Whether you've been gaming for years or have only been gaming for a short while, it's hard not to know who Mario is; the lovable plumber has been a huge icon since the 1980's. He made his debut into gaming in the successful arcade game Donkey Kong. When the NES came to be, the Super Mario Bros games were considered to be among the best games on the NES. Maybe that's why Nintendo decided to re-release them onto the Super Nintendo, in the form of Super Mario All-Stars.

There were two versions of the compilation, one of which was updated to include Super Mario World, while the other only contains the other four games available - Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3 and the challenging Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, which had never before been seen outside of Japan before this compilation was released.

Each and every one of these excellent games is exactly the same as their NES counterparts, though with updated 16-bit graphics, better sound, and the ability to save your progress after each world, which is extremely handy when playing the epic Super Mario Bros 3.

Each and every game on the compilation is excellent, seeing you taking control of Mario or one of his friends in unforgettable platforming adventures which hold up well even today. Each Mario game adds something new to the formula, so none of the games have exactly the same experience. The first game sees you travelling through simplistically-designed worlds trying to rescue Princess Peach, with The Lost Levels featuring the same gameplay but with different levels and the difficulty ramped up. Super Mario Bros 2 allows you to take control of one of four characters travelling through a different environment picking up items to attack your foes, while Super Mario Bros 3 is similar in playability to the first game but with new power-ups, world maps and a lot more levels. Super Mario World is much like Super Mario Bros 3, adding more new gameplay elements and features the introduction of Yoshi.

With all that being said, Super Mario All-Stars is highly recommended for those who still own a SNES; even if you still have and own each of the original games for the NES, it's worth owning this compilation if only for The Lost Levels.