Super Mario All-Stars
Remakes of four classic Super Mario games for the SNES.
Super Mario All-Stars, a 1993 SNES compilation from Nintendo, remakes four NES and Famicom Disk System Mario titles with updated graphics, music, and a save feature. It sold 10.55 million copies by 2015, making it one of the best-selling Super Mario games.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Takashi Tezuka
- Producer
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Composer
- Koji Kondo, Soyo Oka
- Artist
- Shigefumi Hino
- Naoki Mori
- Soichiro Tomita
- Kenta Usui
- Programmer
- Toshihiko Nakago
- Series
- Super Mario
Facts from the source article.
Content
Super Mario All-Stars compiles the first four Super Mario games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. A two-player bonus game based on Mario Bros. can be accessed from Super Mario Bros. 3. The games are 2D side-scrolling platformers where players control Mario or Luigi through themed worlds, jumping between platforms, avoiding enemies and obstacles, finding hidden secrets, and collecting power-ups.
Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 3 follow Mario and Luigi rescuing Princess Toadstool from Bowser. Super Mario Bros. 2 has a different storyline: Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad must defeat King Wart in the land of dreaming, picking up and throwing objects at enemies. Players select one of four characters at the start of each life. The remakes feature updated graphics with parallax scrolling, remastered soundtracks, slightly modified physics, and fixed glitches such as the Minus World.
The Lost Levels had its difficulty reduced: poison mushrooms are easier to distinguish, and there are more 1-ups and checkpoints. A save feature allows players to resume from any previously accessed world or level, with up to four save files per game.
Development
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development developed Super Mario All-Stars after completing Super Mario Kart. The working title was Mario Extravaganza. The concept came from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who suggested a value pack containing all the Super Mario games to fill a gap in Nintendo's release schedule while Yoshi's Island was still in production. Miyamoto wanted to give players a chance to experience The Lost Levels, which had not been released outside Japan due to its perceived difficulty.
Rather than simply transferring the NES games, Nintendo remade them for the SNES. The developers first updated the graphics, using more colors available on the 16-bit hardware. Designer Naoki Mori, in his third year at Nintendo, felt intimidated by updating the flagship series. The artists based designs on Super Mario World and added a black outline around Mario.
For black backgrounds, they added details such as portraits of Bowser and Mario. The team left level designs and Mario's movement unaltered to preserve the original feel, adding no new animations or actions.
Release
Super Mario All-Stars, known as Super Mario Collection in Japan, hit shelves on July 14, 1993, in Japan, followed by North America on August 11, 1993, and Europe on December 16, 1993. This compilation was notable for bringing The Lost Levels outside Japan for the first time. From September to October 1993, Nintendo Power ran a contest where players who reached a certain point in The Lost Levels could earn a Mario iron-on patch. The game became the pack-in title for the SNES, selling 10.55 million copies by 2015, with 2.12 million of those in Japan.
It was the top-selling video game in the United Kingdom for September 1993. A re-release in December 1994, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, added Super Mario World, featuring updated Luigi sprites that made him look distinct from Mario rather than just a color swap. A version of Super Mario Collection also appeared on the Satellaview, a Japan-only SNES add-on for satellite downloads. For the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo issued Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition for the Wii in 2010, including the original ROM, a 32-page Super Mario History booklet, and a soundtrack CD.
This edition sold 2.24 million copies by March 2011. In 2020, the compilation returned on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics subscription service.
Reception
Super Mario All-Stars was widely praised by critics, who saw it as an essential title that showcased the SNES at its best and could keep players busy for hours. Nintendo Magazine System believed it might hold someone's attention for a full year. Computer and Video Games called it a director's cut of the Super Mario series, offering updated graphics and audio along with The Lost Levels, a game few had played before. Electronic Gaming Monthly, impressed by the improvements, declared it a masterpiece from beginning to end.
Reviewers felt the remakes were excellent, aging well and keeping the same feel as the NES originals, with all secrets preserved. AllGame later described the version that includes Super Mario World as the peak of 2D platforming. Nintendo Power said the games improved with time, while others urged players to switch from the older NES versions. One Nintendo Magazine System reviewer admitted a preference for Super Mario World but still recommended the collection.
The save feature was a hit with Nintendo Power, as it gave players a chance to finish the games. Updated graphics earned praise for their detail and colorful, cartoonish look, though Computer and Video Games wanted more background detail, unlike GamePro. Soundtracks were also lauded, with Electronic Gaming Monthly noting they enhanced the experience and GamePro pointing out added echo and bass.
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