In June 2008, when I was at my friend’s birthday party, one of his gifts was Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. I, an impatient five-year-old, sat and watched him play this glorious game that sent our favorite plumber to space, set to a beautifully orchestrated score. It wasn’t until later that I was able to play this masterpiece on my own. This is my Super Mario story. And I, like many students and faculty at Fenwick, was able to relive or even create for the first time my own Mario stories with Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Nintendo Switch.

     Super Mario 3D All-Stars has been in the mind of Nintendo fans everywhere for months. This game’s existence was leaked to the public several months ago, but junior Tate Daniels was not believing it. “I had to see it to believe it,” he said. Many shared Tate’s opinion. In an early September video, however, the long-awaited and long-leaked game was finally announced. It is a re-release of Nintendo’s three most-popular 3D Mario games: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy.

     According to the IGN, each of these games has had its resolution ramped up, with the same graphics style as the original games. Mr. Wieckiewicz felt that this was not enough, saying that while “this is a very faithful rerelease of these games, there is so much more they could have done to make them more appealing to look at and play in 2020 for both new audiences and old.”

     Whether it be Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy or Mariokart Wii, many of us have a Super Mario story so ingrained into our lives that it brings back nothing but happy memories. Mr. Menich’s Mario story began one Christmas day. He fondly remembers the Super Mario games he’s played, saying that they “bring back fond memories of how excited I was to get them and how much fun I had playing them with my friends or siblings.” He is ecstatic to play these games again on the Nintendo Switch.

     Mr. Wieckiewicz has a similar view: “Some of Super Mario 64’s songs still get stuck in my head and remind me of watching my brother jump around and swim as Mario for the first time in 3D. As a 6-year-old, that was absolutely mind-blowing.”

     Tate Daniels, who experienced these games for the first time with this collection, said he “really enjoyed every game equally.” Additionally, Senior Brendan Carey felt that Galaxy’s HD revamp “Looks amazing. The game is nearly 13 years old and everything about it still holds up.”

     Super Mario 3D All-Stars acts as a faithful port that allows players both young and old to experience these fantastic titles for the first time. Whether you’re entering Peach’s castle in Super Mario 64, exploring the tropical vacation destination of Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine or traversing Rosalina’s Observatory in Super Mario Galaxy for the first or the thousandth time, there’s a lot new and old players can get out of this collection. The resolution is crisp; the gameplay smooth. The music is grand and exciting, and the games are spectacular, in spite of some dated controls. I would highly recommend Super Mario 3D All-Stars to any Nintendo fan who wants to relive childhood memories or make some new ones.