Super Mario 3D All-Stars Reviews
Despite collecting three of Mario's most well-known games, Super Mario 3D All Stars doesn't justify their porting onto the Switch. With minimal improvements, few features that truly make it feel like an "Anniversary celebration" and some bafflingly lazy design choices, 3D All Stars feels like more like a quick cash grab.
There are some obvious omissions, including special features typical of anthologies like this and, most glaringly, Super Mario Galaxy 2, but the greatness of the included games shines through.
If the collection had gone beyond being a simple port and upping of resolution this could have been an utterly amazing experience, but unfortunately the lack of improvements to the game makes it a lacklustre collection.
Super Mario Galaxy has aged like a fine wine, but one that is occasionally inconvenienced by controls that can feel odd for those who played the Nintendo Wii/Wii U version and that make it harder than necessary to get some of the stars. In fact, the HD makeover given to all three titles is definitely a good reason for playing them. Surely, one or more of the games will bring back fond memories for some and create new ones for anyone lucky enough to experience them for the first time. It’s just slightly disappointing that the games won’t feel the same as their originals and the lack of any proper extra content makes for a no frills collection.
GOOD - Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a (lazy) collection of some of Mario’s best 3D ventures and some of the best video games ever made. Is it an obvious cash grab? Yes. Will you buy it? Probably.
If you’ve never played any of these Mario games, go ahead and take the plunge, but if you’re somebody looking for more, consider voting with your wallet and make Nintendo realize devoted fans deserve more than this. There are other compilation packs of great games with more effort put in for much less than $60.
Whilst these are great games, this isn’t a great collection. With almost no extras, very little tweaking of the games for the Switch and no Super Mario Galaxy 2 this just isn’t quite what I’d hoped for. I’m still enjoying the games, but for many people this won’t represent particularly great value. If you don’t already have the games then get it. If you do, you might want to give it some thought first.
On the whole, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a decent collection. It doesn’t try to impress with extra features or fancy padding; it simply puts three games from the past in a simple collection for old fans to enjoy.
This was the chance for these three titles to get definitive versions, but instead these are mostly alternatives to the originals. In spite of Nintendo’s low-efforts, the quality of the games themselves are high enough that make them worth your time. Super Mario Sunshine especially is noteworthy since used copies are usually cost-prohibitive and Gamecube controllers are getting harder to find.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a lackluster collection of three (mostly) excellent, timeless games. Nintendo has shown us what it can do when the effort is put in with 2004's Super Mario 64 DS, so the lack of attention afforded here stings all the more.
Super Mario 64 keeps its whole interest from historic and nostagic points of view, a revolutionary approach that Super Mario Sunshine spreads in every sense of the word, while Super Mario Galaxy takes off literally outer space, among the brightest three dimensional platformers. Such true ports preserve these masterpieces' authenticity, but the Super Mario 3D All-Stars title suggested more, both in content and style. Brilliant HD renditions with fully available soundtracks on the go don't shine enough to overshadow some old issues and Super Mario Galaxy 2's glaring omission from this otherwise stellar collection.
Review in French | Read full review
Nintrendo packed some truly unforgettable classics in a single pack. And forgot to celebrate them the way they deserved to.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is frustrating, because it could be more. It could be so much more. But even with Nintendo phoning it in, the games themselves are such classics that they're still worth putting in your Switch library. Just make sure you add it before it goes away forever.
Much like an actual 35th birthday party (I assume), Super Mario 3D All-Stars just feels a little halfhearted. It bundles together three great platformers, all of which benefit from the bump up to HD resolutions, and Nintendo have done well to adapt the varying controls to suit the Nintendo Switch, but there's a squandered opportunity to enhance and go beyond this in a meaningful way. Maybe Nintendo are saving themselves for the big five-oh in 2035?
If you’re a Nintendo fan, you’re going to want to get Super Mario 3D All-Stars. However, just because the games are good doesn’t mean that these ports are great. They’re adequate, which has to be enough, I guess.
It’s crystal clear: Super Mario 3D All-Stars includes three groundbreaking experiences which effortlessly explain the level of quality, polish and originality we’ve come to expect from the series. As such, it’s undeniably a great addition to the library of Switch owners, especially if they’ve never played these games before. However, these games are great in this collection simply because they always have been. The improvements made to them are not as meaningful as we hoped them to be, which associated to a scarcity of bonus content and a series of questionable decisions leaves us with a sour feeling of wasted potential.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact this collection exists. I love that I can play these classic Mario games on-the-go. They are still ridiculously fun. But I can’t help but feel annoyed with the lack of effort put into this collection. It just feels lazy. We are paying sixty dollars for emulated ROMs, available for a limited time only, with little to no quality of life improvements. This sets a very bad precedent for the future.
It's hard to fault a collection of three absolute classics like these, but this particular package feels surprisingly unceremonious
It's tough because you should play the games, but this collection is only a must-have if you've never played them or have no means of playing the copies you own. Otherwise, the included soundtracks are not enough to make this 35th anniversary package feel special enough to warrant a buy.
So if you missed these classic Super Mario games when they were originally released, then you should pick this collection up. However, if you loved these games as a kid and were expecting Nintendo to pull out all the stops and give them the technical update they deserved, you will feel a tad disappointed.