On Friday, September 18, Nintendo will launch a collection of three of the most critically-acclaimed video games of all time in the form of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Super Mario 3D All-Stars brings Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy together in one package for the Nintendo Switch, giving fans a convenient way to replay these classic games, and also marking the first time Sunshine has been re-released since the GameCube days.
Since Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy have been readily available on the Wii and Wii U, arguably the most exciting piece of the collection is Super Mario Sunshine. The game earned a great deal of critical acclaim when it first launched, with praise for its 3D platforming and innovative FLUDD mechanic. However, there was one aspect of the game that didn't sit well with everyone, and it would be strange if it wasn't addressed by Nintendo in Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
For those who may not remember or who have never played the original, Super Mario Sunshine has inverted camera controls that, for some reason, can't be changed. This is unlike the vast majority of games, especially modern games, and keeping this restriction seems like a major mistake on the part of Nintendo.
Now, the games in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection are more or less straight ports, but with touched-up visuals so that they look good when played on an HD television set. Fans shouldn't go into Super Mario 3D All-Stars expecting any big new content or significant changes made to any of the three games, but even so, making this change to Super Mario Sunshine should go a long way in helping many more people enjoy it.
And it's not like Nintendo is making zero changes to Super Mario 3D All-Stars. It's already been revealed that Super Mario Galaxy's motion controls will be optional, a change likely made for a couple of reasons. For one, there are people who simply dislike motion controls in video games no matter what, and for two, the Nintendo Switch Lite isn't really capable of providing motion controls in the same way that detached Joy-Cons can. If Nintendo could take the time to make this change to Super Mario Galaxy, one would hope that the company would do the same for Super Mario Sunshine and its permanently inverted camera.
To date, Nintendo hasn't touched on Super Mario Sunshine's camera in Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Any of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars gameplay released so far doesn't touch on it either, and so it could go either way at this point. Fans will just have to find out when Super Mario 3D All-Stars launches for the Nintendo Switch later this week.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars launches September 18, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.