Everything old is old again in Mario's silver anniversary package.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/24568
Would you believe that the original Super Mario Bros. release is a quarter of a century old? Yes, in 1985, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom (as the NES was known in Japan). While technically not his first game (that honor goes to Donkey Kong in the arcades), it was the game that defined the franchise and made it one of Nintendo's most prestigious series ever. The company has been celebrating the milestone in 2010 with new Wii and DS bundles, special events around the world, and the re-release of Super Mario All-Stars in a special limited edition package that sparkles in presentation, but lacks substance.
Super Mario All-Stars was originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1993. It featured four of Mario's NES titles with updated graphics and a save option. These games were Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, which was released in North America for the first time in the package.
Super Mario Bros. was a groundbreaking title that defined accessible gameplay while never sacrificing challenge. You control Mario through eight worlds, battling Bowser and his minions at the end of each one in hopes of rescuing Princess Peach. Despite how simple it was, almost everything about the game is now a staple of the gaming industry, becoming synonymous with the Nintendo brand.
Both Super Mario Bros. 2 and The Lost Levels share an interesting story behind their existence. The Lost Levels was in actuality the real sequel to Super Mario Bros., and was released in Japan in 1986. When it came time to release the game in North America Nintendo decided that the game would be too hard for American players, so instead they took a game called Doki Doki Panic and changed the sprites so it would feature the Mario characters, while the core gameplay remained the same.
The Lost Levels plays identically to Super Mario Bros., but it is a far more challenging game thanks to new additions like the poison mushroom, clever level design and enemy placement. The Lost Levels also has the option of playing as Luigi, who plays differently from Mario in that he can jump higher, but he has a hard time stopping, which affects the completion of a level significantly.
Super Mario Bros. 2, or Super Mario Bros. USA as it would be known in Japan, tells the story of how Mario and friends entered a world of dreams called the Subcon, and had to save its inhabitants from the clutches of King Wart. When compared to the original Super Mario Bros., the difference in gameplay was like night and day. Rather than stomping on enemies to defeat them, you have to jump on top of them, grab them and toss them onto other enemies. In addition, this was one of the first times you could play as Mario's other friends, Peach and Toad, along with Luigi. Each character played differently, and at times, success depended on which character you selected. Mario is the all-around character, Luigi can jump the highest, Toad is the strongest and Peach is the weakest but can float after jumping. Although it was drastically different from the other early Mario games, Super Mario Bros. 2 was the predecessor to many ideas that would become part of the Mario franchise, such as Peach's abilities and characters such as Birdo and the Shy Guys.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is undeniably one of the most beloved games in the series. For many, it is the true sequel to the first game, as it took the concept behind classic Mario gameplay and expanded upon it in terms of features. Super Mario Bros. 3 would be the first Mario game to use power-ups in the form of costumes. The magic leaf turns Mario into Raccoon Mario, which allows him to temporarily fly and discover new levels. Other costumes, such as the frog suit and the Tanooki suit, were also introduced, and they were a very fun mechanic that would be later used in many later Mario games. The level design is also spectacular, featuring far more varied levels than the two previous games. Such was the impact of this game that the movie “The Wizard” featured it as a way to hype the release.
All four games retain the same, classic gameplay while featuring new, 16-bit graphics and an updated soundtrack. The graphics are indeed a step above the original NES incarnations, adding details such as the night sky in Super Mario Bros., and the foregrounds and backgrounds in the other Mario titles. Ultimately, what matters is the gameplay, and Super Mario All-Stars respects that legacy. You can also save your progress, a feature not available in the original games, which is greatly appreciated.
So, what about the Wii version? This re-release is basically the original ROM pressed onto a disc. What I mean is that this is the exact same game you played in 1993. so despite what the package says this is just a simple re-release. If you play this game on a widescreen TV, it will automatically be formatted to a 4:3 display, something that might upset the owners of these TVs. In terms of control, you can use the Wii Remote on its side to play it like an NES controller, along with the Classic Controller or GameCube controller.
That's not to say that some thought didn't go into the package. As I detailed in a blog post, the game comes in a beautiful package that includes a soundtrack CD featuring ten Mario songs from each game he's been in as well as classic sound effects, and a booklet that details the creation of each game according to its creators. It is indeed a nice package that adds some value to the title, but it might not be enough to convince you to play this game again.
Speaking of which, that's the other problem with this title. Since its release in 1993, Nintendo has re-released the All-Stars version of these titles on the Game Boy Advance. Not to mention that the original NES titles can be downloaded on the Wii's Virtual Console. So if you owned these titles and played them immensely, then this re-release will not be as appealing. Finally, there was a version of All-Stars that included Super Mario World, and it’s disappointing that it wasn't the version included in this package.
So in the end, the value of the game lies in whether you want to invest once more in these classic Mario titles. The special features are minimal, and the game is exactly as you remember it from 1993, which in turn were very close to how you remembered them during the NES days. These may be some of the greatest games ever made, but this package isn't worth double dipping for again.
And i'd like sex with Polina Dimovska, but it ain't gonna happen. Even if they did release it on VC, there is 0% chance it would be as low as $15.
And i'd like sex with Polina Dimovska, but it ain't gonna happen. Even if they did release it on VC, there is 0% chance it would be as low as $15.
But even worse than releasing it as a super-late VC title that basically makes you feel like you wasted points on the original versions, they put the 16mb file on a 4.7gb disk for $30!
But even worse than releasing it as a super-late VC title that basically makes you feel like you wasted points on the original versions, they put the 16mb file on a 4.7gb disk for $30!
This.
This is what bothers me the most about this title. They have all this disk space to work with, and this was the best they could do? They could have included All-Stars, Mario World and maybe Mario 64, a quick demo for Galaxy 2, video interviews, music samples, images, maybe a few more mini-games and even more stuff... But no.
Who is this Polina Dimovska?
I would love to have Super Mario All-Stars on my Wii. I would not love to pay $30 for it and put in a disc every time.
Who is this Polina Dimovska?
A Bulgarian model who's biggest attribute is her large breast size. she posed for some country's version of Maxim magazine (which apparently allows nudity, unlike the US version).
Like I said in the other thread, I just felt like this was a wasted opportunity. Mario is the most recognizable character is video games. This could have been an amazing collection. If you're going to do a limited edition collector's package, go all out! If Nintendo updated the graphics and music for ALL past 2D Mario games, including Super Mario Land 1 and 2, put in some interviews, behind the scenes footage, a Mario history featurette shedding light on rare and canceled games (some people don't know there was a canceled Mario Land game on Virtual Boy and I'd, personally, love to hear more about that), this could have easily sold for $100. Most of us would pay it too. It would be pricey, sure, but people are willing to pay a premium for premium content. I guess that's besides the point since many of us, including myself, bought it anyway and all of this is pure profit for Nintendo.
Meanwhile, Nintendo, who is on top at the moment,
Meanwhile, Nintendo, who is on top at the moment,
Winner, winner. Why go through all the extra effort to sell something? Nintendo isn't like SEGA and desperate for the cash. Besides, even without the extra effort, this'll probably outsell any of the various Sonic collections (assuming Nintendo prints enough copies)...
Winner, winner. Why go through all the extra effort to sell something? Nintendo isn't like SEGA and desperate for the cash. Besides, even without the extra effort, this'll probably outsell any of the various Sonic collections (assuming Nintendo prints enough copies)...This was true 17 years ago. Nintendo could have sold Super Mario All-Stars by just packaging the original 4 games without the updated graphics, sound, and music and it still would have sold millions. Why go through all the extra effort? Because you're likely to make more money that way.
This was true 17 years ago. Nintendo could have sold Super Mario All-Stars by just packaging the original 4 games without the updated graphics, sound, and music and it still would have sold millions. Why go through all the extra effort? Because you're likely to make more money that way.
Ah. My point was that this title is going to sell, regardless. In fact, I'd say Nintendo is going to make more money off this no-frills release at $30 than they would have if they had redesigned the individual titles and sold the collection at $50. So why bother to redesign everything? If nothing else, they can sell the All-Stars version today, then redesign them tomorrow - and sell them twice (doesn't that sound very Nintendo-like?).Certainly, it would sell regardless. However, I believe Nintendo would have made more money by remaking each game and selling at $50. For simplicity's sake, let's say the game sells 1 million copies, that's $20 million dollars. Re-selling costs Nintendo $0, but remaking the game wouldn't cost anywhere near $20 million. After recouping development costs, everything else is pure profit. Also, consider that more people would have likely bought an upgraded All-Stars since that seems to be the major deterrent for most people who didn't buy Super Mario All-Stars on Wii.
Ah. My point was that this title is going to sell, regardless. In fact, I'd say Nintendo is going to make more money off this no-frills release at $30 than they would have if they had redesigned the individual titles and sold the collection at $50. So why bother to redesign everything? If nothing else, they can sell the All-Stars version today, then redesign them tomorrow - and sell them twice (doesn't that sound very Nintendo-like?).Certainly, it would sell regardless. However, I believe Nintendo would have made more money by remaking each game and selling at $50. For simplicity's sake, let's say the game sells 1 million copies, that's $20 million dollars. Re-selling costs Nintendo $0, but remaking the game wouldn't cost anywhere near $20 million. After recouping development costs, everything else is pure profit. Also, consider that more people would have likely bought an upgraded All-Stars since that seems to be the major deterrent for most people who didn't buy Super Mario All-Stars on Wii.
Still, you're right. Nintendo will likely remake them again at some point, probably next generation so they can all it Super Mario Collection HD. I just hope they'd consider remaking every 2D Mario.
Amazon had ~800 copies in earlier today. Sold out in about four hours.Are you sure that some of those didn't go to fill pre-orders? My pre-order didn't ship until yesterday (the day you posted this).