The rumors have become a reality; classic 3D Mario games are coming to the Nintendo Switch in the form of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
3D All-Stars will feature Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy all in one package. Each game will feature improved resolution, Joy-Con controls and the full soundtrack that can be browsed at any time.
The game will only be available for a limited time, running from September 18th 2020 until March 31st, 2021. This has received some criticism, with many people accusing Nintendo of needlessly exploiting nostalgia and fear of missing out for this highly anticipated title.
It didn’t take long for the reveal trailer to get the speedrunning community going either; players were quick to point out that the version of Super Mario 64 in 3D All-Stars may have removed one of the biggest techniques in Super Mario 64 speedrunning.
The backwards long jump (BLJ) is one of the staple tools for the lower Star categories in Super Mario 64. However, the 3D All-Stars version of the game may be using the Shindou edition of the game, which patched out several glitches including the BLJ when they added Rumble Pak support.
Players were able to point this out because in the Nintendo Direct showcasing the games, Mario says “Bye-bye!” when tossing Bowser when he usually says “So long-a Bowser!” The Shindou edition of the game was the only version to include this dialogue option.
However, it’s still up in the air as to what the game will actually play like, and regardless of if BLJ is patched out or not, speedrunners will likely just separate the Switch version of Super Mario 64 into a separate category like they did with the Virtual Console and Nintendo 64 versions.
On top of the three games announced in 3D All-Stars, Nintendo also revealed a host of other goodies to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario, including a competitive version of the original Super Mario Bros. that has 35 players playing the game at the same time, a release of Super Mario All-Stars from the Super Nintendo and an updated version of Super Mario 3D World with additional content, which will be released on February 21st 2021.
For more details on Super Mario 3D All-Stars, be sure to check out the official website.