After months of rumors, Nintendo has finally confirmed that it is releasing a bundle of remakes of some of Mario’s greatest 3D adventures. The compilation includes new versions of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. And it is launching for the Switch on September 18. Nintendo will release a limited physical version to retail, but it also said that the digital version will only be available through the end of March.
These remasters have a higher resolution than the original. Nintendo also optimized them to run well on Switch. This is important, because games like Galaxy require motion controls (being a Wii release).
Remasters are all the rage these days, and other 3D platforming series like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro have created big hits by modernizing their classic games. And when it comes to 3D platformers, no other franchise has more prestige than Mario.
That’s because Super Mario 64 pretty much invented the genre in 1996. The Nintendo 64 launch game introduced many players to concepts like analog controls and an adjustable camera. It is one of the most influential and important games of all time.
Super Mario Sunshine, which debuted on GameCube in 2002, doesn’t get as much love from Nintendo fans. The first sequel to Super Mario 64 gave the plumber a new water backpack tool for hovering and shooting. While some players didn’t enjoy the new features, Sunshine is still a fantastic (and colorful) 3D platformer in its own right.
And then we have Super Mario Galaxy, which released for Wii in 2007. Galaxy is a bit more linear than its predecessors, but it has imaginative level design focused on exploring small planetoids, each with their own gravity fields.
Super Mario Galaxy 2, which came out for Wii in 2010, is sadly not part of the compilation.
