They had the power to remake everything — but they chose to keep what the games felt like.
By 1993, the Super Famicom could do things the Famicom never dreamed of: parallax scrolling, richer colours, smoother motion. When Nintendo brought the first four Mario games forward, they could have rebuilt them from scratch — made them louder, flashier, unrecognisable. They didn't. Shigeru Miyamoto told the team to base the new art on Super Mario World, but to preserve how the originals felt. They updated the graphics and added a save feature, but the jumps, the weight, the rhythm — those stayed. Progress doesn't have to erase memory. Sometimes the most honest thing new tools can do is honour what came before.
— inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto
About this game
Super Mario All-Stars is a 1993 platform game for the super famicom, developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development, directed by Takashi Tezuka, with music by Koji Kondo. It belongs to the Super Mario series.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Super Mario All-Stars was developed by Nintendo EAD after completing Super Mario Kart in 1992, at Shigeru Miyamoto's suggestion. The team internally called the project 'Mario Extravaganza.' Released in Japan on July 14, 1993, and in North America on August 11, 1993, the compilation eventually sold over 10.55 million copies, becoming one of the SNES's pack-in titles and one of the best-selling Mario games of all time.
Tricks & Tales
The compilation was one of the first times Western players could officially play Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (originally released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1986 and deemed too difficult for Western audiences). A later version, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, was released in 1994. The game was re-released for the Wii in 2010 as a 25th anniversary edition.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Super Famicom and SNES region differences operate on two separate levels. First, there is a physical incompatibility: a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge and a North American SNES cartridge have different shell shapes. NTSC-J (Super Famicom) carts are narrower and will not seat in a North American SNES slot without the slot's internal tabs removed or bypassed; conversely, the wider NTSC-U carts cannot even be inserted into a Super Famicom. Second, even where cartridges physically fit — PAL carts share a shell shape closer to Super Famicom and will insert — a lockout chip on the motherboard (F411 for NTSC, F413 for PAL) will prevent the game from booting on a mismatched console. Running a Super Famicom cartridge on a Super Famicom purchased in Japan is of course straightforward; playing it on a foreign console requires either a mod or an adapter that addresses both the physical and the chip-level lock.
Maintenance Tips
The 72-pin cartridge connector is the most common maintenance point. Clean the gold-plated pins on cartridges with a cotton swab and 90%+ isopropyl alcohol; never use abrasive erasers on cartridge contacts. The connector slot on the console itself can be cleaned by inserting and removing a cartridge several times, or with a dedicated pin cleaner. For video output, S-Video provides significantly cleaner image quality than composite and uses the same multi-out port -- a passive adapter cable is all that is required. On early SHVC board revisions, a capacitor near the power LED can leak; inspect the board if the console shows instability. Use the original AC adapter or a verified equivalent: the SFC runs on 10V DC and is not compatible with Famicom or NES power supplies.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Super Mario All-Stars copies regularly.
Will a Super Mario All-Stars cartridge still save my game files?
Super Mario All-Stars was one of the first Mario games you could save, and it keeps those saves with a coin battery sealed inside the cartridge — usually a CR2032. That battery was designed to last fifteen or twenty years; most copies are now past thirty. If the cartridge forgets your files when you turn the power off, it's not usually broken — the battery is simply tired. Replacing it is possible, though removing the old battery clears all saved files, so back up anything precious first. When buying, it's worth asking if the save battery has been changed.
Is the SNES version of Super Mario All-Stars region-locked?
Yes, unlike the Game Boy, the Super Famicom and SNES have physical differences in cartridge shape and pin count that prevent cross-region play without an adapter. A Japanese Super Mario Collection cartridge will not fit in a North American SNES without modification. However, the game content itself is largely identical across regions, with only text and packaging differing.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Super Mario All-Stars
A short checklist for buying a used Super Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Super Famicom cartridge; its shell is shaped differently from the North American SNES and will not fit without modification.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Super Mario All-Stars sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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