This Week I Have Been Mostly Playing…
Super Mario 3D All Stars on Nintendo Switch
I suppose Nintendo stepping out of the ‘Console Wars’ has its positives and negatives. On the one hand it keeps its consoles more affordable and allows it to meander down its own path. On the other it fails to keep up with industry standards that usually benefit consumers. Backwards compatibility quickly comes to mind. With Sony and Microsoft offering up games from the last two gens by just putting an old disk in, Nintendo's offering of a brand new full priced game irks somewhat.
To be fair they have form for this, with the original Mario All-Stars a collection of the 2D NES games put together for the SNES. The new all 3D collection brings the much feted Super Mario 64, Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy together. Having N64, GameCube and Wii games on the Switch feels like a great move, in particular the latter two consoles are much loved by the hardcore and casuals.
With much beloved titles surely Nintendo went all out to pay homage and justify such an outlay? Erm…. not really. Apart from running pretty well (as emulations) and some soundtracks the collection is pretty bare bones compared to others released in the past. To be fair they are for Mario’s 35th anniversary and with the COVID year just gone it’s amazing they were able to get anything together in the current climate.
One other thing before I get to the actual games, both the physical and digital copies are only on sale until the end of March 2021. Frankly bewildering from this observer's thinking, with other Switch titles continuing to sell big for years after release, limiting this one is strange. Maybe the logic is to try and push people to pick up the games and new consoles as a way of competing with next gen? Or more likely it is preserving the 'legacy' of having these titles as one offs to keep them nice and rare. Fucking weird as they could easily leave up the digital versions.
As for the games themselves they are pretty similar to the originals with a few touch ups and changes. Super Mario 64 broke the rules on what a 3D game could do in the 90’s, it's still pretty good now but rough around the edges. It’s to be expected and for a first time player I struggle without the modern comforts we come to expect. The camera controls are arse, it's pretty esoteric on what you are expected to do to complete a level and graphically it's pretty raw. Of course its an old game and to be expected. Happy to have tried it but I won’t be chasing 100%.
Super Mario Galaxy is the only game from this collection I have played and it's probably my favourite Mario game ever. I got it for Christmas many years ago on Wii and I can only describe it as magical. The micro planets, the gravity, the spin attack all add up to maybe the stand out Mario title. Sure it’s linear but it meshes the best elements of the 2D levels with mind bending environments. It’s not the best on handheld purely due to having to use the touchscreen to gather gems but playing on the TV is the biggest nostalgic hit I can get. Utterly brilliant and well worth your time if you have never played.
Finally I have skipped over Super Mario Sunshine, lamented as the worst in the 3D series but still holding a special place for many GameCube fans. This I have held off with it being easier to play on handheld and apt for a trip abroad whenever that may be. This collection hasn't blown me away but for either those that sold all their retro consoles back in the day or like me never really played them in the first place, it's decent enough to fill in those historical gaps. Grab it before the end of March while you can.
I do hope that with N64, GameCube and Wii emulators being ready for the Switch that from April onwards we begin to see other classic titles that deserve a port. Oh and of course a much expected Zelda collection later this year!
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