I'll take the All-Stars version of all of them. I grew up with the NES but I find it hard to look at those games again.
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Super Mario All-Stars versus the original games - which do you prefer?
- Thread starter Why would you do that?
- Start date
Are the Advance versions just straight up ports of the Allstar versions or did they change anything?
I replay SMB3 every few years and I usually opt for either the All-Stars version or the GBA release.
I grew up with the NES SMB3, but I dig having the enhanced graphics and not having the right-hand scrolling visual glitches on modern TVs.
I grew up with the NES SMB3, but I dig having the enhanced graphics and not having the right-hand scrolling visual glitches on modern TVs.
If they rerelease All-Stars, give me the option to change the music between classic and remake version.
I'm giving it to the NES version of Mario 1 due to the brick physics.
Everything else, All-Stars. Even Lost Levels which has the same problem, but an actual save system.
SMB3 adds a bunch of levels through the eReader (which are all unlocked from the start on the Wii U Virtual Console version), but other than that I recall the core game being mostly the same as the All-Stars version with some minor tweaks here and there. Like all the other Advance ports it adds the obnoxious Charles Martinet sound clips but what can you do (besides mod it if you're playing on an emulator!).
Everything else, All-Stars. Even Lost Levels which has the same problem, but an actual save system.
The first Advance game, SMB2 is super different. Adds a scoring system, changes level layouts, new collectibles, that sort of thing.
SMB3 adds a bunch of levels through the eReader (which are all unlocked from the start on the Wii U Virtual Console version), but other than that I recall the core game being mostly the same as the All-Stars version with some minor tweaks here and there. Like all the other Advance ports it adds the obnoxious Charles Martinet sound clips but what can you do (besides mod it if you're playing on an emulator!).
I prefer the All-Stars versions. I played the NES originals first, but the updated SNES graphics are better to me.
They were mostly based on the All-Stars versions, but they did change/add some stuff on a per-game basis. I think the GBA version of World just lets you swap to Luigi, for an example.
Not to mention everyone's favorite additions:
I don't remember how the NES versions play, so the mechanic differences are lost on me.
I had them but at a certain point, it was just nothing but Mario all-stars.
I had them but at a certain point, it was just nothing but Mario all-stars.
I prefer the All Stars versions of everything except SMB3. That one sugar coated a lot of the aesthetic choices in the latter worlds, especially the last one.
Imagine actual underground levels having caves instead of stars simply unheard of. /s
beautiful
no
I'll take All-Stars versions of 3 any day. The Airship backgrounds and music alone puts it over the NES versions.
1 and 2 are better on All Stars. 3 is better on NES. I just like the Mario 3 aesthetic too much. It was my goto in Mario Maker.
All Stars SMB1 has some really pretty levels, particularly the snow and nighttime stages. And for 2, the allstars version is the only version of 2 I played as a child, so it's where my nostalgia lies.
All Stars SMB1 has some really pretty levels, particularly the snow and nighttime stages. And for 2, the allstars version is the only version of 2 I played as a child, so it's where my nostalgia lies.
vs.
Throw some scan-lines on it and it looks a thousands time better than the NES version. The SMB remake would have been better as well if they didn't muck up the physics when you hit a brick.
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SMB1 and TLL have messed up physics. In particular, going through a brick block when you break it, instead of bouncing back, is a really horrible change.
The graphical differences between SMB1 and TLL are lost. In fact the graphical changes are for the worst overall - in particular, turning the overworld into grassy plains instead of dry lands.
SMB2 and SMB3 have better physics but I just think the new graphics don't match the charm of the originals. In particular, changing World 8 in SMB3 from a monochrome world to a forest is a garbage change.
The graphical differences between SMB1 and TLL are lost. In fact the graphical changes are for the worst overall - in particular, turning the overworld into grassy plains instead of dry lands.
SMB2 and SMB3 have better physics but I just think the new graphics don't match the charm of the originals. In particular, changing World 8 in SMB3 from a monochrome world to a forest is a garbage change.
All Stars blew me away when it came out (and I was 13 years old), but I have to admit it didn't age well.
I like everything except maybe SMB1 and Lost Levels better in All-Stars.
SMB2 and 3 graphics are just too dated on the NES.
SMB2 and 3 graphics are just too dated on the NES.
vs.
Throw some scan-lines on it and it looks a thousands time better than the NES version. The SMB remake would have been better as well if they didn't muck up the physics when you hit a brick.
The visuals for the water levels are definitely better in All-Stars, but by making the water transparent it ruins the feeling of the Jaws-like shark fin poking out of the water hunting you down.
As for the other image, I genuinely prefer the original's flat "theater prop" aesthetic compared to the bulbous blocks in SMAS.
the All Stars versions:
SMB1: pretty much missed the mark completely, stylistically and with physics. yeah the physics are minor but you have to be 1:1 here, it's SMB1 we're talking about
SMB2: perfect fit for the 16-bit treatment. the one version i would say is definitive
SMB3: caught somewhere in between. the graphical flourishes are off-beat in places, work in others. still ultimately prefer the original but you can't go too wrong with this version either
SMB1: pretty much missed the mark completely, stylistically and with physics. yeah the physics are minor but you have to be 1:1 here, it's SMB1 we're talking about
SMB2: perfect fit for the 16-bit treatment. the one version i would say is definitive
SMB3: caught somewhere in between. the graphical flourishes are off-beat in places, work in others. still ultimately prefer the original but you can't go too wrong with this version either
Graphically in general the All-Stars versions looked better, but the NES ones played better, the All Stars ones aren't bad and one can easily get used to but yeah.
Note that in the All Stars version if in 8-1 you fly high you can see there're stars above the flora.
It's weird, because it's apparently super-easy to fix. (Hitting bricks has a "vacuum" effect that sucks Mario upward instead of knocking him down faster, IIRC.) It seems to be a bug, that they either never corrected, or just liked better that way.
I like most of the improvements to Mario 3, but hate that they got rid of the "Dark World" aesthetic at the end of the levels, and the things they did to the actual Dark World.
(From: https://themushroomkingdom.net/smb3_nes2smas.shtml )
It was so cool getting to the last world, and hitting a level almost entirely composed of that stark "line art" style, like this has been what Mario's been running toward all this time.
Note that in the All Stars version if in 8-1 you fly high you can see there're stars above the flora.
NES is so hard to go back to unlike SNES. The art styles for All Stars are better, IMO.
... I prefer the GBA versions, regardless.
... I prefer the GBA versions, regardless.
I think the thing is that the Super Mario Bros. 3 SMAS graphics look good, they're just not very respectful of the original style and tone. I'd forgotten about the ice cavern change.
It's not entirely related, but I hate how they greyed out the palette of SMW on GBA to try to combat the original's lack of backlight. They did it with SMB2 as well, but it was REALLY noticeable here.
Agh, forgot how bad the audio changes were, too.
It's not entirely related, but I hate how they greyed out the palette of SMW on GBA to try to combat the original's lack of backlight. They did it with SMB2 as well, but it was REALLY noticeable here.
Agh, forgot how bad the audio changes were, too.
Pretty sure the background isn't supposed to be interpreted as stars. The cave walls are sparkly with shiny gems and metallic ore.
Aye, it's more like crystal or stone. Which makes sense since lots of caves are limestone and granite.
There are dirt ones, too:
and ice:
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"Just what I needed!"
They also added some of the noises Link made in OoT to the GBA version of ALttP.
I much prefer the All Stars versions of SMB2 and SMB3 over the originals.
The physics bug in SMB1 and Lost Levels ruins those, however. I can never play them as well as I can the original versions.
The physics bug in SMB1 and Lost Levels ruins those, however. I can never play them as well as I can the original versions.
How do the Switch NES versions fit into all this? Are they 100% emulations of the NES versions + save states or have they been messed about with too?
While I prefer the NES versions, I don't hate the All-Stars versions of SMB2 USA and SMB3.
The less said about the All-Stars versions of SMB1 and SMB2 the better however.
The less said about the All-Stars versions of SMB1 and SMB2 the better however.