Review: Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube)

Graphics- 9.5/10
Sound- 10/10
Gameplay- 9.5/10
Replay Value- 9/10
Overall- 9.5/10

Super Mario Sunshine is the sequel to the massively successful Super Mario 64 for the N64. This puts it against some pretty stiff competition. That being said the game is still very well done and manages to incorporate many of the elements of Super Mario 64.

This is one of the better reviewed games on the Gamecube and for good reason. This game manages to recapture a lot of the magic that Super Mario 64 presented, but unfortunately this game isn't as groundbreaking as 64 was. Don't misinterpret that as me saying that it is a bad game, it's still great. The game starts out with Mario, Peach and Toad on a vacation to Delfino Isle. Once they arrive they discover the island has been covered with graffiti. As a result, the islands power source, "Shine Sprites" have disappeared and to make matters worse the person polluting the island is disguised as Mario, leading to him being accused of all the pollution. He is tried and found guilty and must clean up the island as punishment. This is achieved with the help of a hand-dandy little tool called "FLUDD," which of course stands for "Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device." I give Shigeru Miyamoto props here, as he strayed away from the typical formula of Princess captured, Mario rescue. Well at least for awhile anyway...after a certain number of stars Peach is in fact captured and the focus of the game is shifted to her recuse rather than cleaning. Speaking of cleaning I forgot to mention that it is actually pretty fun even if it doesn't sound like it. In fact, that is the reason I didn't purchase the game when it first came out. I liked Mario games and wanted his next 3D adventure but the thought of you cleaning an island as the main focus just did not appeal to me. I was wrong, the FLUDD does add a whole new, great element to gameplay. Speaking of gameplay another new feature was added that I'm undecided about. It's the blue coins, every ten you collect you can purchase a Shine Sprite. I'm just not sure if you should be able to buy stars in a Mario game, they're about collecting stars and challenging yourself to get them all.

One of the things that was highly touted before this game was released was the graphics. They where touted for a good reason, they where they best on the Cube at that point and still are up towards the top. The best part of the graphics is defiantly the water graphics, which seems appropriate given the goal in the game. Unfortunately you might not get to admire the water graphics all that well because you will not be swimming underwater a lot. This isn't because there isn't opportunities to, because there are, it's because the underwater swimming system is very annoying and hard to control. Unlike Super Mario 64 underwater swimming is something you will want to avoid. Speaking of Super Mario 64, this game is definitely a sequel to it. It has many of the same elements that made is a massive success. You may ask why the score is slightly lower than its successor. That is mainly because this game lacks the newness that Mario 64 presented and is know for. However along with that comes the other thing that Super Mario 64 is well known for - the bad camera and unfortunately the camera is pretty much the same in Sunshine. There is one big improvement in this area , and that is the see-through system. When the camera gets caught and you are behind a building or wall that would normally obscure your view and easily make you lose some of your life everything will became see though. This allows you to be on the look-out for enemies and items and the like.

To me the best feature is the music/soundtrack. The music sets the "tone" nicely for a Mario game. The main music for Delfino Plaza gets annoying because you are in that area so much, but it still catchy, especially when you are riding Yoshi (he's back!) However the best music is far and away when you do "throwback" levels (old Mario side-scroller with a 3D twist.) It's the best because it's the original Mario theme...only it's a capella. C'mon. That is up with the likes of "It's Dangerous!" It just doesn't get any better than that. While that is the best feature the worst feature is something I can't believe was messed with... and that is the stars. They have been fine in previous games, but they just look queer. To be fair they are "Shine Sprites," not stars, but still. Seriously though, the main problem with this game is it's lack of freshness that we expect from a Mario game... hell, a Miyamoto game for that matter. That leads to me not wanting to play the game for as long as I did with Super Mario 64. Then again it might be unfair to compare this game to one of the best games ever (second to me behind Ocarina of Time.) Yet, to argue my point again that is what I was expecting from this game. Wow, I think I've even confused myself now. The point is this is still a great game and should be purchased before stores stop selling Gamecube games.

Pros: Many of the same elements of Super Mario 64, Music (a capella!), Graphics.
Cons: Camera is the same, Queer "stars," No new freshness.

Review: Dan