Super Mario 3D All-Stars was seemingly cast aside by Nintendo after its release in 2020. However, a new update for Super Mario 3D All-Stars brings compatibility for the game and the recently released Nintendo 64 Switch controller.
Last year marked the 35th Anniversary of Mario, with Super Mario 3D All-Stars being one of the main ways Nintendo celebrated the milestone. Controversially, Nintendo decided to arbitrarily stop releasing Super Mario 3D All-Stars at the end of this past March, which resulted in many people beginning to scalp the game, despite many retailers continuing to sell the game anyways.
Update Ver. 1.1.1 for Super Mario 3D All-Stars released on November 3 and allows people to use the Nintendo 64 Switch controller with Super Mario 64. Nintendo writes in the official patch notes, "Super Mario 64 now supports the Nintendo Switch Online member-exclusive Nintendo 64 Controller (sold separately). Players can now play this title using the same controls as found in the original Nintendo 64 release." Nintendo also notes that the button prompts within the game will not reflect the buttons of the controller and just those of the traditional Switch controller.
This update is similar in fashion to the last Super Mario 3D All-Stars update, Ver. 1.1.0, which brought GameCube controller compatibility to Super Mario Sunshine. As is the case with Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine's controller prompts were not changed to reflect playing on the GameCube controller. Super Mario 64's porting was criticized as being lazy in 3D All-Stars, receiving graphical updates that smoothed out the game's textures and increased its resolution, but not increasing the game's FPS, making it widescreen, and actually made some speedrunning strategies impossible to perform.
If one was successful in getting one of the Nintendo 64 controllers, this update should make for an even more nostalgic return to the game. Unfortunately, due to the high demand, it appears the Nintendo 64 controllers will likely be sold out until next year, which isn't necessarily surprising considering the rest of the gaming industry's supply problems, but is still a shame nonetheless.
Fans who have bought the Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 Expansion Pack have not been too happy as it is very glitchy, meaning that for the time being, the best way to play Super Mario 64 on the Switch may still be Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is available on the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Nintendo