Today, I will be reviewing the Nintendo GameCube exclusive, Super Mario Sunshine. This title was released in 2002, and was the second 3-D platformer in the Mario series (the first was Super Mario 64).
Super Mario Sunshine follows Mario, Princess Peach, and all of the Toads associated with them taking a much-needed vacation to a tropical island known as Isle Delfino. Everything is not as it seems though, as the island has been vandalized with a gross goo, which has driven away the "Shine Sprites", which seem to be small gods to the people of the island. Mario finds a water spouting backpack, called FLUDD, and uses it to clear off the first bit of goo. As it turns out though, the cause of all of the goo is someone impersonating Mario, and our hero is tasked with cleaning up every last bit of the stuff from the island and collecting all of the shine sprites for the people of the island.
So begins Mario's adventure in cleaning up an island, while trying to figure out who is setting him up for this vandalism. This quest will take him to several different areas of the island,from the theme park to the industrial port. Each area has a different set of missions, and not all of them involve washing away goo from the ground or the side of buildings. As missions are completed in each area new unlockables and pieces of the story are revealed.
Based on just the premise, I'm sure the game sounds pretty boring. Rather than going through the castles and levels of previous Mario games, you get to basically do community service. However, this game is a gem in the GameCube library. The controls are very user friendly, the levels are well designed, and the story actually gets pretty interesting as it moves forward. It all ends up being a revenge plot, but it's an interesting approach to the idea. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that hasn't played it, as it's an interesting reveal, but those of you who may remember it know what I'm talking about. The platforming in the game is well done, it's both fun and difficult, as a good platformer should be. I thought that the sections with the classic Mario theme sung acapella in the background. Speaking of which, the music in the game can also be counted as a positive, with most of it being fun and upbeat music, which fits in with the vacation-island theme of the game.
The upgrades are fun, though you can only have one equipped at a time. Still, the appropriate nozzle change that you're looking for won't be too far from anywhere it's needed.The progress that you make in the game is obvious in other, smaller ways as well. As the dark goo gets cleaned up and more Shine Sprites are collected, the sun comes out more and more on the island, to a point where one of the residents will give you sunglasses if you want to dim the brightness a bit. Also, as Mario cleans everything up, the residents of the island will begin to treat him better, praising him rather than treating him like a common criminal.
Negatives for the game are few and far between, but there are a couple of them. Some of the levels don't provide much in terms of direction, and there are levels that will take a lot of time just to figure out what you're supposed to be doing. It didn't happen too often, but it did occur often enough that I began to get frustrated each time I encountered a level like that. Also, while the boss battles are creative, they are a bit too easy. This is especially obvious when battling a boss after a pretty difficult platforming section. I would spend forever getting to the boss, then beat them in one shot (I'm looking at you, Gooper Blooper).
Still, the game is a lot of fun. If you have a GameCube and have not picked this one for some reason, that needs to change. This offers a lot of the best things the GameCube can offer, and I definitely recommend picking it up.
I give Nintendo's Super Mario Sunshine a 9 out of 10.
Sincerely,
The Bored Enthusiast
The images above belong to their respective owners, not me
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