Game Info
Game Name: Super Mario All-Stars—25th Anniversary Edition
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): Wii
Genre(s): Compilation/Platform
Release Date(s): December 12, 2010
ESRB Rating: K-A, E
The original Super NES packaging
Mario and his friends are all here. First Mario and his brother Luigi must rescue the Princess from Bowser. Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool next finds themselves in a land of dreams where an evil frog named Wart is ruling the kingdom. Mario takes to sky as he finds himself facing off against Bowers and his kids and the Princess once again.
Super Mario All-Stars was originally released for the Super Nintendo on August 1, 1993 in the United States. For the 25th anniversary of Mario, Nintendo has released Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii. Also included with the special packaging is a CD sampling music from all the Super Mario games plus classic sound effects. Packaged with the CD is a booklet with previously unpublished art and other factoids about the Mario series.
The series is unfortunately is a direct port from Super Nintendo. There has been nothing changed from the original release (which I also owned). It is good to get these classic games on the Wii, but I would have loved it modified a bit. Even the controls could have been fixed so the A & B buttons act as the Start button just to make selecting the games easier. I don’t necessarily need the graphics modified, but some improvements could have been made with at least the title screen.
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Super Mario Bros. (Released: September 13, 1985)
Super Mario Bros.
The original Super Mario Bros. helped build the success of the NES. It was often packaged with the system, so everyone played it. Its innovative side-scrolling jumping and stomping really was a step up from Atari and saved the dying concept of home gaming.
Super Mario Bros. looked like an arcade game and played like one. It took skill, timing, and actually had an end. Replaying it here on Super Mario All-Stars is still fun and the graphics were tweaked for the 1993 release. You’d have a hard time beating it. A glitch called “The Minus-World” which sent you to an unbeatable swimming level was removed for Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Released: May 3, 1986)
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was released for the Famicon and was the original sequel to Super Mario Bros. in Japan. It never was released in the United States until the release of the original Super-Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Level is very difficult. It seems like a bit of a precursor to the last world of Super Mario Bros. 3 or the extremely tough New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Be prepared to die multiple times, but unlike the previous two games mentioned, it is beatable in a reasonably short time…It just takes really good timing combined with hard levels. Plus, Luigi finally gets some love since you can actually choose to play with him.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Released September 1, 1988)
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2 was actually originally a game called Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (which translates as Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic). Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool were inserted in the game to make it a sequel to Super Mario Bros. instead of releasing the true sequel Super Mario Bros 2 (which is Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels…yes it is confusing).
I don’t love the game but it is a fond memory for me and probably one of the best Christmas presents I ever got. It and Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (another sequel that changed up the format) were the hot games in 1988, and I got Super Mario Bros. 2 for Christmas…It might have been the best game I ever played, but I played the hell out of it for a while.
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Released February 9, 1990)
Super Mario Bros. 3
I knew everything about Super Mario Bros. 3 before it was even released. I went to The Wizard in 1989 just to see them play it in the tournament in the movie (they used the Japanese version which was released in 1988), and I remember getting soon after its release. Opposed to Super Mario Bros. 2, I was not disappointed by Super Mario Bros. 3, and it might be one of the best games released for the NES.
It is great fun to replay this game. Both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World (for the Super Nintendo) are probably my favorite side scrolling Mario games. They are solid and I would love to see some of the costumes and controls (like Super Mario Bros. 3’s raccoon costume) to come back in one of the new games.
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With four good games (one being very different from the rest), Super Mario All-Stars is a must for Mario fans. It is disappointing that the game wasn’t updated for the new system and it feels like if they expected people to pay full price for the game (it sometimes now goes for more since it is out of print), they should be offering a better product or at least throw in Dr. Mario, some of the Game Boy Games or Super Nintendo games as unlockables. A mini-version of the game is available in Super Mario Bros. 3, but I really wish that they had at least put the original Mario Bros. on this game.
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