Thanks to a surprise reveal during a Nintendo Direct celebrating Mario’s 35th Anniversary, fans can now expect a Super Mario 3D All-Stars to release on Switch in just a couple of weeks. That’s really exciting news, but people couldn’t help but wonder why Super Mario Galaxy 2 wasn’t included in the collection.
Releasing on the Wii in 2010, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was loved by both critics and players. However, the game is completely missing from Nintendo’s big 35th Anniversary celebration for Mario. The new Super Mario 3D All-Stars comprises Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and the first Super Mario Galaxy. Another long-awaited port, Super Mario 3D World, is coming to Switch in February. Other releases include an AR Mario Kart game and a battle royale called Super Mario Bros. 35. That’s a lot to celebrate Mario’s big 3-5, so why isn’t Super Mario Galaxy 2 a part of the festivities?
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For now, it doesn’t look like Nintendo plans to bring Super Mario Galaxy 2 into Mario’s 35th Anniversary celebration. Fans have been incredibly disappointed that Super Mario Galaxy 2 isn’t included, but there may be a good reason for that. Excluding the game may seem like an odd call, but it doesn’t mean a Super Mario Galaxy 2 remaster isn’t in the works. More than likely, Nintendo is saving a remaster of the game for a later date, perhaps even next year. There are several reasons why the company would want to do that.
Why Nintendo Is Waiting To Release Super Mario Galaxy 2’s Remaster
Whenever Mario reaches an anniversary, Nintendo typically celebrates in a big way. This year seems no different, with Super Mario 3D All-Stars and many other games planned for the occasion. However, Super Mario Galaxy 2‘s exclusion doesn’t necessarily mean the game isn’t getting remastered. Nintendo is likely just staggering its releases, which is a smart move. The company doesn’t want to flood the market with a bunch of Mario games all at once. Nintendo is most likely waiting to release Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the same reason it’s releasing Super Mario 3D World in February. This gives fans time to play and beat the games that are already out, instead of choosing which Super Mario game to buy first. It also avoids any kind of Mario fatigue, and it ensures Nintendo will have some big titles releasing in the future.
The most probable scenario is that Nintendo will wait until sometime after Super Mario 3D World releases to announce a Super Mario Galaxy 2 remaster. Sure, that means the game misses the 35th Anniversary celebration, but it also means there’s a beloved Mario game waiting to release in the future on Switch. With the way Nintendo staggers releases, Super Mario Galaxy 2 would probably come out sometime next summer. By that time, people will be finished with 3D World and looking for their next fix.
Nintendo notoriously announces things on the fly, sometimes mere weeks before its games are set to release. Super Mario 3D All-Stars itself is a great example of this. Even though Super Mario Galaxy 2 wasn’t announced as part of the 35th Anniversary celebration, it doesn’t mean the game isn’t releasing on Switch. It just means people may have to wait a little longer for it.