Super Mario 3D All-Stars: Difference between revisions

''Super Mario 3D All-Stars''{{'}}s limited release date for both physical and digital copies of the game drew controversy from various fans and internet personalities.<ref>Favis, Elise. (September 3, 2020). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/09/03/nintendo-mario-limited-release/ Classic Mario games are coming to Switch for a limited time, baffling fans.] ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref><ref>Diaz, Isasc. (September 07, 2020). [https://www.thegamer.com/super-mario-3d-all-stars-limited-availability/ ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars''{{'}} Limited Availability Is A Cynical Marketing Gimmick.] ''The Gamer''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref><ref>Sakellariou, Alexandra. (September 04, 2020). [https://screenrant.com/mario-3d-all-stars-limited-release-bad-why/ Why ''Mario 3D All-Stars'' Is A Limited-Time Only Release (& When It Ends).] ''Screen Rant''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> Elise Favis from ''The Washington Post'' compared the limited release situation to the "{{wp|Disney Vault}}," referring to The Walt Disney Company's policy of regularly cycling home media releases of its films in and out of {{wp|Moratorium (entertainment)|moratorium}}; Favis and other writers considered the decision anti-consumerist, and they opined that a more traditional release pattern would be more favorable towards buyers. Favis additionally brought up the lack of a [[Virtual Console]] service on the Nintendo Switch, compounding the issue some fans had with the limited release (though ''Super Mario 64'' was later additionally made available on the console through [[Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online]]). Alexandra Sakellariou from ''Screen Rant'' asserted the reason [[Nintendo]] made the game limited release boiled down to potential profits from it being labeled as an "anniversary release," and worried about whether future releases would adopt a similar pattern if this sales tactic ends up succeeding.

On YouTube, game industry analyst and critic Jim Sterling compared Nintendo's move to prior, difficult-to-obtain Nintendo products that were high in demand, specifically citing [[amiibo]] and the [[Classics#NES Classic Edition|NES Classic Edition]]. They <!-- Jim Sterling is non-binary - please do not change to 'he'--> brought up {{wp|fear of missing out}} as a potential reason for the limited release.<ref>Jim Sterling. (Sep 4, 2020). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2OUVNO3ToY Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Limited Availability On A Digital Version? LOL!]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> Yong Yea, who creates videos that research into various controversies of the game industry, documented the reaction on his channel while saying that the bundle was a good deal for some people and some fans reacted positively to the news, though he criticized the timed, limited release of the bundle, especially with the limited digital release.<ref>Yong Yea. (Sep 5, 2020). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haqFXFthrh4 Nintendo Baffles With 6 Months Limited-Time Release For Super Mario 3D All Stars.] ''YouTube''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> He called the deadline of the six-month limited window "anti-consumer" and "senseless," especially compounded with the concurrent {{wp|COVID-19 pandemic}} that left customers in harder economic situations at the time.

Luke Hemming of Cubed3 has given the game a 10/10, stating the bundle represents "the pinnacle of platforming goodness and with perfect ports, as well as top notch optimisation for the console," and writes that the game is a "must-buy" for Nintendo Switch owners. Also, Cubed3 notes how new players can experience the evolution of the three 3D ''Super Mario'' titles and how Nintendo improves the formula of each iteration of games.<ref>Hemming, Luke. (September 16, 2020). [http://www.cubed3.com/review/6093/1/super-mario-3d-all-stars-nintendo-switch.html Review for ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'']. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> He has praised all three games being included and the effort undertaken to upscale them for improved graphical presentation on newer hardware. Jon Mundy from Pocket Gamer UK gave the game a 4.5/5 and echoed similar thoughts, proclaiming ''Super Mario Galaxy'' to be the best 3D ''Super Mario'' title of all time and loving all three games in the bundle, citing the improvements and the gameplay that was considered to have aged well.<ref>Mundy, Jon. (September 18, 2020). [https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/084159/super-mario-3d-all-stars-review-class-is-permanent-with-these-3d-platformer-classics/ ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' review - "3D platformer compilation proves that class is permanent".] ''Pocket Gamer UK''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> Mundy has written that "some have balked at ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars''{{'}}s premium pricing" but has recommended that ''Super Mario Galaxy'' alone justifies the price if the reader has never played the game before.

On the mixed side, Riley Little from Screen Rant has given the game a 3.5/5, stating that while the games are worth owning for the Nintendo Switch, for players who want to experience the ''Super Mario'' titles again or for new players, they are not exactly a bargain deal either.<ref>Little, Riley. (September 16, 2020). [https://screenrant.com/super-mario-3d-all-stars-game-review/ ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' Review: A Must-Have With Missed Opportunities.] ''Screen Rant''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> Little has unfavorably compared the game to Activision's remade bundles of older games, such as ''{{wp|Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy}}'', ''{{wp|Spyro Reignited Trilogy}}'', and ''{{wp|Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2}}'', which all launched as complete graphical overhauls and had cheaper retail prices than ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars''. Little has also written the absence of ''Super Mario Galaxy 2'' where no explanation was given for its omission. Stefan L from TheSixthAxis, who gave the game a 7/10, has echoed the sentiment and compared the 35th anniversary to actual 35th birthdays, writing it as unassuming.<ref>Stephan L. (September 16, 2020). [https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2020/09/16/super-mario-3d-all-stars-review-switch/ ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' Review.] ''TheSixthAxis''. Retrieved September 20, 2020.</ref> He has written that the games themselves benefit from the increased resolution, but he has lamented that Nintendo could have "gone above and beyond in a meaningful way." He opined that ''Super Mario 64'' is the weakest game of the trio due to how many times the game was rereleased, that the compilation was more about preservation than improvement, and that ''Super Mario 64'' is inferior to its Virtual Console release due to the lack of save states and a digital manual.