Collection essentials #569: Super Mario Sunshine (GC)

The GameCube was of course going to get a big new blockbuster Mario game. Fans would have to wait a little longer than normal, though. The last two Nintendo consoles launched with the big Mario game, but GameCube owners would have to settle for Luigi’s Mansion until the summer of 2002 to get their hands on this highly-anticipated game.

Super Mario 64 was an entirely new type of platformer from what we had seen out of Mario before, due to it being in 3D. Super Mario Sunshine wasn’t going to try and reinvent itself in the same way; it follows a similar gameplay style to that of 64. But it’s by no means a copycat, and just by looking at the front cover you can get an idea that things are gonna be a little different this time around.

The plot of the game involves Mario headed for a tropical vacation on “Isle Delfino” along with Princess Peach and some of her Toad (mushroom person) assistants. Upon arrival, they find some odd sludge that vaguely resembles paint all over the area next to where their plane lands. Conveniently, Mario encounters a robotic water-spraying device called F.L.U.D.D. which he promptly uses to wash away the gunk and defeat a strange monster that comes out of it. Rather than starting a luxury vacation, Mario finds himself arrested and dragged into court, as the sludge is being spread all over the island allegedly by Mario. The actual culprit is a mysterious shadowy figure that seems to be mimicking Mario’s appearance, but he’s not able to prove that so easily. And so, Mario is tasked with using F.L.U.D.D. to clean up the mess in various parts of the island, and along the way he must uncover who is responsible and why.

The basic structure of the game resembles Mario 64 very much. There’s a central hub area that Mario can freely roam around in, and he can find entrances to various other locales on the island. Upon entering one, he must pick an objective, and then the circumstances of the level depend on which one he picked. Completing one earns him a “Shine Sprite”, which function much like the stars from Mario 64. You’ll need certain numbers of them in order to progress.

Mario has a lot of the moves that he had in Super Mario 64, though not all. There’s still a lot of jumping and platforming to be done, but there’s a lot of focus on the F.L.U.D.D. It has a few different nozzles which spray water in different ways to accomplish different things. The two default nozzles are the standard spray nozzle, and one that sprays water straight down to allow Mario to hover in midair for a few seconds (or until the water supply runs out). Hovering makes some of the platforming segments a lot more forgiving. Other nozzles must be found in the middle of a level.

Super Mario Sunshine has the level of polish you’d want and expect from a mainline Mario game. The graphics are colorful and beautiful, illustrating the tropical world very well. The music is distinct, upbeat and catchy, helping to build the game’s identity. Gameplay offers a wide variety of different locations and challenges.

Sunshine garnered very high review scores upon release. Its scores were just a smidge lower than those of 64, which had set a high bar, but the game still achieved a Metacritic score above 90. It became one of the top three best-selling GameCube games, to no one’s surprise.

However, perhaps surprisingly, Sunshine went on to be a bit of a controversial title against fans. It was not universally beloved to the same extent as past Mario games. Many felt that the game was too “gimmicky”, disliking the F.L.U.D.D. and what it meant for the gameplay. In addition, various challenges in the game sometimes presented a difficulty spike which frustrated a lot of players, especially those going for 100% completion. Some disliked the game’s camera as well.

As for my own experience, you bet that Super Mario Sunshine was a high priority for me when I got my GameCube a month before the game came out. My parents were going to get me a game around the time of our August summer vacation, and Sunshine was the clear choice. The copy shown in the photo is my original from all those years ago, and my original save file still exists (with 96 of the game’s 120 Shine Sprites). The game did not disappoint, and it proved to be popular in my family as well, even among a few who weren’t necessarily “gamer” types. My young sisters often requested to play it, and enjoyed simply goofing around and having fun with the F.L.U.D.D.

What is my current opinion on Sunshine? As of now, I have to confess that I’ve never fully replayed it, so I feel like it’s hard for me to truly give a verdict. I don’t think I’d call it one of the absolute top Mario games, but I’m in the camp that feels more positively about it. I had great fun with it back in the day, though not to the point where I’ve felt like revisiting it is necessary with so many other games to play. That’s not to say I never will, though! 

Super Mario Sunshine has been rereleased, and will be available on the Switch 2’s online service. Clearly it’s a game that doesn’t please everyone, but I definitely think you at least ought to give it a try. It was one of the biggest GameCube titles for a reason, and it definitely deserves to be an essential in my collection.