Super Mario 3D All Stars is Entirely Emulated

The announcement of Super Mario 3D All-Stars left many fans feeling excited and anxious to revisit three classic games. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are all incredible gaming experiences. For those who already played them, the joy of revisiting these worlds was nostalgia at its best. For others, this package to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. seemed like a great chance to try out some classic games.

The collection leaked online, however, and some fans are fairly disappointed. As it turns out, all three Super Mario 3D All-Stars titles are emulated. This means that the Switch is able to run an emulator that doesn’t necessarily require a complex engine. Rather, it depicts the games via ROM onto the Switch in a sort of projection-style method that doesn’t quite mean the games are remastered or even all that enhanced.

So, does that mean people will skip the collection? I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m certainly debating whether or not I should keep my pre-order. I own all three of these games on their original consoles, but I would really love to play them on the Switch. Then again, are three emulated games worth $60? All signs point to no in my brain. Some people agree, with many Reddit users explaining this counteracts the progress Nintendo made with the virtual console software offered on past consoles.

Everyone can decide for themselves if this is worth it or not but here are the facts. We’re being presented three emulated games with minimum upgrades for $60 and calling it a celebration of Mario. Its sort of the least amount of effort Nintendo could have put into a celebration like this. We’ll see if this revelation affects sales, but I can’t imagine many will care. Mario rules all in the gaming world.