Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition finally announced for US

Here’s something from the “about effing time” department: Super Mario All-Stars for Wii has finally been confirmed for US release. After tantalizing glimpses of the Japanese version, Americans like me feared that it would remain a cool Japan exclusive. Three weeks ago it was confirmed for a European release with nary a word about it coming to the US, which was a little disconcerting. Hell, Nintendo even announced the red Wii and DS without bringing up the All-Stars. It seemed all hope was lost… until this morning. Nintendo finally gave the limited edition of Super Mario All-Stars an official US release of December 12.

In case you didn’t know, Super Mario All-Stars was an amazing package back in the SNES days. At the time Nintendo rereleasing anything was a big deal, and a collection of graphically updated Mario classics, including one that the US never played before, was astounding. The Wii version includes all the games from the original SNES edition: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (aka Super Mario 2 in Japan). And that’s just the beginning.

Above: Some pics from the Japanese edition

Yup, it also has the fancy extras the other countries get. That includes a CD called the Super Mario History soundtrack, a collection of music that covers Super Mario Bros all the way up to Super Mario Galaxy 2, which is a real surprise as Nintendo rarely puts out soundtracks in the US. The game also comes with 32-page booklet about Mario’s history, and features some rare, behind-the-scenes info. Not bad for $29.99. And even if the phrase “limited edition” is pretty cliché in this industry, I for one am picking this up day one. Not that I’m obsessed with Mario or anything.

Above: Nope, not obsessed at all

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