Super Mario 3D All-Stars is missing one of the Wii's greatest games
This is a big celebration, but should it be bigger?
Following rumors from earlier this year, Nintendo officially unveiled Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection of three beloved 3D Mario games that'll be available later in September: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.
While this game and all of the other reveals for Mario's 35th anniversary — like an AR Mario Kart game for Nintendo Switch — will make the next six months very exciting for Mario fans, we can't help but notice that one of the best Mario games of all time is somehow missing from the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection.
Where is Super Mario Galaxy 2?
The Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection was the final announcement in a themed Mario 35th anniversary Nintendo Direct that aired Thursday. This collection, out September 18, includes Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy at higher resolutions than the original versions. It will also include a music player that people can listen to even when their Switch is off.
The game will only be available for a limited time too, as you'll only be able to get it digitally and physically until March 31, 2021. While this whole package is a treat for Mario fans who have waited for games like Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy to be re-released, it's a bit surprising — and disappointing — that Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not included.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 was first released for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, and while it's not talked about as much as classics like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Odyssey, it easily stands toe-to-toe with the best in the series. It improves upon the controls and formula of the first Galaxy (which is included in Super Mario 3D All-Stars) in almost every way and features some of the most creative level design in the series.
Particularly memorable levels include Puzzle Plank Galaxy, where Mario has to platform around buzzsaws that are cutting off parts of the level, and the Starshine Beach Galaxy, which aptly channels Super Mario Sunshine in more open-ended levels. It's peak level-based 3D Mario, one of the single best games on the Wii, and is honestly up there with the best Mario games of all time.
As such, its absence of Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a loss for players and a missed opportunity for Nintendo. Anyone who does want to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 again will have to do so on the original Wii or, even better, the Wii U. We'll all have plenty of fun Mario games to play in the coming months. It's just too bad that Galaxy 2 won't be one of them.
Outside of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Nintendo will also release Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, an AR racing game where players race with physical RC karts; a Game & Watch that includes Super Mario Bros. and The Lost Levels; a battle royale game called Super Mario 35; a Super Mario 3D World port; and the SNES' Super Mario All-Stars via Nintendo Switch Online.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars will be released on September 18, 2020.
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