Hello and Welcome, When the Nintendo Gamecube was announced people were expecting a new main series Mario game(preferably a Sequel to Mario 64) to be released at launch, around the time a Tech demo called Super Mario 128 was shown, not much is known about this tech demo other then people wanted it to be real,
when the Gamecube was released we did not see a new main series Mario game, rather a Spin off called Luigi's Mansion, after this people thought Nintendo forgot about Mario and wanted a new Mario game, a year later after the Gamecube's Launch we Saw Super Mario Sunshine and it was loved by many fans, some even call it the best Mario game ever. but does those claims still hold up to this day?
with Super Mario Odyssey coming out This October, I thought I would give a Review of the Previous Open World Style 3D Mario game, Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube
(Screenshot taken from ingame)
Plot
The Plot begins with Princess Peach, Mario, and co. Taking a Vacation to Isle Delfino, during a commercial for the island, Peach sees a Shadow shaped like Mario, she attempts to tell the others but they either dont care(like with Toadsworth) or did not hear her(like with Mario) after this the Title Screen appears.
After starting up a save file, you see the plane that Mario and co. was on take a rough landing to see the Airstrip has been defaced by a Strange Goop in the shape of Mario's Face, after investigating you find a device on the airstrip and it's AI meets mario, this is a Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device, or F.L.U.D.D, for short, after meeting F.L.U.D.D, seeing an unskippable tutorial, and an Unbelievably easy boss fight you clean up the Goop and Collect a shining Object.
(Airstrip Boss image from Mario Wiki)
Afterwards Mario is Immediately Arrested for Defacing Isle Delfino. Showing MARIO behind bars! Then During a Ridiculously onesidded, and Short Trial, you learn that because of the Graffiti Caused by someone who looks like Mario, the Island's Power source and Guardians, the Shine Sprites, have Fled the Shine Gate and Causing a Dark Veil over Delfino Plaza, Mario is Found Guilty in the Trial and is sent to Clean the Island, afterwards F.L.U.D.D informs mario that the Object he Collected at the Airstrip was a Shine Sprite and the Real Culprit is Likely at work, making the Island Dirtier with Goop. and he Must stop the real Culprit by cleaning up his Graffiti and Collecting more Shine Sprites.
(Mario Behind Bars Screenshot taken from ingame)
Soon after Mario is sent into Delfino Plaza to clean up a bit of Goop in the Central area, after fighting the same boss from the airstrip again you meet the Real Culprit, Shadow Mario, Shadow Mario attempts to Kidnap Peach but fails and flees to some Graffiti on the Statue in the central area, after this the Player is sorta Free to do whatever. that's the Plot in the first few minutes of the game.
(Shadow Mario Screenshot taken from ingame)
This Plot, while not bad for Mario Standards, it does not make any sense, first of all, why do the Piantas(the Islanders) think that Shadow Mario and Mario look the same?...ok they have the same outfit, but Shadow Mario is Almost entirely Dark Blue, and Mario have only JUST arrived on the Island, the Trial Scene is kinda stupid too i mean with Barely any Evidence or considering that mario only arrived like MINUTES ago. but you know whatever it's Mario and Nintendo
Gameplay
The Gameplay is how you expect from Mario on the Gamecube
he has MOST of the moves he has in mario 64, he still has the Triple jump, Wall jumping, and even some new moves like the Spin jump, but there is no Long Jump Sadly, or Any Punches or attacks like in 64.
the main gimmick is F.L.U.D.D. by pressing R you shoot water out of fludd's Pump. by holding R all the way down you can stop and aim(and pressing Y will do an over the shoulders Camera Angle for Precise Aiming), Pressing X will Switch your Nozzle , you have two nozzles, your main Shooting nozzle and your Secondary Nozzle, you start with just the Main shooting Nozzle and the Hover Nozzle, but you will gain the ability to change your secondary Nozzle to two other nozzles, the Rocket Nozzle and the Turbo Nozzle by opening Colored Boxes (Blue for Hover, Red for Rocket, and Grey for Turbo)
so in conclusion the controls are pretty solid, and F.L.U.D.D makes up for no long jump,
the Camera is also MUCH better then in 64, its great, it is Smoother and you can center the camera behind you with a press of a button
the Game is Mission based like in Mario 64, but Unlike Mario 64, the Levels Change Dramatically based on what Mission you pick, there are 8 missions in every level, each pared with a shine sprite, there are also a 100 Coin shine in every main level, and 2 secret shines in every level that you have to find with little hints to it.
in the Main game you are collecting Shine Sprites, there are 120 Shines in the game, 6 main levels with 11 Shines in them, 15 shines in Delfino Plaza, and some secret shines as well. Missions can range from fighting a boss, get to the end, Collect Red Coins, or do a platforming challenge with F.L.U.D.D Taken away from you
you are also collecting Blue coins, there are 240 Blue coins in the game, 30 in the main levels, 20 in Delfino plaza, and 10 in the final level, these things are the BANE of my existence, as you need all of them to collect all of the shine sprites in the game. some of them are easy as Cleaning off an M or a Shape, but others can be as doing a minigame or Going to an Obscure place in the map, OR spraying a random Object in the Map that looks like part of the environment you are not going to remember where they all are.
now for the main levels and their theme.
Bianco Hills, the Simple First Level of Mario games, not much to go off of.
Rico Harbor, A Dock Level, its kinda cool but a pretty boring Area
Gelato Beach, a Beach level. Looks great but it's a really Tedious level to play through
Pinna Park, an Amusement Park level, pretty much what you expect from one,
Sirena Beach, Haunted Hotel+Sunset Beach level, A ton of people hate this level, but I actually really like it
Noki Bay, Ruins Level, Most Annoying Blue coins to get in the main levels but the main missions are fun.
Pianta village, Village level, i also like it alot, its a fun level to just walk around in
(All of these Images of the levels comes from the Mario Wiki)
these are a good set of levels, but there is not much you can do with the tropical theme, also there is less levels here then in 64, while Sunshine has 6 levels, 64 has 15 main levels.
My favorite parts of the game are the side levels where F.L.U.D.D is taken away from you, these parts are hard. but not Cheep Hard, Actual Hard where it takes skill, and its your fault for messing up
Presentation
this game looks AMAZING on the Gamecube, ESPECIALLY the Water, overall looks great for a 2002 gamecube game
the Music is also great, but nothing to write home about, some of the level's music tracks are great relaxation themes, my favorite level music being Noki Bay, these themes can range from simple Jazz to Acapella, to even Remixes to classic Mario themes, overall looks great
this is also the first main series Mario game to have fully voice acted cutscenes, the actors all sounds like the character they are playing to its fine...except Bowser, Bowser sounds like the Cookie Monster's Drunk Brother
Final Level and Ending (WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD, SKIP THIS SEGMENT IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE SPOILED)
So in Pinna Park you Find out Shadow Mario's Identity being Bowser Jr. who seems to think Peach is His "Mamma" and Kidnaps her again and takes her to Corona Mountain, the Volcano on the island, afterwards Beating the 7th Mission of every level you find that Delfino Plaza is Flooded and the path to Corona mountain has been opened.
this level is HARD, the first half is not so bad, just timing based, but the second one... HOO BOY. you have to talke the Mud Boat across Lava, its hard because the Boat is hard to control and hitting anything will cause it to sink and make you fall into the instant death Lava. worst part is that 9 of the 10 Blue Coins in Corona Mountain are at this part of the level.
You will eventually reach the top of the mountain, where you find Bowser and Bowser Jr in a hot tub of...something, with the final shine sprite in the tub, reaching the tub you fight the final boss... BOWSER IN A HOT TUB!, you have to use the rocket nozzle to break the 5 outer points of the tub while Bowser and Bowser Jr attacks you with Fire Breath and Bullet Bills Respectively, Breaking all 5 points will win you the fight.
(Screenshot taken from ingame)
after the fight you land on a small island outside of delfino plaza, only to see F.L.U.D.D die right there after landing. after this the final shine sprite goes into the shine gate and the pinatas are happy and dancing.
you then Bowser telling Bowser Jr that Peach is not actually his mother, Bowser Jr Apparently knew this and then says "I wanna fight that Mario again".
after this you see Mario and Peach on Sirena beach where you see the Toads Revived F.L.U.D.D, then the Credits Roll.
The Bad Parts.
First off are the Blue coins, you already know how I feel about these things, if you dont look up where they all are you will get stuck in this game. Also there is a huge amount of glitches and Secret parts of the game that have Difficulty based on being cheep and Tedious.
Conclusion
This game is Definitely a ton of fun, and I recommend it. as a game it did a ton for the gamecube and the gaming indastry, being the second most Speedrunned game, second to mario 64, while its a good game to play and beat, I dont recommend Completing it 100%. and also the occasional glitch as well
This game gets a 7/10
A Great Experience for those who can play it, but dont complete it
this Wraps up my first Review, tell me what you Thought below