RetroSpective - Super Mario Sunshine

[Ganepark32]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place. However, I felt it would be better suited in here for people to read. May help to get rid of the moaning from some people about the lack of titles available on the Wii this xmas period. Anyways, without further ado.

 

(New logo. Yay!)

 

Released at various stages throughout 2002 in all territories, Super Mario Sunshine was the successor to Super Mario 64, which was released 6 years prior. The game was set on the Isle Delfino as Mario, Princess Peach and her entourage took a vacation. It wasn’t long before things quickly went downhill as a mysterious figure, disguised as Mario, had begun to cover the island in goo causing all of the shines to leave. The game partnered Mario with the FLUDD (Flash Liquidizing Ultra Dousing Device) as he set about cleaning up the island and eventually rescuing Peach after she was kidnapped by the mysterious figure, who turned out to be Baby Bowser. The game was met with great critical success, receiving many ‘9’s and above across the board and is now sitting comfortably with a Metacritic rating of 92%. It was also met with great retail success having sold 5.5 million copies as of June 2006. But 6 years have passed since the game was released, and in that time we have been given Sunshine’s successor, Super Mario Galaxy. So how does the game stand up now and does it hold up against Galaxy.

 

Upon firing the game up, you’re met with a cutscene of Peach’s plane on course to land in Delfino. At the time, the cutscene looked great but it does show its age slightly. Comparing it to the cutscenes in Galaxy would be unfair but you can’t help but look at how much of a leap forward Galaxy made, in terms of graphics, and shows that the Wii is much more than simply a Gamecube in a different casing.

 

That doesn’t mean that the game looks bad. Far from it. The game still carries the same charm and polish expected from a Mario title. It still looks great in the wake of Galaxy and in many respects looks much better than many of the Wii titles available to purchase on the shelves today. The water effects are still fantastic (and really do put to shame just about every Wii game bar a few), the animation is still fluid and the characters and levels look great. One area where you may see a downside is in the texturing. In a period where high res textures are the norm, they look quite blurry and muddy. However, you only really notice this is you stand and look for it. However, there is the odd bit of slow down which is strange as I never encountered any when I played it when it was released. Perhaps it is just because I was playing the game on the Wii, I don’t know but there is a small bit of slow down.

 

The controls of Galaxy were based upon those set out in Sunshine and in that respect, they haven’t aged a bit. Pulling of jumps to get to a higher ledge is as simple now as it was back in 2002. They are still very fluid allowing for a lot of freedom when it comes to your progression through the levels and, indeed, the hub world. The controlling of the FLUDD is easy as well, and never becomes frustrating to use, which just shows how well implemented the controls in Nintendo’s Mario games are. The fact that they can still feel fresh 6 years on confirms how good a developer Nintendo is when it comes to their titles.

 

The gameplay, even though the FLUDD was introduced, still holds up well and still feels fresh. The FLUDD is put to good use and it never feels contrived using it. What you do in the levels still feels varied although after playing a few areas you’ll know the drill when it comes to what to expect from the next areas. Such challenges as the those which require you to collect the red coins are varied, especially on the Ricco Harbor area where you have to surf on a blooper to get the coins. Then, to appease the retro fans who want to stick to the platforming, there are the levels where you can’t use the FLUDD and are forced to put your jumping and timing skills to the test. These and all of the levels still hold up very well, perhaps more so thanks to Galaxy.

 

To some people, they may see downside may be the lack of variety in the levels when looking in comparison with Galaxy. However, Sunshine feels more grounded in what it has to offer: an island setting where everyone of the levels wouldn’t be out of place on a real island. From Bianco Hills to the beaches at Sirena and Gelato to the Pinna Park, none of these ever feels out of place or as if they shouldn’t be here. Each level/area brings something new to the game, much in the same way that each galaxy in Galaxy brings something new.

 

A problem that I found going back to the game was the camera control. While it is initially workable and good, it quickly becomes loose and out of control, especially in levels where you are trying to judge a difficult piece of platforming and the camera gets stuck behind or on some scenery. It can get frustrating but when it works it works well and you’ll never feel a sense of anger at the camera not working properly and throw your controller.

 

If you had the misfortune of not getting the chance to play this gem, then even though Galaxy is the better of the two games it is still a Mario game and still a very good one at that and you should take it upon yourself to play it. Everything still holds up remarkably well in the face of Galaxy and it beats many of the so called games being released on the Wii. It still feels fresh, even 6 years after release, and the FLUDD is still a great innovation to the series allowing for more complex platforming. I personally wouldn’t be adverse to seeing the return of it to the series, perhaps in the Galaxy context although that may complicate things too much. If you’re looking for something that’ll span that gap between big releases on the Wii, then you really have no excuse for picking this up. With Nintendo re-releasing Gamecube games with Wii controls, perhaps we can look forward to a re-release on the Wii.

[david.dakota]

Mario Sunshine is yet another game which should be re-worked for Play on Wii (although, somehow i doubt it will). There was no part of Sunshine which was bad, i just think we expected the next big leap- in fact, Sunshine stands up as one of last generation's greatest platformer.

 

And where were the wire mess mazes and telegraph wires in Galaxy?

[Grazza]

I loved Super Mario Sunshine. It really struck a chord with me. I remember playing it one cold, dark November and it was such a release to explore Caribbean and Hawaiian beaches. I especially loved the Hawaiian sunset, with that lovely music.

 

just a little bit[/i]. That way I could run around as I squirted. Genius.

 

 

You know, as much as I loved Super Mario 64, even at the time I felt some of the areas were barren. Super Mario Sunshine, on the other hand, really benefited from a consistent theme. If I recall correctly, Nintendo wanted to make you feel you were on holiday. They achieved it.

 

The game was incredibly challenging, perhaps too much so, but it's one of the games I feel truly proud to have completed 100%.

 

Overall, it was my 2nd-favourite game on the 'Cube.

[darksnowman]

To some people, they may see downside may be the lack of variety in the levels when looking in comparison with Galaxy. However, Sunshine feels more grounded in what it has to offer: an island setting where everyone of the levels wouldn’t be out of place on a real island. From Bianco Hills to the beaches at Sirena and Gelato to the Pinna Park, none of these ever feels out of place or as if they shouldn’t be here. Each level/area brings something new to the game, much in the same way that each galaxy in Galaxy brings something new.

 

No need to compare this aspect soley up against Galaxy. Mario platformers as a rule of thumb have provided us with different and varying lands to explore and jump through, whereas Sunshine was maybe hampered in that it had to stick within one theme- tropical island. They did what they could to keep each level individual... but that meant there could be no snow.

[Hellfire]

I love Super Mario Sunshine, the water still hasn't been rivalled in any game, not only is it gorgeous its interaction with the environment is awesome.

Also, it's one of the most fun games there is, it's really a joy to play. I like FLUDD, it makes for a good change of pace and some cool platforming. The special levels are simply brilliant.

Problem with the game is the last shines. Coins are very very scarce, so getting 100 is a boring chore and the blue coin hunt also gets pretty bad. Still, an amazing game, that doesn't deserve much of the hate it gets.

[Ganepark32]

Been playing through it again which is why I decided to do this. I still love it and hopefully this time I'll finish it. Didn't the first time because my memory card got formatted while playing F Zero GX, deleting everything on it. Not happy. But I just love this. So much fun. Personally, I think the Noki Bay area is one of the best in a mario game. Don't ask why but there is just something about it that makes it stand out.

 

Will be doing a few more of these. Got F Zero GX, Geist, Beyond Good and Evil, Metroid Prime, PN03, 1080 Avalanche, Pikmin 2, and Billy Hatcher to do RetroSpectives on. Don't know when the next one will be done. Perhaps at the end of the weekend or the start of next week. It's nice to sit and play them and reminise about them which was a driving force behind doing these little things.

[nekunando]

You have just reminded me of the fantastic N64 Week we had a few months ago

 

We should definitely have a GC Week before Christmas (or maybe even fortnight ) and play through loads of great games again and post our feelings about them

 

It'll give everyone an excuse to crack out some games they haven't played in a while and hopefully relive some good memories! Beware though, playing a lot of Gamecube games will make you realise just how much some of our standards have lowered when we see some Wii games..

[tapedeck]

Even though the swimming mechanics were a step backwards from SM64, those damn wierd piniatas(?) arrived and there were far too many invisible walls for a Shigsy game, Sunshine was still bloody amazing.

 

Tilting those giant mirrors, (and oggling at the graphic effect) twanging from bouncy wire to bouncy wire and realising that the FLUDD enhanced Mario's abilities ten-fold were highlights for me.

 

That bloody island theme tune too...It's still irresistible!

[Jonnas]

Heh, good timing. I was just replaying Super Mario 64 on VC (because I finally got a Wii. Games will have to wait, though), and I will probably replay SMS some time next, just before buying Mario Galaxy.

 

Anyway, from what I remember, Sunshine was quite the game. Things not seen in many games, and a "summer" feel to it. Plus, the FLUDD was quite the machine.

I think I'll just post pros and cons:

Pros

 

1-The FLUDD was awesome. Shooting water as a weapon is awesome in its own right. It killed baddies, cleaned dirt, it influenced objects (like windmills), and it was pressure-sensitive, meaning it was also versatile.

Add the HoverNozzle (platforming efficiency!), the RocketNozzle (platforming fun!) and the TurboNozzle (pure fun!), and we got some really good platforming gameplay here;

 

2-Quirky levels. No, not the worlds. The extra, separate, alternate-reality-like levels. Even the without the FLUDD, the platforming was good. What makes them shine is how creative, quirky and fun many of them were (like the pinball level, and some of the later FLUDDless levels).

This goes for several chapters as well (special highlights: Blooper racing and wire/rope platforming);

 

3-The beautiful water. The cel-shaded graphics are enjoyable in their own right, but that water is unrivalled. Simply beautiful;

 

4-Delfino Plaza was quite cool. Full of secret Shines and levels. Better than Peach's castle, IMO;

 

5-Honestly, the levels did an excellent job of capturing the "summer holidays" feeling. Kudos to a well accomplished goal.

 

Cons

 

1-Linearity. Super Mario 64 let you explore a world, and see what you could find. Sunshine only lets you grab the Shine for the current mission. So, even if you don't feel like grabbing the 8 red coins, you'll have to do it anyway, before you can grab the next Shine.

On top of all that, they usually showed you where you had to go, ruining the exploration aspect even more;

 

2-Blue f****** Coins. Hard as hell to find, but necessary to find all the Shines. They're the reason I only have 118 shines.

But what makes it worse is the fact that you have to explore the same world 8 f****** times to find them all;

 

3-SM64 has 15 worlds with 7 stars each, while Sunshine has 7 worlds, with 11 shines each. This was my major disappointment with game at first. It means there's little variety, and searching for the shines can become a little repetitive.

 

 

 

The pros means it's an incredibly fun game. The cons become noticable the more you play the game.

It's a shame, really. Sunshine has so much to offer, but is hindered by such fatally vile flaws.

[Nicktendo]

I agree that sunshine had its flaws but they were pretty minor. I had a blast on this game and just before I started Uni again in September I played it non-stop for 3 days and got 115 Shines. Couldn't be bothered with all the blue coins but it still remains a hell of a game. Noki Bay is awe inspiring!

[Ganepark32]

I've decided on my next RetroSpective article for here. You can look forward to it after the weekend. Now must go to bed. Just spent the last few hours multitasking, watching Heroes and drawing up a new logo for this. Would have finished it quicker but Paint is a pain in the arse. Had to keep going back into it to redraw everything pixel by pixel.

[Ten10]

One thing I loved about sunshine was the water effects. that one thing grips me every time.

[Cube]

The non-FLUDD mini-levels were fantastic bits of platforming. Loved those bits. The graphics were also good.

 

The rest, however, was samey-boring and felt like nothing more than one big chore. The FLUDD made the platforming feel clunky and unresponsive.

[mcj metroid]

Mario Sunshine is yet another game which should be re-worked for Play on Wii (although, somehow i doubt it will). There was no part of Sunshine which was bad, i just think we expected the next big leap- in fact, Sunshine stands up as one of last generation's greatest platformer.

 

And where were the wire mess mazes and telegraph wires in Galaxy?

 

no no no remakes.. jeez we get enough of them. If there was no part of sunshine that was part why does it need to be remade?

 

I mean the graphics are just as brilliant now.. the controls are in my opinion better than galaxy(which in the end is what wii would mostly improve on) and to be fair the games main problems would still remain..

 

the lack of variety in gameplay,especially the fact that every level is a beach.

the annoying voice acting and story.

Severe lack of main worlds in the first place(think there was only like 8)

the fact that is was never going to be as good as super mario 64 because of these problems..