Super Mario 3D All-Stars (RIP)

[Dcubed]

Wii Remote & Nunchuck support for Mario Galaxy when Nintendo?

[MindFreak]

16 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Wii Remote & Nunchuck support for Mario Galaxy when Nintendo?

Switch Online Super Expansion Pack Plus+ 

Edited November 4, 2021 by MindFreak

[Sheikah]

This game is getting an update so you can use the N64 controller on Mario 64:
 
 

Nice, no doubt this game will now shift a few more copies.

Oh wait...

[bob]

Of all the bizarre Nintendo decisions over the last few years, this one is perhaps the most mindboggling.

Why put a time limit on the sale of your game? Fair enough for a physical release, but it literally costs you nothing to keep selling the digital version?!

[Julius]

So, I've been playing Super Mario Galaxy for the first time over the last week or so. I'm 82 Stars in, putting off pummelling Bowser because I want to get as many Stars as I can before that point, and though I do want to sit down at some point once I finish the game and write my thoughts out a bit more deliberately, I'm really chomping at the bit to talk about it, even if only a little, so here we are  I've just unlocked what I think is the final room, and I've had access to Trial Stars since I got to 50 Stars but am leaving them for last. 

In short: I'm absolutely loving it. There's definitely a focus here on level design over character movement, which I'd argue is what Super Mario 64 was built on (based on the camera placement and just general gameplay), which I've really enjoyed getting the hang of. Really love the races in particular, those have been a blast, not to mention the Speedy Comet levels! The different power-ups have been greatly varied and really change up the style of play with the different abilities made available to you through them, and I've loved seeing some power-ups from the 2D games thrown in; I always found it odd that in the very little I've played of Odyssey and what I played of 64 that they never really made proper use of Fire Flowers, etc., yet here they are! My favourite move, the Long Jump, is in too, so I've been very happy just leaping nonstop through the air  speaking of power-ups though, I was in awe of the most recent one I got access to, and I'm pretty amazed I never got it spoiled for me.

Spoiler

The Red Star to fly? Holy mushrooms that's awesome! And it also lets you reset the camera position, but I'll get back to that. 

Hands down, and I can say this with confidence with a good while still go: this is my favourite Mario game when it comes to characters, bosses and (weirdly enough) the story.

Pretty much every level I go to, there's just a vibe which is matched perfectly by it's inhabitants. I had no idea a certain Captain would be in this game, so him and his brigade have been making me chuckle throughout the entire game, either when Captain Toad talks big but always end up backing down, or when seeing them saying hilarious things over in the levels. I've had Treasure Tracker on my shelf for a little while, but this game has bumped it up the pecking order. Then you've got Luigi, getting lost in his attempts to help his brother get some more Stars, sending postcards over to be saved. There's a Boo who races you with a helmet. Cosmic Mario is an asshole. The penguins give you grief over your age. What is not to love about the characters in this game? They're absolutely oozing charm. 

As for the bosses, they just seem more memorable to me than what I've experienced in other Mario games so far, apart from maybe the moles. The moles suck. But Kaliente wanting to play high-stakes tennis on a lava planet? Sign me up! 

And then yeah, the story. Rosalina grabs her storybook out for the Lumas every now and then (is it every room? I'm not quite sure), and just learning her story and the story of the Lumas is way, waaaaaaaay more touching than I was expecting. And the art in the storybook is just top tier stuff, it instinctively makes you nostalgic for the kind of books your parents read to you before tucking you in growing up. 

And then there's the hub, and sorry, but I prefer it to Peach's Castle in 64 (maybe I should hide this post ). Just seeing it all open up and having more characters and Lumas come in as you get more Stars and get through more of the galaxies, all while so much of it is visible from wherever you stand on the ground floor, really fleshes the place out.

Which actually brings me onto the music, because again, it's awesome. I won't sit down and go through the soundtrack until I've finished the game, but I think it's pretty easily my favourite Mario soundtrack at this point. For now I've just got to say what everyone's who has already played the game will know:

Comet Observatory is immediately a contender to be a favourite video game track. There's the way it builds; the way there size of the ensemble grows the further you get into the game which turns it from a whimsical bedtime jingle to an orchestra plucking at every heartstring; the way it perfectly suits wandering and circling around the Observatory, stepping into galaxies unknown. Perfection. 

Unfortunately, and not for the first time, I have to complain about the camera. It boggles my mind that they're still using the multiple fixed camera angles from 64, and it's genuinely a bit maddening here. I've lost count of the times I can't really see what I'm doing, or where the angle at which I'm jumping changes because the camera is circling the platforms I'm speeding through leaving me flying off at an angle which throws me into a black hole. If they ever make a Super Mario Galaxy 3 or port over 2 (assuming they didn't fix this in 2), I'm praying that you get a fully controllable camera. To be clear, I'm totally fine with the world and not Mario being the point the camera centres on, but when you can run all the way around a sphere, I can't believe that you can't follow that with the camera. 

Should probably also mention that I'm playing this docked with the Joy-Cons, and it's a lot better than I was hoping for. Missed a few Star Bits here and there when the pointer has jumped over the screen at times, but just tapping R to immediately calibrate the pointer to the centre of the screen has been good. Now, if only the Joy-Cons were as comfortable in the hand as the Pro Controller 

[Glen-i]

Mario Galaxy really is one of the finest Mario games ever. But you have to remember, it was designed for the WiiMote/Nunchuk setup, so the camera being more fixed was because of the lack of a second stick.

You know what's even madder though? Galaxy 2 is better. Well, except for the story aspect. It's not better there. But everything else? Hoo boy! That music they use for Speedy Comets in Galaxy 2 is amazing!

But anyway, back to the first Galaxy. The Storybook is what most people remember. (There's a reason Rosalina became popular and started appearing in everything) That second last chapter is surprisingly heartbreaking! It's a simple, but powerful story.

Which brings me to Mario Kart 8 which, while great, will always annoy me because they decided to make an alternative playable Rosalina that wasn't a younger version based on that storybook. 

Instead we got another character based off of Baby Peach. What a wasted opportunity!

EDIT: BTW, you do realise Galaxy on Switch supports the Pro Controller, right? I played it with that, and it works fine.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

Pro tip, you never actually need to adjust the camera at all in SMG.  If you do mess with the camera? You’ll just make things more difficult for yourself.  The autocamera always gives you the best view of the action; as the game was never designed to require the camera to be player adjusted at any time (the camera controls were only originally put in to placate the “core gamers” who complained that Nintendo were “selling out” to the “casuals”).

Just leave the camera alone and you’ll have a much better time with the game.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Dcubed

[Julius]

7 hours ago, Glen-i said:

But you have to remember, it was designed for the WiiMote/Nunchuk setup, so the camera being more fixed was because of the lack of a second stick. 

Oh yeah, I know, I've actually been thinking about that since I started the game. To be clear, I don't have a problem that this was the solution they had back on the Wii (it makes sense, and I can totally imagine using the D-pad on the Wiimote to move the camera in fixed points), pretty sure I played a few other games that had that solution back on the Wii too. But pretty much like I said last year when I played 64, I think they could have considered the option of adding a fully controllable camera for this collection, as it would have helped modernise the game and, to an extent, future proof it. 

7 hours ago, Glen-i said:

BTW, you do realise Galaxy on Switch supports the Pro Controller, right? I played it with that, and it works fine.

Yeah I'm aware, wasn't a huge fan of how the motion controls felt for the point. I tried both the pair of Joy-Cons and the Pro Controller in a couple of levels each back at the start, and while the controller feels like heaven, waggling it about to collect Star Bits just didn't feel right to me having to keep it pretty steady and aimed forwards, especially if I tried to do it while traversing a course. 

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

Pro tip, you never actually need to adjust the camera at all in SMG.  If you do mess with the camera? You’ll just make things more difficult for yourself.  The autocamera always gives you the best view of the action; as the game was never designed to require the camera to be player adjusted at any time (the camera controls were only originally put in to placate the “core gamers” who complained that Nintendo were “selling out” to the “casuals”).

Just leave the camera alone and you’ll have a much better time with the game.

I want to say that maybe I've been unlucky with the camera, but I'm 82 Stars in, and so in my experience with the game I have to disagree.

I'd actually say that, on the whole, it's worse than what I experienced with 64's camera, because at least that game is mainly dealing with hard, square edges, whereas here almost every level has a sphere or something for you to run around the edges of; the camera feels designed around linear spaces (where for the most part it excels, similar to how 64 had spaces where the camera organically followed you and didn't get in the way, such as when racing up Tall, Tall Mountain), such as Mario 64-esque levels or on flat surfaces where you're mostly speeding and jumping across, or on the spheres where the camera does follow you around the whole thing, but the abundance of objects you have to move around without it following you is where I think most of my issues with it lie.

I guess this issue is also combined with the controls to an extent, so maybe wanting a controllable camera comes from wanting to avoid this: once you pass a certain point when running around an object with this fixed camera, trying to move "up" becomes "down", and vice versa, and when it switches I find myself needing to adjust Mario as he runs in circles two or three times at certain points on these objects. The auto-camera might adjust to an extent, but it also depends on where on a sphere or object you have moved from, as there have been multiple times where lining up a jump where my viewing angle has been terrible, so I've run around a sphere the other way and the camera lined up in a way which was a bit more generous. I think a controllable camera would absolutely fix this issue. 

It's functional at best and a bit of a nightmare at its worst, with a good amount of the lives I've lost playing this game so far being down to the camera giving me a hard time. This isn't me making excuses, especially considering just how quickly you can get through a level, but it's been very noticeable when that's been the case. I've still got 38 Stars to go, and I don't want to make it seem like I hate this game because of it (rather, I love it in spite of it), but so far this is my only genuine criticism of the game that I wish they'd put some time into adding other options in for, even if not in the original game. 

Heck, I've even loved being booted out of levels, because even though the galaxy might be the same, they do so much to change the level layout in terms of enemies, obstacles, what's accessible, etc., that it's constantly giving you a fresh experience. 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Julius

[EEVILMURRAY]

10 hours ago, Julius said:

I've had Treasure Tracker on my shelf for a little while, but this game has bumped it up the pecking order.

To the top naaaow

[Julius]

Finished getting all 120 Stars late last night 

Is Mario telling me to get some shuteye? 

Before anyone says it: I know you can go through again with Luigi for another 120 Stars, and then get a bonus level, but I'm good (for now) 

Those Purple Comets really went all over the place in terms of difficulty, ranging from beating them on my first attempt, to in a handful of attempts, to (in the case of Battlerock Galaxy, which of course was the last Star I needed!) 10+ attempts. I'll admit that one was a bit of a pain as that was the only Purple Comet where I felt that my issues with the camera really came up. 

Man, what a game. Best in class soundtrack; phenomenal level design; great level variety; awesome sense of movement (it was fun once again really having to get to grips with Mario's more advanced techniques); easily the most charming cast of characters I've encountered of the few Mario games I've played (Boos, Toads, penguin dudes); great and fun boss fights; a wonderful hub; and that goosebump-inducing hub theme. Favourite level off the top of my head was probably Matter Splatter Galaxy, I really hope the mechanics of that level turn back up in 2 somewhere. 

The only real wrinkle is what I said before about the camera, though I probably gave the impression before that it's a nonstop issue. It's not, it's an issue that only crops up sometimes, but when it does, I think can be a lot worse than some of the camera fighting you have to deal with in 64. 

That being said, it didn't actively take away from my enjoyment of the game in most cases, rather, I think it's the one thing I picked up on that could be improved to actively make the game a better overall experience. I still had an absolute blast! 

I think @EEVILMURRAY is going to be glad because Captain Toad is going to be on my radar before getting back to another 3D Mario, which will be me deciding whether to finish the collection and play Sunshine (I want to pick up a GameCube controller for when I do!), or to go and play Galaxy 2, for which @Glen-i (and, well, playing Galaxy) has set a very high bar.

Either way, I'm looking forward to the next time I play the role of an Italian plumber with a spring in his step 

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 16/11/2021 at 1:00 PM, Julius said:

 

I think @EEVILMURRAY is going to be glad because Captain Toad is going to be on my radar before getting back to another 3D Mario, which will be me deciding whether to finish the collection and play Sunshine (I want to pick up a GameCube controller for when I do!), or to go and play Galaxy 2, for which @Glen-i (and, well, playing Galaxy) has set a very high bar.

Either way, I'm looking forward to the next time I play the role of an Italian plumber with a spring in his step 

REPORT. O_O

[Hero-of-Time]

I had yet to play through Mario Sunshine and so decided to do so during the Summer.

This was the first time playing it since back in the GameCube days. It wasn't as tough as I remember it being but it also wasn't much fun either. For me, it's easily the worst 3D Mario game.

I know this collection of games seemed to be ports that were quickly knocked out and it's a shame that was the case. A lot of the issues could have been sorted out had some care and attention been given to Sunshine but instead we were left with pretty much the same game, warts and all.

What was pretty striking when playing through it again was just how much filler is in the game. The Blue Coins were certainly put in there just to pad out what is a pretty shortish experience anyway. Then there's things like the chasing sections of Shadow Mario which offer little more other than to stretch out the game.

Yoshi's implementation still annoyed me to no end, especially that Shine that requires you to travel on the boats to the pipe that leads to the river/leaf stage. I think this was the last Shine I nabbed. Again, easier than I remember but still a slog to get to. 

The game really needs a good update or remaster to bring it up to scratch. It's funny, you look at both this and Wind Waker, two of Nintendo's biggest franchises, and both were pushed out the door before really being ready. Nintendo were certainly in panic mode back then. Wind Waker fared better than Sunshine but I often wonder what we would have got had the games been given more time in development.

[drahkon]

31 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

For me, it's easily the worst 3D Mario game.

Second worst for me. Super Mario 3D World is worse

31 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

A lot of the issues could have been sorted out had some care and attention been given to Sunshine but instead we were left with pretty much the same game, warts and all.

Yeah, it's a terrible collection. Almost no effort was put into what should've been a celebration.

You bumping this thread reminds me: I still have two sealed copies lying around (thanks to Amazon fucking up my order back then). They go for ~120€ on ebay these days. I think I'll hold on to them for a while

[darksnowman]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

It's funny, you look at both this and Wind Waker, two of Nintendo's biggest franchises, and both were pushed out the door before really being ready. Nintendo were certainly in panic mode back then. 

Totally. This seems to get forgotten a lot. Since the GameCube didn't launch with Mario, you'd think they were polishing Sunshine up but nope. Filling it out with invisible coins was madness. I always wonder what could have been with Wind Waker, too, as I don't consider it a top Zelda because the cuts are so blatant.

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

Second worst for me. Super Mario 3D World is worse

Yeah, it's a terrible collection. Almost no effort was put into what should've been a celebration.

Admittedly, I haven't played Sunshine since the GameCube, so it's hard to honestly say which is worse (Sunshine could be worse than I remember even though I enjoyed playing it to not-100% completion at the time) but I just did not get on at all with 3D World—and I was glad of the opportunity to catch up with it on the Switch! I would prefer to not even consider it part of a Mario series ranking. At least it makes for a fun theme in Mario Maker.

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

You bumping this thread reminds me: I still have two sealed copies lying around (thanks to Amazon fucking up my order back then). They go for ~120€ on ebay these days. I think I'll hold on to them for a while

I'll take one for a fraction of that!

[Ashley]

2 hours ago, drahkon said:

Second worst for me. Super Mario 3D World is worse

In fairness that's not really a 3D game.

[Dcubed]

16 minutes ago, Ashley said:

In fairness that's not really a 3D game.

So I guess that means it should just be called Super Mario World then? Oh, wait…

Edited November 7, 2023 by Dcubed

[Ashley]

Super Mario 2D⅓ World