Collection essentials #264 & #265: Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) & Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (SNES)

Nowadays it is quite common to see “compilation” releases which contain several games in a given series. Back in the early ‘90s, however, when cartridge space was so limited, you almost never saw it. So when Nintendo released Super Mario All-Stars in 1993, it was a great release that really stood out. This game is a compilation of four previous Super Mario Bros. titles, giving great bang for your buck.

But they aren’t simply the NES games slapped onto one SNES cart. No, the games have all been updated! The graphics are redone to make them look like proper SNES games, the music is redone, and best of all is the ability to save your game! In the original games, there was no way to save your progress, and every time you powered on the console you had to start from scratch. This wasn’t the worst thing in the world, as the games provided ways to “warp” further into the game. But it was definitely better and more convenient this way. Not only can you save, but you can go back and replay any previously-beaten world. And this is cool because in Super Mario Bros. 3, you will keep whatever items were in your inventory, so it is possible to play earlier worlds in the game with power-ups that normally can’t be obtained until later! There is a minor gameplay issue with Super Mario Bros. 1, where in the All-Stars version your running momentum will be killed when hitting certain bricks. But the average player isn’t going to notice or really care.

For Western gamers, you also couldn’t simply write off All-Stars as recycled games, because this compilation includes a game previously exclusive to Japan! The original Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Famicom Disk System is here, now given the name “Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels”. The game is very difficult, but it’s made more manageable here since you can save after every single level as opposed to after every world (four levels). 

And then, as if Super Mario All-Stars wasn’t an awesome enough cartridge as is, Nintendo decided to take it a step further. Late in the console’s lifespan, they made a revision to be bundle with new SNES consoles, “Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World”. That’s right, it was the Super Mario All-Stars collection, PLUS the already-beloved standalone SNES game Super Mario World, all on one cartridge! You could make a strong argument that this was the greatest cartridge released on the SNES. Super Mario World in this version is largely unchanged, but a cool new thing is that Luigi (controlled by player 2 in alternating multiplayer mode) now has his own distinct look, whereas before he was just a recolored version of Mario.

When I was a young kid, I didn’t have Super Mario All-Stars at home, but I got to play it at other peoples’ houses, and it’s how I first played and became familiar with the NES Mario games. My cousins Kevin and Peter originally had a Sega Genesis, but got a SNES roughly in 1995 as well which came with Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World. I could be wrong, but I think the copy I have shown here and the manual was originally from them and wound up in my possession. 

I think most people tend to prefer the NES versions of these games. Nostalgia is certainly an element at play in “which version is better” discussions, and for me the SNES versions are more nostalgic since they are the versions I played the most as a kid. But I also really appreciate the ability to save your game as well as the updated graphics and music. These are actually the versions I would recommend to someone new to Mario who wants to experience these timeless classic games. These are true quintessential essentials, and absolute mandatory gaming for anyone who has any kind of interest in old school video games!