Super Mario All-Stars
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Super Mario All-Stars (also known as Super Mario Collection in Japan), is a compilation of remakes for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (the Super Famicom in Japan). It ports 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 the first time that Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was released for the western public.
This game was re-released again as Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, which, quite obviously, additionally featured Super Mario World. It was never released in Japan.
During development, the Japanese developers called this game "Mario Extravaganza".
In 2010, the game was once again re-released as part of the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary, under the title Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition. The game was initially released with a Mario history booklet and a CD containing songs and sound effects from various games.
Changes to Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Graphics
There are graphical updates for all settings. Overworld levels have grass on the ground. All levels have background art. Worlds 3, 5, and 7 now take place in a setting covered in snow (this does not affect gameplay). Underground levels show a wall in the background. Water levels have a distortion effect. The color of Bloopers was changed from white to pink, and gray Cheep-Cheeps are now green. Bullet Bills' arms are now animated, and Bowser now resembles his Super Mario Bros. 3 design. There are parallax scrolling layers in the background. Secret underground levels have an image of Mario or Luigi showing a V sign in the background, which are labeled "Bonus". This is also seen in Coin Heaven.
Luigi is now no longer a palette swap of Mario, the Bros.' standing pose is different, resembling the sprites from Super Mario Bros. 3, and Fire Mario and Fire Luigi are no longer colored the same. When a brother enters a bigger castle, he takes the middle door rather than the left one. Before vanishing in a door, he shows a V sign with his fingers. The Bros. also show a V sign when entering a pipe from above.
As opposed to simply standing on the ground, Toads are now found in sacks, which they somehow escape from after Mario or Luigi come. There also are now two Toads in World 2, three Toads in World 3, four Toads in World 4, 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 jumps into from the side, and if the player is Small Mario, a Mushroom will rain down and make him Super Mario. Then there is 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, but in World D, he blushes due to Toadstool already kissing him multiple times.
The bricks for each fortress are more distinguishable from the normal bricks. Originally, they were normal bricks, but could not be broken.
Gameplay
The player starts out with five lives instead of three. There is a level introduction screen which gives a brief overview of all enemies appearing in the level.
Breaking a Brick Block has a different effect. Originally, Mario/Luigi would quickly fall down. In Super Mario All-Stars, however, he continues going upwards, then slowly goes back down. (In all Mario games except Super Mario All-Stars, and even in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3', he bounces down quickly, as he did in NES.) 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 does not harm Mario. Unlike the All-Stars versions of "Super Mario Bros. 2" and "Super Mario Bros. 3", only run button can be used at one time.
There were several bug fixes. An extra block was added on top of the pipe at the end of water levels, preventing Mario from getting stuck in this place as it was possible in the original game. When Mario has more than 9 lives, they are displayed correctly. Glitches such as Minus World were removed, although Mario can still walk through the wall into the Warp Zone. The leftmost pipe will warp to World 4, however.
During a game over, the player is asked to continue, save and continue, or save and quit. Mario/Luigi appears at the bottom, next to the logo of the game.
In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, the game can be saved after clearing a level rather than a world.
Music
The entire music of the game was updated. A new "happier" background music plays in secret underground areas and the Coin Heaven, instead of the normal underground theme. There is also a new Bowser battle music, which starts when the player reaches a False 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 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.
Changes to Super Mario Bros. 2
Graphics
Several enemies get a palette swap. Pink Shy Guys, Snifits, and Pansers are now blue. Since green and gray Snifits functioned identically, all green Snifits are now gray. Likewise for Pansers and Birdos, green and gray ones are now just green. Green and gray Beezos are now red while red ones are now yellow. Both Mousers are now gray too. The playable characters have also had their sprites re-colored to match their actual appearance (as the original game used only 3 colors for the character sprites). Some of these includes Princess Peach receiving blonde hair as opposed to brown from the original and Toad getting red spots on his cap rather than blue spots.
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 is rounder and has fewer white spots than the original (giving it an appearance more similar to a Super Mushroom).
Due to a mistranslation in the original manual, Birdo is now female. The same error mixing up the names of Birdo and Ostro in the credits as the original.
Music
The music within the game has also been retouched and several sound effects from the characters have also been changed (such as when the hero picks up a vegetable or enemy). The spike area in World 5-2 now uses overworld music rather than cave music.
Other
- Saving is now possible and the game have unlimited continues instead of two in the NES version.
- The game makes full use of the two run buttons X and Y on the SNES controller, so one button can be held to run while another for picking up/throwing enemies.
- After a character loses a life, the player can now select any character. Originally, he or she must play with the character who lost a life.
Changes to Super Mario Bros. 3
- All sprites are the same, except they have been recolored. Additionally, Luigi is no longer a green Mario.
- All levels are given better backgrounds, instead of plain blue, yellow and black backgrounds.
- Underground areas get a more realistic look.
- A Battle Game is available from the title screen, slightly different from the one accessible from the map in a 2-player game. It introduces the Reverse Mushroom.
- The White Mushroom Houses are colored blue, not white.
- Mario's last life before a Game Over is "Mario times 1"; in the NES it was "Mario times 0".
- "Mario Start!"/"Luigi Start!" is now displayed when starting a level, similar to Super Mario World.
- Some inventory items change color; Raccoon Leaf is brown; Starman is gold; Anchor is silver; Fire Flower is orange. Additionally, the Super Mushroom is now colored red with white spots, though strangely, it keeps it's original look while in the inventory, which has been changed from pink to blue.
- Inside bonus rooms, there is a new background made out of diamonds and question marks.
- Kings get transformed into characters from other Mario games.
- The All-Stars version uses full use of two the run buttons X and Y, like Super Mario World. Although it makes little difference for most scenarios, one difference is Fire Mario can kill a Koopa while holding it.
- Three coins were added to 2-2, meaning that Mario can get the White Mushroom House without collecting any from the group located far away from the P-Switch.
- No time limit in map pipes.
- The Ice Blocks in 3-9 were made a half-curve, fixing a glitch involving shooting the ice blocks and then doing a duck jump to go down the side of the pipe.
- The first Toad House in World 6 now has a Hammer Suit so that Mario can get a Hammer Suit without having to do 6-5.
- The Ice Block structure in 7-5 was moved to the right, fixing a glitch similar to the one in 3-9.
- In the second World 7 Piranha Plant level, the Pipe at the end of the screen was heightened with a block added at the very top so that Mario cannot fly on top of the Pipe and lose a life.
- The World 8 Fortress got even more confusing by having 2 sides both colored blue (as opposed to a blue side and a gray side).
- In the Mushroom Houses, Mario can move three seconds into the dialogue rather than waiting until the dialogue completes.
- The pictures on the cards at the end of each level have been colored in.
- Saving is now possible.
- New map icons for the Boomerang Bro., Fire Bro., and Sledge Bro. have been implemented. However, the Sledge Bro.'s map icon was merely a green Hammer Bro.; this was fixed in Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.
- Airship cannons have a more realistic sound effect.
- Beanstalks that grow in World 5 and World 6 are now green. Also, all airships are now brown.
- While inside the tank in World 8, the music changes to Hammer Bro. battle music. Originally, it didn't change at all.
- In the cutscene where Mario falls down from an Airship, the sky also changes from night to day.
Media
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."
