support policy, a roadmap or a deprecation process.

Upgrade cost is the part to plan for. The README pins Godot 4.6.1 for editing, the version.txt and snapshot_version.txt files at the root track the game's own version, and the export_presets.cfg means releases are produced through Godot's export pipeline. If you fork and customise, every upstream bump can mean re-merging your changes against a moving Godot target. There is no documented migration guide, and the README does not describe how save data or custom levels survive a version change.

## Conclusion

Adopt it if you own a legal Super Mario Bros. NES ROM and want a Godot 4.6.1 project you can open, edit and extend with custom characters and resource packs. Do not adopt it if you expect a self-contained download that plays immediately, or if you need an official macOS build; the README points Mac users at an unofficial fork. Before you invest time, verify that the release zip for your OS starts, that your own ROM is accepted, and that the level editor opens the levels you care about. The GPL-3.0 licence also means anything you distribute from a modified build has to stay under the same terms.

## FAQ

### Is Super Mario Bros. Remastered legal?

The code is released under GPL-3.0, but the README states the game requires an original SMB1 NES ROM and that none of the original assets are contained in the source code unless the project made them. Whether your copy of that ROM is lawful is a separate question the README does not address, and the project explicitly says it does not replace the original games.

### Where can you play Super Mario Bros. Remastered?

The README points Windows and Linux users to the Releases page, where you download the .zip for your OS, extract it and run it. macOS is not officially supported: the README links to an unofficial fork at yuriko-shimizu/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public-Mac and labels it as an unofficial build of the game.

### Does Super Mario Bros. Remastered need a NES ROM to run?

Yes. The README states in capitals that the game requires an original SMB1 NES ROM to play, and that no original assets ship in the source code unless the project created them. You have to supply the ROM yourself before the game is playable.

### Which Godot version does Super Mario Bros. Remastered need for editing?

The README's importing-for-editing steps say to download Godot 4.6.1, download the source, and import the project. That version is pinned in the instructions, so use 4.6.1 rather than a different Godot release.

### What is portable mode in Super Mario Bros. Remastered?

The README lists portable mode as a feature and says it is enabled by creating a portable.txt file in the executable directory. With that file present, the game keeps its data beside the executable instead of elsewhere.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public/issues)
- [JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public on GitHub](https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [README](https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/JHDev2006/Super-Mario-Bros.-Remastered-Public/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/jhdev2006-super-mario-bros-remastered-public