Super Mario 3D All-Stars – Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Sep 18, 2020)

Trailers:

Publisher: Nintendo

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic – 84 average – 94% recommended – 35 reviews

Critic Reviews

Ars Technica – Kyle Orland – Unscored

Buy it if you missed out on any of these classic games the first time around or if you want to relive them again in a more convenient form.

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COGconnected – Alex Everatt – 92 / 100

Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are three near-perfect platforming adventures. In my opinion, they are must-play games that everyone should experience at some point, and what better time then now on the Nintendo Switch.

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Cerealkillerz – Gabriel Bogdan – German – 8.9 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars offers one of the best collection of Super Mario Games ever made, even if the upgrades and presentation of the whole collection could have deserved a lot more love for details. If you wanna experience Super Mario Sunshine and Galaxy in its best form yet, you should definitely get this.

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Console Creatures – Bobby Pashalidis – Recommended

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a great way to celebrate the past and whether you're a new or old friend of Super Mario, this collection is a greatest hits collection of 3D Super Mario titles. Aside from missing Super Mario Galaxy 2, it's hard not to recommend this to anyone. It's a little lite on bonus features but you do get the soundtracks to each title.

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Critical Hit – Brad Lang – 6.5 / 10

Despite collecting three of Mario's most well-known games, Super Mario 3D All Stars doesn't justify their porting onto the Switch. With minimal improvements, few features that truly make it feel like an "Anniversary celebration" and some bafflingly lazy design choices, 3D All Stars feels like more like a quick cash grab.

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Cubed3 – Luke Hemming – 10 / 10

Well, it was never in doubt really, was it? Super Mario 3D All-Stars represents the pinnacle of platforming goodness and with perfect ports, as well as top notch optimisation for the console, it's a must-buy.

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Daily Mirror – James Ide – 4 / 5 stars

These are some of Mario's best outings and all three titles hold up remarkably well. The package favours authentic recreations rather than adding new content or updating them too much, which will please most fans.

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Destructoid – Chris Carter – 8.5 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars, as barebones as it might be as a compilation, is a great way to experience (or re-experience) these games all over again. It was a joy running through all three of them even if they weren't strictly upgraded. That goes double for Mario Galaxy, as this is going to be my preferred way to play it from now on.

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Digital Trends – Tom Caswell – 4 / 5 stars

For those whose favorite games list features the three titles in this collection, you’ll probably be over the moon with the opportunity to play them all at any time on either your TV or on the go. Those who missed out on these entries in gaming history will likely have a tough time adapting to their controls but will find wonder and joy in playing Super Mario Galaxy.

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Digitally Downloaded – Matt Sainsbury – 4.5 / 5 stars

All three of the games have historical worth, remain highly playable today, and are ported competently enough that they work. You're not going to suddenly find Bowser unbeatable because bugs have trashed what was once a great game. However, this is Nintendo's most valuable property and mascot, and it's amazing that the company didn't do more with this package than they have here.

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Enternity.gr – Nikitas Kavouklis – Greek – 10 / 10

Owners of Nintendo Switch and Mario fans who won’t give the necessary attention to this triad, have signed a guaranteed contract to burn in the hell of gaming.

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Eurogamer – Martin Robinson – No Recommendation / Blank

Two of Nintendo's finest, and one of its most interesting, come together in a compilation that isn't worthy of their greatness.

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GameMAG – Александр Копанев – Russian – 9 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is an amazing retrospective that shows us the first few steps that the series took going into three-demensional space. Even in this original form the trilogy easily stands tall among most modern games with it's timeless game design. All we can do now is just appreciate this masterpieces and celebrate Mario's anniversary together.

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GameSpot – Kevin Knezevic – 8 / 10

Despite its minimal trimmings, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a worthwhile collection of some of the plumber's most memorable adventures.

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GameXplain – Andre Segers –

Video Review – Quote not available

Gameblog – Yann Bernard – French – 7 / 10

Super Mario 64 keeps its whole interest from historic and nostagic points of view, a revolutionary approach that Super Mario Sunshine spreads in every sense of the word, while Super Mario Galaxy takes off literally outer space, among the brightest three dimensional platformers. Such true ports preserve these masterpieces' authenticity, but the Super Mario 3D All-Stars title suggested more, both in content and style. Brilliant HD renditions with fully available soundtracks on the go don't shine enough to overshadow some old issues and Super Mario Galaxy 2's glaring omission from this otherwise stellar collection.

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GamesRadar+ – Sam Loveridge – 4 / 5 stars

Super Mario 3D All Stars' package of three of the best 3D Mario games are just enhanced and tweaked enough to be an enjoyable revisiting, but without removing the classic charm.

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God is a Geek – Adam Cook – 9 / 10

Whether the year it was released has affected the way Super Mario 3D All-Stars came together, we'll probably never know, but it still comes with a wholehearted recommendation simply due to the quality of the games.

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Hobby Consolas – Álvaro Alonso – Spanish – 80 / 100

Three fantastic games -one that feels a little old, one that still in good shape and another that is the same masterpiece- together in a somewhat lackluster compilation.

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Kotaku – Ian Walker – Unscored

Although I have my qualms with this collection—strange inconsistencies in the Super Mario Sunshine port chief among them—it does what it set out to do: chart Mario’s evolution from a bushwhacking pioneer to the inimitable mascot of 3D platforming.

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Nintendo Enthusiast – Andrew Rockett – 9 / 10

Although nothing here is likely to change your opinion on any of the titles, most people who have played these games don't need any convincing. Each game holds up very well and shines behind its own compelling strengths.

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Nintendo Life – Chris Scullion – 9 / 10

We've had an absolute blast playing through these three gems all over again, especially now they look sharper than ever. It's a shame that the presentation is practically barebones with no bonus content beyond the soundtracks, but there can still be no denying the quality of the games on offer here. This is the Beatles' Greatest Hits of the video game world, and is an absolute treat whether you're reliving it in HD or discovering it for the first time.

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NintendoWorldReport – John Rairdin – 8.5 / 10

Updated, sharper textures for Super Mario 64, widescreen support for Super Mario Sunshine, and diverse new control options for Super Mario Galaxy, each bring welcome additions to their respective games. While yes, the updates are restrained somewhat in their ambition, the end result is undeniable. Even if some elements show their age, this is without a doubt, the best, and most versatile release these three classic 3D platformers have ever received.

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Polygon – Russ Frushtick – Unscored

If anything, Super Mario 3D All-Stars shows the breadth of what a 3D Mario game can be, and much of that is truly excellent.

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PowerUp! – James Wood – 8 / 10

The (dry) bones of Super Mario 3D All-Stars are impeccable – three of the best games ever made, spruced up for one of the best consoles ever made.

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Press Start – Shannon Grixti – 8.5 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is another must-own game for Nintendo Switch. It brings together three games from three different generations and shows just how timeless the Mario franchise is. At the same time, it is a shame that Nintendo didn't celebrate the iconic franchise a little more throughout the presentation of the package.

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Spaziogames – Nicolò Bicego – Italian – 8 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a must have if you love classic platform games, but Nintendo could have done way more to celebrate Mario's 35th birthday.

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Stevivor – Steve Wright – 8 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a decent bundle of games, though Super Mario 64 has aged poorly with clumsy controls, muddy visuals and no real effort by Nintendo to remaster or re-energise the game for the umpteenth platform you’ve just bought it on. Again. Super Mario Sunshine is a vast improvement upon that (and it should be, published five years later), though Super Mario Galaxy is truly the pick of the bunch, a game as great now as it was back then. Rosalina for life.

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The Digital Fix – Dani Cross – 10 / 10

Despite availability issues, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is easily one of the greatest games on Switch and a celebration of some of the best Nintendo games of all-time.

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The Games Machine – Danilo Dellafrana – Italian – 8.6 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a good collection, but more because of the games it contains than because of Nintendo's effort in making it. The absence of extras and of Super Mario Galaxy 2 are an unpleasant disappointment.

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TheSixthAxis – Stefan L – 7 / 10

Much like an actual 35th birthday party (I assume), Super Mario 3D All-Stars just feels a little halfhearted. It bundles together three great platformers, all of which benefit from the bump up to HD resolutions, and Nintendo have done well to adapt the varying controls to suit the Nintendo Switch, but there's a squandered opportunity to enhance and go beyond this in a meaningful way. Maybe Nintendo are saving themselves for the big five-oh in 2035?

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Twinfinite – Rebecca Stone – 4 / 5

There’s no denying that Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are at the top of the list of Nintendo’s most outstanding games, and the 3D All-Stars collection serves as a retrospective and reminder of Mario’s growth over the course of 11 years.

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USgamer – Nadia Oxford – 4 / 5 stars

The Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection could stand a few more extras. Customizable controls would be great, as would sound options, design documents, or artwork. When you think about everything the original All-Stars offered-three graphically upgraded Mario games, plus a "lost" game-3D All-Stars is a bit lacking. That said, the games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars still hold up today. I'm surprised how fun Super Mario 64 still is, and Super Mario Galaxy remains one of the heroic plumber's best outings. As for Super Mario Sunshine, well, that's still up to personal taste.

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VG247 – Alex Donaldson – 4 / 5 stars

I still think Mario deserved a more lavish birthday celebration, but the classic titles in this collection really can’t be diminished.

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Wccftech – Dave Aubrey – 8.5 / 10

Super Mario 3D All-Stars contains three legendary games, and this package allows you to experience all of them, the way you remember them. Whether or not these games hold up as competitive, contemporary pieces of entertainment is one question, but they do serve as an amazing time machine taking me to the moments I shared with friends and loved ones years ago, and this is a perfect way for you to form new memories with yours. This is three of the very best 3D platformers of all time, at their best.

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