I'm not going to relitigate all the arguments for and against each title here. It isn't even in Sunshine, but your brain sure as hell will try it anyway. That sliding long jump in Super Mario 64? Fun. Did my memory play tricks on me here? Or have I changed?Īnd then there's the awkward and clumsy Sunshine, which has none of the traits that made Super Mario 64 great and is far too absorbed in being different that it loses sight of what really makes Mario… Mario. In my head, it's an absolute masterclass. Before 3D All-Stars was released, I read up on some of the discourse around Galaxy from 2007. In fact, in 2020, I would argue it's not a very good game. Galaxy is nowhere near as good as I remember. During a pandemic, it seems like this is "the game we need right now." But when you put the controller down, you're confronted with a harsh reality: your memory of these games is the best thing about them. Eventually, you forget that you forgot about the thing.Īll-Stars is a nostalgia box you rummage around in for a few hours, trying to pull out the ephemeral feelings locked deep within your lizard brain. There's a tendency for the best parts of video games like Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Sunshine to ossify in your mind and the worst parts to melt away. They flicker to life, then disappear before you can fully grasp them. These are good games from a long time ago. And my life.īut here, in the cold light of 2020, they are simply an exercise in memory. They mark important milestones in Mario's 3D life. Alone, they are a trio of great video games. And I get why people are excited to play All-Stars, even if it doesn't include Galaxy 2. Those kinds of scores are why there's so much hype around the collection. Super Mario Galaxy, for the Nintendo Wii, received a 9.5 in 2007. Super Mario 64 got a 9.4 in 1996, Super Mario Sunshine, the black sheep of 3D Mario games, got an 8 in 2002. Our sister site, GameSpot, reviewed them all favorably when they were first released. Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a $60 collection for the Nintendo Switch, features three of the most lauded 3D Mario titles of all time. Nintendo's new Super Mario game, which is out now, isn't really a new Super Mario game at all. Mario is so persistent across my 31 years that I have, worryingly, dreamed of his mustache on other people's faces.