 |
| Walking on sunshine. |
Sunny beaches, tropical settings, and new gameplay twists, Super Mario Sunshine was a breath of fresh air when it debuted for the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. It was the long-awaited sequel to the pioneering Super Mario 64, often regarded as the standard for 3D platformers-- which is a tall order for a follow-up. A departure from prior games which took place in castles, Sunshine stars Mario going on vacation on a tropical island, only to deal with a new threat. A game that I've always wanted to play, I was excited when it was announced as part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars Collection for the Nintendo Switch. So after finally playing it, does Super Mario Sunshine delivers a fun and engaging experience like its predecessor? Let's find out.
The game begins when Mario, Princess Peach, and a few Toads go on vacation to the sunny island of Isle Delfino, to get a much-needed break. However, an impostor who looks like Mario has been vandalising the island with mysterious goop and frames the real one for his crimes. Now Mario, now equipped with a talking water canon named "FLUDD", must clean up the island while chasing after the mysterious "Shadow Mario" to clear his name. I liked the story as it was a nice one and with some fun moments. It also marked the first appearance of Bowser Jr., who was a neat addition to the game.
 |
| Mario's relaxing vacation suddenly got turned upside down. |
Sunshine is a platformer where you control Mario, now equipped with FLUDD, a water canon that'll help him clean up the goop over Isle Deflino. It can shoot water up-close or while moving and switch its nozzle to let Mario glide briefly. Over the course of the game, you unlock new nozzles for FLUDD like a Turbo, which lets you dash through water and Rocket, that lets you jump to higher distances, both allowing you to reach new places. Using FLUDD will consume water so you'll need to regularly refill at a fountain. Mario has fewer move-sets due to the reliance on FLUDD, but is still acrobatic with the somersault and triple jump still being here (sucks that the long jump didn't make a return). Yoshi even makes an appearance and while he controls well, he felt like an afterthought given the main focus of the game centers around FLUDD.
 |
| The controls worked well and FLUDD was a nice addition. |
Delfino Plaza acts as the hub world, connecting all levels via paint portals left by Shadow Mario. Each level is a section of Delfino like the harbour, beach, amusement park, and hotel, which are waiting to be explored. The goal of every level is to obtain Star Sprites, which give Isle Delfino its ray of sunshine. To do that, you'll be doing various tasks like cleaning up the goop, running errands, beating enemies, and often fighting with Shadow Mario. The levels themselves were great and chatting with the natives was fun as they had some funny and useful info to share. Even the plaza was home to neat secrets like hidden Blue Coins that can be traded for more Star Sprites. My favorite levels ended up being Ricco Harbor, Delfino Hotel, and Pianta Village.
 |
| There's a bunch of stuff to do in Delfino. |
Granted, the game isn't all sunshine and rainbows (pun intended). The Shadow Mario stages, where you're stripped away from FLUDD, are the most loathsome levels I've played in a platformer with how annoying the rotating surfaces and clunky mechanics of the stages (especially the ones where you're thrown by NPCs to other platforms) were. Worse yet, the camera system is more frustrating than 64 with it constantly obscuring your vision, making jumping difficult on a regular basis. Also, some NPCs and enemies can knock you off from platforms all down to the starting point or off stage, causing you to repeat tedious bits again. Lastly, levels like Corona Mountain are the reason checkpoints are needed due to the clunky boat section. So with all that said, Sunshine has its share of flaws. It took around 15 hours to beat with me getting nearly 80 Star Sprites. There are 120 Sprites in total, so the game's not low on replay-value.
Sunshine is a beautiful-looking game despite the simple visuals, as the bright and vibrant colors bring a pleasing look to the island setting. Character models, enemy designs, and some levels hold up extremely well given that the game is nearly 20 years old. That said, some textures were flat and look old up-close. The remaster features full-screen and handheld mode support, however it runs in 30FPS-- disappointing since the Switch is capable of handling 60. The game featured full voice-acting in cutscenes, which was oddly immersive and the voices were decent. Being a Nintendo game, the soundtrack is fantastic, offering catchy and memorable tracks like "Delfino Plaza", "Gelato Beach", "Noki Bay", the underwater theme, and ending credits.
 |
| Presentation-wise, Sunshine holds up extremely well. |
Super Mario Sunshine was a fun time and a standout in the GameCube's library of games. It doesn't reach Super Mario 64's iconic status, but remains a classic in its own right. The beach setting stuck with me and it's one that I'll be revisiting in the future. Despite the glaring flaws, the gameplay was still fun and I enjoyed the variety in levels. It's also impressive how well the game holds up, so newcomers will have few issues getting into the game. If you're a fan of platformers and Mario games, then Super Mario Sunshine deserves a look.
Comments
Post a Comment