Super Mario All-Stars

Super Mario All-Stars (known as Super Mario Collection in Japanese), is a compilation of reissues for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (the Super Famicom in Japan). It enhances Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (known as Super Mario Bros. 2: For Super Players in Japan) to the Super Nintendo with an added on-cartridge save feature, updated graphics and sound, and an additional "battle game" for Super Mario Bros. 3. It is also the first time that the original Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was released for the western public.

This game was re-released again as Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, which as the title suggests, additionally featured Super Mario World with updated graphics. Unlike the original, it was never released in Japan.

During development, the Japanese developers called this game "Mario Extravaganza".

In 2010, the game was re-released on the Wii as part of the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary, under the title Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition. The Wii version was initially released with a Mario history booklet and a CD containing songs and sound effects from various games, but Nintendo of America later issued a re-print of the retail Wii disc under the Nintendo Selects label without the bonus materials. Super Mario All-Stars was released again on Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online on September 3, 2020 as part of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.

Differences and changes
Generally, most of the sound effects have been recreated, or replaced with their Super Mario World counterparts. Some of the sound effects have been replaced by other sound effects from said game as well; for example, the "stomping" sound effect is now the same as when Mario Spin Jumps a spiked enemy in Super Mario World, and the sound effect that plays when boss enemies are damaged in Super Mario Bros. 2 is now the same as when Mario stomps on Chargin' Chucks or a Koopaling in Super Mario World. Additionally, the soundfont used for the rearrangements of the original music is that used for the music of Super Mario World. As noted in the respective sections below, with the exception of Super Mario Bros. 2 (which had such from the start), there is now background music for the title screens, each of which playing a cover version of the underwater level theme composed of a harmonica, harp, and jazz-styles respectively.

Graphics


There are graphical enhancements for all settings. Grassland levels have grass on the ground (the ground is no longer made of blocks). All levels have backgrounds (for example, levels that take place at night have a twinkling star background, while athletic levels either have a waterfall background for those with elevated grass platforms and bridge levels have pillars with Goomba statues on top of them as supports). Worlds 3, 5, and 7 make their being in a setting covered in snow more clear by adding snow to the ground, as originally, it was only implied to be covered in snow due to the bushes being white (this does not affect gameplay). Underground levels show a wall in the background. Underwater levels have a distortion effect. Many levels that had snow in the original Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 do not have it in the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels edition, including Worlds 3-3, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 8-1, C-3, D-1, D-2, and D-3. Snow was introduced into World C-1, although it is only an aesthetic difference. Due to the improved color palette of the SNES, color schemes are now more consistent depending of the level environment, as opposed to having their own unique color scheme due to the NES having a limited color palette: Green Koopa Troopas and Piranha Plants are always green (as opposed to being teal in underground and castle levels and gray in underwater levels). The color of Bloopers was changed from white to pink (including even the flying Bloopers in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels), and gray Cheep Cheeps are now green. However, all Goombas still retain their brown, blue, and gray colors in overworld, underground, and castle levels respectively, with only underwater Goombas now being recolored into their "normal" colors. Warp Pipes now only come in two colors, green and silver (the latter only appearing in "winter" levels) instead of four (green, silver, orange, and purple, the last two only appearing in World 4-2's second Warp Zone leading to Worlds 6, 7, and 8 and World 8-4's brief underwater section, respectively; they are more common in The Lost Levels), and all pipes seen inside castles are now colored green instead of silver. Bullet Bills' arms are now animated, and Bowser now resembles his Super Mario Bros. 3 design. World 6-3 in the first game and Worlds 7-3 and C-3 in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels are now depicted as having the same color standard as in Worlds 3-3 and 2-3, respectively, as originally, they were completely monochrome. There are parallax scrolling layers in the background. Secret underground levels have a picture of Mario or Luigi showing a V sign in the background, which are labeled "Bonus". This is also seen in Coin Heaven. Underground levels like World 1-2 place an echo effect on all sounds. Lava is no longer just a recolor of water and is boiling. Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels do not have the same graphics as each other to begin with. For instance, the ground is covered by blocks in most of the levels of the original, whereas the ground is mainly covered by dirt in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. In Super Mario All-Stars, the graphics of all the games were improved, and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was made to look exactly the same as the graphically-improved version of Super Mario Bros. released on the same cartridge. World 9's graphics were made to look exactly the same as the graphics within the rest of the worlds, unlike the deliberately glitch-like appearance from the original game.

Luigi is now no longer a simple recolor of Mario, the Bros.' standing pose is different and now resembles their design from Super Mario Bros. 3, but with the shirt and overall colors swapped and recolored, and Fire Mario and Fire Luigi are no longer colored the same, having the shirt/overall colors swapped; Mario received a blue shirt and red overalls (similar to Mario's original outfit from his debut in Donkey Kong and his outfit in the DIC cartoons) while Fire Mario received a red shirt and white overalls (similar to Super Mario's outfit from the DIC cartoons), and Luigi received a purple shirt and green overalls (similar to Luigi's outfit from Super Mario Bros. 2 and his outfit in the DIC cartoons) while Fire Luigi received a green shirt and white overalls (similar to Super Luigi's outfit from the DIC cartoons). When a brother enters a bigger castle, he takes the middle door rather than the left one. Before vanishing in a door, he faces the screen and shows a V sign with his fingers. The Bros. also do this when entering a pipe from above. The sprites for power-up items and Princess Toadstool are now based on their Super Mario Bros. 3 counterparts as well.

As opposed to simply standing on the ground, Toads are now found in sacks, which they somehow escape from after Mario or Luigi come. Also, rather than rescuing a single Toad in every castle, the player rescues multiple Toads based on the world they are in (two Toads in World 2, three Toads in World 3, and so on). They always have a different animation when Mario rescues them from a sack. The final scene where Mario rescues Princess Toadstool has also been changed. She is now held in a cage above lava which Mario (or Luigi, if the player is playing as him) jumps into from the side, and if the player is Small Mario, a Super Mushroom will drop down and make him Super Mario. There is then a zoom-in showing Toadstool kissing Mario on the cheek; in Super Mario Bros., he blushes; in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, his eyes become heart-shaped except in World D, where he blushes. The endings of both games were also made uniform: there is no Warp Door in The Lost Levels leading to Peach after Bowser or Fake Bowser (in the original) is defeated, and there is no cutscene showing the black background in the castle levels turning sky blue and the seven Toads returning and circling Mario/Luigi and Peach and exclaiming "Thank you Mario/Luigi!". The walkthrough map included in Nintendo Power issue 52 (September 1993), however, indicated that it was originally planned that the ending would be similar to that of the original Super Mario Bros. In World 8-4 of both games, the text now says, "Thank you Mario/Luigi! The kingdom is saved! Now try a more difficult quest..." rather than "Thank you Mario! Your quest is over. We present you a new quest. Push button B to select a world." in the first game, or "Peace is paved/With the kingdom saved/Hurrah to Mario (Luigi)/Our only hero/This ends our trip/After a long friendship." in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. In World *8-4 in the first game and World D-4 in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, the text has been changed to "Thank you Mario/Luigi for restoring peace to our kingdom. Hurrah to our hero, Mario/Luigi!".

The bricks of fortresses, castles and the castle walls of World 8-3 of Super Mario Bros. and Worlds 8-2, 8-3 and D-3 of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels are made more distinct from the normal bricks. Originally, they were normal bricks, but could not be broken and were only scenery. Bowser's Castle is distinguished from the other castles by having thunder and lightning occur in the background.

World 9's water levels now have proper underwater background. The gray-colored enemies in this world, including Goombas and green Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas, are all now colored normally.

For unknown reasons, in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Fire Mario/Luigi (while airborne or underwater) is not completely animated when throwing fireballs, just like how water and lava were not animated in the original games.

Gameplay
The player starts out with five lives instead of three, and gaining more than 128 lives just maxes out the life counter at 128, unlike the NES version where the next display of the lives screen gives a Game Over. The level introduction screen, which shows how many lives the player has remaining, also gives a brief overview of up to five enemies appearing in the level, excluding Piranha Plants. For example, the World 1-1 introduction shows Goombas and Koopa Troopas. The castle introductions only show Bowser, even if other enemies appear in the level.

Destroying a brick has a different effect. Originally, Mario and Luigi rebound downward quickly just like hitting any indestructible block. In Super Mario All-Stars, however, he continues going upwards, then falls back down more slowly. These two installments in Super Mario All-Stars are the only Mario games to ever have this effect; even in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario and Luigi rebound downward quickly like in the original NES version. Mario gets hurt if he hits the upper mouth of Piranha Plants, while in the original Super Mario Bros., the upper pixels of the Piranha Plant's mouth do not harm Mario or Luigi.

There were several bug fixes. An extra block was added on top of the pipe at the end of underwater levels, preventing Mario from getting stuck in this place as it was possible in the original game. When Mario has more than nine lives, they are displayed correctly. Glitches such as Minus World, Mushroom Magic, Small Fire Mario and Stuck Underwater were fixed and removed, although Mario can still walk through the wall into the Warp Zone. The left pipe will still warp to World 4, however.

Jumping over a flagpole, although only possible in some non-castle levels, will no longer result in Mario/Luigi being trapped in an endless looping void until the time runs out should the flagpole disappear offscreen if they venture too far; instead, the level stops scrolling once the fortress/castle is in full view, and an invisible barrier at the right side of the screen prevents Mario/Luigi from venturing further beyond the other side of the flagpole.

Time is converted to points in castle levels.

During a Game Over, the player is asked to continue, save and continue, or save and quit. Mario or Luigi appears at the bottom, next to the logo of the current game (this also applies on the Time Up screen). Similarly, this Game Over screen replaces World 9's unique Game Over screen, and thus cuts out "Mario"'s message to the player.

In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, if the player decides to continue after a Game Over, they will start over at the beginning of the current level, rather than the current world as in the original version. In Super Mario Bros., however, they will start over at the beginning of the world, just like in the original when the player does the special button combination after losing all their lives.

In World 8-3 of Super Mario Bros., the separate brick walls in the background are now replaced with a single, continuous wall, thus revealing the existence of a hidden coin block hidden in the last wall of the original version (whose existence is only given away by a faint white line located just above it).

In the more difficult quest, there is now a star to the left of the world's name and number. Since Mario/Luigi's form, coins, and score are retained upon starting the second quest, this marks the only time he ever gets a Fire Flower from the first ? Block (after the first Goomba) containing a power-up.

In a two-player game, the second player now starts after the first player finishes a level as well as after they lose a life, and vice versa.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels can be saved at any time. Unlike in Super Mario Bros. on the same cartridge, the game remembers the exact level the player is on, and not just the world. According to the instruction booklet, this is because the game is much harder than the original.

Players only have to beat the game once to reach Worlds A through D.

In the secret section of World 1-2 (where the player enters the pipe to World 4), the water pools were replaced by lava. However, the effects are the same: if Mario falls in, he loses one life. Similarly, the water in the first pit encountered in the level (after the Koopa Paratroopa) is removed in the SNES version.

In World 8, the Hammer Brothers perpetually charge at the player. On the SNES, this behavior was added to Worlds 7, 9 and Worlds A-D as well.

In the original game, Bowser and his fakes only have hammers in Worlds 6-8. The SNES remake gives them hammers in Worlds 9 and A-D, as well, although they lose their ability to breathe fire.

The fake Bowsers in Worlds A-C now have new true forms (a red Koopa Troopa, a Cheep Cheep, and a Bullet Bill, respectively), and the final fake Bowser in World D (actually a Spiny) is replaced with the actual Bowser (his sprite is simply flipped upside-down instead of turning into an upside-down Spiny). Similarly, the Bowser's Brothers in Worlds 8-4 and 9-3 are now indistinguishable from the real Bowser due to them looking exactly alike and are no longer blue, while the fake Bowser's Brother in World D (also a Spiny) is replaced with the actual, although recolored, Bowser's Brother.

The green Super Springs of World B-1 and World B-3 were changed to red Jumping boards.

The castle terrain of World 9-3 (whose background is sky blue instead of black) are now recolored brown instead of gray like in the original (and in the ending cutscene).

Due to the castle walls in Worlds 8-2, 8-3, and D-3 being replaced, the bricks hidden within them are now Hidden Blocks instead.

The player can play World 9's levels as many times as they like upon unlocking it via the level select. Originally, the world would keep looping back upon itself until the player received a Game Over, after which they had to restart the game from the beginning if they wanted to replay World 9.

All Goombas in Worlds A, B, C, and D are replaced with Buzzy Beetles.

Running out of time as Fire Mario will no longer result in the player seeing a dead Mario sprite with Fire Mario's colors.

Music and sound effects
The games' soundtrack was enhanced. New "happier" background music plays in secret bonus rooms and Coin Heavens, instead of the normal underground and Starman theme, respectively. The ground theme has additional instrument notes and changes. There is also a new Bowser battle music, which starts when the player reaches a fake Bowser in a castle. The Bowser battle music is different for the real Bowser, however; that music plays in World 8-4 and World D-4. Although there are some exceptions in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, going through a pipe generally no longer resets the music. In World 8-4, the underwater area now uses castle music rather than water music. The title screen for both games now has a cover version of the underwater theme from Super Mario Bros. playing in the background: with a harmonica in Super Mario Bros. and a harp in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. A chime or buzz will sound depending on whether Mario takes the correct path in World 4-4, 7-4 and 8-4 in the first game, and in World 3-4, 5-3, 6-4, 7-2 and 8-4 in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. When the timer reaches the last 100 seconds, the music speeds up uninterrupted while the warning simultaneously plays, as in Super Mario World. The underground levels use the enhanced version of the upbeat underground music from Super Mario Bros. 3 instead of the basic/simple one from the original NES/Famicom game, and when Princess Toadstool is rescued, the music that plays is an enhanced version of the rescue song's extended version from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which is how Koji Kondo originally composed the theme, whereas the one from the original was as basic as it was simply due to the Famicom's storage limitations.

Graphics
Several enemies got another palette swap. Pink Shyguys, Snifits, and Pansers are now blue. While the original game used green palette in the desert, instead of gray, the green Snifits are replaced by gray ones. Likewise for Pansers and Birdos, green and gray ones are now just green. Green and gray Beezos (which only fly straight across) are now red while red ones (which home down to the player) are now yellow. Both Mousers are now gray too. Tryclydes are now green, yet are still colored red in their official artworks. The playable characters have also had their sprites recolored to match their actual appearance (as the original game used only three colors for the character sprites). Some of these includes Princess Toadstool receiving blonde hair as opposed to brown from the original and Toad getting red spots on his cap rather than blue spots (Toadstool had brown hair and Toad had a blue-spotted mushroom hat because graphical limitations of the NES) and Mario and Luigi's overalls are now jean colored as opposed to dark blue from the original. Ostros are now pink instead of black, and Porcupos and Ninjis are now purple instead of black.

Additionally, when a Subspace Warp is used, a transition effect with music is used. This was not seen in the original NES version.

When the characters shrink when they reach down to one remaining heart, their entire bodies shrink instead of just their lower bodies. As such, Toadstool's hair gets shorter when she shrinks into her small form rather than remaining intact like in the NES original. This was later carried over to the GBA remake, Super Mario 3D World, and in post-Fall 2017 versions of Super Mario Run.

The backgrounds of the levels have also been given more detailed add-ons such as clouds, trees, etc. The mushroom that allows the hero to get an extra heart has a smaller front-facing white spot than the original. Also, when transitioning to different areas within each level, the screen now fades through black as opposed to platforms and objects disappearing to the background changing color and new platforms and objects appearing.

Also, the world boss battles in Worlds 1-6 have terrain tiles that resemble s (toys that Nintendo created in 1968 to compete against the popular brand) as opposed to simply bricks.

Due to a controversy over the original manual, Birdo is now female, however, the end credits still have the same names and spellings as the original.

The Subcon fairies now have a slightly different sprite, with their heads having a rounder shape, smaller eyes, more defined ears, and pointy hair.

Music
The music within the game has also been retouched and several sound effects have also been changed, usually using new sounds (such as when the hero picks up a vegetable, Mushroom Block, POW Block, or enemy). The spike area in World 5-2 no longer uses the underworld music, but it uses the overworld music instead. The rooms before the world bosses' arenas in Worlds 2-3, 3-3, and 4-3 no longer use the boss music. The world boss victory music is now slightly slower. For the endings, the music for the ceremony before the credits is now orchestrated, and the music for the ending credits with Mario waking up and then snoozing back to sleep is now shortened and no longer starts out with extra rhythm, making it slightly less referential to Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The Subspace music reuses the same Ground Theme arrangement as the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels remakes, albeit with the introduction omitted. Certain instruments no longer mute when the game is paused.

Other

 * Saving is now possible and the game has unlimited continues instead of only three in the NES version.
 * Players can now start on any world's first level based on each file's progress being saved, and no longer need to start from the beginning unless the file is erased.
 * The game makes full use of the two run buttons and  on the SNES controller, so one button can be held to run while another for picking up and throwing enemies.
 * After a character loses a life, the player has the option to select another character. Originally, they were restricted to the character they initially chose until they got a game over.
 * Health points have now a heart shape instead of hexagons, and empty ones are now blue instead of white.
 * The non-highlighted characters on the Player Select screen are now gray instead of blue.
 * Some levels that originally take place during the day now take place at night and vice-versa.
 * The title screen's inside of the frame is now black (like the Japanese version) instead of light blue; and when the title screen loops, it fades through black instead of instantly. When the storyline ends by telling the player to press the Start Button to begin, the word "Button" was removed.
 * The Game Over and Subspace Warp screens now has the title's red-and-gold border and features Birdo as opposed to just white letters on a black background.
 * The first area in World 4-2 is now underground and plays the underground BGM.
 * The Warp Doors that lack a door (except for ones that have light shining from the outside) have been replaced by yellow double doors.
 * Key Doors which require a key to open no longer completely disappear once unlocked. Instead they become normal Warp Doors.
 * Also, unlike the original, once the Key Door is unlocked, the key mysteriously disappears instead of still being in the character's hands.
 * The key rooms in the fortresses in Worlds 1-3, 3-3, and 4-3 (as well as one inside the pyramid in World 2-3) now have a background of a giant gray Phanto whose eyes flash an eerie red once the player picks up the key, and the eerie noise is heard too.
 * A sound is played to indicate when the Power Squat Jump has been charged up.
 * Birdos spit out the Crystal Ball when defeated. In the NES game, Birdos held the crystal ball. The same applies to the red Birdo with the key in World 7-2. Unless the player leaves and reenters their rooms, Birdoes also do not reappear if their crystal balls are grabbed.
 * Players start with five lives at default instead of three in the original version, but their last life before a Game Over is at one instead of zero. The player cannot get more than 99 lives, although in the original version, the player's life counter maxed out at 255.
 * Autobombs while Shyguys are riding on them play sounds when flames are being shot out of them. Originally, no sound was played for flames being shot out of Autobombs.
 * On the Bonus Chance screen after the player completes each level and advances onto the next level, the three slots are now slightly larger and act like mechanical ones as opposed to digital. If the player matches all three slots or at least has a Cherry first, the screen now flashes along with the happy fanfare. The lucky seven is introduced, and will grant the player an additional ten lives if all three slots match. Players will also be granted extra coins of service if the player manages to get some bonuses correct (or at least have the Cherry first) in a row. On the other hand, if the player completes the level without picking up any Bonus Coins from Subspace, the three empty slots on the Bonus Chance screen are now black instead of white, and the words "NO BONUS" appear just after the opening fanfare. If the player collected more than ten coins in a level, the coin counter is displayed properly. In the NES version however, it is displayed as a letter, similarly to hexadecimal (10 = A, 11 = B and so on).
 * When Wart is defeated, the music stops playing instead of continuing before the secret door appears. He also makes the sound of a Koopaling being defeated and an airship being relocated on his last hit before being defeated.
 * Ironically, on World 4-2, in the second area with whales that spray water as an elevation, the spraying SFX will get muted if the player grabs a Cherry, picks up or throws an enemy or object, does the Power Squat Jump, etc; which does not happen in the original version.
 * When the player enters the door to the Subcons' captive lair after defeating Wart, the screen slowly fades through black for about two seconds as opposed to simply transitioning to the next screen instantly.
 * Also, in the area where the Subcons are held captive before being released by one of the heroes, the doorway with light shining in is replaced by yellow double doors, and a background is added with stained glass windows and a large archway revealing the outside the fortress.
 * The wall in the ceremony cutscene from the game's ending is now bright yellow instead of dark blue and has gray-green panels on the lower end of the wall. Also, the platform in which the four heroes are perched on is now slightly lower and wider. The Contributor board is now black on the inside and its frame is brown as opposed to being translucent, and the characters' points for the levels completed are now framed. Toad now waves just his left hand as opposed lifting both of his arms up and down. It is now possible for any character to have level completion points greater than 20, due to the new ability to save the game's progress.
 * The credits scene with Mario sleeping and realizing that his adventure was just a dream is now multi-colored as opposed to being a monochromatic blue, and the background itself is now shades indigo. Players can now save their progress after completing the game without the need to start all over. Additionally, after the ending sequence is finished, the words "Press Start" will now appear on the end card instead of simply freezing, requiring the player to reset the game to continue playing.
 * The characters' jumping position was tweaked, no longer raising both arms.
 * Albatoss is no longer animated upon its defeat.

Graphics

 * Most sprites are recolored to closer resemble their in-game artwork (such as integrating the blue of Mario and Luigi's overalls in all sprites, not just the one seen in the Spade mini-game). Additionally, the sides of the screen are drawn properly, and fireballs and power-ups no longer change color in certain areas, instead being consistently colored throughout the game.
 * Luigi is no longer a palette swap of Mario's sprites, as he is now taller and thinner than Mario. Toads also have their sprites redesigned, both in Toad Houses and in the Kings' throne rooms.
 * Fire Mario is no longer bright orange, and is now instead colored similar to Fire Mario/Luigi's usual depiction since Super Mario World.
 * The logo on the title screen uses slightly altered shapes for the letters, comes in four colors (pink, orange, green and blue), and gains a 3D appearance and subtler shadows.
 * ? Blocks now have rounded edges and lack bolts.
 * There are no longer some areas in which ? Blocks and coins are not animated.
 * Warp Doors are now redesigned to resemble actual doors instead of simply being brown rectangles.
 * All levels are given remastered backgrounds with parallax scrolling and extra details, such as multiple blocks, clouds, beetroots, pillars, etc., instead of simple, plain cyan, blue, yellow and black backgrounds. As a result, the furthest semi-solid platforms no longer cast shadows onto the background. Additionally:
 * The item outlines in the sky in World 1-1 are gone.
 * Cave levels look more realistic; World 1-5 and the ones in World 6 have new backgrounds. All invisible blocks there are now hidden completely, with no white dots indicating their presence.
 * Inside bonus rooms, there is a new background made out of diamonds and question marks instead of the original cave background.
 * The background in airship levels is changed to an ominous-looking stormy sky, with lightning flashing, and was also applied consistently. Originally, the sky was given varying colors for each level, namely light blue (Larry, Roy, and Lemmy), dark blue (Morton), yellow (Wendy and Ludwig), light green (Iggy) and black (Air Force).
 * On a similar note, the airships themselves are consistently colored brown. In the original, that color was only used for Larry and Roy's airships and the Air Force level in World 8; Morton's ship was green, Wendy and Ludwig's were turquoise, Iggy's was gold and Lemmy's was dark blue. Likewise, windows were added to the cabin areas of the airships (originally, a series of wooden platforms were found in the background, if anything was present).
 * Princess Toadstool's captivity room now has two archways furnished with red drapery and windows where the lights start to shine in. The captivity room originally appeared to be a rather bare room where the lights would turn on upon rescuing her.
 * On the map screens, the level panels, line connectors, and slider game panels are animated. Also, Fire Flowers as map tiles are redrawn to resemble their Super Mario World design, some Mushroom Houses are recolored (for example, the White Mushroom Houses are now colored blue), and the appearance of Fortresses when crushed is changed.
 * The iris-out effect triggered when a level is selected is circular and focused on the player's position. Also, the iris-in effect from the Famicom original is restored.
 * Toad Houses or Spade Panels become the normal "M" or "L" icons when used, like normal courses, rather than beige or red.
 * Some inventory items changed colors: Super Leaves are brown, Starmen are gold, Anchors are silver, and Fire Flowers are orange. The inventory itself has been changed from pink to blue, and the world and lives information is separate from the inventory rows.
 * In levels, Super and 1-Up Mushrooms have white-spotted red and green caps, respectively, as in Super Mario World.
 * Moreover, 1-Up Mushrooms are always green as opposed to being light blue in artillery levels.
 * Kings were given slight redesigns, and get transformed into characters from other Mario games:
 * World 1 – Original: dog; remake: Cobrat
 * World 2 – Original: spider/silkworm; remake: Hoopster
 * World 3 – Original: kappa/Spike; remake: purple Dino Rhino
 * World 4 – Original: dinosaur; remake: Donkey Kong Jr.
 * World 5 – Original: vulture; remake: Albatoss
 * World 6 – Original: seal; remake: Monty Mole
 * World 7 – Original: Venus Fire Trap; remake: Yoshi
 * On the status bar, a coin symbol replaces the dollar sign.
 * In battle mode, the cards are colored blue instead of red, the POW Block is colored green instead of blue, Mario and Luigi's score boxes use their respective personal colors, and the winning brother flashes the V sign at the end of the battle.
 * The pictures on the cards at the end of each level have been colored in, following the color schemes of the respective items listed above; the Super Mushroom card retains the power-up's new in-level coloration on the map screen.
 * New map icons for the Boomerang Brother, Fire Brother, and Sledge Brother have been implemented. However, the Sledge Brother's map icon is merely a green Hammer Brother; this was changed again in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * All Boomerang Brothers are green (as opposed to being light blue in artillery levels).
 * Piledriver Micro-Goombas, when disguised as bricks, now shimmer like actual bricks, making them more difficult to tell them apart. The only indication of their existence is now a light-colored outline, while the actual bricks' outlines are darker.
 * Beanstalks that grow in World 5 and World 6 are now green instead of white.
 * Switch Blocks now use a consistent palette throughout the game, when in the original they varied depending on the level.
 * In the cutscene where Mario falls down from an airship, the sky changes from night to day.
 * "Mario Start!" and "Luigi Start!" are now displayed when starting a level, similar to Super Mario World. Also, in the 2-player battles, "Battle Start!" is displayed just before the battle begins.
 * The "TIME UP" message has a modified "M", is missing a dash, and is colored yellow.
 * Pile Driver Micro Goomba's bricks now shine like the other bricks, making them much difficult to find. However, the outline color is distinctly lighter than the regular blocks'.
 * Roto-Discs and Boo Buddies have motion trails.
 * Princess Toadstool's image on the letters gains color but loses its animation, that being reduced to just a single wink shortly after the letter appears.
 * The letter received upon completing World 7 now has an image of Bowser (using one of his stock artworks from that time) on the letter to make more clear who sent the letter. Originally, there was no portrait depicting the sender unlike with Toadstool's letters, although the text "King of the Koopa" nonetheless made it very clear that Bowser had sent the letter instead.
 * Tanooki, Hammer, and Frog Suits all use their original Japanese Super Mario Bros. 3 behavior when the player takes damage in every region of the game. The suit will fly off rather than the player disappearing in a puff of smoke, but Mario or Luigi will return to their Super form rather than their Small form.
 * Like the Famicom and original North American NES releases, the ending of the game has all worlds except Grass Land referred to under a unique set of names instead of using the versions from the manual (for example, Desert Land is renamed Desert Hill, while Water Land is renamed Sea Side instead of Ocean Side), and now has stills of each world's gameplay replace the simpler illustrations reviewing each world in the NES version. As a result, three unique-looking sprites found only in the original version's ending when Giant Land, Sky Land, and Ice Land are reviewed that do not appear anywhere during actual gameplay do not return in the SNES version. After the ending is finished, the words "Press Start" will appear on the end card, even though the game will still return to the title screen like in the NES version (only in international releases, the Japanese version freezes after the end card is shown, requiring the player to reset the game to continue playing). Additionally, the 28 Magic Wings received after the NES version's ending do not return, which is also the case in the Famicom version.
 * Inside the Kings' castles, the appearance of the room is based on the Japanese version. In the international NES releases, the cyan stairs were lengthened. The middle pillar has also been removed, the triangles in the background have been multiplied, and Mario stands in front of the stairs, instead of on the left side of the screen.
 * Water in the levels taking place right over the surface of the ocean is now transparent. Due to this, Boss Basses' diving sprite now includes a newly drawn front half of the body.
 * The first area of Dark Land had a slight change. In the NES version, it featured the same graphics as the water in Worlds 3-7. In Super Mario All-Stars onward, it instead has it bubbling in a similar manner to lava.
 * The fortress in World 8 no longer has a gray half and a blue half; now, both halves are colored gray.

Music and sound effects

 * A jazz cover of the Super Mario Bros. underwater theme now plays on the title screen, unlike in the NES version, which was silent.
 * When Mario or Luigi loses the Raccoon power-up, the sound effect is now the same as losing any other power-up, instead of the "poof" sound.
 * Airship cannons have a more realistic sound effect.
 * A musical cue appears during the Princess Toadstool letter segments of every world barring World 7. Originally, the only letter that had any musical cue was Bowser's letter after completing World 7, which had bars from the beginning of the boss theme music.
 * The Airship music's last set of rhythms before repeating the song has more tune than the original. Also, when it repeats, it goes back to the first set of musical notes instead of repeating it whole where the intro measures can now only be heard once.
 * When Mario fights the Boomerang Brother in the first set of tanks, it now plays the regular Hammer Brother theme instead of the Airship theme continuing throughout the fight.
 * The pitch of the Music Box has been changed.
 * Upon starting a new world, its music now starts when the map screen appears. Originally, this only applied to Grass Land; the other worlds' music did not play until Mario appeared on the map.
 * The Airship's sound when relocating as well as the sound a Koopaling makes when defeated is given a lower pitch to sound more like a roar.
 * A fanfare plays when winning the Spade Panel game, as well as when getting three non-matching cards.

Gameplay

 * The 2-Player Battle Game is available from the title screen, slightly different from the one accessible from the map in a two-player game. It introduces the ? Mushroom, an item that has never appeared in any other game.
 * Mario starts with five lives in both versions, but Mario's last life before a Game Over is one; in the NES version, it is zero. Hence, the starting life count (five) is the same in both versions. As this number maxes out at 99 on both versions, the actual maximum life count is one less than the NES version.
 * Saving is now possible.
 * The All-Stars version uses both of the and  buttons as run buttons, like in Super Mario World. Although it makes little difference for most scenarios, one difference is Fire Mario can take out a Koopa while holding it.
 * In the Toad Houses, Mario can move three seconds into the dialogue rather than waiting until the dialogue completes.
 * There is no longer a time limit in map-traveling Warp Pipes.
 * Whistles cannot be used while on the boat in the world map of World 3.
 * Three coins were added to the start of the oasis in World 2-2, meaning that Mario can get the White Mushroom House without collecting any from the group located farthest away from the Switch Block.
 * The Ice Blocks in World 3-9 are made a half-curve, fixing a glitch involving throwing the Ice Blocks and then doing a crouching jump to go down the right side of the pipe.
 * In World 4-4, the water level is now the same height. As a result, while in the original the water level was higher before the wall and lower after it, here it is the other way around (the water is lower before the wall but higher after).
 * The Ice Block structure in World 7-5 was moved to the right, fixing a glitch similar to the one in World 3-9.
 * In 2, the Pipe at the end of the screen was heightened with a block added at the very top so that Raccoon or Tanooki Mario cannot fly to the top of the Pipe and get hit by an invisible Muncher.
 * is more complex, as both sides are now colored blue (as opposed to having a blue side and a gray side).
 * In the original Japanese version, the Warp Door in the spike room of is positioned four blocks away from the wall with the one-block gap in the spikes three blocks away, while in the international NES versions, the Warp Door is moved to the rightmost side of the room, and the gap is now right above where the door is. The All-Stars version in all regions uses the international NES version.
 * In the original Japanese version, World 5-1 ends with a pipe which the player has to enter to reach the final area. In the international NES versions, the pipe and a Buster Beetle was removed and the level leads seamlessly into the black area. The Super Mario All-Stars version in all regions uses the international NES version, which was done to fix a bug that would occur if the player used a P-Wing to fly over the blue structure in the final area.
 * The first Toad House in World 6 now has a Hammer Suit (instead of a Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, or Super Leaf), as in the original Japanese version, so that Mario can get a Hammer Suit without having to do World 6-5.
 * In the international NES releases, one tile was removed off the end of, allowing players to more easily jump onto the ship should they swim under the fleet. In the All-Stars version, the jump must be timed with the ship's wavy motion, as in the original Japanese version.

References to other games

 * Super Mario World: This game's audio engine, including the sound effects and instruments, is reused for Super Mario All-Stars.

References in later games

 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: The design for the king of Pipe Maze's transformation in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3 being a Yoshi (instead of a Piranha Plant in the original) would eventually inspire Yoshi's design in this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. Deluxe: Elements from Super Mario All-Stars, including Princess Toadstool kissing Mario/Luigi upon being rescued, are reused in this game's versions of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
 * Super Mario Odyssey: Mario's black top hat in this game is taken from Super Mario All-Stars, though without the "M" emblem.
 * Super Mario Maker 2: The Super Mario All-Stars arrangements of Super Mario Bros. 3's Desert Land, Giant Land, and Ice Land themes are reused for Desert, Sky, and Snow-themed worlds, respectively, in this game's Super Worlds.

World 9 challenge
From volume 52 of Nintendo Power:

We're giving you a chance to show us what you're made of. And we'll award anyone who can reach World 9 of this poisonous pack with a badge of honor. Here's the catch-you can only reach World 9 of the Lost Levels if you play every single tortuous level. Absolutely no warping! (If you try to take a shortcut, you'll skip from World 8 to bonus World A.) Send us a photo of your accomplishment, and we'll send you this great iron-on patch. Just pause the game, and take a picture of the screen with World 9 clearly displayed in the corner. Get stompin'! The deadline is October 31, 1993. Send your name, address and photo to:
 * Nintendo Power
 * World 9 Challenge
 * P.O. Box 97043
 * Redmond, WA 98073-9743


 * Contest Rules:
 * Patch will be awarded to all valid entries received postmarked by October 31, 1993. Entries must include a photograph of a television screen with level 9 clearly displayed from the video game Super Mario All-Stars, The Lost Levels along with the entrants full name and mailing address. All judging decisions made by the Nintendo Power Staff are final.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version, when the player presses START at the game's title screen, it would transition to the Game Select Screen regardless if the lights were on or off and if the music was still playing and no matter what the characters' animation poses were set at. In international versions, if the player presses START and goes to the Game Select Screen, the lights would turn on, music would stop playing, and characters' poses would return to their original positions before the transition.
 * In the Japanese version, the pause and game over menus are written in Japanese, whereas corresponding menus on the original Famicom games were either written in English or absent.
 * The advertisement for the Japanese version, due to it being released around the time of the Super Mario Bros. movie's release, featured the various Mario characters arriving at a gala resembling, including a red carpet treatment, as well as them wearing outfits befitting the Oscars.