The beloved 3D Mario games, which have been stuck on their original consoles, are finally being ported to the Nintendo Switch. On Sept. 3rd, Nintendo held a Mario direct, which featured various new games, such as a new build-your-own course Mario Kart, a re-release of “Super Mario 3D World”, some more content for a 3D world, and a Mario battle royale. Among these announcements was one for the release of “Super Mario 3D All-Stars”, which will have three of the Mario franchise’s most popular games: “Mario 64”, “Mario Sunshine”, and “Mario Galaxy”.

“Mario 64” was the first 3D Mario game to be released. The game stars Mario, who walks into Princess Peach’s castle and realizes Peach, along with her servants, has been imprisoned by Bowser, using the Power Stars. The game’s design and graphics were revolutionary at the time of its release, and it was recognized as a masterpiece by many fans of the franchise. While, in retrospect, it may not have been the best (the camera angles made some parts difficult), it still sold very well. Speedrunners enjoy the game, as it has various glitches that can be exploited, resulting in fun tricks. For example, the infamous “backward long jump” allows Mario to speed up on stairs, as there is no cap on backward momentum. Another example would be the “Bob-omb Clip,” commonly referred to as a “Bomb Clip.” With the help of a Bob-omb in Bob-omb Battlefield, the player can push themselves through thin objects. Mario needs to throw the Bob-omb, re-grab it, and throw it again. The bomb will launch Mario through the object, allowing Mario to collect certain Stars easily.

Senior Ava Kian says that “Mario 64” holds a lot of sentimental value for her. “The Nintendo DS Lite was my first console, and ‘Mario 64’ was the first video game I ever played,” said Kian. “The game was very flexible with how you got to complete missions, and while there was a set objective to save Princess Peach, discovering stars was something you could do while exploring different worlds via magical paintings. There’s a huge range of missions and while it can’t really compare to new open-world games, the freedom in gameplay is something you can really appreciate about ‘Mario 64’. I also really like the nostalgic art style and soundtrack.”

The second game in 3D All-Stars, “Mario Sunshine”, also stars Mario. However, this game introduces a new, unique mechanic: the Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device, which is often abbreviated as F.L.U.D.D. It allows Mario to hover, spray down his enemies, as well as gain extra precision on his jumps. F.L.U.D.D also gives Mario an even wider variety of movement options, such as Rocket Boosts, which send the player extremely high in the air. While some consider F.L.U.D.D. to be merely a gimmick, it is necessary to get most Shine Sprites, which are Sunshine’s equivalent of “Mario 64” stars. However, rather than rescuing Peach, the objective of the game is to clean up Isle Delfino, which has been vandalized by a water monster known as Shadow Mario. Mario is wrongfully imprisoned for the vandalism and must clean up the damage caused by his shadowy counterpart. The game introduced many beloved Mario characters, including Bowser Jr. and the Piantas.

The most recent game in the collection is “Mario Galaxy”, which has Mario embarking on a journey across various planetoids to collect power stars, restore Rosalina’s observatory, and save Princess Peach. “Mario Galaxy” features various gravity mechanics, which allow Mario to traverse each of the planetoids. Since each of the planetoids have their own centers of gravity, Mario can walk on all surfaces of them, defeating various enemies while collecting power stars, which are Galaxy’s version of stars. The game forces Mario to gather power stars to power Rosalina’s Comet Observatory, which has lost the power it needs thanks to Bowser. The game introduces new power-ups, such as Bee Mario, which allows Mario to fly. Galaxy also introduces Star-Spin, which allows Mario to damage enemies as well as collect Star Bits.

“Super Mario 3D All-Stars” was released on the Nintendo Switch on Sept. 18, and it will be available until Mar. 31.

Graphic courtesy of NINTENDO.COM