TwiddleGeek

Rating:

Super Mario Sunshine is a fairly competent platformer, but one of my main beefs with it is simply that it lacks the ‘Mario’ feel. The game forces it’s tropical setting on you, replacing Mario’s standard moves with the FLUDD system and changing the entire gameplay mechanic in the process. While the FLUDD system controls fairly well and the concept is neat, the game barely relates to the Mario world any more than the other major Gamecube disappointment: Luigi’s Manson.

My other big gripes are the shine system and the camera. Collecting stars and completing challenges worked great in Mario 64, but the shines in Mario Sunshine tend to be very specific, short tasks with a minimal amount of exploration. Some of the challenges are over in well under a minute and seem tacked on just to fill out the 7-star per level requirement. Each level is quite like the last, and none of them are as interesting as the worlds in Mario 64. As for the camera, you’ll unfortunately spend much of the game fighting with it just to see where you’re going.

Despite it’s issues, Mario Sunshine has excellent controls and is generally easy to pick up and play. Though it’s frustrating at times and stretches the definition of ‘fun’, it has its fair share of good along with the bad. The obstacle course levels are especially challenging and fun. I say that it’s well worth doing the 7-star run through the game’s 7 short stages, but just don’t expect the AAA quality of a title like Mario 64. Sunshine nearly earns a 3/5 from me, but I just can’t say I enjoyed it or the story as much as I could have, and it gave me a good deal of frustration.

Hallelujah. Finally finished up the standard 7-star per level run of Mario Sunshine. Honestly, there’s no way I’m going back for every star. It wasn’t a bad game, and it had good moments, but it certainly strained the definition of “fun” sometimes. Sunshine is too much of a one trick pony, every single level is just tropics, tropics… and oh yes, more tropics. Maybe it’s not exactly the browns and greens of the FPS genre, but sameness is sameness none the less.

What I really would like to have seen more of are the ’secret’ stages, the obstacle courses. Sure, they’re frustrating, but I would play an entire Mario game based on nothing but those stages back to back. Pure platforming action. Throw in a level editor and you’ve got yourself another hit… not that slapping Mario on the cover doesn’t pretty much guarantee that anyway. From what I’ve seen of Galaxy, it appears to get back to the roots that Sunshine forgot. No talking squirt guns, better platforming, and plenty of classic Mario characters and locations.

The familiar frustration is certainly starting to set in again with this title, but it’s still fun to play. I think what I don’t like about Sunshine as opposed to what I remember about Mario 64 is that Sunshine lacks the exploration of 64. I know Mario 64 was goal based in getting stars, but in Sunshine it seems like that’s all you really do. There’s just not much level exploration to speak of, and I’m still not a big fan of the locales. They just don’t feel like classic Mario to me.

Sunshine really feels like it needs more polish. The camera system, for example, is enough to drive anyone insane. I’ve spent more time wrestling with the camera than doing anything else, I’d say. Also, some of the challenges seem like they’re thrown in there just for the sake of filling out each level’s shine requirement. In any case, aside from a few frustrating shines, it’s a game that lends itself fairly well to quick plays due to the goal based challenges, and it’s still fun enough to try.

With Super Mario Galaxy on the shelves and more Gamecube backlog to get through, I thought I might go back and give Super Mario Sunshine another shot. I rented this one way back when it first hit, but expecting another Mario 64 I found myself quite let down. I bought it used and it’s been on my shelf for quite some time, waiting for another chance. SpaceKitty recently played through and enjoyed it, so I thought I’d take another look as well.

First off, I’m still not a fan of the talking FLUDD, nor of the island setting. Neither feels very “Mario”, really. Mario 64 had some diverse locations, but they felt like they belonged in a Mario game and were pulled from classic titles, from the castle to the desert. Sunshine on the other hand just sorta feels like Mario stuck in a different game. Replace Mario and the toads with generic platforming characters and it wouldn’t be a Mario game at all. The fact that many of Mario’s signature moves are replaced by a water cannon only adds to this feel.

Complaints about it aside, the FLUDD system is rather fun to use. I’m particularly fond of the hover nozzle and how it controls. Switching nozzles however is a pain in the neck, and it would be better if you could simply do so via a menu system. Graphics are generally bright and cheery, though again, questionably Mario. The camera is also surprisingly hard to control, considering how good Mario 64’s camera was back in the day. The obstacle course mini-levels are terribly frustrating, but are also some of the most fun. It’s not a bad game so far, just wasn’t what I was expecting 5 years ago.