Super Mario Sunshine is Mario’s first true game after the highly-acclaimed Super Mario 64 6 years earlier. The game opens up with Mario and the gang spending vacation on the tropical island of Delfino, only to get there and find out that it has been vandalized by a doppelganger Mario. Since Mario fits the description of the doppelganger, he is tasked with cleaning up the island with the help of a device called FLUDD.
In the game, you are supposed to find and restore shine sprites to the island’s main plaza, similar to what you did in Super Mario 64 by restoring stars to the castle to unlock more areas of the game. The main flaw with Sunshine, however, is that the levels lack variety. In Mario 64, every level was different, and it gave you a since of adventure, but in Sunshine, every level looks alike. There are also some camera issues in some levels where you are in tight spaces, it will move behind a wall, which gets annoying after awhile. Graphically, the game looks amazing. It is one of the best looking titles on the GameCube.
The biggest problem with the game is that it bears ‘Mario’ in the name, but other than Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth, barely any of the Mario characters are in the game. No goombas, koopa troopas, bullet bills, etc. You see a chain chomp in one level, a Boo in another, and you finally see Bowser and Bowser Jr., but they don’t fit in the game. It’s like putting Star Wars characters in Soul Calibur IV; they just don’t fit in.
As a platformer, Super Mario Sunshine is an overall OK game, but if you are looking for a real Mario game, I suggest you skip this one, because it will only leave you disappointed. I can’t hate on Sunshine too much, because without it, Nintendo couldn’t have built from it to make the masterpiece that is Super Mario Galaxy.
Pros:
· Great graphics.
· FLUDD makes it fun to navigate some levels.
Cons:
· Some camera issues.
· Very few familiar Mario characters.
· Bland level design.
· Cheesy Voice Acting.