Following the announcement of a Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 re-release for the Nintendo Switch, I take a look at some other remasters Mario fans are still waiting on.
With next month marking the 40th anniversary of the initial release of Super Mario Bros. in North America, yet another re-release is on its way with Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 coming to the Nintendo Switch.
The announcement is a toned-down celebration of the offerings from five years ago, when the series celebrated its 35th anniversary. For the 2020 occasion, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy were all re-released for the Switch as Super Mario 3D All-Stars, an ultimately underwhelming compilation that merely featured ports of the game as opposed to a more complete remake seen on the SNES Super Mario All-Stars.
Despite this, it has become an expectation among fans of Nintendo’s major series that the most iconic titles will continue to be remastered or re-released on updated hardware.
Since the 1993 release of Super Mario All-Stars pioneered video game remakes in many ways, the Mario series in particular has been a popular target for a steady stream of remasters and re-releases as every mainline title not in the New Super Mario Bros. series released prior to the Switch has been re-released in some form.
Yet even with plenty of remasters to already choose from within the Mario series alone, many fans, myself included, still feel like there are a few blind spots with Nintendo’s approach to what titles are worthy of a second go-around.
While I’ve mostly been satisfied with the titles Nintendo has remastered or re-released over the years, here’s a look at four possible remakes that myself and likely many other Mario fans would be ecstatic to play.
1. Mario Superstar Baseball Remastered (Originally released for GameCube, 2005)
Going down the rabbit hole of all the Mario spin-off games made over the years is bound to give anyone a headache, but if there’s one game outside of the Mario Kart series to make sure you experience, it is undoubtedly Mario Superstar Baseball.
Serving as Mario’s first encounter with baseball as well as a way to ensure a hit with both Japanese and American fans of the series, Mario Superstar Baseball provides plenty more than just a baseball sim themed after their favorite video game hero.
With a cast of Mario staples and relative newcomers such as Pianta and Monty Mole, players are given plenty of freedom and optimization with how to best craft their lineup and defense, the latter of which can be aided by having allied characters play in the field together (such as having Peach and Daisy play at third base and first base, respectively).
On top of a riveting multiplayer mode and a wide selection of minigames, the title also offers a great single-player mode that sees a team led by one of the game’s team captains (Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario) triumph over the other teams en route to defeating Bowser’s team to win the championship.
The single-player mode also allows players to improve each character by clearing a set of achievements that allows them to reach “superstar” status, improving all of their attributes when used in-game.
While this title was remarkably complete when I first played it upon its release in 2005, it’s dizzying to think of the possibilities with the game today. On a Switch or Switch 2 release, Mario Superstar Baseball could have thrilling online play and crisp 4K visuals while having plenty of room to add additional content such as more characters and stadiums.
Though it may not be remembered as the most recognizable Mario spin-off game, its dedicated cult following and impressive faithfulness to baseball while not cutting corners on any of the theming from the series makes it an excellent choice for a remaster.
2. New Super Mario Bros. All-Stars (Games released between 2006 and 2013 for DS, Wii, 3DS and Wii U)
Though it’s now easy to look back at the New Super Mario Bros. series as a group of similar 2D games that dominated a brief era of the Super Mario series, there remains plenty of charm to revisiting these games more than a decade later.
With the 2023 release of the 2D Super Mario Bros. Wonder signaling a true end to the New Super Mario Bros. series by introducing plenty of new themes and concepts, the New Super Mario Bros. games now stand as some of the more inaccessible in the series.
While New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U were both released for the Switch as New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe in 2019, the other three titles in the series remain officially playable exclusively on their original hardware.
This feels particularly surprising for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a game whose 2009 release was seen as a revitalization for the Wii around the midway point of its lifespan, with the blockbuster hit not seeing a re-release in the 16 years since.
Although there is certainly an argument to feeling like you can play one of the games in the series and essentially get the experience that all five (including New Super Luigi U) have to offer, unique power-ups from game-to-game help to give some feeling of differentiation between the titles.
A re-release of the five games on the Switch and Switch 2 could make the games accessible to a new generation of Mario fans, one that is somehow already too young to have been around for the heyday of the New Super Mario Bros. series. Although Wonder was an amazing change of pace that helped reinvent what 2D Mario games will look like, the direct line between the original 2D Super Mario titles and the New Super Mario Bros. games helped bring the series a sense of continuity that only aids its importance and relevance in the gaming world.
This remaster would include the following titles:
- New Super Mario Bros. (DS, 2006)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, 2009)
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS, 2012)
- New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U, 2012)
- New Super Luigi U (Wii U, 2013)
3. Full remaster of the original Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World with new features (Originally released for SNES, 1994)
Yes, you read that correctly. I’m advocating for a full remake of what was itself a full remake.
Particularly, I’d love to see updated, modern takes on the five games included in the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World release for the SNES in 1994.
While of course including updated graphics that would either take on the Wonder or New Super Mario Bros. style, these games can be made to feel new again with the addition of new collectibles.
Though the most obvious and surefire approach to this would be to add star coins to each level similar to what was done in the New Super Mario Bros. series, it’s fair to think that different concepts could be explored with that series appearing to be behind Nintendo when it comes to new releases.
While this also can take the form of the games being adapted into the style of Wonder with the addition of Wonder Flowers and purple coins, I’d also like to see what other unique ideas developers would have in store for adding just enough new items and characteristics to some of the most beloved video games of all-time.
Not only could a remaster such as this introduce new generations of players to the Mario games that got it all started, it can help bring a brand-new level of depth and experience to games that have been dissected and broken down to an unbelievable extent in the decades of their existence.
4. 3D remaster of Super Mario Kart (Originally released for SNES, 1992)
Underneath the seemingly endless pile of Mario spin-offs Nintendo has churned out over the years, none have proven to be more impactful than Super Mario Kart, the inaugural title in the Mario Kart series that has since become a hallmark of casual gaming.
Nintendo has mostly avoided toying with Mario Kart re-releases thus far, only going through with it once by re-releasing Mario Kart 8 as Mario Kart 8: Deluxe for the Switch, a move that appeared to be necessary as both games are the best-selling titles for the Wii U and Switch, respectively.
Outside of one instance to salvage the extremely poor sales of the Wii U, Nintendo has simply opted to continue updating the series with new games, a trend that continued this year with Mario Kart World serving as a launch title for the new Switch 2.
While I generally think this is the right approach and that most of the previous games with less content are not worth a remake, I think an exception could and should be made for the series’ first title.
Though groundbreaking at the time of its 1992 release, Super Mario Kart appears to be incredibly outdated, even to fans of the series’ second title in Mario Kart 64, which was released just five years later.
With a maximum two-player set-up and confusing 2D graphics, it feels like it wouldn’t take much to do a 3D remaster of the original title, especially considering such work has already been done to a few tracks from the game.
Although there would plenty of room and opportunity to add new content, I almost think that should be avoided in the event of a Super Mario Kart remaster, which I think could stand well on its own as a simple modern reimagination of a beloved title now more than three decades old.
With that said, this remaster would perhaps only be possible as add-on content or as a digital exclusive, with the relatively small amount of material the game has to offer hindering its potential as a standalone physical release. However, new and hardcore fans of the series alike would find plenty of appreciation in a new interpretation of the original that got it all started.
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