With the announcement of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, fan reactions to the Nintendo Direct and the upcoming release have been flooding social media. The game has already reached the best-sellers list on Amazon, and it looks like it could be one of Nintendo's biggest launches this year.
Despite the high numbers, the fan reaction to the announcement has been rather mixed, and people are creating hundreds of memes to poke fun at some of Nintendo's odd decisions for the collection. However, many are making memes just to show their excitement for some highly anticipated ports to the Nintendo Switch.
10 No Super Mario Galaxy 2
When the collection was announced, the first thing fans latched onto was the notable lack of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Although the collection does include the first Galaxy game, many fans were upset to see little love for the sequel and have made many memes to criticize the choice. Nintendo doesn't mention the game in the Direct, and there's no word of if Galaxy 2 will be coming to the Switch at any point in the future. Many in the community believe Galaxy 2 to be an even better game than the first, which makes its absence frustrating.
9 Limited Release
One of the most baffling decisions that Nintendo has made with Super Mario 3D All-Stars is its limited release window. The game is only available for purchase until the end of March 2021, which applies to both the digital and physical versions of the game.
This choice, which was also made for the new Mario battle royale game, has left fans more confused than anything else. Nintendo has also not been very clear on what pushed them to market the release this way.
8 Sold Out Copies
Due to the timed release, Nintendo seems to be limiting the number of physical copies that are being produced. With pre-orders already making the game one of the best-selling games of 2020, there are already some locations turning customers away after selling out of the game.
Some fans have expressed their frustration at scalpers who attempt to buy several copies of a limited release to sell for a much higher price online. This has led to many memes criticizing Nintendo for creating this issue.
7 More Ports
Despite some of the backlash at the announcement, there are some things that have led people to criticize the Nintendo fandom. Although many gamers have been asking for ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy since the Switch's launch, there are some fans that are dissatisfied with the reveal.
These are some of the most asked-for ports for Nintendo Switch, but some are still upset that they aren't complete remakes and that the biggest announcement from the Direct was a port of older games, rather than a Super Mario Odyssey sequel.
6 Other Limited Release Nintendo Games
With the backlash over the limited release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, some Nintendo fans are remembering that this isn't the first time that Nintendo has promoted a game this way. In the past, Nintendo has released limited versions of other titles, such as the Metroid Prime Trilogy, which eventually led to a rare version of the game for avid collectors.
However, it's worth noting that this hasn't been done with a major release before. All of these other titles were limited versions of other releases.
5 No Gamecube Controller Support For Sunshine
Players oftentimes like to use a class controller for comfort and nostalgia when playing an older title. Although the Switch does offer a Gamecube controller option for games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the 3D All-Stars collection won't allow players to use it. Many owners of the original Super Mario Sunshine are upset by this.
There's no way to tell if this kind of support will be added in an update to the game after launch, but Nintendo has confirmed that there are currently no plans for Gamecube controller support.
4 When March 31, 2021 Hits
Now that Nintendo is using a limited release window for the game, fans are interested to see what really happens when March of 2021 rolls around. For such anticipated ports, it's a little hard to believe that the game will be completely unavailable in some release format after the limited run is over.
This hasn't stopped some pretty hilarious memes about Nintendo taking back the content once March hits. When the game is purchased, gamers can always redownload it or play it on their Switch, but that doesn't make this Spongebob meme any less funny.
3 How COVID-19 Could Have Impacted Nintendo
In spite of fans being extremely excited to play more classic Mario games on the Nintendo Switch, there are a lot of people complaining that the release only seems like a cash grab for older titles.
It's worth noting that the collection could have been initially proposed as a bigger project, but COVID-19 impacted how Nintendo has had to approach the latter half of 2020. Earlier this year, Nintendo did say that the pandemic would affect some of their releases. The 3D All-Stars collection may have been Nintendo's way of ensuring more content for players during the fall.
2 No Need For A Wii U
The collection was announced alongside a port of Super Mario 3D World with bonus content that will be released early next year. With the growing number of ports that are coming to the Switch, gamers are starting to find less of a reason to go back to the Wii U.
The Wii U Virtual Console was a great way for players to experience classic games on modern hardware. Nintendo has moved away from this model with the Switch, but that hasn't stopped them from porting these games to the new system on their own.
1 Surprises Without Leaks
Unfortunately, the surprise of the 3D All-Stars reveal was held back a bit by leaks early this year. While many leaks turn out to be completely fake, these were substantiated when a new Paper Mario game was released a few months ago.
Despite this, the reveal had come so late that many were curious as to whether Nintendo had scrapped the project entirely or if the leaker had only been lucky with their other guess. Along with the constant rumors of directs and announcements that never came true, many players were still surprised when the announcement dropped.