3.5/5 ★ – Ds_is_i's review of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

This review is for the bundle, with the changes it made to these games, and not a review for all 3 of these games. Super Mario 3D all stars is pretty bland from a collectors perspective as the way it’s presented and organized is uninspired, compared to other anniversary releases. The menu is simple, and the side information is a nice touch, but I’d say the best part of this bundle from the menu would be the soundtracks, which include songs which were only on the CD soundtracks (such as the piano version of piranha plants lullaby). The official super Mario Sunshine soundtrack got its first release here too, which is pretty neat. All the music from the 3 games are fully uncompressed, which is one of the best things in all 3 games by far. Super Mario 64 unfortunately had the least amount of changes, only being 720p and uncompressing only some “select” textures and using the 1997 release from japan, which only patched the BLJ glitch. One of the biggest disappointments exclusive to the 3D All Stars version is the fact that the camera controls are inverted, not for just SM64, but also the other 2 games in the bundle, which to veteran players is a bit of an issue. The game runs better than any other release of the game on previous platforms, but if you emulate games on a good computer, you’ll get a better experience graphics wise. Super Mario Sunshine unfortunately is 30fps, but it got wide screen and 1080p. The whole game looks great on switch and the water physics were improved, but that’s about it... The worst part about this port is that the pressure trigger controls from GameCube were removed, which makes no sense if you have a GameCube controller adapter, but it’s obvious why it’s not supported on other controllers. Some prefer this change, but many players (including myself) like the pressure controls. Super Mario galaxy is the best part of this bundle by far. The game runs at 1080p 60fps side screen with fully uncompressed textures. The motion controls issue (meaning people not wanting to shake the remote) was simply fixed with the use of the Y and X button, with a hearty shake preforming the same tasks. The curser controls objectively work better on switch, because you can press the R trigger to Center the pointer, something that the Wii couldn’t do. The annoying motion control tasks are slightly better with improved gyro controls and with the use of the modern controller, (the ball rolling task is no longer the Bain of my existence) Unfortunately on handheld the pointer is controlled by the touch screen, and it feels jarring to play the motion control stages, (though it is still slightly better that using the wii remote). Overall, galaxy had the best improvements by far. The lack of super Mario galaxy 2 is sad to both veteran players who wanted to see it on switch, and to people who wanted to play it without needing to emulate or get a wii. I’m sure it will be considered as DLC due to the successful sales of 3D all stars, or might be saved for a potential launch of a Nintendo switch online Wii that could include galaxy 2 (and quite possibly leaving out 1 to troll people who didn’t get 3D all stars, until it is inevitably added). I’m not sure what will become of 3D land as of so far it seems as though it has been forgotten along with SM64DS. If you do not own any of these games and own a switch and don’t feel comfortable with pirating or can’t emulate, this bundle is worth it for it’s price and for the “slight” changes. If you already own these games on their original hardware, this bundle is still worth considering, whether you want an official HD re-release or you want to stream the game with an HD capture card. For people who emulate or pirate these games, it doesn’t hurt to get a portable version, since emulation isn’t perfect YET, especially for portability. If you find this bundle upsetting, just remember this game gave us the power to emulate any n64 wii or GameCube game with hacks, and the development of this game could have been the cause of the “Giga leak” that happened earlier this year. I would recommend this game to anyone that loves Nintendo games, or wants to get into Mario for the first time or to those who would like a portable option.