Paper Mario: 4 Open Source Clones Compared
Paper Mario DX is an explicit fork of the Paper Mario decompilation, built specifically as a base for creating romhacks rather than for playing the original game — its own README warns that game functions and structs have no stability guarantees and may be renamed, removed, or changed in any release. The base Paper Mario decompilation project is the primary target of that work and is the one marked playable rather than semi-playable.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- N64
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 6d ago
- Stars
- 1,607
- Contributors
- 88
- License
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesDecompilation project that builds ROMs from existing game copies with specific SHA1 hashes.
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- —
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 4mo ago
- Stars
- 311
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- MIT
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- Yes
- Modding support
- —
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- N64
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 1d ago
- Stars
- 118
- Contributors
- 88
- License
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRomhack based on Paper Mario decompilation, requires original game source.
- Modding support
- YesFork designed as a flexible base for creating romhacks with access to game functions and structs.
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- —
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- today
- Stars
- 16
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- Yes
- Modding support
- —
| Title | Paper Mario | Paper Mario Recompilation | Paper Mario DX | Paper Mario Port |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | — | Semi-playable | — |
| Platforms | N64 | — | N64 | — |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||
| Development status | Active | Sporadic | Active | Active |
| Last updated | 6d ago | 4mo ago | 1d ago | today |
| Stars | 1,607 | 311 | 118 | 16 |
| Contributors | 88 | 1 | 88 | 2 |
| License | — | MIT | — | — |
| Compatibility | ||||
| Requires original assets | YesDecompilation project that builds ROMs from existing game copies with specific SHA1 hashes. | Yes | YesRomhack based on Paper Mario decompilation, requires original game source. | Yes |
| Modding support | — | — | YesFork designed as a flexible base for creating romhacks with access to game functions and structs. | — |
| Preview | |
Known limitations
- stability: Game functions and structs have no stability guarantees and may be renamed, removed, or changed in any release.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Paper Mario clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Paper Mario clones use?
Paper Mario Recompilation (MIT).
Do I need to own the original Paper Mario to play these clones?
Paper Mario, Paper Mario Recompilation, Paper Mario DX, and Paper Mario Port require original game assets to play.
Which Paper Mario clone is the most actively maintained?
Paper Mario, Paper Mario DX, and Paper Mario Port are currently under active development, based on recent commit activity. See the "Development status" row above for every clone's current status.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Paper Mario.