We hear a lot about the downside of social media today, but one of the upsides is that you can find and follow interesting people in any field. One such person is Dylan Cuthbert. He has had a remarkable career as a programming prodigy, and was basically pulled out of his teens by Nintendo to be part of their outstanding Argonaut software team.

This team and Mr. Cuthbert, thanks to the "Super FX" chip designed by Argonaut (why don't they give them names like this anymore?), were responsible for major Nintendo products, including the classic "Star Fox," a visually remarkable polygonal 3D shooter at the time. The company's aesthetic sensibility is still alive and well today. That aesthetic still holds true today.

The game is now the subject of a mod so impressive that Cuthbert has brought it to everyone's attention: the "Star Fox EX" ("Exploration Showcase") is a huge mod-slash-romhack by Kando and others, running at 60fps, with a 5-player multiplayer mode, customization, a "No Borders" mode, and a new 17-level campaign that pits the Star Fox team against other Nintendo icons.

It runs on Star Fox ROMs and emulators, but also on the original SNES hardware. In the latter case, incredibly, the SNES mouse, NTT datapad, multi-tap, and Superscope peripherals are also supported. Superscope! This name is truly brilliant.

"This guy is a madman," Cuthbert wrote, accompanied by a smiling emoji.

"I'm amazed he moved it this fast! We were in the dark at the time and only had 10 months to produce the game, so there must have been a lot to optimize."

The trailer mimics the trailer used for the original game, with boomy male voices and claims of grandeur; the mod's setting is Mario Bros. and it's also decrying that Star Fox no longer has a place in Nintendo's broad IP lineup Interesting. [The new campaign has new enemies, new bosses, new music, and new environments. Not only can you play with up to four players, but you can also play with AI-controlled teammates or control the entire Star Fox ship yourself.

Star Fox EX is available here (opens in a new tab), but you also need a ROM of the game (and a copy of the original, of course.) The mods are all love letters; you can get them from the game's website, but you'll need to download them from the Star Fox EX website. And Star Fox EX shows how much people admire and worship a 30-year-old game.