Super Mario All-Stars Review

By Simon Parkin Published 17 December, 2010

Crystal castles.

Version tested: Wii

One tragic casualty of the game industry's creep towards digital distribution is videogame packaging.

Games are, by definition, ethereal: arcane lines of code that push clusters of coloured light from pixel to pixel on electronic displays. The boxes they come in help ground these esoteric journeys of mind and screen in reality. They bottle our experiences. We can read their labels, share specimens with each other and feel their weight in our hands – none of which is possible with a file downloaded to a hard drive.

Boxes make the intangible tangible. Digital distribution offers convenience, but it does so at the expense of experience. And Nintendo has always understood the value of experience.

Super Mario All-Stars, which bundles together four of the series' formative 8-bit titles, enjoys packaging that is both commemorative and celebratory. The smooth, dusky, Famicom-mauve cardboard box is emblazoned with a gold wreath, inside which stands a Mario sprite, facing right: poised and ready, as ever, to run off into the inviting distance. Understated but thoughtful, like a Criterion Collection version of a cherished children's film, it strikes a balance between playfulness and austerity.

Even Nintendo doesn't indulge itself in as many commemorative re-releases as its cinematic counterpart, Disney. But Super Mario Bros. is no run-of-the-mill classic. For over 20 years it remained the best-selling game ever, shifting over 40 million copies worldwide and popularising a character that, by the 1990s, had become more recognisable amongst American schoolchildren than Mickey Mouse.

Moreover, Super Mario Bros.' iconography has come to define games in popular culture. The red splash of Mario's plumber costume, the unfashionable cap and moustache, Koji Kondo's irrepressibly joyful theme tune, the squat, shifty-eyed Goombas and the spike-backed kidnapper, Bowser, all symbolise video games to much of the world. Mario's most important game is 25 years old; we should absolutely throw him a party.

2

Nintendo changed Mario's name from Jumpman in honour of its US landlord, Mario Segale, who offered it a rent extension, or so the story goes.

Physically, the re-release has been treated with an appropriate degree of care and attention. Inside the box, there's a compilation soundtrack of music from the series, along with sound effects – trills and warbles that can be pinned to every action and reaction in the game from memory. Likewise, a booklet outlining the origins of the series, and featuring comments from creator Shigeru Miyamoto and never-before-seen artwork from its development, is a welcome bonus.

Sadly, in the game, contemporary spit and polish is nowhere to be seen. This is, instead, a ROM dump of the Super Nintendo title, Super Mario All-Stars, which eschews Mario's debut in Donkey Kong and the subsequent arcade game Mario Bros. and instead bundles Super Mario Bros. and its sequels together, repainted in 16-bit sprites.

The code remains untouched from its debut 17 years ago; the copyright line on the title screen reads 1993; the on-screen instructions are written for a SNES pad, not a Wii controller, Classic or otherwise. Without 60hz support, the games must be played bordered and with the slightly fuzzy definition that plagues emulated SNES games when played on a modern flat-screen television.

Does any of this matter? Yes and no. No, because each of the four games on offer still sparkles with creativity and assured design; they're not mere museum pieces, picked out as crucial stages in gaming's evolution, but also as vibrant, relevant and exciting experiences today. Yes, because, when throwing someone a 25th birthday party, it's a little stingy and awkward to put up the same decorations you used for their 8th birthday party.

Presentation aside, each game here remains a triumph, the SNES incarnations arguably preferable to the NES originals thanks mainly to the convenience offered by the save slots.

The first game in the set, Super Mario Bros., defined the platform game (or "Athletic Game" as the genre was known internally at Nintendo at the time). It arranged the nascent vocabulary of its genre in the most eloquent and engaging ways. The physics, in particular, are note-perfect; Mario's trajectory when lifting off, his weight in the air, and his speed when settling into a run are all perfectly expressed.

The precision afforded by the controls allows the level design to shine, underground or overground, while the power-ups alter your reach into the world in fascinating yet balanced ways. The game may be venerable, but it's far from outdated. Its genius is in its assured simplicity.

Super Mario Bros. 2 isn't really Super Mario Bros. 2 at all. Rather, it's a re-skinned version of a quirky Nintendo platform game, Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, released in the West under the Mario name because the real sequel was considered too hard for non-Japanese. Despite also being designed by Miyamoto, the result is a Mario game that feels like a cheese-induced dream, its world and inhabitants familiar and yet somehow out of place.

3

Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game in the series to include levels that scrolled vertically.

Mario's ground-pound attack is missing, replaced by a system that requires you to pull vegetables from the ground and throw them at his enemies. But while it never quite feels like a true entry to the Mario series, it's nevertheless a strong game on its own terms – and it played a key role in the development of the Mushroom Kingdom by exporting some characters of its own invention back into the series in subsequent titles.

The Lost Levels is the true sequel to Super Mario Bros. In truth, no matter how much the decision not to release it in the West stung, it was probably the right one, though the fault lies with Nintendo. The Lost Levels is brutally unfair, a dark, mean expression of Mario's usual breezy even-handedness.

Poisonous mushrooms, invisible blocks that must be felt out in order to pass some areas, and cruel level layouts stuffed with enemies all bite and sting. Still, the component parts of the experience are strong enough that most will persevere to the end, and for those who missed the game the first time around, The Lost Levels will fill an important gap in your gaming knowledge.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is undeniably the strongest of the set, a beautiful, ambitious, non-linear platform game. Christian Donlan offered an expert critique of it in his thoughtful and personal love letter last month.

4

Doki Doki Panic was in fact a licensed game, created in partnership with Fuji Television to promote its Yume Kojo '87 event, showcasing its TV line-up for the year.

Despite only being 951kb in size, the four games nestled together in Super Mario All-Stars represent good value for money. The combined price of downloading each title separately from the Virtual Console (in their original NES versions, mind) is only marginally lower than the £24.99 asking price for this box.

Should Nintendo be criticised for failing to update the code for 2010? Some might say the effort would have outweighed the benefit. These games are supremely playable in their 16-bit form, and while 60hz, non-bordered support would have been welcome, their appeal is undiminished by time and technology's progress.

But perhaps the greatest value of this pack is the packaging itself. Owning a physical copy of Super Mario All-Stars on Wii allows these games to sit proudly on your shelf, a statement to everyone who enters your home and sees it. Here is a game that, in some tiny way, made me the person I am today. Celebrate that with me.

Is a ROM cheaper? Absolutely. Does it offer the same amount of value? Not even close.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A core contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, he is also a critic and columnist on games for The Guardian.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (107) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • OKMILK #1 1 year ago

    Downloading the NES versions from the VC store would cost no more than £15. Where are you getting your wii points from for it to work out more than £24.99?
    Edited by OKMILK at 17/12/10 @ 08:16

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 1 year ago

    I was hoping it would support 480p and was quite disappointed that it didn't but luckily the games are still great fun. It's probably the only old games collection that can get away with not being updated at all.

    The games are also much harder than I remembered them to be but I welcome the challenge. I'm not quite done with Super Mario Bros. 2 and I am really looking forward to SMB3.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #3 1 year ago

    You (Eurogamer) are too kind of Nintendo. It would have been relatively trivial to have included a 60Hz version of the rom alongside the 50Hz version (it's a DVD, after all). The omission of Super Mario World is striking, and even if we sympathise with the fact that they probably want to make money from that game on the Virtual Console, they could also have included the NES versions of these games to make the 'collection' a bit more definitive.

    Looking at the kind of retro collections we see from other publishers (MegaDrive Collections, Sonic Collections, etc.), this is a lazy effort. 8/10 is a fair rating to give to the games included on this collection, but if we're to assume that everyone has already played these games and will be looking for something a little bit more than this, then the score rewards their laziness a bit too much.

  • weblaus #4 1 year ago

    So why are the screenshots in the review a) from the NES-versions and b) taken from ign.com (see the one for part 3)? Would it have been this difficult to fire up an emulator and take the correct ones yourself?
    Edited by weblaus at 17/12/10 @ 08:33

  • Red_Bool #5 1 year ago

    Question: if this basically contains the SNES all-stars package, why are all the screenshots from the original 8-bit NES versions?

    Still have my SNES w/ All Stars and SMW, so no buy for me :-)

    weblaus beat me to it :-)
    Edited by Red_Bool at 17/12/10 @ 08:31

  • TheDudesRug #6 1 year ago

    The IGN watermark is hilarious. And quite revealing!

  • Mysjkin7 #7 1 year ago

    What is really striking is that the All Stars-collection was originally released in 1993, so this is a repackaging of a come-20-year-old repackaging, with no redeeming extra content, no technical updates or modernization whatsoever. That this is even out as a new game for the Wii baffles me. Rather, the games should be considered public domain by now.

  • neilka #8 1 year ago

    If only Halo had come in a box it could have scored as highly as this.

  • rodpad #9 1 year ago

    Me thinks the reviewer is a little blinded by nostalgia.

  • Cappy #10 1 year ago

    Amusing to see the 50Hz issue glossed over.

    For something that pitches itself as a document of how things were, a bordered PAL conversion is forgiven too easily. That's not Super Mario in it's original form, just the wretched PAL conversion of it.

  • photoboy #11 1 year ago

    I would knock off 5 points for the lack of Super Mario World and Mario 64 and then another 5 for being so lazy as to only run in PAL mode. So -2/10 it is then. Luckily I've still got my Super Famicom hooked up so I don't need to pay Nintendo's outrageous price for their butchery of these classics.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #12 1 year ago

    Speaking of Famicom: Wasn't there supposed to be an edition where all the question mark blocks have been replaced with a 25 block because of the anniversary? Or was that only a Japanese VC re-release that I am thinking of?

  • waggy79 #13 1 year ago

    A real missed opportunity. This couldve been something to really treasure.

  • Pinky_Floyd #14 1 year ago

    Nintendo. Still living in the eighties and nineties. bless. It's so cute!

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #15 1 year ago

    This sounds like a fucking travesty. 25 quid for a single SNES ROM, which skips as many 8 and 16-bit Mario platform games as it includes, with a fancy book in a cardboard box?

    It certainly compares very poorly to the equivalent Sonic compilations.

  • beep #16 1 year ago

    Bought this solely for the noyce packaging and soundtrack CD.

  • FeralGamer #17 1 year ago

    I've always thought that Super Mario Bros. 2 was creepy! The bosses were completely out of the Mario norm. Picking onions out of the ground and throwing them, the Princess hovering, Luigi's extended jumps, the creepy music... they were all nightmare inducing. I was freaked out as a child playing SMB2. It didn't fit in at all with the original Super Mario Bros. I believe SMB2 was a bastard child, pretending to be the Mario we all love, but instead is evil and an abomination. SMB3 was the best in the series. No creepy bosses, no plucking onions... The people working on SMB2 must've been on drugs or something.
    Edited by FeralGamer at 17/12/10 @ 09:16

  • Shakey_Jake33 #18 1 year ago

    ^
    That's because the western 'Super Mario Bros. 2' wasn't actually Super Mario Bros. 2, it was a reskinned version of the Japanese Famicom game 'Doki Doki Panic'. Super Mario: Lost Levels is actually Super Mario Bros. 2, and is the game that Japan received.

  • Piccadillio #19 1 year ago

    Once again, like NSMB: Wii last year, Nintendo have tried to reach both their new and old audience and ended up in the middle. This would be an average special edition for a new release, but as a celebration of 25 years of the most iconic character in the history of videogames it's an insult. My wife bought this for my mother-in-law for her birthday, so I've had the chance to look at the booklet. When Simon mentioned Miyamoto's 'comments' he was speaking literally, because the tiny amount of content from the creator of the aforementioned most iconic character in the history of videogames is very poor. The soundtrack contains 10 pieces of music and 10 sound effects. The best thing about this set is the box, and even that is ruined by the bizarre decision to make it two inches taller than it needs to be to accommodate a hole so it can be hung on a display in stores. Maybe I'm just being naive, but when a collector's edition is more concerned with the ease of which it is displayed on shelves rather than the fans it is reportedly created for, something is wrong.

    Nintendo have been advertising this as "perfect for old and new fans!" but it's perfect for neither. It's adequate for people who haven't played the games, but it's an insult to those who have. I'm not going to go into the issue of the games themselves, because I still have my SNES copy so they weren't a concern. What I did expect is that Nintendo would put together a set that is worthy of 25 years of Mario. Not something that is less comprehensive than, say, the Black Phantom Edition of Demon's Souls. That's a new IP with no history behind it. Where's the DVD documentary? They could have filled the 3.5+ gb of free space on that disc with a load of digital extras. The Toy Story blu-ray came with hours of extras, and that's only ten years old!

    The bottom line is that this set represents what Nintendo thinks of it's fans, and the amount of effort they're willing to put in to thank them for making Mario who he is today.

  • GamesConnoisseur #20 1 year ago

    Super Mario World WAS included in previous All Star Compliation in previous gens, and the ONLY reason it's not here, is so that Ninty can release another super compilation for more money.

    My view is score should be lower as having SMW ripped out of current All Star reduced it's value and package.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #21 1 year ago

    As a kid SMB2 scared me quite a bit as well from time to time. I pretty much stopped playing when the albatross exit suddenly started to attack me. The first time I really freaked out because of a video game :)

  • Shakey_Jake33 #22 1 year ago

    @GamesConnoisseur - Actually, there were two versions of Super Mario: All-Stars. The original version which did not include Super Mario World, and a later version that did include it (titled 'Super Mario: All Stars + Super Mario World') and came packaged with Super Nintendo consoles.

    But I do agree that it's omission here is intentional.

  • kinky_mong #23 1 year ago

    Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game in the series to include levels that scrolled vertically.

    Wrong. Super Mario Bros 2 (not Lost Levels, the one Europe and the US got as Mario 2) had vertically scrolling levels.

    So along with factual inaccuracies, the fact this review is two weeks late, and showing a screenshot with an IGN watermark, I'd say this is more award winning quality journalism from Eurogamer!

  • Whitster #24 1 year ago

    Nintendo have missed a trick here, because if they had really pushed the boat out the game content and got everything from DK up to the 64 era in there (GC is probably pushing it due to storage space, although they could have just reissued the GCDiscs), and proper pimped out the bonus features I'd would've probably paid COD price for this, and I dont think I'm the only one.

  • TVoJ #25 1 year ago

    I thought my All stars didn't include world. I had it packaged with the SNES when it came out.

  • Bartacus #26 1 year ago

    This is very poor of Nintendo.

    I have played this & it is in dire need of a lick of paint & better presentation, it's just like playing via an emulator.

    More work has gone into the box design than the game.


  • Piccadillio #27 1 year ago

    This collection doesn't need more games, it needs more exclusive content. It's supposed to be a collector's edition, not a compilation. Those suggestions are very silly indeed. Almost as bad as the people who wanted Nintendo to update the graphics so they all look like NSMB. That would be awful.

  • jamhead #28 1 year ago

    @Shakey_Jake33

    Absolutely spot on. This is incredibly lazy.

    If they are releasing the SNES version of these games, then thay aren't the originals anyway. They are already remakes. So why not update them properly (if you are going to do that) or at least provide widescreen / 480p / 60Hz etc to make them a worthy purchase.

    Great games though they are Nintendo are being well cheeky asking for £25 quid for this. Again.

  • SandyMcD #29 1 year ago

    Is the reviewer seriously suggesting people pay £25 to impress people who see it on their shelf? What an idiot!

    This is an absolutely dire package. It's the cheapest, most cynical thing Nintendo has done in a very long time. One emulated SNES cart rattling around on a DVD is no way to "celebrate" an anniversary.

    It should have included every Mario game ever made. Oh Nintendo, you clueless twats. And shame on Eurogamer for this feeble, kowtowing review.

  • mkreku #30 1 year ago

    But the box is pretty..

  • RobTheBuilder #31 1 year ago

    I want that cd, but I'm not paying more than a tenner for something we paid £50 quid for fifteen years ago.

  • Gastrian #32 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • MrBelmont #33 1 year ago

    I bought this and found it disappointing, sure it sits in the shelf and looks pretty but most comments I've had from mates are along the lines of "you wasted money on that? don't you already have all those games?". I don't think Super Mario made me who I am today but I certainly loved the games back in the day! This is a lazy effort pure and simple, if they really wanted to celebrate Marios 25th birthday they could have done better than a ROM, a soundtrack CD and a text-starved booklet. Glad I managed to get this for £18 through Zavvi.

  • iago71 #34 1 year ago

    The original release of All Stars did not have World - I owned it and I still have the boxed cartridge. (Japanese Copy) Neither did the subsequent US release. World was added after in a later edition.

    However, in this case they really should be including it and shed load of other stuff as well - 64, Squaresofts Mario RPG etc (And yes I know that its not fully Nintendo). I for one would have been all over it as I'm a self confessed Mario nut. A shame really as it could have been so much more.

    Essentially this is just Super Mario Allstars that came out years ago. Howsabout all the great titles that have been 'Allstars' since then? Oh well.

  • Chalee #35 1 year ago

    Maybe I'm just being cynical, but doesn't the review boil down to 'buy it because the box is nice'?

  • the_dudefather #36 1 year ago

    @Gastrian
    It's actually just one snes game, which contains 4 remakes of nes games.
    Edited by the_dudefather at 17/12/10 @ 10:36

  • IronCladChicken #37 1 year ago

    Was the bear in Crystal Castles the first gay video game protagonist?

  • sfp_noodle #38 1 year ago

    When the review spends more time talking about the box of the game rather than the actual game you know something is wrong. Not to mention the stupid copy and paste effort of the IGN screenshot. Mr. Parkin you have let nostalgia cloud your judgement. There is nothing here that could not be downloaded onto a PC for free using an emulator. I am not suggesting that stealing from the net is ok, but when Nintendo are charging £25 for this, I think its them who are robbing us.

    Also, the comment at the end "Come celebrate with me" pretty much summed up the review. Clouded by glories of days gone by, the nostalgia was obviously too hard for Parkin to resist. Whilst the games are still playabale today, the poor presentation where Nintendo thinks that pretty packaging will make up for the fact the games run for TVs designed from the 80s and 90s, makes this an overwhelmingly cynical effort.

    This is a poor homage to such an iconic character and game series. If it was released at £10, it would still be £5 to expensive, but at least they could recoup the costs of making the box so pretty right Mr Parkin? Having said that, it appears as if thats where the majority of the £25 are going.

  • thisisatempaccount #39 1 year ago

    In the 10th hour of the 145th day of the 23rd year of my being, I read an article on Eurogamer which contained a spoiler for the ending of the original Super Mario Brothers, a game I - not for want of many, many hundreds of attempts - never quite gotten around to completing (mostly because of fother mucking 8-3. You know what I'm talking about.)

    All I can think to say is

    DAAAAAAMN YOOOOOOU PAAAAARKIIIIIIIIN
    Edited by thisisatempaccount at 17/12/10 @ 10:39

  • lavalant #40 1 year ago

    4mb rom on a DVD, what a waste. I have the Mario All stars + World cart anyway, cost me £10 from ebay, and I don't have to worry about batteries for my controller.

  • JodSUMO #41 1 year ago

    Sounds like a lazy port. No 60Hz + No Super Mario World = No sale. :(
    That said we have SMB1-3 on NES and SMB All-Stars (with SMW) on SNES, so it's no big loss.

  • jonsaan #42 1 year ago

    'Should Nintendo be criticised for failing to update the code for 2010?'

    Yes. It's pathetic really. Fantastic games with a free smear of turd under the nose. This could have been glorious. It's lazy.
    Edited by jonsaan at 17/12/10 @ 10:46

  • trevd72 #43 1 year ago

    RIP OFF!!!! at least dick turpin wore a mask when he robbed you. there are going to be some ignorant parents paying a lot of money for not a lot of old content and then eurogamer helps N further by giving it a god damn 8!

  • sonicyoda #44 1 year ago

    I've got to admit, the beautiful presentation of this package won me over. That and it's only £18 brand new on Play.

  • geeza2020 #45 1 year ago

    What a bloody awful review. I don't usually make these sort of comparisons, but by this reviewers logic, Red Dead Redemption could have been an awful game and gotten the same score for just having a nice shiny red box with a gold logo...

  • SG #46 1 year ago

    I like having proper games on disc but smaller old games I'm happy to have on VC.

    I was gagging for this as a VC download, but now it's released on Wii I don't fancy the hassle of having to put the disc in all the time or having a game case that sits awkwardly with the others, which is easily damaged due to it being cardboard - oh and that stupid sticker they've put to seal the box up, great work there Nintendo; how many collectors are going to enjoy getting that off without it ripping?

    How much is a SNES game on VC? 800 points? What's that in money? The 50Hz thing is possibly the biggest fucking joke ever - not only have they fucked the fans, they've gone and shafted the Europeans yet again, even with this 'special release'. (I'm so glad I got a US console). I really wish they were struggling like in the N64 days when they didn't appear so full of themselves.

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #47 1 year ago

    Sorry about the screenshots thing - This was a silly oversight on my part. Will find some grabs of the correct versions and replace them.

  • Physically_Insane #48 1 year ago

    Google more carefully.

  • Bluetooth #49 1 year ago

    Where's that jpeg of Miyamoto and Iwata with Nintendo consoles printing out money

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #50 1 year ago

    Fixed now. Apologies once again. It was thoughtless instructions from me, not poor research which led to the screens error.

  • coolbritannia #51 1 year ago

    How everyone is seeing this, is how I've seen 99% of Nintendo output since the Gamecube. If this was every single NES, SNES, and Gameboy Mario game, (Including Dr Mario etc) it would have been brilliant. I'd have repurchased a Wii for it. Wouldn't have hurt to put Mario 64 on there too. Shoddy.

  • Bartacus #52 1 year ago

    Maybe Nintendo decided to do no work on it as most people use copy's on the Wii.

    It's the only excuse for this crap they keep putting out for the Wii.

  • mad_caddy #53 1 year ago

    @Kinky_mong
    "Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game in the series to include levels that scrolled vertically.

    Wrong. Super Mario Bros 2 (not Lost Levels, the one Europe and the US got as Mario 2) had vertically scrolling levels."

    Nope, SM2 didn't have vertical scrolling levels, each time you went to a new screen it never traveled with you.

  • tomjoadsghost #54 1 year ago

    Is this a dreadfully ironic meta-review? is the lack of effort in sourcing screenshots etc a reference to the lack of effort in the localization?

    Is everybody else in on the joke apart from me.

    Just how deep does this warp pipe go?

  • FooAtari #55 1 year ago

    So this is effectivly an emulated SNES cart right?

    So how did Simon come to this conclusion
    "Is a ROM cheaper? Absolutely. Does it offer the same amount of value? Not even close.

    I can get the SNES ROM that will run NTSC 60Hz, make it look better if choose to using various filters and hell even hook up a SNES controller if it took my fancy (think you get USB adapters for them...). I can't see how the ROM isn't providing a better experience.

    Personally I have no problems downloading 20 year old games (as in the CART roms, I wouldn't download this for Wii). They made back their development costs on this long ago. £25 for this is a total piss take for this lazy port. If you can even really call it a port if it's running via emulation.
    Edited by FooAtari at 17/12/10 @ 12:20

  • Charlie_Miso #56 1 year ago

    Sweet review. Hope the hints I dropped means this is currently under the tree.

    Good times.

  • goz #57 1 year ago

    Disney made back its development costs on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 60-odd years ago. There's no outcry when they re-release the same DVD time and again (at full price), because they are introducing the film to a new generation each time.

    Why should games be treated differently in this regard? Money generated from previous releases can help fund new-IP that might not otherwise get made.

  • LowEnergyCycle #58 1 year ago

    "Money generated from previous releases can help fund new-IP that might not otherwise get made.

    The words "Nintendo" and "new-IP" very rarely site in the same paragraph, at least without "lack of" sitting awkwardly between them.

    Great games, but this whole re-re-re-release thing is far beyond acceptable any more, and reeks of an admission on Nintendo's part that they are fast running out of ideas to milk from their core franchises. Would it have been so hard to knock together a few new levels in celebration? Something new that we haven't already paid for several times over? It's as if the 25-year anniversary suddenly crept up on them, and they panicked up a quick and dirty re-release just in time for the discs to go to press.

    With all that spare Wii-cash, you'd think they could employ somebody to at least keep one eye on a calendar.

  • weblaus #59 1 year ago

    Oli: Using a screenshot with a honking huge IGN watermark is both thoughless and poor resarch, no matter how you look at it.
    Edited by weblaus at 17/12/10 @ 13:20

  • iago71 #60 1 year ago

    Im not sure why I got negged for having an opinion that it would be nice to have the subsequent titles since the SNES release. Im sure there are many people out there that would agree with that. All the games on the disk are great - That fact is not in question here.

    The point is that its still just the exact same release from the early nineties and there are more great titles from the series that could have been added.

    I dont have a problem with it per se and if youve never played any of them thats great but they could have been a little less stingy. I would gladly pay top dollar for more than say "isnt it great value" and have less content.

  • knocker #61 1 year ago

    I would have simply loved an updated Mario 64.

    I have this on pre-order, not having read anything about the game. Just about to cancel as a result of the review.

    Will it look nice on my shelf ? don't care. My shelves in my den are almost a museum to consoles past. The Snes with SMW works better as a conversation piece (and can probably be got for cheaper)

  • axman303 #62 1 year ago

    Be wise. Don't complain. Buy ten copies. Stash them away for ten years. Then sell them on eBay for £100 a piece.

  • tomjoadsghost #63 1 year ago

    @goz

    I'm sure if people bought snow white on blu-ray and it was indistinguishable from the VHS release it would meet a similar reaction.

    Disney tend to do a fairly exhaustive restoration of their movies each time they are released on a new medium, this thing is still interlaced, 50hz and bordered. I'm not saying they should rebuild it it but it shouldn't hurt to fix the shortcomings of the earlier release.

  • originaljohn #64 1 year ago

    I think 90% of the people posting here are missing the point of the game. I have no intention of buying this game, but I can see why it has been released. If some of you would look beyond your own noses, you'll notice more people are playing games today compared to 25 years ago. And chances are these 'new' gamers never played super mario bros. back in the day.

    So get off your high 'I want discs full of extra shit' horse's and accept the fact that gaming has grown, which is a good thing.

  • SandyMcD #65 1 year ago

    @#61
    "Disney made back its development costs on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 60-odd years ago. There's no outcry when they re-release the same DVD time and again (at full price)"

    It's an entirely different thing. The Disney film will have extras, it'll be a two-disc special edition, remastered on Blu-Ray, the image quality brought up to date, etc.

    For this game, Nintendo gave us *one* old SNES cart that takes up 0.0002% of a single layer DVD. They gave us the absolute worst version of it, in the form of the PAL edition, and yet they're sitting on a massive archive of content that they have no idea what to do with.

    And it's the 25th anniversary. They're supposed to care about this sort of thing, but the quality of this release suggests they were at a loose end for Wii games and decided to crap out something that would take no effort and cost them nothing.

    If a company that gave a damn were to do an anniversary edition, you can bet it would at least have a nice front end and be stashed with additional content.

    Also, one more time: Eurogamer should be thoroughly embarrassed about this review.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #66 1 year ago

    What high horse? Also, if anything new gamers would like the 480p support. I can understand that for nostalgia's sake some people would like to play it exactly as they remembered but it still would not hurt to include the 60hz versions as well.

    This anniversary box even looks weak compared to some of today's collector's editions.

    How many games can look back to 25 years of gaming? No other series can claim to be around for so long so this 25th anniversary really is something special. There is so much unused potential and that's why people are a bit disappointed. After all the exact same game has been released 15 years ago as well.

    As I said earlier, the quality of the game barely makes up for it - this is indeed the only collection that can get away with what it is. Nevertheless it's a shame that Nintendo could not be bothered to do more with this.

  • Piccadillio #67 1 year ago

    But, originaljohn, this is being marketed as a collector's edition, and what would you say is the audience for something like that? Soccer moms? That alone is a statement from Nintendo that this is aimed at the core fans as much as the newer fans, and even the adverts say as much. Unfortunately, it's poorly aimed. Fans will be disappointed at the lack of extras, newer gamers will think the games suck based on how crap they look on their big shiny TVs.

    So maybe if you look beyond your own nose, you might notice a little more, too.
    Edited by Piccadillio at 17/12/10 @ 14:30

  • Ryze #68 1 year ago

    Lazy Fucks. Fuck off with this, Ninty.

    NO SALE.

  • LowEnergyCycle #69 1 year ago

    @originaljohn

    Nothing you say excuses this shambles. What would be wrong with extra content? Are people who haven't played a Mario game before really going be so forgiving of SNES-era graphics? Why after all these years can't they get over the crappy PAL limitations? Why couldn't they include Mario World - arguably the best 2D Mario, and surely a good addition for people that haven't yet played it?

    My 25th birthday wasn't particularly memorable, but I'm sure it was more of a celebration than this.

  • Paulie_P #70 1 year ago

    I love Nintendo's games but they pull crap like this all the time and its really disappointing. I wish reviewers would take Nintendo to task on the issues stated on this comments thread as the whole point of this compilation is more than just a game. It should be reviewed on it's merits as a collector's edition, we already know how the game plays like.

  • SG #71 1 year ago

    harlie_Miso
    17/12/10 @ 12:44

    Sweet review. Hope the hints I dropped means this is currently under the tree.

    Good times.

    Tool.

  • AdamAsunder #72 1 year ago

    As pretty much everyone has already said I must echo their sentiments and add my oar to the waters.

    This is a massive wasted opportunity and a rip off no matter how you look at it. This should have been the definitive collection of Mario titles, a series that has been continually revolutionary for most of the 25 years the portly plumber has been around.

    The SNES allstars should have been joined by the 8bit originals and should bookend Mario's 25 year career with his more recent masterpieces. Even if you omitted the Galaxies or Sunshine, Mario World, Yoshi's Island and Mario 64 should all be part of the collection as genuine lessons in games design and a true celebration of one of the finest legacies in videogaming, full stop.

    A complete letdown, and just a way to make a quick buck.

    Shame on you Nintendo, shame on you.

    /awaits Zelda Collection containing just the NES Roms.

  • alegl5141 #73 1 year ago

    Obvious fanboi is obvious.

    Simon, why do you believe that this package represents better value than a FREE (note the word there) rom? Oh wait, because it comes with a crappy little history of Mario leaflet and a CD of sound effects?

    Can we please have someone else review nintendo's next shameless money grab? Makes you wonder why ORIGINAL titles score less.

    Also, you've clearly played the game, so why could you not use your own screenshots? Laziness? What other possible reason could there be?

  • FenderMaster #74 1 year ago

    Theres no reason why this shouldn't have at least included Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart and Yoshi's Island... Hell, they could have thrown in Super Mario 64 and offered versions with the original NES sprites.

    Inexcusable lazy and stingy, even later SNES copies threw Super Mario World in...

  • alegl5141 #75 1 year ago

    AdamAsunder, Nintendo have already released a disk containing rubbish ports of the nes zeldas.

    The difference is, that disk was a freebie (and they at least attempted to disguise the sloppy porting with some fancy menus -whoop de freaking doo)

  • SG #76 1 year ago

    igoz
    17/12/10 @ 12:48

    Disney made back its development costs on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 60-odd years ago. There's no outcry when they re-release the same DVD time and again (at full price), because they are introducing the film to a new generation each time.

    Why should games be treated differently in this regard? Money generated from previous releases can help fund new-IP that might not otherwise get made.

    Because:

    1) The DVDs are visually and audio enhanced.
    2) The presentation is improved with the DVD menu and navigation.
    3) Plethora of extras including the now industry standard director's commentary.
    4) That's not even a 25 year 'Collector's Edition' anyway - yet it pisses all over this game as a comparison .

    You're a bit shit really aren't you?

    I also don't think that companies as rich as Nintendo and Disney need more money to produce a new IP.
    Edited by SG at 17/12/10 @ 17:36

  • GarethBale3 #77 1 year ago

    Must say I'm a bit disappointed that the 25 year anniversary seems like a rather shallow attempt to cash in.

    I would pay £50 for a real Wii version of these games, they should of included all past mario games from the last 25 years.

    I would of also liked an option to play in classic 8 bit mode or switch to a fully wide screen 480p updated mode.

    The sad thing is people would pay twice the amount of money for the collection if it was a real Mario collection that had been lovingly updated.

    In fact for 25 quid you can buy a Snes off ebay with super mario all stars and play it properly (Like I still can) Also I have no borders and the Mario games look great on a 42" LCD with a composite cable unlike 64 games.

    Perhaps the 50 year anniversary will be a better package... I wont hold my breath
    Edited by GarethBale3 at 17/12/10 @ 16:03

  • AdamAsunder #78 1 year ago

    @alegl

    Yeah fair enough, although I was merely making a point which I hope wasn't lost. Maybe I should have gone with Kirby or something.

  • Hunam #79 1 year ago

    Will Eurogamer now be factoring in boxes the games come in now with each review?

  • kenty #80 1 year ago

    I can't believe Ninty are still bumming Europeans in the gob with subpar PAL 50hz rubbish, it's 2010 for chrissake. And they're blatantly going to get away with it too...it'll probably be in the top 10 printing money for the next 3 years. What a cunch of bunts.

  • FenderMaster #81 1 year ago

    Will Eurogamer now be factoring in boxes the games come in now with each review?

    if they do, then god help the Conduit..

  • Mr.DNA #82 1 year ago

    Am I alone in thinking that the NES Mario games look way, way better in their original, unspoiled 8-bit glory? I've always thought that the revamped 16-bit graphics look garish in comparison.

  • DrStrangelove #83 1 year ago

    "the SNES incarnations arguably preferable to the NES originals thanks mainly to the convenience offered by the save slots."

    I disagree. Back in the SNES days, I loved the 16-bit improvements over the original. Today, when feeling a bit nostalgic and want to play SMB again, I prefer the NES original versions. They have that epic 8-bit charm, something that was lost in All-Stars.

  • woosh #84 1 year ago

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_sma4_gba/comments
    ]http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_sma4...[/link]

    It's funny reading similar comments on a one of the included games that was released over 7 years ago. That game came out for a lot more money at the time and it was pretty much the same game as the SNES version but with some challenges added to levels and some gimicky E-Card reader. Was an enjoyable game though.

    For this game, I would of hoped for the full screen, full speed support and something a bit more of a better interface-wise than what I was used to on the SNES. So I won't buy it yet until I find it for dirt cheap, which'll be a while.

    Nintendo will re-release these games again one day, and they might just do it better next time. But we'll still have this same conversation about them not doing enough, it's what we do :D

  • Harmonica #85 1 year ago

    Agree with everyone saying this review is a bit embarrasing. Take off your rose-tinted specs for a single second. The games are gold or thereabouts, but this release is a massive rip and a hack job.

    To talk about Criterion releases just makes it worse - do you have any idea how Criterion labour over their releases so they are seen in the absolute best quality possible?

  • sega #86 1 year ago

    I'm in two minds over this - on one hand it's a rip off but then it's also Super Mario Allstars.

    I do agree with everyone on here who is disappointed. There should be more to it - perhaps even each game should have been remade in the New Super Mario Bros Wii style.

    However I went out and bought this disc and don't regret it a bit. The Allstars versions of these games are the ones I have such fond memories of. I've been playing non stop since I bought it and enjoying it immensly. In that respect I'm getting my money's worth. But if that's not enough then I can't blame you either. I suppose it's a great package if you really want Allstars on Wii but not recommended if nostalgia isn't why you might buy it.

  • originaljohn #87 1 year ago

    Its simple if you don't want/like the game, then don't get it and for all those people who missed out on it the first time round here's a chance to pick it up.
    People have to realise that every game released is design specifically for them. So maybe you should stop thinking that way.

  • twh104 #88 1 year ago

    I think the way they have released this may have been slightly more acceptable if they used the SMAS+World ROM from 1994. It is literally a case of someone going, what ROM shall we add to the SNES emulator on the disc? Oh yeah, the original one from 1993.

    It would have been no more effort, and would it have REALLY cost them Virtual Console sales? - surely everyone who wanted to buy it since 2006 when it was uploaded would now have it.

    What is worse, looking back at the "FREE" Zelda collection from 2003 which at the time was widely criticised for not including Link to the Past (as it was avaliable on GBA at the time) and its emulation issues in Majora's Mask - this seems far worse and its 7 years later. That collection was better as it gave us a PAL60 disc, which Zelda and Zelda II ran at full speed.

    Well I'm not going to buy it anyway, but I suppose we wouldn't be any happier if they had put it on VC at 1600 Wii points or something.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #89 1 year ago

    "Am I alone in thinking that the NES Mario games look way, way better in their original, unspoiled 8-bit glory?"

    Yes.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #90 1 year ago

    "Its simple if you don't want/like the game, then don't get it"

    Please die as quickly as possible. You're wasting valuable air and resources that we need for people who aren't completely useless fucking cretins.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #91 1 year ago

    Are we getting an excuse for this?

    "The combined price of downloading each title separately from the Virtual Console (in their original NES versions, mind) is higher than the £24.99 asking price for this box."

    No it isn't. All four games in their NES versions cost a total of 2100 Wii Points (500 each, except The Lost Levels which is 600 because Nintendo are THAT greedy). Even if you're stupid enough to buy your Wii Points direct from Nintendo that's £21, and if you're not it's about £16.

  • SG #92 1 year ago

    twh104
    18/12/10 @ 11:02

    I suppose we wouldn't be any happier if they had put it on VC at 1600 Wii points or something.

    I would. It'd be cheaper, easier to use and I'm not fussed about extra unnecessary packaging. And I could save state (even though it has a save slot, but handy mid-level if I'd just got past a hard bit then had to go out).
    Edited by SG at 18/12/10 @ 12:57

  • StringBeanJean #93 1 year ago

    Surely 4 x 500 points = 4 x £3.50 = £14? Either that or I've miscalculated. I have all these games on VC and assumed that's what I paid. Or have wii points gone up? 1000 points is £7 I thought.

  • SG #94 1 year ago

    woosh
    17/12/10 @ 22:12

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_sma4...
    ]http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_sma4...[/link]

    It's funny reading similar comments on a one of the included games that was released over 7 years ago. That game came out for a lot more money at the time and it was pretty much the same game as the SNES version but with some challenges added to levels and some gimicky E-Card reader. Was an enjoyable game though.

    From the link:

    "Although, to be fair, Nintendo has polished this Advance far more than the previous releases. For a start, it looks great. I mean, really great. It's been polished (and of course resized to fit the GBA's screen) to the extent that even the colourful SNES "All-Stars" port looks worse off. Blocks are remarkably shiny, level furniture is multi-coloured, neatly textured and carefully placed, and despite some awkward items (shells that rebound around, bouncing fireballs, plants that stick their heads out of pipes, etc), the collision detection is always spot on."

    So as well as being SEVEN years older than SMB3 on the GBA and having original enhanced Mario Bros to play (and was multiplayer included?), it is an even better game than the All-Stars version, and was actually adapted to work well with the GBA. As the article says, it's an identical port, even showing the same dates as the original games. It hasn't been adapted for the Wii with 60Hz speed , borderless playing and could have been 480p resolution and offered a 16:9 option. Even some VC games have more enhancements than this!
    Edited by SG at 18/12/10 @ 13:14

  • zeldasdad #95 1 year ago

    Clearly they're selling this as a collectors' item of gaming memorabilla of one of the most influential and best series of games ever created which is why its a physical release with celebratory packaging, for the games plus the extras i don't think its a bad price but i also think they should have included Super Mario World and Mario 64 for the same price.
    Edited by zeldasdad at 18/12/10 @ 15:21

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #96 1 year ago

    "Clearly they're selling this as a collectors' item of gaming memorabilla of one of the most influential and best series of games ever created"

    In which case it should include the proper versions, not the shittified 50Hz ones.

  • Mr.DNA #97 1 year ago

    @Rev. Stuart Campbell: "Yes".

    Perhaps those of you who prefer the upgraded 16-bit graphics did not wake up on Christmas morning in the early 90s to find Super Mario Bros. 3 sitting under the tree? Or to find the original Super Mario Bros. packed together with Duck Hunt in the late 80s, again sitting under the tree on Christmas morning? My memories of those games are intimately connected with their original, 8-bit graphics, and I find them far, far more exciting than the upgrade that they received for Mario All Stars.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #98 1 year ago

    Good for you. But "trigger more exciting personal memories for me" is not the same thing as "look way, way better".

  • SG #99 1 year ago

    zeldasdad
    18/12/10 @ 13:17

    Clearly they're selling this as a collectors' item of gaming memorabilla of one of the most influential and best series of games ever created which is why its a physical release with celebratory packaging, for the games plus the extras i don't think its a bad price but i also think they should have included Super Mario World and Mario 64 for the same price.

    Rev. Stuart Campbell
    18/12/10 @ 13:46

    In which case it should include the proper versions, not the shittified 50Hz ones.

    Exactly, which is why I argue that I'd prefer a VC release if all it is is a straight port of All-Stars. There's nothing celebratory about that.
    Edited by SG at 18/12/10 @ 16:16

  • Mr.DNA #100 1 year ago

    @Rev. Stuart Campbell: "Good for you. But "trigger more exciting personal memories for me" is not the same thing as "look way, way better".

    I also think that they look way, way better. There's a certain charm that the 8-bit originals have, which the 16-bit re-imaginings totally bastardised.

  • SG #101 1 year ago

    No. I think that 16 bit ones look better - you know why? Because people have different tastes. You - regardless of nostalgia - prefer the 'retro' look; some of us prefer a more detailed look.

    People are just different. If they made them NSMB style, some would prefer, others would consider it a bastardisation. This being a celebratory pack, they could have included 8 and 16 bit options.

  • Mr.DNA #102 1 year ago

    @SG. Indeed, although at no point have I suggested that my opinion is the "correct" one, whereas those who prefer the 16-bit graphics are "wrong". I think one of the reasons why I prefer the original graphics is because the 16-bit graphics were "shoehorned" on top of the original game. The game was designed with the 8-bit art in mind, and the 16-bit graphics, to my eye, seem out of place and a little bit odd.

  • smelly #103 1 year ago

    I was going to read the comments and contribute to this discussion.

    Then i noticed mr bell-end himself is in here.. so i'll just step away from the conversation as it's almost definitely has already taken a turn for the worse.

  • originaljohn #104 1 year ago

    In the end of the day Nintendo simply have no interest in adding levels, upgrading the resolution and stuff like that. I would agree with those who say it would be great if they did and I agree that it is a missed opportunity. When I first heard the game was coming out I was expecting a mass of mario games on the disc, something simillar to what sega did when they re-released their mega drive collection. Then I discovered the contents of the game and thought this is targeted to a different type of gamer than me.

    @Rev. Stuart Campbell
    'Even if you're stupid enough to buy your Wii Points direct from Nintendo that's £21, and if you're not it's about £16.'

    Wii Points direct from Nintendo cost £7 @ 1000 Points making them cheaper than retailers, unless there's a offer on. The four games cost £14.70 not £21.

  • Loghorn #105 1 year ago

    I agree with many people that are complaining about this "anniversary" compilation. If Nintendo really wanted to celebrate Mario, they would've had just about every Mario game in the book from Mario Bros., to the GB Mario games, to games like Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario 64, etc, & even the NES versions of SMB 1, The Lost Levels, SMB 2, & SMB 3.

    Instead, all they did was take the SNES rom of all-stars without Super Mario World (another big flaw there), & just slapped them onto one disc without any changes. No changes in graphics, nothing.

    At least companies like Sega provides plenty of games for their compilations such as Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, & are soon coming out with Dreamcast Collection. Nintendo here needs to take a note on how to do collections/compilations from other developers.

  • electrolite #106 1 year ago

    Have to say, as a Nintendo fan, EG is being very very kind here about a shockingly cynical release. An untouched PAL ROM dumped onto a disc? Crikey, 800pts sometimes seems expensive for a SNES game on the VC, but 20 notes with a half-arsed 'commemorative' package? Poor indeed.

    Every Mario game up to Sunshine (the biggest at a max 1.5GB) would have fit onto one DVD. Nintendo could have dumped all of them onto a full-price disc even without any kind of updating and it would have been worth getting but this is a bit of a shambles IMHO

  • malloc #107 1 year ago

    Am I the only one that thinks someone at the big N was given a year to make whatever game they wanted, stuck a reminder in their calendar for a years time, then proceeded to quite literally nothing for the next 364 days until a 15 min reminder popped up in Outlook and then in a cold sweat legged it over to the archive server and copied and pasted 1 MBs worth of files onto a DVD found some concept art on the web and hey presto they're made a computer game!?

    I mean, at least include Mario Worlds as something extra, the original graphics is forgiveable (just) but rereleasing a SNES game that's a rerelease of 3 NES games is havin' a larf.
    Edited by malloc at 21/12/10 @ 20:07