The title features complete remakes of all four Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom Disk System Super Mario titles: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels with improved 16-bit graphics and sound. The sound effects (such as the coin and power-up/down sounds) were modified to more closely match those of Super Mario World for example. Gameplay, however, is virtually identical, with only the bonus game from Super Mario Bros. 2 slightly different, and some glitches being removed. A few physics properties were changed; for example, jumping and hitting a Brick Block in Super Mario Bros. causes Super/Fire Mario to continue moving upwards after breaking it, as opposed to the NES version where Mario instantly bounced downwards upon hitting the block. Super Mario Bros. 3 also allows one to choose a multi-round two player "Battle Mode" from the title screen, without beginning a normal two player campaign. The ability to access the "minus world" from the original Super Mario Bros. (or the series of "minus worlds" from the Famicon Disk version) is another "glitch" that was removed. The most notable addition is a save feature: all games now allow the player to save their status at any point in the game. Upon restarting the game, the player will begin at the first level of the world they saved in, with the exception of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which allows the player to begin from the last level they saved in.

The game was very successful and well-received upon release and eventually became a "Player's Choice Million Seller". Prior to May 31, 1994, Super Mario All-Stars was available as a promotion by Nintendo, giving the game away for free if a Super Nintendo Entertainment System was purchased. The proof of purchase and $3.50 USD—to cover postage and handling—was required to be mailed into Nintendo and Super Mario All-Stars was sent out to the buyer. The Wii version received mixed reviews. Critics such as IGN criticized it for being a straight port from the original SNES version but praised it for being, "The same classic games we remember". IGN gave it a 7/10. VideoGamer gave it an 8/10. However, The A.V. Club gave the Wii version an "F", saying that the bonus materials included with the game were "disappointing".

The SNES remakes of Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3 were eventually remade for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Super Mario Advance series, including a Mario Bros. remake on each cartridge. Until the re-release of Super Mario All-Stars in December 2010, these versions of the Super Mario games were not available on any other Nintendo console, as the Wii Virtual Console versions of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3 were the original NES versions.

25th Anniversary Re-release

Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition is a video game compilation having the same contents as Super Mario All-Stars developed by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on October 21, 2010, in Australia on December 2, 2010, in Europe on December 3, 2010, and in North America on December 12, 2010. The game is part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. and includes an emulated ROM of the original Super Mario All-Stars. The game is bundled with a 32-page book of Mario's history, and a 25.24-minute soundtrack audio CD of music through the whole series.

The game was revealed via a release calendar on September 2. On October 28, the game was announced for North America. The game sold 307,755 copies in its first week, selling more copies than any other title that week. The 25th Anniversary Edition has since sold 2.24 million units worldwide.