Nintendo showed everyone how to do compilation releases when they dropped Super Mario All-Stars onto the Super Nintendo in 1993. This was the definitive collection of the main Super Mario Bros games. It includes the first three from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). If you waited about a year you could have bought a version with Super Mario World included. What was really nice about this compilation was that it featured two versions of Super Mario Bros 2. The one that we got in North America and the true sequel that we did not receive. All of the main games were remade with better graphics and improved sound. Super Mario World which was just a re-release on the cartridge did feature very slight editing of Luigi’s sprite.

Super Mario All-Stars was very deliberate

For fans of these games it was a no brainer to purchase this compilation. Even if for no other reason than to get access to the true Super Mario Bros 2. For me, it was that – I was buying a remake of SMB 2 The Lost Levels. The remakes of the other three games were just icing on the cake for me. The reasoning that many gamers had was probably all over the board with ways to justify purchasing Super Mario All-Stars.

A compilation above most compilations

This was how companies should have been doing compilation re-releases but we rarely get these types of releases. Capcom and Sega are well known for re-releasing their classics with literally no changes whatsoever to the games. That sucks.  Nintendo is not safe from criticism here. This is literally the last re-release of these games for quite awhile that had any significant improvements.

Maybe too good of a release

Nintendo set a high watermark for compilation re-releases here. A level so high that even Nintendo has trouble coming close to it. Grab a copy off your gaming shelf or off Ebay or Amazon if you don’t have a copy laying around and just enjoy. If you want more Mario games then boy do we have a backlog of articles for you.

Carl Williams

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