Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Genre: Compilation / 3D Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a compilation of three 3D Platformers: Super Mario 64, originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1996, Super Mario Sunshine, originally released on the GameCube in 2002, and Super Mario Galaxy, originally released on the Wii in 2007. At least two of these games are landmark titles that have been called “the greatest videogame of all time” by numerous publications, with Super Mario 64 in particular being one of the most influential videogames of all time, setting the formula that not just 3D Platformers, but 3D games in general, have followed ever since.

In terms of their place in history, these three games are beyond reproach. However, that leads to the question, how well do they play by today’s standards, and how well does this collection do at bringing them to modern-day audiences?

First, the games themselves. Here is what I thought of each game in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Super Mario 64	3D Platformer	1	C+
tl;dr It pains me to say this, because I absolutely love Super Mario 64, but this game does not hold up well at all. While there are some elements that remain timeless – namely the iconic music and superb level design, other elements have aged extremely poorly. It’s not just the graphics that are terrible by today’s standards either – this game’s controls are awful, the camera fights the player every step of the way, and numerous design flaws are strewn throughout. This game still has massive nostalgia value, and its flaws are understandable given that it was the trailblazer that everyone else followed, but if this game were released today, even players who could look past the primitive graphics would not think too kindly of it.
Super Mario Sunshine	3D Platformer	1	B+
tl;dr While many found this game to be a disappointing follow-up to Super Mario 64, it actually holds up pretty well, and even 18 years later the water effects still look nice, even if the character models and textures have aged some. The camera and controls have also improved greatly, although both still suffer from some issues. The addition of the FLUDD water pack results in this game controlling differently from any of the other 3D Mario games, which may take some getting used to. However, overall this is a decent Mario game, albeit not a great one.
Super Mario Galaxy	3D Platformer	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	A++
tl;dr Unlike the other two games in this collection, Super Mario Galaxy doesn’t feel like it has aged a day. This was the greatest 3D Platformer ever made when it was released, and it still is (sorry, Odyssey, close but no cigar) and while the visuals don’t have the same level of detail as more modern Platformers, they’re still quite gorgeous, and paired with superb level design, one of the best soundtracks in videogame history, and gameplay that completely reimagines the genre with its gravity-defying mechanics. What’s more, the Wii’s motion controls transition surprisingly well to the Nintendo Switch in docked mode, and about as well as one could hope for in portable mode. This is an absolute must-have game that everyone should play, and it is even better on the Nintendo Switch than it was on the Wii.

So all things considered, you have one of the greatest and most influential games in history… that has aged extremely poorly, its somewhat underwhelming sequel… that time has treated far better, and another game that’s one of the greatest games of all time… and still remains so to this day. I will say, from my perspective, I was really shocked at having my opinions of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine both somewhat upended, and nearly as shocked at just how little my opinion of Super Mario Galaxy has changed even after 13 years have passed.

In terms of how each of these games makes the transition to the Nintendo Switch, of course the elephant in the room is that these games are all emulated ports and not remakes, as the original Super Mario All-Stars was. There aren’t even enough graphical changes to really consider these remasters, either.

I’ll just go ahead and give my usual thanks to Digital Foundry for the numbers right upfront.

Super Mario 64 gets a resolution upgrade from 320×240 to 720p both in docked and handheld mode, although it inexplicably keeps the original game’s 4:3 aspect ratio, leading to a black box around the screen as you play. It’s fine, it doesn’t interfere with the game all that much, but it’s still something I know many see as a point of contention, and to be fair it is a disappointing choice. Also disappointing is this game retaining the original’s 30FPS framerate, which surely could have been improved here but wasn’t. This version of the game also lacks the original game’s anti-aliasing.

This version does add a few subtle improvements, though – some textures have been improved to higher quality, although others are left untouched. In particular, this upgrade is most noticeable when looking at characters’ faces, especially the eyes, as well as the game’s user interface and screen text. However, textures for scenery and backgrounds still look pretty blurry. On the whole I would still say that the Nintendo Switch version of Super Mario 64 is a graphical upgrade over the original, but it’s definitely not an across-the-board improvement that one would hope for with a release that’s four hardware generations and 24 years after the original.

One more thing to mention regarding Super Mario 64 before moving on – this is a port of the “Shindou” version of the game released in Japan, which included rumble support, a few bug fixes, and some reworked dialogue (no more “so long, gay Bowser!”), which may irk fans of the original release who are bothered by the differences from that version. This version also doesn’t have any of the additional content included in the DS release of the game, so don’t expect to be playing as Wario or the other characters this time around.

Moving on to Super Mario Sunshine, this game gets a resolution upgrade from 480p to 1080p (720p in handheld mode), slightly improved textures (better, but still not fantastic), a less intrusive user interface, and upscaled FMV video sequences, all nice improvements over the original. However, like Super Mario 64, this game keeps the original’s 30FPS framerate.

Also, despite that it seems like an ideal candidate for GameCube controller support (you know, since this is a GameCube game), there’s no such option here. As a result, Fludd’s analog controls are gone, and players now simply use R or ZR to choose to fire Fludd full-blast while moving, or while firmly rooted in place. While this is fine, what really hurts this version more than anything is the decision to reverse the Fludd’s aiming, which will fight against players’ muscle memory. Probably the biggest frustration in this release of Super Mario Sunshine is that players aren’t given the option to choose which aiming controls they prefer.

Edit: I am pleased to say that all of my complaints about Super Mario Sunshine’s controls in the last paragraph have been addressed in a post-release patch. The game now not only has full GameCube controller support (complete with the ability to use the analog trigger to control how much water you’re shooting), but it also includes separate camera control options, including the option to reverse the camera controls. While I do still think Super Mario Sunshine’s controls are a bit awkward, I can no longer blame them on this port, which now does a fine job enabling players to control the game the way they want. As such, I have increased Super Mario Sunshine’s grade from a B to a B+.

On balance, I’d say Super Mario Sunshine is the game that probably benefits the most from its improvements in this collection.

As for Super Mario Galaxy, the resolution jumps from 420p to a dynamic 1080p (and dynamic 720p in portable mode) while retaining the original game’s 60FPS framerate. I should note I did notice an odd graphical quirk in some of the backgrounds where they seemed to have a noise filter over them, though this didn’t detract from the experience too much. There are other minor improvements to the graphics here, but nothing significant. Rather, the real surprise is how well the controls have been adapted to work on the Nintendo Switch.

Despite the Joy-Cons not being nearly as accurate as the Wii remotes, they function surprisingly well, and players can use the R button at any time to re-center the cursor (as with many games that use Joy-Con motion-control to move a pointer, it can drift as you use it, meaning you’ll need to re-center it on occasion). Plus players now have the choice to simply use a button to spin, where the original game required a shake of the nunchuck. You can still shake the right Joy-Con if you prefer, and the visceral feel this offers may actually be preferable, but it’s nice that we now have the option of both.

However, I’m very much an avid Pro Controller user, and the real surprise here is how well Super Mario Galaxy works on a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. After a brief period of getting used to multitasking the use of a Pro Controller as a pointer and a game controller at the same time, it becomes second nature surprisingly quickly.

As for players playing the game in portable mode, Nintendo has done about all that can be expected in this area – making this work via touchscreen controls. Players tap the screen to shoot star bits, or drag over the screen to move the cursor, holding on things like pull stars to interact with them. This is pretty awkward in handheld mode, since you’ll find yourself reaching your thumb over to interact with the screen quickly before returning it to the face buttons on the right side, but I can’t think of any way it could have been done better. Handheld players and Switch Lite owners in particular should be reassured that the game does work in handheld mode, even if this is not the ideal way to play it.

Super Mario Galaxy also features occasional sections that use motion controls in various ways, and these are all incorporated into the different control methods in pretty reasonable ways. Manta ray surfing, for example, has you tilting a Pro Controller back and forth like one of those PlayStation 3 motion-controlled games, while those playing the same minigame in handheld mode will be tilting the screen to the left or the right like a mobile game. I’m actually really pleased with how much thought has gone into adapting this game to work on the control schemes available to the Nintendo Switch.

With each individual game out of the way, let’s talk about bonus features. In terms of bonus features for these games… there aren’t many to speak of here. Each game has multiple language options, and the full soundtrack for each game can be accessed in the game’s menu, and that’s about it.

Okay, so in conclusion… how the heck do I even rate this collection? If we’re talking about the quality of the games, we have one game that is an absolute legend that has been tarnished by time, a less-celebrated game that has aged fairly well, and a third game that is still to this day one of the greatest games ever made. In terms of how well they’ve been ported to the Nintendo Switch, these games are for the most part slightly improved, but not as much as one would hope. And in terms of content and extra features, you have a disappointing, bare bones collection. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the $60 price tag, which is pretty steep for a trio of games that are 24, 18, and 13 years old and have very little in the way of significant improvements beyond improved resolution. Ugh, and then there’s the fact that Nintendo will be pulling the game from physical and digital storefronts in less than a half a year, which is really consumer-unfriendly…

In the end, I suppose I look at it like this – this compilation lets me play Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo Switch, which is nice even if this game simply doesn’t hold up. It lets me play the absolute best version of Super Mario Sunshine, which is a decent (though not spectacular) old game that has aged well. And it lets me play the best version of Super Mario Galaxy, which is still probably in my top 10 favorite games of all-time. For $60 that’s… still a bit overpriced, but for any fan of Platformers and especially Mario games, it’s still probably going to be worth it.

tl;dr – Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a compilation of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy, all with improved resolution and full game soundtracks, and not much else. These games are legends, although of the three only Galaxy remains every bit as good as that legend. However, given the games’ age, the lack of enhancements, the lack of extra content, the high $60 price tag and the outrageous promise to yank the game from stores in a half a year, this otherwise must-have collection seems a lot less enticing than it should. It’s still a trio well worth owning for any fan of Platformers, but it’s one that’s hard for me to enthusiastically recommend.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Compilation/Collection

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