After months of heady rumors surrounding a series of remasters of some of the most beloved Mario games, to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary as one of gaming's most iconic icons, we finally have confirmation. The Nintendo Switch is getting a Mario 3D All-Stars trilogy with Mario 64 (1997), Super Mario Sunshine (2002), and Super Mario Galaxy (2007), but that's not as good news as it may seem on the surface. . Nintendo has been here before, with 1993's Super Mario All-Stars, which landed on the SNES and contained four classic 2D Mario games originally released on the NES: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros 3. This compilation remastered every level on updated hardware, with updated graphics and music, and became a critically acclaimed bestseller. Mario 3D All-Stars is a similar undertaking, with each of the three games - the flagship 3D titles for the Nintendo 64, GameCube and Wii - getting a resolution upgrade, as well as an improved frame rate. , it seems, compared to its original iterations. . "In addition to having higher resolutions than their original versions, the games have been optimized for smooth gameplay on Nintendo Switch," they tell us. While this isn't the level-by-level review of the latest All-Stars compilation, which would certainly be a great undertaking, you still get three beloved Mario games in one package, with the advantages of modern hardware. . So far, everything has gone well, but there's a big problem with Nintendo's exit strategy.
![Super Mario Sunshine (2002) es uno de los tres juegos 3D incluidos]()
Super Mario Sunshine (2002) is one of three 3D games included (Image credit: Nintendo)
Blink and you miss it
As many angry gamers may have noticed, Mario 3D All-Stars is only available for a 'limited release' for the physical and digital versions, which means you can only purchase it during one window. six months (September 18, 2020 to March 31, 2021). A press release tells us that “the packaged version of the software is a limited-time production, and the digital version will be a limited-time version until the end of March 2021. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is available to pre-order today from Nintendo. eShop. "While limited production on the physical cartridge makes sense, doing the same with digital software, which you know you can't sell out of, really doesn't. It's a frustrating constraint, and while the answer is to simply buy the game before it's When the window closes, it's a strangely anti-consumer choice on Nintendo's part.For anyone waiting until April 2021 to adopt a console, or who simply didn't do so within the available timeframe, the option simply doesn't exist.
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"Wait, is he gone?" (Image credit: Nintendo) It also brings to mind the worst of the infamous Disney Vault, which used limited releases to increase demand for classic Disney movies, continually restricting access to these decades-old movies through legal means. This is even more disappointing given that Nintendo used to buy and play older games through its eShop. But the move to a Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, which gives access to select NES and SNES games, is an incomplete and flawed solution, keeping countless games from the N64, GameCube, Wii and Wii U interim systems out of the picture. scope on the Switch platform. In fact, Nintendo Switch Online may have been the reason for the limited release. We hope (or hope) that Nintendo 64 and GameCube games will start landing on the NES emulator at some point, and those titles may be included at a later date.
![Nintendo Switch Online presenta una lista de juegos de NES y SNES de actualización lenta]()
Nintendo Switch Online has a slowly updating list of NES and SNES games (Image credit: Nintendo)
a limited list
While Super Mario Galaxy is included, however, the absence of its beloved sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a glaring omission, though it may come in a separate pack or DLC in the future. Regardless, the limited release doesn't bode well for the future, as all future releases will likely receive the same treatment. It should be noted that the price of €59.99 / €49.99 is still high for this old piece of software, especially without a substantial remaster. That's to be expected from Nintendo, which is infamous for refusing to lower the prices of its proprietary games even years after their release, but it's a disappointment nonetheless. If we knew Galaxy 2 would be coming, say, under a 3D All-Stars Season Pass, we might be swallowing the pill all the more. But the limited release window, restrictive game selection, and lack of clarity about future availability undermine what should have been a happy announcement for Mario fans. Didn't you catch the trailer? Watch the announcement in the embedded video below: