A collection of the three of the most notable Mario titles from the N64, GameCube, and Wii eras upscaled in HD. It doesn't offer anything in the way of improvements or new content, so the only the only real bonus you'll get from the package is the option to listen to each game's full soundtrack in its entirety any time you want. This understandably makes it a hard sell for those who have already experienced these games, but if you're like me and never played them before it's not so much of a big deal. Especially since each one still carries the distinctive feel of its original console even on this new hardware.
I was surprised how well Super Mario 64 still holds up after all these years. The restrictive camera is a constant source of frustration, but with a few exceptions (those dang slides...) the level design and puzzles are still some of the best in the genre. It's easy to see why this is considered one of the best platformers ever made. Plus it might be more playable than ever here on the Switch because you don't have to put up with the Nintendo 64's awkward M-shaped controller.
9/10
Shockingly the title that's aged the worst is Sunshine which originally came out on the GameCube back in 2002 making it a full 6 years younger than the game I just got finished talking about! On top of the controls being somewhat loose, Mario's movements feel too unwieldy in design for the level of precision required to make it past some obstacles. This leads to a portion of the challenges being an absolute nightmare to complete and to make matters worse this is the only game where you don't have the freedom to skip certain stages if you want to. Meaning that you have to suffer through its worst moments to see the end. The majority of the time it's still an excellent experience and I absolutely loved the visual style and bright, colorful island environments. Yet, the way it frequently shifts between being a masterpiece to reaching 3D Sonic levels of bad makes it easily the worst Mario I've played to date. Which at the end of the day is still actually pretty great.
8.3/10
Galaxy, being the newest and therefore the most refined, of course stands out as the best part of the package. It's unique gravity mechanics turn the platforming quite literally on its head allowing for one of a kind scenarios that remarkably haven't been replicated anywhere other than in the game's own sequel since. Plus it has so much content that in order to fully complete everything you have to play through it more than once, and nearly every aspect has been so meticulously crafted that it's genuinely worth doing so. The one quibble I have is with the motion controls. I can't attest to their quality on the Wii as I never tried that version, but I feel fairly confident in saying they didn't make the jump over to the Switch very well. Those playing in handheld mode or who own the "Lite" model must often make unsatisfactory use of the touchscreen and at its lowest points resort to things like tilting or rotating the actual console itself. Far from game breaking, but are nonetheless elements of an otherwise incredible game that I would have rather not experienced.
9.2/10
Due to it's time-limited release (which as of this writing has already passed) 3D All-Stars will one day make a nice collector's item, and if you've never played the games before this is probably the best way to do so as it's likely going to be cheaper the hunting them all three down individually. My overall score for the compilation itself is based on an average of the scores you can see listed above that I gave to each of the included titles themselves.
8.8/10
I was surprised how well Super Mario 64 still holds up after all these years. The restrictive camera is a constant source of frustration, but with a few exceptions (those dang slides...) the level design and puzzles are still some of the best in the genre. It's easy to see why this is considered one of the best platformers ever made. Plus it might be more playable than ever here on the Switch because you don't have to put up with the Nintendo 64's awkward M-shaped controller.
9/10
Shockingly the title that's aged the worst is Sunshine which originally came out on the GameCube back in 2002 making it a full 6 years younger than the game I just got finished talking about! On top of the controls being somewhat loose, Mario's movements feel too unwieldy in design for the level of precision required to make it past some obstacles. This leads to a portion of the challenges being an absolute nightmare to complete and to make matters worse this is the only game where you don't have the freedom to skip certain stages if you want to. Meaning that you have to suffer through its worst moments to see the end. The majority of the time it's still an excellent experience and I absolutely loved the visual style and bright, colorful island environments. Yet, the way it frequently shifts between being a masterpiece to reaching 3D Sonic levels of bad makes it easily the worst Mario I've played to date. Which at the end of the day is still actually pretty great.
8.3/10
Galaxy, being the newest and therefore the most refined, of course stands out as the best part of the package. It's unique gravity mechanics turn the platforming quite literally on its head allowing for one of a kind scenarios that remarkably haven't been replicated anywhere other than in the game's own sequel since. Plus it has so much content that in order to fully complete everything you have to play through it more than once, and nearly every aspect has been so meticulously crafted that it's genuinely worth doing so. The one quibble I have is with the motion controls. I can't attest to their quality on the Wii as I never tried that version, but I feel fairly confident in saying they didn't make the jump over to the Switch very well. Those playing in handheld mode or who own the "Lite" model must often make unsatisfactory use of the touchscreen and at its lowest points resort to things like tilting or rotating the actual console itself. Far from game breaking, but are nonetheless elements of an otherwise incredible game that I would have rather not experienced.
9.2/10
Due to it's time-limited release (which as of this writing has already passed) 3D All-Stars will one day make a nice collector's item, and if you've never played the games before this is probably the best way to do so as it's likely going to be cheaper the hunting them all three down individually. My overall score for the compilation itself is based on an average of the scores you can see listed above that I gave to each of the included titles themselves.
8.8/10