Super Mario 3D All-Stars

The Good
Each of the games hold up very well, and whilst the gameplay between them is generally consistent, they each offer something unique. I was particularly happy to play Super Mario Sunshine again, as, in addition to being my first 3d Mario title, it's always had a different feel from other Mario titles due to its unique mechanics. Mario 64, being his first third-dimensional foray, is a bit rough around the edges, but is still a blast to play, and Galaxy is as top notch as ever.

The Bad
A lot of aspects of the games haven't aged too well- as one of the earliest games to use a camera system, Mario 64's camera can be irritating and wonky at times, which can make completing certain stages a pain. Sunshine has some gameplay sections that can be frustrating, oftentimes due to strange design choices and the odd physics. Galaxy, (which I wouldn't necessarily say has "aged" due to it being a last-gen game) whilst essentially a perfection of the other two games' gameplay, has some awkwardness its controls, where the gravity-based gameplay can sometimes screw with Mario's movement, and the motion controls can be awkward as well. This version also offers traditional controls, which works well, but feels a tad strange, especially if you're used to playing with the Wii remote.

As a compilation release from Nintendo, it doesn't feel as a high-quality or polished as it could be- Sunshine notably left a feature from its debug mode in one of the stages, and there are certain glitches here and there within the three games. Also strange is the omission of Super Mario Galaxy 2, which not only perfects the Galaxy gameplay, but is arguably one the best Mario games ever made. Did they want to the collection to be comprised as just a trilogy, or something?

There's also the lack of extra content in the compilation- you get to listen to each of the three games' soundtracks via the main menu, but that's it. I think they could've taken a cue from SEGA and their awesome Sonic Mega and Gems collections, and threw in some interesting things from Mario's history and whatnot- it is celebrating his 35th anniversary, after all! Basically, with the glitches and sparse bonus content, it feels less like a quality Nintendo product and more like those cheap compilations by third party companies.

The Bottom Line
Despite the issues, this is still a great collection of some of the portly plumber's greatest installments, all at home or on the go!