Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition

2 Comments

1. Robert G. Ernst says:

   May 20, 2011 at 3:30 pm

   110 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

   
   It’s more than a game, it’s a bundle of Mario history, December 1, 2010

   By 

   Robert G. Ernst –
   
     

   Fun: 

   This review is from: Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition (Video Game)

   This review is for the Super Mario All Stars bundle for Wii to celebrate Mario’s 25th anniversary. Now to understand whether you want to buy this bundle or not, you need to break this bundle down to understand what you’re getting. This bundle comes with a game, a book, and a cd. Let’s look at the pieces.

   Super Mario All Stars the game: This game is 4 games in 1. The games are: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (technically 2 in Japan, but that is a whole separate topic). Technically, this game is a direct port of a game of the same name released for the SNES in the early 90′s. The updated graphics that the box refers to are updated from the 4 games in their original setting (8 bit) to 16 bit (which is what the original All Stars game was). The game for Wii is the same game for the SNES.

   There is another All Stars game that was available for SNES that includes Super Mario World on top of the other 4 games. Super Mario World is not on this game. If you want to play it for your Wii, you will have to use the Virtual Console to get it.

   The book: This is the History of Mario book. It has screenshots and art sketches of the game along with blurbs and fun facts about the games from the team behind Mario all these years.

   The cd: The soundtrack history of Mario has 20 tracks. The last 10 are sound effects from Mario 1.

   1. Aboveground BGM (Mario 1)
   2. Aboveground BGM (Mario 2)
   3. Athletic BGM (Mario 3)
   4. Aboveground BGM (Super Mario World)
   5. Slider (Super Mario 64)
   6. Delfino Plaza (Super Mario Sunshine)
   7. Aboveground BGM (New Super Mario Bros.)
   8. Super Mario Galaxy
   9. Title (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)
   10. Super Mario Galaxy 2
   11. Coin
   12. Jump
   13. Super Mario transform
   14. 1UP
   15. Enter a Pipe
   16. Hurry
   17. Lose a Life
   18. Game Over
   19. Course Clear
   20. Castle Clear

   I’ll admit, looking at the track list, it is not all that spectacular. After all, only 20 songs? They could have fit more. But there is a reason for only 20 tracks. The tracks that are shown here were all handpicked by the series composer, Koji Kondo. He was assigned with the task of picking his favorite song from each game to represent the respective game. In an “Iwata Asks” interview for this game, the cd is considered Kondo’s greatest hits.

   Another thing to consider especially if you are buying this in America, is that we are getting a soundtrack at all. Nintendo of America has released soundtracks before, but they don’t do it nearly as often as Nintendo of Japan or even of Europe does.

   You see, most of the time for a game series like Mario, to get the official video game soundtrack, you have to import from Japan using playasia.com, ebay, etc. Doing this will lead to a fairly high, but common cost of about $50+. So to know that Nintendo of America is releasing this soundtrack is excellent news. Nintendo of America does not release official soundtracks often, so this cd is that much more valuable even if it’s only a “best of” type of cd as opposed to the standard complete soundtrack.

   Conclusion: Even if you have complaints about the game being a direct port or inferior to a better game from yesteryear, don’t let that prevent you from buying this bundle. The book and cd alone are worth buying it for the Mario fan in your life. Plus, the incredible value of 30 dollars. This is the textbook definition of bang for your buck, great value at a low price.

   If you have any more questions about this bundle or anything else I mentioned here that you are still confused about, ask below and I’ll answer to the best of my ability.

   Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

   Was this review helpful to you? 
   

   
   |

    Comments (42)
2. Joe P. "Root Beer Enthusiast" says:

   May 20, 2011 at 4:24 pm

   44 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Just picked it up at Best Buy, December 12, 2010

   By 

   Joe P. “Root Beer Enthusiast” (North Caldwell, NJ) –

   Fun: 

   This review is from: Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition (Video Game)

   And first of all, let me just say, that is what you should do: Pick it up at a store yourself, if you can. I notice sellers are already inflating prices on this game, as Amazon is sold out(as of right now) Well, there was about 20 of these at Best Buy and about a dozen at Target, all for the regular, non-inflated price of [...]. So if you want this game ASAP and don’t want to wait for Amazon to get it back in stock, go to a Target or Best Buy( and probably many others) rather than overpaying here. Obviously if I could, I would prefer to buy directly from Amazon. But at this moment, that isn’t an option.

   Now, on to the game. there isn’t much to say. They are as great and as fun as always. And they do look noticeably better than on the NES, SNES, and even Virtual Console. Not a huge difference, but I definitely noticed it looking a bit better. It is NOT in Widescreen. The Menus and everything is exactly the same as the SNES All Stars Game. You can play with the Wii remote sideways( Like New Super Mario Brothers Wii) or with either the Classic Wii Controller or even the Gamecube controller. The booklet is pretty cool, although I didn’t buy this for the extras. I didn’t use the soundtrack CD yet. I just wanted to own all 4 of these great games on one disc, like I did with my old SNES. There are many that will argue that you can get these games Wii Console for about 20 bucks total. And hey, for some that might be a better option. I prefer to have the games on an actual disc. If something happens to my Wii, i don’t lose them( which would be the case with Virtual Console game, since you can’t transfer them to your new Wii) And for those big fans that enjoy the kinda extras like the booklet and CD, this set is all the more worthwhile. 5/5

   NOTE ON PACKAGING: This might be important to some who maybe wanna keep this in mint condition after opening. But the packaging is similar to Sports Resort. meaning there are two round stickers on the bottom and top of the box you have to take off to open the box. The problem is, that they seem to be on there pretty good. When i tried taking it off, I actually took a little of the box art with me. Not a big deal for me, but like I said, might be for some who want this in excellent condition. So a better way might be to cut the sticker sideways with a knife.

   EDIT 2/16/11: Nintendo has decided to re-release this in early March due to the high demand and limited supply the first run. Amazon is accepting pre-Orders at [...] and Best Buys/Targets/Walmarts/Gamestop should all have this in stock on the release date.

   Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

   Was this review helpful to you? 
   

   
   |

    Comments (8)