A Super Mario All Star!
Super Mario All Stars (+ Super Mario World) is proof that video games have always been about ports and remasters. All Stars recreates the first three Mario games from the NES (including the lost levels) and somehow had enough room for World, which was released on the SNES three years prior. I don't understand 16-bit storage either! It updates the graphics to be more in line with the modern aesthetic, but they still have that 80s feel to them. What's most fun is this introduced Mario 2 to the West. We can now Doki Doki Panic! Besides the visuals, music had also been updated, as has "game physics." The ability to save within each game and bug fixes were also added. It really is the ultimate remake of the franchise's beginnings.
The plots of I, III, and World are largely the same thing we all know. The Koopa King, Bowser, kidnapped the heir to the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach and/or Toadstool, and now some random plumber, who may or may not be a significant other, has to save her. But she's always in another castle... II has Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad have to beat up a toad named Wart and his army of transsexual birds named Birdo. There are a lot of Birdos. It's never explained in game why, though. Something about a dream and a world called Subcon (which my autocorrect wants to force to be subconscious)?
Either way, all four games have similar gameplay. Run right, jumping on the heads of your enemies until you find a castle. Rinse and repeat for two dozen levels. Levels are split into worlds, which theme what the player will see and, sometimes, game mechanics. Ice worlds are slippery! II is interesting in that we can pick one of the four characters, and they all play differently. Mario is bland, Luigi has a high jump, Peach can float, and Toad is...there. Rather than jump on the heads of your foes, you have to pick them up and throw them into other stuff or hit them with rutabagas. It's the most interesting of the games, but it drags on too long and is very repetitive. How many times did I have to throw Birdo's eggs back at them? World introduces us to Yoshi and all the fun antics he brings, which really helps to differentiate the game from its predecessors.
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Plot: Barebones. It's a gameplay franchise, and the Bowser plot facilitates that. Even the characters are just shades of what they'd become. 5/10
Gameplay: responsible for our downfall. Would Nintendo be as big a thing without Mario? Fortunately, it's all amazing! It's fun, and I didn't want to put any of the games down. The theming works wonders, and all the levels feel different. 10/10
Sound: Iconic. Hot take: I'm not super into Koji Kondo. I don't think he's bad, by any stretch, but his stuff doesn't resonate with me. That being said, I have to acknowledge how fun and catchy so much of it is. "Reluctantly..." 10/10
Art: instantly recognizable. It's perfect, and I'm just here to add to the praise of the games at this point. 10/10
Charm: ...odd. What is the Mushroom Kingdom? Why are Toad? But the games are filled with enough fun stuff that only crazy people would ask that. 6/10
And thus, an all important remake that kicked off the rise of the global juggernaut gets a solid 41/50. Many of my issues aren't game breakers. And I only bring them up because I want everything to be a forty hour RPG. Anything else is unworthy of my time. *posh sound effect* Ultimately, Super Mario All Stars + Super Mario World is a must play for the sake of history and entertainment. It's a pretty basic platformer, but it's been the gold standard since 1985, and there are so many reasons why. Enjoy the journey!
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