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Nintendo releases FREE Switch 2 update for Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Sunshine

As you know by now, Nintendo has repackaged some of its biggest Switch games as Switch 2 Editions with some significant upgrades and expansion content for the new console. It also issued less significant performance and visual upgrades for 12 other titles you can download for FREE, but it also recently issued a somewhat stealthy update to some other classic first-party games for Switch 2 – Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. 

You might be asking yourself, when did Nintendo re-release Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy for Switch? And the answer is you might just have forgotten about the Super Mario 3D All-Stars package it released as part the 35th Mario anniversary celebrations we covered a few years back. Another reason you might have forgot about this is that Nintendo actually doesn’t even sell this package anymore, stripping it from physical and virtual shelves for no apparent reason. 

Super Mario 3D All-Stars was only sold for about half a year before Nintendo ripped it from the eShop, leaving fans who didn’t get a chance to score it sifting through retail bins and second-hand shops for a copy. It isn’t all that difficult to get a hold off these days of you’re willing to fork some serious cash out – it is selling for over $129 at Amazon right now or closer to $80+ on the used market, and if you already have a copy, or manage to track one down, there’s a free Switch 2 update for it. 

A video game case with a group of characters
Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Nintendo has stealthily updated Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy for Switch 2 as part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars bundle twice now – once right before Switch 2 and then once again more recently, presumably to finish the job?

What the actual upgrades are here is extremely vague – Nintendo’s support page doesn’t give any details outside of mentioning it has dealt with some performance issues on Switch 2 to improve gameplay on its new console – the previous June 3 update was much of the same.  

Some folks over on Reddit have, naturally, attempted to make sense of of the update – some say the UI has a better resolution after the update, and others suggest the games are still running at 1080p in docked mode at 30 frames per second. 

Either way, one would imagine Nintendo wasn’t quietly updating a game it doesn’t even sell anymore for no reason, so there’s must be some kind of improvement here, even if it just makes the latest releases of these classic Mario titles more stable on Switch 2. So go dust of your copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars and score the update. 

Or, just wait until the rumored July Nintendo Direct goes live and hope Nintendo unleashed some surprising new Super Mario 3D All-Stars 2 ahead of Mario’s 40th NES anniversary this fall. 

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Avatar for Justin Kahn Justin Kahn

Justin is a senior deal Jedi over at gadgetnewsonline where he heads up our game/app coverage and more. He also covers all things music for 9to5Mac, including the weekly Logic Pros series exploring music production on Mac and iOS devices