Jaquette Super Nintendo de Super Mario All-Stars : Mario surgit devant les quatre jeux réunis dans la compilation

Super Mario All-Stars: The Cult 16-Bit SNES Box Set

1587 words | Reading time : 7 minute(s)

GameSuper Mario All-StarsSuper Nintendo

Four NES games rebuilt in 16-bit, including one never released in the West. Known in Japan as Super Mario Collection and released on July 14, 1993, then on December 16 in Europe, the compilation gathers the great NES entries on a single cartridge. This feature covers the graphical and musical facelift and the Western arrival of the famous “Lost Levels”.

Super Mario All-Stars — a title kept in English in Europe — is the compilation released on Super Nintendo in 1993, known in Japan as Super Mario Collection. On a single cartridge, it brings together the great NES adventures of the mustachioed plumber, entirely rebuilt for the 16-bit generation.

Curiously, while each of the games it contains already has its own feature, this pioneering collection had never been covered in its own right. Here is a look back at a title apart, poised between nostalgia and technical feat.

Contents

A landmark compilation on Super Nintendo

Published and developed by Nintendo, the compilation first appeared in Japan on July 14, 1993, before reaching North America on August 11, 1993, then Europe on December 16, 1993. The gap is a useful reminder: the Japanese date is not the worldwide date.

The idea is as simple as it is shrewd: at a time when the Super Nintendo rules the living room, Nintendo brings its own NES catalogue back out on its 16-bit format. Rather than lazy emulation, every game is rebuilt from the ground up to make the most of the new machine.

For many European players, it was also a chance to catch up: some of these titles had arrived late, expensive or in limited numbers on NES. Finding them gathered together and modernized was hard to resist.

Four NES games together, one of them unreleased in the West

The cartridge brings together four platform games from the NES and the Famicom, presented on a shared menu:

  • Super Mario Bros. (1985): the founding entry, the one that defined the genre and launched Mario's career.
  • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986): the true Super Mario Bros. 2 of Japan, still famous for its fearsome difficulty and its poison mushrooms.
  • Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988): the Western version with its dreamlike world, where you pull up and throw vegetables — very different from the Japanese SMB2.
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988): the peak of the NES era, with its world map, its many suits and its flying minions.

The real event here is The Lost Levels. Judged too tough for Western players, it had never left the archipelago: in the West, Nintendo had preferred an entirely different game renamed Super Mario Bros. 2. All-Stars therefore gives these lost levels their very first release outside Japan.

A quick word on names: in Europe, the titles were kept in English, with no official French translation — a constant for the series at the time.

Wart and Birdo in the Japanese TV commercial for Super Mario All-Stars
Wart and Birdo come from Super Mario Bros. 2, the Western entry born from the recycling of Doki Doki Panic.

The 16-bit facelift: what really changes

The real appeal of All-Stars lies in its complete technical overhaul. The graphics are redrawn in 16-bit, finer and more colorful, and gain a parallax scrolling that layers the planes to give the scenery real depth.

On the audio side, the music is reorchestrated to make the most of the SNES sound chip: the classic themes sound richer and rounder. The physics is also slightly tweaked and several bugs from the NES version are fixed.

But the most valuable new feature remains the save function. Where NES cartridges often forced you to start all over or juggle passwords, All-Stars finally lets you keep your progress in each of the four games — a comfort that changed everything in 1993.

Bowser, the Koopalings and a mystery never settled

Among the games in the collection, Super Mario Bros. 3 puts the spotlight on the Koopalings, seven colorful minions that the manual of the day introduced as Bowser's “seven children”. Each one seizes a world and escapes aboard a flying airship.

Beware of one stubborn misconception, though: Nintendo has never lastingly confirmed that family tie, and Shigeru Miyamoto has even denied that the Koopalings are Bowser's biological children. As for a possible “mother” — including that of Bowser Jr., a far later character — her identity officially remains unknown.

In short, the subject is a matter of fan debate more than established fact: it is a mystery Nintendo has never settled, and one better presented as such.

Bowser surrounded by three Koopalings in the Super Mario All-Stars TV commercial
The period ad puts Bowser and his Koopalings side by side — without ever settling the question of the family tie.

A commercial smash and many reissues

Commercially, it is a triumph: around 10,55 million copies sold, a figure inflated by the bundles that frequently came with the console. Few compilations can boast such success.

As early as December 1994, Nintendo expanded the offering with Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World: this reissue adds Super Mario World to the collection and, along the way, finally gives Luigi his own sprite, distinct from Mario's.

Much later, in 2010, to celebrate the 25 years of Super Mario Bros., an anniversary edition resurfaced on Wii. It simply reuses the SNES ROM, but pairs it with a booklet retracing the history of the series and a soundtrack CD — a handsome package, even if some found it a little stingy.

European box of Super Mario All-Stars in the Nintendo Classics range
Budget-range reissues, bundles, Virtual Console: the collection never really left the shelves.

A cult collector's item

By setting the classic 2D Mario games in a polished 16-bit case, All-Stars helped keep the two-dimensional formula alive, even as Nintendo was gradually shifting to 3D with the next generation.

In fact, it would take New Super Mario Bros. on Nintendo DS, in 2006, for 2D to truly return to the forefront — a game not to be confused with its sequels released later on Wii, 3DS and Wii U.

Today, the original cartridge and above all the “+ Super Mario World” edition are highly sought after by collectors. Between its heritage value and its generous content, Super Mario All-Stars remains one of the most iconic compilations in video games.

Super Mario All-Stars at a glance

Original title (Japan) Super Mario Collection
Publisher / developer Nintendo
Platform Super Nintendo (SNES)
Release (Japan) July 14, 1993
Release (Europe) December 16, 1993
Games included Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3
Sales ≈ 10,55 million copies
Reissues + Super Mario World (1994), 25th anniversary edition on Wii (2010)

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FAQ

  • How many games does Super Mario All-Stars contain?
    Four: 16-bit remakes of Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3, gathered on a single cartridge.
  • What is The Lost Levels?
    It is the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 from 1986, judged too difficult for the West. Super Mario All-Stars marked its very first release outside Japan.
  • What changes compared with the NES versions?
    Graphics and music redone in 16-bit, added parallax scrolling, adjusted physics, fixed bugs and, above all, a save function.
  • What does the “+ Super Mario World” version contain?
    This 1994 reissue adds Super Mario World to the collection and gives Luigi his own sprite, distinct from Mario's.
  • Is there a more recent version?
    Yes, a 25th anniversary edition came out on Wii in 2010, reusing the SNES ROM with a history booklet and a soundtrack CD.

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