I have the best girlfriend ever. I put this on my Christmas list, thinking that this release wouldn’t actually be limited (just like every other supposed limited video game release). Little did I know that this would sell out immediately and go for way more than retail value on the resale circuit. I figured that any chance of me getting this was slim-to-none. To my surprise, I found a copy of this along with my other awesome Christmas presents from her. To ensure that she was able to get this game for Christmas, she actually went to a midnight launch for this game. She ended up scoring the last copy. To quote one of her favourite bands, “If that ain’t love, then I don’t know what love is.”
There may have been a bit of an urge to keep this in mint condition, but I don’t like having games I don’t play. Besides, how can anyone say no to a compilation containing some of the best video games of all-time? I’ve cracked open my copy and I’ll let you know what you get if you score a copy and open it.
Let’s start with the game itself. The good news: this is Super Mario All-Stars, exactly as you remember it. The bad news: this is Super Mario All-Stars, exactly as you remember it. I love Super Mario All-Stars and it’s still a great compilation of remastered NES games, but you will not find anything new in this package. This is literally the Super Mario All-Stars ROM burned onto a disc. You don’t even see any Wii-specific menus, widescreen support or Wii-specific button layouts. For me, having a version of Super Mario All-Stars ready to use on a current generation system is great. However, if you were looking for something extra to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., this may be underwhelming to you.
The other two major pieces of this set are the booklet and the soundtrack CD. The booklet is a neat little retrospective that covers all of the main Super Mario Bros. games. It features some commentary from the developers and some unseen concept art. As for the soundtrack CD, it’s a bit deceiving. It has 20 tracks, but 10 of those tracks are just sound bytes of assorted Mario sound effects. It’s unnecessary padding for a series that has dozens of great and memorable tunes.
At the retail price of $29.99, this is still an awesome deal; if you can still find it. I’m glad my girlfriend put in the extra effort to give it to me. I got the great SNES updates to some of the greatest games ever. Nowadays, I’d much rather get this package than track down a SNES copy or hook up my Super Nintendo every time I wanted to play it. It’s only true shortcoming is that as a 25th anniversary package, it seems thin. Why not include the version of Super Mario All-Stars with Super Mario World? Or how about remastering these once again, but this time with New Super Mario Bros. Wii quality graphics? It would cost more, but the series would be very much deserving of that type of treatment.
In Third Person 