Super Mario World: 4 Open Source Clones Compared
smw is a from-scratch reverse-engineered reimplementation that reproduces the whole original game plus its Lunar Magic-added content, playable start to finish; it needs the original ROM only once, to extract assets, and includes a built-in tool that runs a reference copy alongside the game to catch and log any state mismatches for bug reports. Super-Mario-World-Remastered-Public's own README states its author abandoned the project specifically due to poor code quality and a lack of continued interest, though a last prebuilt release remains downloadable. Development on smw has also stalled (marked halted), but its documentation describes a complete, working game rather than an admitted dead end.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- SNES
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 3y ago
- Stars
- 622
- Contributors
- 6
- License
- —
- Engine
- SDL2
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesYou need a copy of the USA ROM (smw.sfc) to extract game resources including levels and images.
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux, Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Archived
- Last updated
- 1y ago
- Stars
- 279
- Contributors
- 1
- License
- ISC
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- —
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 2mo ago
- Stars
- 179
- Contributors
- 7
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- —
Availability
- Status
- —
- Platforms
- —
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Active
- Last updated
- 6d ago
- Stars
- 104
- Contributors
- 2
- License
- —
- Engine
- —
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- Yes
| Title | smw | Super-Mario-World-Remastered-Public | Super Mario World Decompilation | Super Mario World Recompilation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Playable | — | — |
| Platforms | SNES | Linux, Windows | — | — |
| Play in browser | No | No | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No | No | No |
| Project health | ||||
| Development status | Halted | Archived | Active | Active |
| Last updated | 3y ago | 1y ago | 2mo ago | 6d ago |
| Stars | 622 | 279 | 179 | 104 |
| Contributors | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| License | — | ISC | — | — |
| Engine | SDL2 | — | — | — |
| Compatibility | ||||
| Requires original assets | YesYou need a copy of the USA ROM (smw.sfc) to extract game resources including levels and images. | — | — | Yes |
| Preview | |
Known limitations
- project_status: Project has been abandoned due to poor code quality and lack of interest.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Super Mario World 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 Super Mario World clones use?
Super-Mario-World-Remastered-Public (ISC).
Do I need to own the original Super Mario World to play these clones?
smw and Super Mario World Recompilation require original game assets to play.
Which Super Mario World clone is the most actively maintained?
Super Mario World Decompilation and Super Mario World Recompilation 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 Super Mario World.