Oh, yeah! Super Mario All-Stars. sigh; This, my friend is where its at. What more could you want? Four awsome NES games rolled into one classic SNES cartridge.
For those of us without a NES (Ihave been ruduced to playing it at my pal John Greenan's house), we can at long last play these wonderful games at home!
The Introduction:
My last review (Comix Zone) was rather pointless, since nobody ever heard of the darn game. Mario All-Stars is different. I highly doubt that anyone has not heard of it. Well, I made a really short introduction this time around, cause this is and EXTREMELY long review.
This review was created while listening to the classic Mario underground music! Now, a seperate review for each game.
Super Mario Brothers: 7.7/10 (I can't badmouth a classic)
Story: 8/10
As good as a Mario story can get! King Bowser decided to invade a little town known as Mushroom Kingdom. He turned everyone into various rocks, mushrooms, and other inanimate objects. If that weren't enough, he kidnapped a lot of Toads, and the local princess, Toadstool! It's up to Mario and Luigi to save everyone, make things right again, and defeat Bowser! Tough job these plumbers have...
Graphics: 8/10
Yep, the graphics have been improved over the original. They now look pretty good!
Music and Sound: 8/10
The music is pretty good, although there is very little variety with the music. The ''neh neh neh nuh neh NEH!'' in the uperground levels. The classic underground music in the underground worlds. The underwater music in the underwater worlds. The creepy music inside castles. Ho-hum. Actually, all four themes are pretty good, but a few more tunes would have been very nice indeedy. The sound is quite basic too. The ''boing'' when Mario/Luigi jumps. The ''stomp'' when hitting a Koopa shell. The ''FFFFF'' when a fireball is thrown. There are a lot more sound though, all of them unique to any Mario game...
Control: 9/10
If your not satisfied with the control, then Mario All Stars has a feature. You can simply switch the buttons around to your hearts desire! When you get, or if you have the game, here is my recommendation: A: Jump,
B: Jump, Y: Acceleration, X: Acceleration. Then, control should be a breeze.
Gameplay: 9/10
Your average-basic-fun-side-scroller-clear-all-the-levels-game. That pretty much covers it. There are eight worlds total, four levels each time. The last level is always a castle, in each one, you work your way through an extra tough maze, and fight Bowser! Bowser always manages to escape though, and you never truly defeat him till the end.
Challenge: 9/10
This is a very, very hard game. There are plenty of obstacles, enemies and pits to overcome. You will be swept of your feet by how long it will take you to win this game (without using shortcuts, I never cheat). As a matter of fact, I just bet the game yesterday, and I'm writing this review to celebrate.
Originality: 8/10
I wonder, was there another side scroller before this came out? I am only a little past 14 years old, so I don't remember. If I ever find out, I will rush right back here, and update the originality section. If there was, than I will give it a six. If there wasn't, I will give it a 10...
***END OF THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS REVIEW***
Super Mario Brothers 2: 8.5 (The second most fun game)
Story: 9/10
Better than the original story, with Toadstool getting captured and all. Mario has a weird dream, where he heres voices calling out to him, to save them from an evil individual called ''Wart.'' The next day, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool all went for a picnic. While they were on there way, Mario informed the others of his weird dream, just in case it was of any signifigance at all. At the picnic area, they spotted a strange cave with a door. When they opened the door, they saw a strange land called ''Subcon'' spread out before there very eyes...
Graphics: 8/10
Theres something...different about the graphics more than other games of this genre, but I just can't put my finger on it. Hmm...
Music and Sound: 9/10
The regular theme is quite catchy. You will find yourself humming along! I like the boss themes. While not exactly intense, which is the way I like boss themes by the way. But that is more than I can say for the Wart theme. It is not exactly of the ''race your heart like mad'' persuasion, but it's still quite good, considering that this an early Nintendo game. As for the sound, you can easily learn to like that. It is still quite basic, like the sound you make pulling up vegetables, and the sound when you are climbing up vines. Have fun!
Control: 9/10
If your not satisfied with the control, then Mario All Stars has a feature. You can simply switch the buttons around to your hearts desire! When you get, or if you have the game, here is my recommendation: A: Jump,
B: Jump, Y: Acceleration, X: Acceleration. Then, control should be a breeze.
Gameplay: 9/10
Still rather basic, but has a bit more variety than before. First off, at the beginning of each go, you wil be able to choose the character you want to use, there is a variety of either Mario, Luigi, Toad, or Toadstool. The characters all have different powers (Toadstool can float, Toad can run fast, etc.). You don't defeat enemies simply by jumping on them. You must pull up vegetables from the ground, and use them as ammo against your enemies. There are also potion scattered around, and they will lead into a strange feature, unique to this game. It is a strange place called Sub-space, and you can earn extremly rare items in there. They are quite helpful, and will defenetly increase your chances of beating the level you are currently in. At the end of each level is Birdo, whom you must defeat to advance in the game. There is also a major boss at the end of each world, who is quite a little toughie. My only complaint is that the game end rather suddenly. You fight Wart on rather short notice, in the middle of world seven. For some reason, this kind of ticks me off.
Challenge: 7/10
While still a rather difficult game, it is not as challenging as all the other games in All Stars. It is shortest of all of them, but this game is fun, and thats all that matters.
Originality: 7/10
Well folks, it IS called Super Mario Bros. 2, so it is not all original. So, we will end this part of the review on that vague little sentence.
***END OF THE SUPER BROTHERS 2 REVIEW***
Super Mario Brothers 3: 9.7 (My favorite of the four)
Story: 8/10
Jeez, I didn't realize that the Super Mario stories had so much variety in the good ol' days. The Mushroom Kingdom itself is quite peaceful, thanks to our friends the Mario Brothers. But, the Mushroom Kingdom forms a gateway to the Mushroom World, that Bowser has invaded. His seven children are also making mischief, stealing the magic wand from each of the seven countries. Its up to Mario and Luigi to defeat Bowser's children, recover the magic wand, and confront Bowser in his own country. But Bowser just might have a trick or two up his sleeve, such as raising the stakes a bit, by kiddnapping a certain Princess maybe? No, its not a surprise plot, he always captures the Princess!
Graphics: 9/10
Quite good and...
Music and Sound: 9/10
Not exactly thrilling, but it is still very good. The music that plays while you are in the bonus cloud levels will fill you with peace. The sound is...um...good.
Control: 9/10
If your not satisfied with the control, then Mario All Stars has a feature. You can simply switch the buttons around to your hearts desire! When you get, or if you have the game, here is my recommendation: A: Jump,
B: Jump, Y: Acceleration, X: Acceleration. Then, control should be a breeze.
Gameplay: 10/10
Whoo-hoo! I cannot begin to describe just how much fun this game is! Sure, it may seem like your average side scroller on the surface, but there is something much much more that I just can't put my finger on. Anyway, you make your way through the eight worlds. Along the way, there are lots of little secrets to discover. In the middle of each world, there is a fortress to penetrate, where you must defeat a character named Boom-Boom. You will never truly beat this guy till the very end though. Should you actually reach the end of the world in one piece, you will discover the king of the country, in a hideous form! That's when one of Bowsers children will show up, whom you must defeat. You must get through all of the worlds to get to Bowser's castle, and confront him to rescue you-know-who.
Challenge: 8/10
Hard, but not mind boggling difficult, it is at just the right difficulty level for a Mario game. I just wish all the bosses, even Bowser could have been a LOT harder.
Originality: 6/10
The originality decreases even more due to the fact that this is Super Mario Bros. 3. I can also think of a lot of non Mario games that are like this.
***END OF SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 3 REVIEW***
Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels: 7.1 (Despite the cool title, the difficulty takes away some of the fun)
Disclaimer: Some of this review is footage from the previous Super Mario Brothers reveiw, so feel free to skip those sections.
Story: 8/10
As good as a Mario story can get! King Bowser decided to invade a little town known as Mushroom Kingdom. He turned everyone into various rocks, mushrooms, and other inanimate objects. If that weren't enough, he kidnapped a lot of Toads, and the local princess, Toadstool! It's up to Mario and Luigi to save everyone, make things right again, and defeat Bowser! Tough job these plumbers have...
Graphics: 8/10
Yep, the graphics have been improved over the original Lost Levels. They now look pretty good!
Music and Sound: 8/10
The music is pretty good, although there is very little variety with the music. The ''neh neh neh nuh neh NEH!'' in the uperground levels. The classic underground music in the underground worlds. The underwater music in the underwater worlds. The creepy music inside castles. Ho-hum. Actually, all four themes are pretty good, but a few more tunes would have been very nice indeedy. The sound is quite basic too. The ''boing'' when Mario/Luigi jumps. The ''stomp'' when hitting a Koopa shell. The ''FFFFF'' when a fireball is thrown. There are a lot more sound though, all of them unique to any Mario game...
Control: 9/10
If your not satisfied with the control, then Mario All Stars has a feature. You can simply switch the buttons around to your hearts desire! When you get, or if you have the game, here is my recommendation: A: Jump,
B: Jump, Y: Acceleration, X: Acceleration. Then, control should be a breeze.
Gameplay: 7/10
Points are marked down due to the incredible difficulty level. It works the same as the Super Mario Brothers game, with Bowser at the end of each world and all, but all the level layouts have been altered.
**********
Difficulty: ***!!/10****
**********
WOOP! WOOP! (confetti is throw everywhere). That there ladies and gentlemen, is a rare thing that you will find in my reviews. It signifies that something has totally, utterly skyrocketed! This game is SOOOOO hard, it will simply take you forever to finish! I am only partway through world seven! Yipes! But its fun difficult, not frustrating difficult.
Originality: 0/10
Okay. This is the Japanese version of Super Mario Brothers 2. IT HAS NO ORIGINALITY WHAT SO EVER!! Period.
***End of Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels Review***
***Overall***
Replay Value: 10/10
How long is it going to take you to finish these four games? A very long time, you can bet on that...
Buy or Rent? If you haven't played any of these games, I would strongly suggest a buy. If you have played one or more, but not all of the games, I would suggest a rent and take it from there. If you have played all of these games, and mastered them all, I would not recommend this game at all.
The Final Words:
Big list this time...
Super Mario Brothers
Story: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Music and Sound: 8/10
Control: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Difficulty: 9/10
Originality: 8/10
Overall: 7.7/10
Super Mario Brothers 2
Story: 9/10
Graphics: 8/10
Music and Sound: 9/10
Control: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Difficulty: 7/10
Originality: 7/10
Overall: 8.5
Super Mario Brothers 3
Story: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music and Sound: 9/10
Control: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Difficulty: 8/10
Originality: 6/10
Overall: 9.7
Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels
Story: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Music and Sound: 8/10
Control: 9/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Difficulty: !!/10
Originality: 0/10
Overall: 7.1
Overall
Replay Value: 10/10
Final Score: 9/10
Okay, before go, you probably expect me to give the person who made the review with a 5/10 heck. Well, I won't. His reasons were quite accurate. That's also his opinion.
Whew, that's my longest review yet! I am glad its done and you are too.
