Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
The rumor mill is running around Nintendo and their plans for the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Word going around is that Nintendo may be considering remastering a wealth of the Mario backlog for play on the Nintendo Switch. From the early days of Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 3 to the more portable Super Mario Land 2 6 Golden Coins all the way up to the more recent, but still dated, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, everything seems to be on the table.
So we had to ask for this week’s Shack Chat: Which game in the extensive history of Mario would you want to most see remastered for play on the Nintendo Switch?
My favorite 3D Mario title is Sunshine, and I would love to be able to play a detailed remaster of the game. Many argue that most of the modern 3D platformers borrow level design ideas born from Super Mario Sunshine. The game also gives Mario a jetpack, which sets it above most other games, in my opinion. And those secret levels with the acapella Mario music? *Chef’s kiss*
I have a personal stake in this one, seeing how this is my all-time favorite game and the one that introduced me to the RPG genre. More than that, it showed me that the Mushroom Kingdom can be home to much deeper stories with full casts of colorful characters, not just from Mario's world, but from beyond. On top of all of that, Super Mario RPG was a historic moment, the very first time that players saw Bowser as a good guy. Not only that, it was the first time that the Princess (months away from being redubbed "Peach") would go from her typical damsel role into a playable (and arguably, the most valuable) character.
It also marks the first and only collaboration between Nintendo and Square. The guys who made Final Fantasy a household name would move over to Sony and introduce wholly different iconic characters like Cloud Strife and Squall Leonheart to the PlayStation, while Nintendo would apply the lessons from this RPG to the Mario & Luigi series that would grace the publisher's future handheld systems.
There is so much love for Super Mario RPG, whether it's in its easy and accessible turn-based combat, its endearing humor, or its unforgettable characters. Ask Twitter about Geno, whose one and only appearance comes in this 1996 classic. They'll tell you all about him. If Nintendo can re-craft Link's Awakening with a diorama style, try and convince the masses that a similar facelift couldn't rejuvenate Super Mario RPG.
Like many others, I would kill for Nintendo and Square to reunite for one of their greatest projects. I want to see this happen, whether it's for Mario's 35th anniversary this year, for Super Mario RPG's 25th anniversary next year, or whenever the two parties want to give the people what they want.
I know that variations of the original arcade classic have shown up in iterations of the Super Mario universe, but I feel like it doesn’t get as much love as it should. Considering it was the first time the Mario Bros. made the scene as siblings you’d think it would get a little more attention. If other single-screen classic games like Pac-Man can come into the 21st century with its electro-rave influenced Championship Edition, why can’t we get a Mario Bros. Champion Edition? Adding some updated graphics, a few new power-ups or mechanics, and we’d be good to go. If you’re listening, Nintendo, the ball is in your court.
Listen, I’ve always believed that Nintendo has been holding out on us. Over the years, the dedicated fans have deserved some things for their undying support of the Big N, yet the company always leaves us hanging. I’m talking about the lack of sequels to Kid Icarus, Blast Corps, or Ken Griffey Baseball. The company still hasn’t delivered on a non-embarrassing online service for their consoles after twenty-plus years of clamoring from the diehards.
This is why it shouldn’t be surprising that we never got a real sequel to Mario 64. Nintendo tried to dupe me by showing a tech demo that featured 128 Marios in the run up to the Gamecube release, but then never delivered. Why do they gotta blue-ball me, man? The Switch is a license to print money and Nintendo should make it up to me by giving me Mario 128.
There’s something quite alluring about Super Mario Sunshine, and it all begins in the title. Having “sunshine” used in the title leads me to think of something relaxing, tropical, and altogether pleasant. In this current climate, being able to live out a beach-side paradise is exactly what we all need.
While some might say there are better Mario games out there (and then go on to point at Galaxy), I can’t help but feel that the likes of Super Mario Sunshine is the perfect title to bring to the Nintendo Switch. It was the first disc-based Mario game available, and on a system that not nearly as many people adopted. There’s likely a whole host of players out there who never had the opportunity to clean up the world using FLUDD.
And if I can be greedy, I’d absolutely love to see Super Mario 64 brought over to the Switch as well. However, I do wonder whether it would be the original or the DS version.
I’d love a chance to play an upscaled version of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Switch. My dad still owns an NES and it’s one of his favorite games to play. Although the true magic of the Mario franchise is its timelessness, Mario Bros 3 could definitely benefit from a visual upgrade. A remaster of one of the best 2D Mario titles would be an excellent way to celebrate the series’ 35th anniversary.
I've been waiting for a remaster of Super Mario Galaxy since the Wii went out of vogue. I remember renting it and completing it while staying at my grandmother's house over the span of a week, and it was some of the most fun I had ever had. I got the sequel for my birthday and I tore into it like the first game as well. But by the time I wanted to get around to playing it again or showing anyone why I loved either game so much, the Wii was obsolete and I had put it away in my closet. It wasn't easy to get out and set back up. Having a version that I can easily share with friends that's as simple as purchasing off the eShop would be very useful, and a great reason to return to the series once more.
Without a doubt, the only Mario game I’m really interested in being remastered for Nintendo Switch is Super Mario Bros. from 1985. I know there have been ports and whatnot since, but I want the original game remastered for my Nintendo Switch Lite right now. This was one of the first games I ever played, and certainly the most important game I played growing up. Let me return to that game with a remastered version and 2020 can be considered not a total loss. And yes, I’m aware my image is from Super Mario Odyssey, but this is what I imagine my Mario will look like in Super Mario Bros. remastered for Nintendo Switch.
Super Mario 64 or just about any Mario game - Josh Hawkins, Guides Guy
The Nintendo 64 was one of the most influential gaming consoles of my early years, from spending hours playing through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, to the jaunt’s through Peach’s castle in Super Mario 64. No matter how much consoles advance in the coming years, the Nintendo 64 will always have a special place in my heart. That’s why I’d love to see Super Mario 64 remastered for the Nintendo Switch.
Being able to return to the world of Super Mario 64 in more mordernized graphics, on the Switch, would be a dream come true. Not only could I replay levels that I spent hours enjoying as a kid, but I could replay them in beautiful HD glory. Aside from that, I don’t know. I’d just love to see about any Mario game make the jump to Switch. It’s a beloved franchise – one that marked the start of my gaming life on the Super Nintendo – and I’d be down to play anything that Nintendo puts out in the series.
When I think about what I want to see in a remaster, I often think about where the most opportunity lies. Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy would be quite dope to be able to not only play on a new console, but also carry around with us wherever we want to play it on the Nintendo Switch. That said, those games are also very, very good as they are. There's very little I think anyone would want Nintendo to change about them.
That brings me to the Super Mario Game Boy games: Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2 6 Golden Coins. When Mario first became a portable thing, I remember it was a mind-blowing situation for my child brain to grasp. A Mario game to take with me wherever I want to go? Woah. That said, they also very different from the usual Mario games with their own very unique charm and I think that was also very cool about them. I'd like to see them remade fully. We're talking Metroid: Samus Returns remake treatment. This would especially be cool for 6 Golden Coins where you had strange things like the bunny hat, the boss battles that weren't the Koopalings for once, and the very first appearance of the one and only Wario.
I think Nintendo could create a lot of joy with any Mario remaster they chose to pursue, but I also think if we're talking about really creating something new, fun, and challenging in the Mario universe, the opportunity is greatest in the Super Mario Land games.
I have a thing for dark horses. Zelda 2, Dark Souls 2, Resident Evil 3 remake--if a franchise's community vastly prefers one game in its beloved series, I probably back another. I'm a contrarian that way: I don't expect sequels, spiritual or otherwise, to be copy-and-paste clones of their forerunners. That's why, until Super Mario 3D World rocked my three-dimensional world, Super Mario Sunshine was my jam.
Sunshine rolled in the best parts of Super Mario 64, and made them better. The camera was fully controllable. The platforming was more varied, especially those legendarily challenging bonus stages where the FLUDD water cannon was stripped from you by your doppelganger. And speaking of FLUDD, the addition of mechanics like hovering and soaring over open water were a blast (I couldn't resist).
Of all the Mario games rumored to be remastered on Nintendo Switch, this one tops my list.
This game is known as the black sleep of Mario games and I never understood why. It’s a great game with some great platforming and level design. I really don’t understand why Nintendo hasn’t re-released this game already. Do you not like money Nintendo? Just release all the Mario games already.
Nintendo has recently announced that certain Super Mario games in the franchise will be getting remastered for the Switch. I have grown up with Nintendo and Super Mario so any game in the series would be perfect. However, if I needed to pick one, I would go with one of my favorite games in the franchise, Super Mario 3.
Some argue that Mario 3 is the best game in the franchise so why wouldn’t Nintendo think about bringing one of the best games to the fans again. Nintendo knows a thing or two about nostalgia and Mario 3 brings that and more. It was the first time Mario fought the Koopalings as well as traversing the 8 lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. It would be interesting to see Mario wearing the Frog suit, the Tanooki suit or the Hammer Bros suit on the Switch. The game has some of the best music in the series and it would be neat to hear them, remixed on the Switch. I also have memories with Mario 3, as it was one of the first games I remember playing and beating by myself.
These are our most wanted Mario Remasters on the Nintendo Switch. What are yours? Check out the rumors going around about Nintendo remastering the Mario franchise and share which game in the long franchise you’d like to see remastered in the Shacknews Chatty comment section below!