When I was younger, Super Mario Sunshine was a game that just didn’t gel with me. I fully completed Super Mario 64 multiple times, yet I never got enough shines to reach Bowser in Sunshine. I was looking forward to giving the game a second chance in this playthrough, but sadly it didn’t take long for the same feelings to sink in. The story of Mario having to clean up after “Shadow Mario” spreads graffiti seems appropriate to me because the game feels like a chore to me. I think it’s down to two main things: the controls and the levels.
Super Mario Sunshine focuses a lot on Mario’s new water gun backpack, FLUDD. As a result, Mario’s core movement has been reduced, something that I think was Sunshine’s biggest mistake. Super Mario 64 is still a complete joy to just jump around an area, as you could easily string together multiple kinds of moves to get around quickly, with the long jump being a huge focus. Here, it has been replaced by a very slow hover.
I can kind of understand why they did this, as the FLUDD adds a lot more to do in the game, but I still think Mario’s full moveset could have still worked. The FLUDD itself works very well, with the main water gun letting you clean goop while running by holding the shoulder button partway, or standing still and aiming by fully holding it down. The hover mode does let you get a decent distance, I just wish it was a bit speedier.
You also unlock a couple of new nozzles, such as one that sends you hurtling forward at high speed and another that sends Mario up much higher. Unfortunately, you can’t swap between them at will, so you have to find boxes in the levels to swap between them. They really should have been mapped to the D-pad, with ways to combine movement – the FLUDD would have worked really well if you could boost upwards and then hover for some vertical distance. Instead, moving around the levels just feels constrained. The camera also didn’t help, as I struggled to get it to look where I wanted it to – when you’re not aiming the FLUDD, the camera has a strange aversion to letting you see upwards.
Another thing I love about 3D platformers are varied levels, and the visual style is vital to that. Sunshine leans into the holiday resort theme a bit too much, with every level being a sunny seaside level. The levels are mechanically different, with the climbing-focused dock level, or the theme parks with lots of rides to interact with, but I just didn’t find them interesting to explore. There also aren’t that many levels – having a lot of seaside levels would work well if there were other varied ones in between.
So, to me, Super Mario Sunshine is a 3D platformer that isn’t fun to jump around in, and levels that aren’t compelling to explore. Which are very key elements to a 3D platformer. It’s a shame, as Sunshine is extremely well made, and I don’t fault anyone that thinks it’s a brilliant game. Having Yoshi in 3D is great, the water looks amazing and the stuff to do in Delfino Plaza makes it a wonderful hub world. I just don’t like actually playing the game.