Super Mario Sunshine Review (GameCube)

Love this game!

Totally agree with the conclusion, probably best mario game ive played after new super mb wii!

Wasn't this game already reviewed? I wish I could find a copy of SMS.

Edit: That's cool Prosody, many of the old reviews were short so thanks mods for re-reviewing them.

@Ezekiel We're going through some of our old reviews to bring them up to our tough new standard

My favorite 3D mario game ( Mario 64 & Galaxy= to me)

Super Mario Sunshine still shines brightly as a classic Mario adventure.

Nope, and you've done classic Mario games a disservice by claiming so.

I like this and Lugi's Mansion more than SM64!

I really like this game, but there are things I don't like about it. The visuals are nothing short of amazing, but using the water pack and finicky camera sucked some of the fun away. As good as it is its not quite up there with Mario 64 and Galaxy. NPC would be welcomed

This is one of the few official Super Mario titles that I don't particularly care for. Just never felt much like a Super Mario game to me. Felt like an interesting platformer that had Super Mario characters tossed into it. Maybe it wasn't what I was expecting.

I wasn't expecting anything and I loved it. Coincidence?

@Corbie, hater...

Kinda agree with the final score. While not what was expected, it still is very good and holds up on it's own.

My favorite of the 3D Marios is this one, Galaxy an extremely close second, and 64 a not far behind third.

My favorite parts of the game were the "3D classic" set ups, where Bowser Jr. stole FLUDD and you did a straight platformer level. Galaxy is my favorite, we'll see if Galaxy 2 can replace it.... HOWEVER, I would run out and buy this the MOMENT it came out if it ever comes to New Play Control on Wii!

64 and galaxy destroy this game. it doesnt feel like a mario game and what the heck is fludd all about, it destroys the purpose of mario stoping on baddies not spraying him with water. and bowser talking was full of blueberries and he sounded too much like the father of a little boy than a villian. the story was utter pineapple (oooo mario is on an island and has to clean it up whoopdy doo) but some things like the levels were good, but wayyy tooo easy! this is more like a 7/10 (64 is 9 and galaxy is 10)

i guess we'll have to wait till E3 to see if they announce any new playcontrol cuz otherwise i want this in my collection with other nintendo games

Personally I'd give 64 and Galaxy a 10 each, and I loved every bit of this game, it's really tough to fault IMO.

also one of my fav games, my first fav being Mario 64 and okami definitely in my top too.

using flood in combination with a spin jump allowed so much air exploration and just fun all around. the water effects and physics are beautiful and there's so many blue coins to find that you need a checklist to find them all. so much replayability with fun glitches such as walking underwater and such and making speedruns, this game is truly a classic

One of my favorite games on the GameCube. Truly a Mario Classic.

I personally liked this game better than Super Mario Galaxy and I disagree with you BB Thrilla. I thought the island music and just the atmosphere in general was beautiful and the FLUDD was a blast to use. The story was a bit hokey, but a lot of video games have bizarre stories and it doesn't take away that much from the game. Overall I didn't have that many problems with this game.

@bbthriller, the spin in galaxy destroys the purpose of jumping on enemies and the punching in 64 destroyed the purpose of jumping on enemies.

Not my favorite Mario game but still a good game. I enjoyed the FLUDD-less levels the most because they were the only challenging parts of the game. However, the final boss battle with Bowser was super pathetic and left me not liking the game as much as other Mario games.

<3 this game. I wasted many hours just messing around in Delfino Plaza, lol.

A true Mario classic, still needed that extra touch to make it fully memorable, but still a great example to how great Mario games are...

Although in my personal taste I liked better Luigi's Mansion (had a ringtone with the "Maaarrrioooooo !!" sceam that luigi does...)

I am really glad to see this game got a 9. I know it isn't everyone's favorite Mario title, but it's really great. In fact, reading this has gotten me in the mood to play it, right now.

Whoa, that was a surprise. Well, if a game ever deserved to be reviewed twice, it was this one.
So many memories...

Edit:
"I wasn't expecting anything and I loved it. Coincidence?"
You might be on to something, this was my very first Mario game and I absolutely loved it. Had nothing else to compare it to.

"On the other end of the audio spectrum, you end up dreading talking to the locals, as they sound like Cletus from The Simpsons. Luckily enough you don’t really have to talk to them all that much, and it’s a lot more fun to just jump on their heads over and over again."

Really? I found the speech of the in game locals to be hilarious.

This is the only Mario title I havent really played(an Hour or so only back in the GCN days)or have cared for. but after watching several Youtube video's it indeed does look fantastic and such an amazing scope regarding level designs and the worlds ect. I need to nab myself a copy from eBay

Anyways, the only Mario Platformer that ever let me down was Super Mario Land 2 for the GameBoy.....Bland uninspired boring level designs, random enemies and next to zero challenge, i had a much better time with the quirky and more challenging first Super Mario Land. The only good thing to come out of SML 2 was the carrot/rabbit ears and SMB3 Inspired World Map.

I love this game. I think it's a tie between Super Mario Galaxy and Sunshine. Mario 64 is great, but i rank it after those two.

Sunshine: 10/10.

I loved Sunshine.
It's not my favorite, but it's still a great game.

The game was short, and the final boss battle was a bit of a letdown, butcher I do really like this game. The characters, the challenges, the story, all of it was up to par with my usual expectations of a main series Mario game.

i never liked SM64, but i loved Sunshine for some reason!
i still have it, i think it was bundled with my (now dead) game cube.

I consider this to be the worst mario platformer made, everything feels too much like work and the mario magic is few and far between

Nowhere near SMG, that's for sure. I tried and I tried and I never really got into it... it's still enjoyable, though. I'd 7/10 it.

I couldn't really get into this one, sure glad for it's successor though (SMG)!

Wow some varying opinions in the comments above. Personally, I liked the game, loved the levels but the camera could've been better, the FLUDD thing was awesome though (doing a backflip while shooting water is fun). Yeah, 'Galaxy > 64 > Sunshine' is my order, that's not to say Sunshine is a bad game it just is a bit too buggy with a fairly wierd story.

This game was a great third-person water-gun shooter. Actually it is a very fun game, with probably the best hub world of all the 3D Marios. There are some levels that really annoyed me, though--when I replay the game, I almost never bother with the 8th Shine Sprite in any area. There are some other annoying levels as well, but it's still a great game overall, even with the lousy end boss.

I'd subtract a point JUST because of those blue coins. What was Nintendo thinking?

I wasn't too into this one, still a really good game but the level design was pretty bad imo. However, the way Mario controlled (including the FLUDD) is better in this game than in Galaxy. It feels quicker and more responsive.

I consider this to be the worst mario platformer made, everything feels too much like work and the mario magic is few and far between

There's a sentiment I can agree with, halfway through the game the fun ends, and the chores begin.

I remember getting this last year,watching NintendoCaprisun's
Let's Play on Youtube on Super Mario Sunshine and playing through it with him as he goes along. Ah great memories.

Good game but Bowser is giant and his voice is very weird.

Worst Mario ever. 3/10 in my book.

I dunno. I love Sunshine, I really do, but I don't think it deserves a 9. Maybe an 8. In my opinion it was the worst of the 3D Mario games. Still great, but a bit lacking in places.

Personally, I prefer Sunshine over Super Mario 64 or Galaxy. It gives you so much more to see and do, and I prefer the more forgiving gameplay and tropical scenery.

I absolutely adore this game - yes, SM64 and Galaxy are better, and I would have to agree with a 9, purely because of the blue coins - but for some reason it just clicks with me. One of my favourite games.

Mario 64 was the Pinnacle of Super Mario Bros and its been downhill ever since. I didnt care for Sunshine at all.

I actually prefer this one over Super Mario 64. I just think that because it had so many unique things about it that that's why I like it so much. Although, it was a little too difficult at times.

@28: I think you're forgetting SML2 was also the premier of the greatest Mario-universe character ever, Wario.

But yeah, Sunshine rocks. I even love the blue coins. But, like so many people, I love the FLUDDless platforming sections best. And the squid surfing seriously annoyed me for a while.

A 6 at best in my opinion.

I loved every part of this game. What people don't seem to realize about it is that this really is a core-style Mario game, but all that was added was FLUDD. I liked having FLUDD, and while it made the game easier and less like 64 or Galaxy, it added a new level of depth to this game that I think would have made Sunshine suck without.

I don't care what anyone says this was a true sequel to SM64 and I loved it. No it wasn't set in the MK, and yes they added new enemies and locales, that just made it better. Not being in the MK was no drawback... at all. It's not even worth mentioning really, yes it upset some fanboys, but it was never a part of any serious critiques or reviews, after all it wasn't Sonic Adventure either, but do we knock it points for that? There's too much concern for what it could have been, too much consideration for what the ignorant fanboys think, and not enough attention to what the developer's goals were, and the quality of what they created. This is something I wish would vanish from online reviews altogether. Otherwise, good review.

Yes, this game is awesomeness. I gave my copy to my cousin a long time ago, and I need to pick this up again...

this game is good but I like galaxy better
although the music was better in sunshine

I loved Sunshine, although I would only rate it at an 8 at best. The camera was the worst part, as I almost always wound up with a giant obstacle inbetween Mario and the screen (especially during those crucial moments when I'm hovering from one platform to the next with a bottomless pit beneath me). The bonus stages were probably the best part of the game, aside from the Pachinko (what the hell was up with the physics in that stage?) and Pianta Toss levels.

Also...

Flash Liquidising Ultra Dousing Device

The L actually stands for "Liquidizer" (unless it's different in Australia).

@Bakajin I completely forget about mentioning the awesomeness of Wario being introduced in Super Mario Land 2. His Castle was also the greatest thing about SML2, and it was challenging and pretty tricky!

But the rest of the game....bluh. Overall SML2 was decent at best. SML on the otherhand kills it

A truly great game that I'm dying to replay, too bad I don't own a copy of it and the only person I know who could lend me theirs is a jerk...

@Prosody: Keep the re-reviews coming, there are way too many older games whose reviews are too short to possibly do them justice...

This game was brilliant from start to end, see my review of it here.

y were ppl saying that this game was bad?
it didnt seem bad to me at all

I always find it surprising how much animosity there is towards Sunshine. Oh well.

Definetly a 10.

My all time favorite platformer. Contrary to your review, I think the consistancy of the level design is what makes the game so brilliant. There's not a lot of "variety: in the traditional sense. There's no forest level, fire level or sea-themed level like traditional platformers. Instead, all the "worlds" take place in different tropical locations within Isle Delfino, which gave the game a really beautiful flow. Unlike Galaxy where every world is completely unlike the last, Sunshine really gave the player the impression that they were really in one huge, flowing island (you can even see other game-locations in the background). That's my favorite part of Sunshine, honestly. Nintendo didn't say, "okay, how can we fit an ice-world in Super Mario Sunshine?". They sat down and said, "okay, we want this to take place on a tropical island resort. What kind of things can we base levels off of that make sense in that setting?" A beach. A harbor. A hotel. An amusement park. That's what I f***ing love about this game--it's all so ridiculous, but it's presented in a way that makes so much sense.

This is the first 3-D Mario game I ever played, and while it's not still my favourite, it'll always have a special place in my collection.

In a way, this reminds me of Super Paper Mario. Based on many comments, people didn't like SPM just because it was different from other paper mario games, rather than because it was a bad game. It sort of seems that this is the same way. It was a great game, but it didn't really feel like a mario game in my opinion. Still just as good as SMG or 64 in my opinion. All three get a 10/10 from me.

The mario that I like the least so far. Is more like a weird experiment than a true Mario. The water gun and the level is so bizarre and tedious something that Galaxy fixed but New super mario bros. wii is 100% more Mario than this one. No wonder why very few liked it and didn't moved 'cubes.

I'll give it a 6/10

I disagree, I hated super paper mario because it was an outright bad game in my opinion

Very underrated game.

Super Mario Sunshine is a great game. I remember back in the day (2002) sleeping in on lazy saturdays, with my friend dragging me out of bed and kicking my butt all the way to K-Mart to play this awesome game. The hover nozzle felt a little bit gimmiky at first, until you unlock the Turbo and Rocket nozzles - and that is where the true fun begins!!!

I finally broke down and bought a Gamecube in 2004, and guess what my friend got me for Christmas?

Yup, Mario Sunshine. This is a very fair review. My favorite levels were Delfino Plaza, Pianta Village, and Serina Beach. Ironically, this may have been due to the refreshing change in scenery: Delfino Plaza had oh so many secret areas, Pianta village had day and night stages, and Serina Beach takes place at Sunset, also including the biggest indoor area (Hotel Delfino) in the whole game.

WARNING - SPOILERS!
Most shocking revalation: Shadow Mario is Bowser Jr.
Most hilareous moment: The final battle takes place in a hottub!
Most aggrivating moment: Blooper Racing: I got so frustrated, I kicked my GameCube six feet across the room slamming in into the wall, but at least it still worked after that incident...

I personally don't think any Main Mario series has a "bad" or "underrated" but when it comes to Super Mario Sunshine well i can see why some called it "underrated" but comparing a AAA game to a Classic AAA game like Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Galaxy is hard to describe the flawed is to why it isn't a classic despite it's a AAA Title, well i can say the same thing to Super Mario Bros 2 i mean that's a AAA game to but not a classic, my point is this is what separate a Mario like feel aka a classic from a random location such as a Dream world or turn a non Mario game into a Mario game same thing can be sad about Super Mario Sunshine no one sad it was "bad" is just not Mario. what do i mean by that? Well if you can't understand difference well my only advice is play all the Mario games maybe then you will see what i mean.

The best part of the game was the hub world and music. 6/10 from me.

"Most aggrivating moment: Blooper Racing: I got so frustrated, I kicked my GameCube six feet across the room slamming in into the wall, but at least it still worked after that incident... "
Really? I personally loved the bloopers.

I see Sunshine more like a spin-off than a sequal to SM64. That said, it's still an awesome spin-off for that matter.

I applaud Nintendo for trying something different with the game. It didn't all work, but it is a nice addition to the franchise. I think Mario 64 is the best of the 3D games, but Sunshine and Galaxy are tied for 2nd.

If any game needed a New Play Control edition, it was this one.

Oh you reviewed this? This is what I posted on VCF just a few minutes ago:

10/10 - Second best Gamecube game (next to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)

It took me eight months to beat this game with 120 stars and it was worth it - not only for the giant amount of gameplay time alone. Every little secret in all the hidden corners of all those beautiful worlds, all these challenging passages and the clever puzzles that most people never lay their eyes on. This game was awesome and still is!! There was stuff hidden under sand, stuff hidden in windows, in the waters, the sewers, in boxes and even inside birds. Shooting and floating around with the water jetpack were just two of the best actions Mario ever learnt! You could do so much with it, it made everything so much more interactive!!

Next to Wind Waker this was the defining Gamecube title! It introduced an original gameplay mechanic to the Gamecube Controller's new analogue shoulder buttons. It had never-seen-before graphic detail: realistic water physics, awesome heat effects, dust/sand particles, animated paint textures and all kinds of lensflare, mirror and transparency tricks. The music in all stages was odd at first but turned Mario-holiday-like pretty soon, it's a wonderful endorsement to the rest of Mario's soundtrack library and is great to listen to on its own.

I compare this to the 3 days I needed to get Super Mario Galaxy's 120 stars and the 7 days to get New Super Mario Bros. Wii's 100% completion where gameplay time doesn't fit the price and the fun was over way too soon.
Not so in Sunshine's eight months, which not only was the longest and best summer ever: 2003 what a great year!
The game is fun and challenge filled with truckloads of secrets just like Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and Super Mario 64!

For me it is the last truly outstanding Super Mario game and it's recommended for real gamers (not the annoying casual disgraces that turn the videogaming world into a wasteland of easy children games where the game plays itself for the watcher!) Where's the vomit smiley anyway?

One of the best 3D platformers of all time. Sunshine is way better than Galaxy thanks to explorable levels and the blue coins of course.

Super Mario 64: 10/10
Super Mario Sunshine: 9,5/10
Super Mario Galaxy: 8/10

Sunshine OVER Galaxy any day.
This game is magical.

Great game. I still can't beat this 100% yet. Maybe a redo will be fine for me.

I give this a 9.0/10.

9/10? Just no way. Even Mario Galaxy doesn't deserve that high!

I'm glad I have a lot of support for the 9/10, lol. I knew this was the game that would draw a line down the middle of you guys

Take the cutscenes out, or if they were more of a Galaxy quality, then I would have given it a ten.

And as for the villagers, I more meant the sound that they make, rather than the actual text/speech that they say

Best controls in a Mario game ever.

This is not a good game. It's a horrible Mario game, and as games in general go, it's not that good either. This game is basically what Mario 3 would have been like if you had had to play with the korubo shoe the entire time. It's a fun little gimmick, but it should have been a diversion, not the core gameplay device.

5 Points? 9 Points? 7.256 Points? What has the random-number program calculated today? I still think that there should be no points at the end of a review. I know there are people who love Mario Sunshine and at least the same number of people who hate it. And that really applies to almost all games. So why waste time to award a subjective score?

This was the first Mario game that I played after SMB 3 on the NES. First Mario 3D game that I played as well. It took a while to get adjusted to the 3D environment but I thought it was better than Mario 64. But between Galaxy and Sunshine, I like Galazy more. FLUDD was good for gameplay but there wasn't enough variety.

@lz2010
Agree 100%

this was one of the finest Mario games to date!

All this talk makes me want to play it again, after all these years. This time, I will get all the shines!

My favorite...with Galaxy. Galaxy has even more astonishing world, but Sunshine is super fun and washing the crud is...neat. I have been hoping for another game, where I can do some cleaning. Hopefully there will be another Luigi's Mansion then. Sunshine has the best gameplay in series, as you could do Jackie Chan things with Mario.

You gave it a 9 because it had bad cutscenes? I wouldn't give it a 10 either, but that's one of the worst reasons to subtract a star!

@uel,
those cutscenes were horrible! I actually do not replay this game because of those cutscenes (I hate watching most cutscenes, but Sunshines were really bad).

If they would get rid of the cutscenes (or at least make them so that I can skip them), get rid of the blue coins (those were boring and horrible to collect), and increased the number of fludd-less levels (and let me replay them without Fludd), this would have been a 10/10 game.

It is still a good game, but I feel that Sunshine is the weakest of the Mario games. It almost feels like SMB2, in that it was originally another game and Mario characters were inserted later.

Well, I'll be giving SMS a go this weekend on Wii in between SMG and SMG 2.

I didn't mind them cutscenes...and they were so short, that neither should anyone either mind them. I actually kind of liked them. The meat, the game is 10/10.

I know it's more acceptable to like Mario 64, but I prefer this one. Mario 64 was a great "proof of concept" title, showing that a 3D platformer was a viable proposition, but Sunshine was the better game, I feel.

But then, I think the best Mario title ever is Super Mario World, so what do I know?

I hope that the future New Super Mario Brosses go in to the direction of Super Mario World! Its one of my favorites too!

No way it should be over a 5. This game SUCKS terribly.

I LOVE this game.

Some parts of Super Mario Sunshine are awesome, but there's too much guff

Uh, Kelvin? Super Mario World IS the best Mario title ever.

@davey1983: If you don't want your copy of Sunshine, I'll take it off your hands...

One of the funny things when I fought Dino-Piranha in Galaxy (the first boss you encounter), I kept expecting him to puke sludge all over me and he never did. Likewise, I imagine that I'm probably going to miss Yoshi's "Rainbow Juice Vomit" equally as much whenever I finally get to ride him in Galaxy 2, ROTLMAO!

@mic0961: What bothers me is that people do not consider buying a game because a so called "reviewer" thinks it is bad. Or people buy a game that they really don't like but one reviewer said it is nearly perfect. I bet there are now at least 100 people ran off, in order to buy SMS because 9/10. I find that dubious. Do people not understand that review scores are always a very subjective matter?

This is my favorite mario game.
_{I didn't like galaxy}

SMS is now retro.... man I'm getting old.

This game is bizarre. I have to say this is by far the hardest Mario game out there. @plankton: I think ten years passing should be considered retro, and this came out in 2002 so you have a couple years of youth left

gotta love this game. its challenging,fun and has a great soundtrack:)

I tried to like this game as much as SM64 or Galaxy, I really tried but I just don't like it as much.

My favorite mario game

You know how In mario 64 they have floors and in galaxy they have observatories, well what to they have for this game??

The first game that I have played when I got my gamecube. I beat it. I really want to play it again but I can't find it. : (

Ah the best 3D mario game! I don't know why there is a Galaxy 2 there should be a Sunshine 2 before that very bad game got a sequel.

@NassaDane

What the heck are you talking about? Galaxy is NOT a bad game! THIS, 64 and Galaxy are great 3D Mario games!

@Nintendogames1000: NassaDane is welcome to their opinion. No need to flip out :3

This was my first video game ever back in 2005, and my favorite game of all time! i have played many MANY games on all systems, and sunshine is awesome! It had a huge impact on my childhood THIS GAME NEEEEDDS A SEQUEL!

how could it not get a 10

Collinhall knows what he is talking about! My kind of a gamer!

Makes me wish that I had a gamecube controller. Noboby say SM64 to me, for it was bad. You say the controls on the DS version are bad? The 64 controls are bad!

God times, Good times........
Its an odd Mario, but it has more voice acting then Galaxy.

Good game overall, but there were some...faults.
Horrible voice-acting.
At times the camera was .
And I hated the straight platforming levels. I'd got so used to using FLUUD and then the game does a "screw you" and dumps me in a crazy platforming section. Least enjoyable parts of the game.
But still a good game, love the music.

I love this game, but I wish FLUDD wasn't the only way to attack(besides jumping). They could have assigned B as punch like in SM64, instead of just twitching.

I wish they'd make a whole game like the FLUDD-less levels

I hate this game a lot. This game is the reason I hate the Gamecube. Oh where do I begin. First off, the camera is terrible. There are countless times where I was stuck because I mistimed my jump and landed in an area where the camera would just go ballistic. Seriously, they should have done a Banjo-Kazooie type of camera. That game had the perfect camera. Secondly, the music is a downgrade from 64. All of the tunes in my opinion are highly forgettable and only add ambiance to the game. Sorry, Super Mario 64 had better music. Lastly the control feels slippery. In Mario 64 it was a minor problem but here it's an issue. Even on dry land, Mario runs like he has grease on his shoes. I fell into harmful water numerous times because Mario fell off of the ledge while running. I don't know it may be that I suck at this game (I only got 83 sunshine stars) but I just hate this game so much. Play Jak and Dakster the Precursor Legacy, the platforming is done very well in that game.

This is possibly my most favorite Mario game, and this is why.
1. Nintendo introduced something completely unique to the mario world, which makes this Mario game stand out amongst the plethora of other mario games.
2.It was challenging, especially because the game lets you get accustomed to FLUDD, then after you've learned how to use it so well, it takes it away from you, forcing old school platforming.
3. Graphically and technically impressive. Super Mario 64 was a revolution for its time, and Sunshine was a graphical revolution all on its own, with beautiful water effects, well made character models, and some of the best made 3D mario levels.

Honestly, people didnt give this game a fair shot. Just because its different doesnt make it bad. Thats like saying individuality is a bad thing, and that every game needs to be exactly the same to one another. If your looking for a unique experience, with lots of challenges and plenty of stuff to do, Super Mario Sunshine is well worth your time.

This Game Was Great I feel sorry for mario though, on his only true vacation he gets stuck with a talking hose to clean up graffiti I mean come on Nintendo. also i found this by far the hardest of all the 3D super mario games

A lot of the people who are now in their late teens and early twenties seem to pick this one as their favorite Mario game. I wonder if it's because it was their first?

Nope, that's not why./delayedresponse

I shouid BUY this game for my Game Cube. (or just play it on wii)

Oh come on it is awesome! It took a while getting use to flood and Mario's crazy speed but it is still a solid title as another excellent addition to Mario. 8.5/10.

The voices aren't all that bad :"P I am fond of the Pianta voices especially! d:

@BestBuck123 I agree it's way better than Galaxy 2. G 2 was just a re-hashing of the first one. This one actually tried a lot of new ideas.

This game was my first on the gamecube. I had no idea bowser had a son. How the heck did he get one? He doesn't have a wife! Anyway, I love the levels and mario's water gun made by E.Gadd! It has a few glitches, and they're pretty funny! This game is amazing!

Sunshine > Galaxy > 64
I have all. Seriously.

@Donatello I know this is 14 years late, but no way you actually called the first Mario Land challenging and inspired. The worst physics of any Mario game, level designs repeat themselves WITHIN THE SAME LEVEL, and the whole thing goes by in half an hour.

Truly one of the Mario games of all time. Don't love it, don't hate it. . .it's just there for me.