The greatest Mario game you’ve ever hated
Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 4:23pm by Staff
His red cap expresses more than words are able. The fact that “his” name is not necessary information, and that a mere description of his headwear floods the mind with fond memories - punctuated, of course, by a gleeful “Woo hoo!” - is proof enough.
Mario defines gaming.
Nary a single one of his adventures has been ill-received by critics over the years. His entertaining romps through the Mushroom Kingdom are celebrated events for gaming faithful, and production values and quality of the highest order are expected of each entry in the series.
But in 2002, Nintendo updated the classic Mario gameplay formula with a new look resulting in one of the most controversial games and clear opinion splitters in the company’s storied history.
Super Mario Sunshine received immediate praise from the gaming media, but what made critiques of the game so interesting was the uncommon level of admiration bestowed upon it. In their April 2002 issue, Play Magazine claimed it was not only one of the greatest games ever made, but that it “perhaps tops the list.” GamePro hailed it as a “masterpiece of superior game design,” and Game Informer suggested “it is the best Mario to date.”
Similar statements echoed throughout the media’s collective response to Super Mario Sunshine. According to Metacritic, an Internet authority on compiling reviews from every corner of the gaming media, the game earned an aggregate rating of 9.2 out of 10, based on 61 individual scores.
To say the game was a critical success would be to point out Mario’s affinity for blondes; the statement is obvious beyond the need for repetition.
But history has consistently shown that critically acclaimed games - Eternal Darkness and Beyond Good and Evil serve as recent examples - don’t always receive similar adoration from consumers, and Super Mario Sunshine confirmed that the split between critics and players is more like a harrowing chasm.
Only an illogical few would argue that jumping on turtles and throwing fireballs at irritating octopi isn’t hard work. If anyone has earned a vacation for services rendered, it is Mario. After 20 years of Goomba stomping, Nintendo finally rewarded their icon with a long overdue beach vacation. But within the core of the gaming community, a crime of unspeakable magnitude was slowly unraveling while Mario was soaking up rays.
People hated him for it.
The fiercest complainers overlooked several key aspects of Super Mario Sunshine, but their frustration was an understandable, and perhaps reasonable, byproduct of the substantial gambles Nintendo took when designing the game.
Perhaps a prophetic look into the company’s desire to innovate, the plot and setting of Super Mario Sunshine provided the most daring twists the series had ever taken. Familiar places and faces, once thought to be sacred elements of any Mario game, were gone. Instead, our hero was placed in an entirely new environment with a cast of mostly unrecognizable characters.
The Mushroom Kingdom, famous for its hovering bricks, smiling clouds and towering spotted mushrooms, was nowhere to be found. In its place was Isle Delfino, an island resort that was, in many ways, the antithesis of Mario’s old stomping grounds. Towering waterfalls with caverns inhabited by shell-backed Nokis replaced Bob-omb infested battlefields. Instead of a regal castle, a bustling beach-side marketplace served as the central hub of the game, and this time, Mario would visit amusement parks and ocean-view hotels instead of haunted Boo houses and Koopa fortresses.
The changes prevalent in Super Mario Sunshine ran deeper than simply cosmetics and environment. Though Isle Delfino itself may have been enough of a change to keep the game fresh, Nintendo also replaced the usual host of Mario enemies with a nameless cast of amorphous baddies, spherical ducks and yellow spiders chief among them. These changes, including the controversial addition of the FLUDD water pack, gave the game a unique freshness. But for many players, the changes amounted to nothing but an equation for mediocrity, and the result was a game that was more a sad self-parody than a progression of the series.
The primary criticism of the game has always been the same. Regardless of the specific complaint that spawns it, it manages to effectively encompass each of the individual qualms that gamers have experienced with Super Mario Sunshine:
“It just doesn’t feel like a Mario game.”
It may be an easy task to merely glance at the game and echo the same complaints that have hindered Super Mario Sunshine for years. But after only a few hours of controlling Mario through the tropical paradise, it is perhaps even easier to recognize what lies at the core of the game. While much had changed in Super Mario Sunshine, the most important aspects remained unaltered. The game was built on the same foundation as Mario classics like Super Mario World and the groundbreaking Super Mario 64, and those classic principles remained the same.
Mario may have been on vacation, but even on Isle Delfino, it was business as usual. His new journey offered the same masterful platforming and enemy stomping that had always been staples of the series. Few levels in the history of the franchise offered the elaborate platform climbing of Noki Bay and Pianta Village, both of which took Mario to staggering new heights (literally) and, given the wealth of jumping abilities and new hovering combinations at the control of the player, deeper gameplay was afforded than ever before.
And the controls - oh, the wonderful controls. Mario games have always been known for their immaculately tight controls, and Super Mario Sunshine raised the bar to an unprecedented level. Jumping around Isle Delfino was an incredibly satisfying experience simply due to the ease with which Mario could be controlled, and with the FLUDD waterpack, Mario was able to reach platforms with newfound ease and grace.
Of course, not all of the encounters in Super Mario Sunshine were new ones. Mario ran into classic enemies - Wiggler, Blooper, Piranha Plants and Bowser, among others - and had classic objectives, such as collecting red coins and finding a Yoshi to ride. The Tanooki makes a subtle cameo, and perhaps the most engrossing portions of the game are the hidden stages in which a FLUDD-less Mario must platform through obstacles - undeniably old-school - while a remix of the original Mario theme plays in the background. And as if the nostagia-meter needed any greater a surge, the action takes place in front of scrolling rotations of pixel-rendered Mario animations.
To say Super Mario Sunshine “doesn’t feel like a Mario game” is to pay only superficial attention to the game as a whole. In reality, the game toes an admirable balance between innovation and nostalgia almost perfectly throughout the entire experience.
From a development standpoint, Super Mario Sunshine remains an audio and visual achievement of the highest order. The settings were gorgeous; a visual achievement at the time, it was a incredibly vibrant experience in progressive scan that still outclasses most Wii games. Composer Koji Kondo crafted a soundtrack that set a masterful beach-side tone, but presented it in an undeniably Mario-esque fashion, allowing for a seamless marriage of appropriate sound and crisp presentation.
Certainly, the game was not without a few nagging flaws; an annoying camera would occasionally become a chore to adjust and the “epic” final showdown with Bowser reflected some questionable design choices. But to contend that Super Mario Sunshine was a poor game, or “un-Mario” in some generic fashion, is to unfairly write off one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of the last generation.
And, considering that the game can now be found in stores for $20 or less, Super Mario Sunshine stands as one of the best options available for gaming on Wii. In fact, aside from a certain space hunter and sword-wielding time traveler, it bests every Wii game to date, waggly-waggle and all.
Hype for Super Mario Galaxy increases daily, and with good reason. The upcoming Wii blockbuster is receiving praise from virtually everyone who has played it. But in the midst of anticipation for the next chapter in the Mario saga, it would be wrong to overlook the last. Previews suggesting that the series needs a reboot after the “error” of Super Mario Sunshine are doing a profound disservice to gaming as a whole. Rather, developers should take note on what Nintendo achieved with Super Mario Sunshine; it represents everything this industry should embrace, and is a beacon for a message that so often is being lost in the translation of high-powered technology, gimmicky motion controls, and obsessions with dismemberment:
Games are supposed to be fun. – Derek D. Buck
September 6th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
I played Mario Sunshine on launch day for a mere hour before resolving to power down my black GameCube in displeasure. I haven’t touched the game since. Nevertheless, your article beguiles me to give it a second chance, Derek.
September 6th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I love Sunshine. Sure, it isn’t your typical Mario adventure, and it had a really odd, unexplained plot, but as you said, the controls were wonderful, it was bright, and always put me in a good mood!
But - when the heck did the Tanooki make a “cameo appearance.” I’ve played through the entire game and can’t think of a single Tanooki reference! Can someone please fill me in?
September 6th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I dunno…..ever play Hotel Mario on the Panasonic 3DO? How’s that for controversy?;P
September 6th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I for one, agreed completely with the critics: I’ve always said that Super Mario Sunshine is the best Super Mario game there is and probably the best GameCube game!
Coincidentally, I just set up my new 360 last night, and I had to re-arrange all of my connections to my HDTV so that I could keep all of my consoles connected, including my old GameCube. And then I used Super Mario Sunshine to test my component video connection to my HDTV…
My, oh my! I have seen it before, but this time around I was comparing it almost side-to-side with the 360, and let me tell you: I understand the complaints about “GameCube graphics” even less! I think the reason people complaint about GC graphics is because they haven’t seen this game hooked up to an HDTV with prograssive scan through a component video cable, and this is because this kind of cable for the GC was a pain to get: you had to order it directly from Nintendo.com, and only the first generation GameCubes had a video output for it.
Even if you have played it on the ‘cube before, you owe it to yourself to see play it again on a properly-connected Wii on progressive scan. You won’t use the term “GameCube graphics” in a negative tone ever again!
September 6th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
The problem with the game wasn’t that it was not “Mario” enough, it’s that it was just ridiculously convoluted and difficult in some places. Everyone I know gave up in the same place - where you have to climb this great big freakin’ tower and then jump off the top into some big mouth - and then you get to fail and do it all over again.
I’m sure the game gets fun deeper in, but it was just too damn difficult for me to enjoy.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Well, i guess this is another “taste” situation, but for me, this is one of the finest games ever, totally fun.
You know what? Nintendo just can´t please their fans. Remember Twilight Princess? People says it´s an OOT remake, that it´s the same, i have even read some comments suggesting that the next Zelda should take place in the future, and like Mario Sunshine, Twilight Princes is one of the best games ever created, (the best Zelda IMHO) but when Nintendo takes some risks like they did with Sunshine, well the above article sums it uo.
So the only logic conclusion to me, is that we all Nintendo fans are in some way neurotic heheh.
Well, i´d prefer neurotic fans, than no fans, right?
September 6th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I loved the game. Sure, it was a challenge, but it was a fun challenge. Mastering the old school levels was very rewarding, and showed how tight the controls were. I never understood the hate for it. Sure, the first “world” and the initial training sorta sucked, but the more you played, the better it got.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Sunshine is my favorite Mario game. Bright, happy, fun, challenging. I spent hours without any objectives just playing around with FLUDD. The rocket attachment (the one that shoots you high, High, HIGH up in the air) was the best. Most unappreciated game ever.
Get over the lack of goombas and question blocks people, this game rocks. If Nintendo just kept giving us the same over and over again, with updated graphics, what does that sound like to you? A frequently cited major problem with the industry today?
September 6th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Same goes for me. I absolutely loved the game, the controls were so smooth and accurate. And I loved that it was a challenge. For me the challenge was half of the fun, when you finally manage to do a level, after dying some 20 times trying over and over.
Besides, as long as the controller shaped dent in the wall is fixable, who can really complain at challenging games.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Sunshine is like a virtual vacation. I loved the setting, especially the amusement park level. Not a great leap in innovation, but a worthy successor to SM64.
That is its greatest failing. There is no way Sunshine could have had the impact that SM64 had. SM64 was an innovation (like the original SMB). Sunshine was an evolution (like SMWorld). Galaxy looks to reinvent the genre yet again.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I was one of the people who didnt like it.
Actually, initially, I loved the game, the FLUDD made the whole experience pretty great platforming. (I played a peach in Mario 2, hover has always done something for me). The thing I didnt like was redoing the levels. I finished the game, grudgingly so, but I finished it. It stands on my lower end of Mario games. I liked it, I just wanted more of it.
September 6th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
I just don’t get the people who say “It just doesn’t feel like a Mario game.”
Have you people never played Super Mario 64? This is the same thing, but with the ability to hover. if the FLUDD were an additional hat you could don in special missions, people would be lining up at Nintendo HQ to demand a whole game with the FLUDD hat in it. Yet when it isn’t the traditional kind of powerup, you people reject it. I just don’t understand.
Sunshine is the second best mario game ever. (First being Super Mario World)
September 6th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I concur with every comment here. I have never understood why Sunshine was maligned by people. I prefer it to Mario 64 even, mainly because of the very detailed and fun environments. It’s the only game I’ve ever played to make a beach feel so lifelike.
September 6th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Loved it, Even better than Mario 64, If only you had the ability to hover Mario 64 may have been better, well maybe not.
The only complaint? it was about half the length of Mario 64. But at least it was a longer game than Luigi’s Mansion.
Super Mario World and Mario 3, and even to an extent Mario 2 gave me as much fun as Sunshine back in its day, but looking from the present i would say Sunshine is the better game, (just frustratingly short.)
September 6th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
I played through the game, but I also missed the Tanooki cameo. Does anyone know where it was?
September 6th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Tanookis run the Blue Coin hut where you can get sprites for your blue coins. If you don’t know where that is, it’s the house that leads to the harbor.
September 6th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
You’ve convinced me to give this game another chance! I rented it from GF, but found it kinda boring and odd. But now, thanks to your article, you’ve made me wander if I was too superficial, so ill give it another chance. Now, if you think TLoZ:WW is among the best games, (which for me, is not even close to TP or OoT) i’d like to see why :D!
September 6th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
I thought it was awesome, but too difficult. Now I’m motivated to pick up again!
September 6th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
My least favorite Mario game is Majora’s Mask.
…
…
yep, still true.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Great writeup. I almost stopped reading halfway through as it appeared to be just another “here’s why sunshine sucked” article, but as I saw the tone change, I began to realize where you were headed. It’s nice to see bloggers buck the internet trends of heaping on criticism “just because” its the thing to do. I thought this was a fantastic game. Its a perfect example of how gamers always bitch about getting fed the same game over and over with sequels but then when they are given something truly different and interesting (yet consistent with the series), they always complain about it. I thought this was a fantastic game. And I’ll just say for the record, even though it’s cool to hate on SMB2 and Zelda II, I really loved those games as well. Games don’t have to be the same game each iteration. It’s ok to make changes, even drastic ones, as you try to find new paths to greatness. You just have to accept the inevitable “swing and a miss” results. Fortunately these games/series have seen few of those.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Spent about 6 hours playing this again while I was on vacation this past weekend. (No, I wasn’t vacationing on a tropical island, but the irony isn’t lost on me.)
Still the best game ever made in my book. Mario Galaxy has some big shoes to fill. And those who’d rewrite the history books to say it sold poorly or was a disaster are simply wrong; as far as I know, Sunshine was second only to SSBM in Gamecube sales at the end of the day.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I enjoyed Sunshine but it still has one major flaw, IMO. The end battle sucked. I don’t care what anybody says; that’s just an objective fact. The area leading up to it was short, boring and pathetic compared to the final Bowser’s Castle of Super Mario 64. You didn’t even have to use all your FLUDD power-ups. Then the boss battle itself was just underwhelming and didn’t have anywhere near the epic, atmospheric feel of the final showdown with Bowser in SM64.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
I never felt compelled to get any stars beyond what was required for bowser, the game was fun up until bowser and then after that I wasnt motivated to continue …
September 6th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
I didn’t like Sunshine. I’ve tried to get into it multiple times, but I just can’t.
The game is just rudderless, if you ask me. The objectives are rarely clear, it’s irritating having to clean up the island, keeping track of FLUDD’s water supply is more of a chore than anything else…I could go on.
The gameplay and game mechanics are rock solid, but the game itself has this meandering feel. It almost feels like it has Zelda elements built into it, in some respects, and that just doesn’t work for a Mario game.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
I’m sorry but I couldn’t but this game down when it came out. It really was quite weird, but it was extremely fun none the less. And those secret stages were quite challenging!!
September 7th, 2007 at 12:33 am
I think you missed a big flaw that most maligners will bring up–the game is just tedious. The game is built on an exceptionally well made ground, but it’s just too tedious.
September 7th, 2007 at 1:32 am
You know, this game was a mixed bag for me.
On one hand: The controls were tight and precise, FLUDD was an interesting addition to the Mario universe (And tied this game to Luigi’s Mansion cleverly), the game featured some of the best platforming elements to date, and it’s just so gosh darn gorgeous. I’ve never felt so serene and upbeat playing a video game. They did a top notch with the setting.
On the other: It’s a tedious game. When you’re not busy busting baddies with your FLUDD or hovering, rocketing, and spraying your way through interesting challenges, you’re too busy cleaning things up or chasing after stuff. NOTHING is more irritating than that part at the hotel where you have to spray all of those electric sting rays. BAH! My point is, when things are going, they’re going well and fast, but when you get to those two or three missions that are tedious, it quite frankly really sucks.
Let’s also note that it introduced Bowser Jr., who admittedly has his merrits as a character. But let’s face it, he’s just one more nail in the coffin of the other 7 Koopalings: seriously, they need to be featured in a Mario adventure again. It’s been forever.
I think the reason that most people dont feel for this game is because it rips you and Mario out of the ordinary setting. No longer are you in the Mushroom Kingdom defeating the same enemies and completing the same challenges, following the same scenarios. That can be scary for some gamers. ^_^
September 7th, 2007 at 3:23 am
Strange, most of these reactions is about Sunshine love, where did this come?
The article is great, makes you wanna pick it up again.
Unfortunately, Sunshine bores the shit out of me. Can’t tell why. But with Galaxy around the corner and this article I will give it another go.
The catchy tune will be stuck in my head the rest of the day. Thanks.
September 7th, 2007 at 9:39 am
I was very surprised by Sunshine back when I played it. I hate mario 64, but Sunshine fixed pretty much everything except the camera problems. My only gripe is not enough of the secret stages, they could be really hard but they were by far the best parts of the game.
September 7th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Loved everything about it, except the difficulty. I just found it way too hard. Conceptually the ’secret’ levels are fantastic, but they were just too frustrating in practice.
I could just about cope with some of the difficulty but then they went ahead and made ultra-frustrating design choices where you go through a huge load of difficult platforming sections fluff one tiny jump then end up at the bottom, having to do it all again.
That was fine for short 2D Mario stages, but became mind-bendingly annoying with large 3D levels.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
haha… I was humming the music yesterday and now your article makes me want to go play it again.
one of my favorite games. took mario 64’s place in my heart, and them sum. Most of these silly complaints come from people who gave up on the game without giving it a chance to own their souls. it would be like walking out on “the 6th sense” 5 minutes before the end and writing a review about it.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Yeah I’m wondering where all this Sunshine love came from too…
The problem I had with the game was for a Nintendo game, it was very unpolished. It had way too many glitches, especially the ghost hotel part. That was just straight up bad. I just expected a Nintendo made game and espeically a true Mario game to be more polished.
I don’t think the game sucks by any means, but there’s no way I consider this one of the best games ever made, and I’m not even sure it’s in the Top 5 of best Mario games made.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I loved SMS, I remember spending a weekend working in the garden so my mum would buy it for me on release day.
Thought it was a cracking game, and the plot was really good and engrossing I thought.
My only criticism of it was that the basic premise was too similar to SM64:
SM64 - collect 120 stars, allowing access to new levels
SMS: collect 120 Shines, allowing access to new levels
That aside, I think it’s a brilliant game and one of the best on the GC
September 8th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I think that the levels without the FLUDD is way too hard!! They’re crazy hard!!
I never take me the time to finish games anymore, which is sad really. Over 20 unread books on my shelf in the living room. I’d better do something about it someday…
September 8th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Actually, if I had to sum up my criticisms of Super Mario Sunshine into a single sentence, it would be “it’s too much like Super Mario 64″. I actually felt that it was low on the innovation meter; other than the squirt gun and the cosmetic/plot substitution of Delphino Isle for Peach Castle, it felt essentially like Mario 64 with a next-gen coat of polygons.
While I liked that you could no longer punch and kick to kill enemies and now had to resort to other more Mario-typic methods (like stomping) to kill enemies, the rest of the game largely took annoying elements of Mario 64 and magnified them. There seemed to be fewer levels and a larger number of fetch quests designed to have you replay the same old levels over and over. While there were more platforming challenges than before, they seemed to merely tax the limitations of 3D controls rather than tax your skill and reflexes the way the 2D titles did. The enemies were of the same unchallenging decorative nature of Mario 64, and the levels still felt closed-in and constricted, centered on gimmicks.
All in all, the game was not really fun, interesting, or rewarding enough to be worth trudging through repeat plays of the levels scouring for stars/suns or navigating the frustrating puzzle/platform challenged.
But then, I didn’t really like Mario 64 either. It was a good first foray into the world of 3D, but ultimately, Nintendo will have to return the Mario series to a more linear, sprawling, challenging format, involving more survival and less fetch-questing, more floating block, bricks, powerups, and koopa-troopa stomping to regain my interest. Essentially, I want Super Mario Bros in full 3D, not some wacky, random Miyamoto gimmick presentation.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 am
[...] Mario Sunshine I have always worn my adoration for Super Mario Sunshine boldly on my sleeve. My very first article for Infendo, in fact, was a gushing love letter detailing why it is “the greatest Mario game [...]
August 31st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I personally though Sunshine was somewhat of a let down. There were some parts of the game which were really fun and inventive I thought. I liked the concept behind FLUDD and letting Mario hover was a great idea for this game. However I question many of the level and design choices that Nintendo made. A lot of times I thought the objectives for the stages weren’t very well explained and this made just the simple task of accomplishing what you knew you to do quite tedious and frustrating. Some objectives too I thought were just straight up boring and more of a chore to play through than anything. After I finished those kinds of objectives it made me think “thank God I’ll never have to do that one again.” Also some of the level design could have used some more polishing. Sure the environments were all unique and nicely detailed, but they really punished players who made one little mistake with a mistimed jump or a mis executed hover. All of this was made more frustrating by the camera which was quite difficult to control and many times would just not ever give you a good view of the action.
All of these little negatives for me just added up to create a game that was at times just not very fun to play. It was in no means a bad game, and its certainly possible to look past the flaws and have a good time with this game. I guess in some way I just expected a more polished product from Nintendo and from Mario games in general. Part of it has to with high expectations considering the legacy of the series. Sunshine was a victim of this legacy in a way.