One gamer's trash is another gamer's treasure.
Released August 25, 2002
Only for the Nintendo Gamecube
Super Mario Sunshine is, without a doubt, a game with mixed reactions and various opinions from the people who have played it. Some people considered the game to be a great platformer and one of the Gamecube's best games, while others were severely disappointed with Sunshine and use it as a big reason for hating the Gamecube altogether. With the success and high praise for Super Mario 64, the first 3D Mario platformer that would define the genre for years to come, many people were expecting a lot from Super Mario Sunshine, and this is one of the biggest reasons for Super Mario Sunshine getting all of its hatred: Hype. But back when Sunshine first came out, I wasn't one of its fans or one its haters; I was just a small child who was hardly into video games at all at the time, and I wouldn't end up playing the game until nearly ten years later. But when I finally did give Sunshine a shot after borrowing it from a friend, I wasn't disappointed by the game at all: In fact, I'd consider it one of the best platformers I'd played in quite a while.
Like all non-RPG Mario games, the story is very simple: After working himself to death saving Princess Peach so many times, Mario needs a well-deserved vacation, and takes a flight with the princess and Toadsworth to Isle Delfino for some rest and relaxation. But as soon as the plane lands, Murphy's Law ("If something can go wrong, it will") quickly takes effect. Some sort of shadowy figure resembling Mario sprays graffiti on buildings across Isle Delfino, and Mario is the one blamed for this crime. In order to put lie to rest, Mario, armed with the F.L.U.D.D hose/jetpack device, pursues the Shadow Mario across several tropical levels to clear his name.
Super Mario Sunshine's level formula is very similar to Super Mario 64, with 7 different 'worlds' with different 'levels' in them, each with a different goal to accomplish within the world. The worlds of Super Mario Sunshine have several summer-vacation like themes, with worlds featuring beaches and amusement parks. Rather than collecting stars like in Super Mario Sunshine's 'predecessor', Mario collects Shine Sprites, which…serve the exact same purpose anyway. Each world has levels with their own unique goals like defeating unique boss battles or navigating to the highest point in the level, but the worlds also have the "Red-coin shines" or "100-coin shines" that Mario fans would come to expect. There are also several of the "Secret" type of levels in the game, which involve going through a certain point in the world to be warped to an entirely different level. The Secret levels force you to make your way across tons of different floating platforms and wall-jumps to get to a Shine Sprite at the end of the level. These Secret levels are definitely some of the more challenging but fun levels in Super Mario Sunshine, and seem like a big inspiration for some of the level designs of the Super Mario Galaxy games.
One concept unique to Super Mario Sunshine is the F.L.U.D.D device, a water-shooting machine with different nozzles that you'll have to master to complete the levels. These nozzles include the Hose Nozzle, which simply shoots water in the direction Mario is facing; The Hover Nozzle, which acts like a jetpack to temporarily keep Mario hovering above the ground; The Turbo Nozzle, which charges up and then launches Mario forward at rapid speeds; and The Rocket Nozzle, which charges up and then launches Mario high up into the air. The F.L.U.D.D. is very useful throughout Mario's adventure, and is one of my personal favorite parts of playing Super Mario Sunshine.
For a Gamecube game released in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine has some very impressive visuals, and makes a big graphical leap over the graphics of the Nintendo 64. The environments and level designs look very colorful and detailed, and definitely give you that summer vacation type of feel throughout the game, making Super Mario Sunshine a great game to play during the summer. While Super Mario Sunshine doesn't have as many clas-sic songs and sound effects like Super Mario World or Super Mario 64, it does feature several great pieces of music and a lot of the recognizable Mario sound effects can be seen in this game like any other.
Just like any other 3D Mario platformer, Super Mario Sunshine has a total of 120 Shines to collect during your adventure, and while only 50 are really needed to complete the adventure, the 70 extra shines, several of which are extremely difficult to get, add a lot of replay value and lasting appeal to the game. It'll take anyone many hours to check out all there is to see in the world of Super Mario Sunshine, and this is an adventure I'm sure to find myself coming back to every now and then.
In my personal experience, I can say that Super Mario Sunshine is a fantastic game, and one of the best games I've played on the Gamecube (which isn't saying much considering my small Gamecube collection, but the point is, it's a good game). If you're going to listen to all the Sunshine-haters or Gamecube-haters and pass this game up, that's your loss, because that lack of an open mind is what gets so many people to miss this and several other great games on the game store shelves.
Breakdown by category:
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Replay Value: 9/10
Fun Level: 9/10
Pros and Cons:
+ Great level designs
+ The F.L.U.D. is a great concept that added a lot to the game's great platforming
+ Super Mario Sunshine is one of the best-looking games on the Gamecube
+ 120 shines add a lot of replay value
- The camera can occasionally flip out and cause you to mess up
- Some of the underwater levels are more tedious than fun (But isn't that to be expected of all water levels at this point?)
- The Shadow Mario stages, featured in every world, are far too easy
Overall Score: 9/10