MIXED BAG REVIEW OF
SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE
Developer: Nintendo
System: Nintendo Gamecube (Aug. 2002)
Genre: Platforming
Because
this is my third video game review here is quick link to my rating
system. In the future, I will continue to link this article.
Unlike the last two video game titles I have reviewed, this one needs a little bit more of an introduction before I get into the nitty gritty details. The Super Mario series is, quite literally, the greatest series in video games. Across literally dozens of titles, Nintendo has almost always provided excellent games that use their limited technology to the fullest and have given gamers some of the most fun experiences available. For me, it started with Super Mario Land on the Gameboy and I've been a fan of the plumber ever since. Yet, not is all stars and coins in the Mushroom Kingdom; there is a black sheep amongst good Mario titles (if ya want bad Mario titles...they exist, but that's a subject for another day).
Super Mario Sunshine is ten years old and had a lot of baggage when it first hit the scene; it was the sequel to Super Mario 64 (one of the best received and successful launch titles of all time), but Sunshine wasn't a launch title. Furthermore, Sunshine was unique in a lot of weird ways; it was the first Mario game with full-on voice acting for several characters (not including Mario), it introduced a "helpful" tool that was basically like Luigi's vacuum cleaner from Luigi's Mansion (a game I am particularly fond of), and the game had less to do with power-ups and more to do with the FLUDD attachments. And we can't forget the anti-pollution, anti-graffiti undertones. The game's reception was pretty lukewarm and I would say, without any hesitance, that it's reception has left a skid mark on a series known for making amazing titles...but is it really that bad?
Now.... "LET'S A-GO!"
STORY
Weirdly enough, there is more story going on here than usual for a Mario game; Mario and Peach are going on vacation presumably after the events of Super Mario 64. They are taking a jet to Isle Delfino when, shock of shocks, they find the runway is covered in a smouldering goo. Mario hops out to fight the goop, finding a helpful water cannon called FLUDD, and squirts into submission. Mario is promptly arrested.
You quickly discover that an imposter has stolen the Shine Sprites, the Isle's source of energy, and polluted the Isle with disgusting slime. In a bizarre cut scene, Mario is told he has to clean up the mess and catch the crook, or he can't leave. Now, usually, Mario would just beat them into submission or the Mushroom Kingdom would invade, but that would be reasonable to the Isle's legal system condemning their greatest hero and all around good guy, Mario. Anywho, Mario has to find the Shinesprites and stop the imposter (a cool looking villain that has cameos in future titles as "Shadow Mario" or "Imposter Mario"). And, of course, Peach gets kidnapped.
But wait, SPOILERS FOR A TEN YEAR OLD GAME, the imposter is Bowser Jr. and he claims Peach is his mother. This is a weird twist for anyone to stomach over the age of ten and, unfortunately or fortunately, amounts to nothing. King Koopa and his son were in n this all along...
PRESENTATION
Today, this game is a little ugly, but so are most 3D platformers of this era and before it. Mario Sunshine is a little rough around the edges but, on the Gamecube, its graphics were superb and almost undeniably the best on the consoles. The game takes the visual frame of the Luigi's Mansion game and builds a brighter, more open, and obviously more Mario feel. The title's graphics are familiar but unique.
As for the style and the music, both are familiar and pretty. This game's art style and setting make it a very unique title (sorry, but unique is a unique word) in the series. It looks like what you get when you pull Mario 64 into a more open environment (resembling a couple of the levels from that game) and it is easy to see this title's influence on future titles.
All in all, the presentation makes this game a special title in the Mario series, but is also its greatest detractor; it is so bright and colorful that it is almost painful to look at it and discourages anyone from thinking that this is anything but their worst suspicions about it. The game is no walk on the beach, in fact...
GAMEPLAY
For several reasons about to be explained, this was one of the hardest Super Mario games that I have ever played. And, honestly, that's a mixed blessing and probably why it took me ten years to learn the patience to play this game.First, I want to get the bad stuff out of the way. I felt like this title has the worst camera and worst controls of any 3D mario title. Often, in the game, the camera, which you need to keep a tab on, will get behind an object or caught an object, and you can't see Mario. The game tries to rectify the problem by making it so you see Mario through walls and floors, but this is pretty visually painful and disorienting. As for the controls, this one could just be or the game design, but I hate the controls for this game. I have never had more trouble platforming in a 3D mario game, the FLUDD was often frustrating to control, the water levels were atrocious, falling in the water made me want to throw my controller considering how awkward swimming was, and even walking/jumping, the two things Mario is best at, were frustrating at times. Once again, could just be me, but I think Super Mario 64, its predecessor, had better design and this game feels like it tried to take Luigi's Mansion and invert into an outdoor experience.
Yet, everything is not crap in Delfino. I did have some fun and there were some interesting level designs to be explored. The FLUDD was an interesting experiment in the history of Mario, allowing for all types of interesting platforming, but I don't think it was executed as well as the Luigi vacuum; once again, I refer you to the inverted Mansion experience. Power-ups would've made this game a lot more fun and allowed for more variety; as well as pay homage to the series. Running around, collecting stuff, with a back pack made me feel more like Banjo Kazooie's broken cousin rather than Super Mario Mario.
Some of the levels did remind me of ones from Super Mario Galaxy and 3D Land and, in fact, those were my favorites. Oddly enough, those didn't have you using the FLUDD at all in them, and were a lot tighter and more abstract in design. To be honest, the games biggest flaw after the execution of camera/controls, was the poor execution of such a polarizing mechanic. If the FLUDD had been utilized better, had more functions, and more personality, I might've cared.
P.S. Yoshi would've made this game better, but you only get to use him about six times.
PROS VS. CONS
+ The visuals are the best that the Gamecube had to offer.+ The game's design has a huge influence on better titles in the series and it is neat to experience the evolution from 64 to Super Mario Galaxy to Super Mario Land 3DS.
+ The FLUDD did create some interest challenges, the boss fights were pretty fun, and some levels in particular were inventive/memorable
- Frustrating camera and controls made me feel either blind or crippled half of the time
- Poor level designs lead to some nearly impossible and frustrating challenges.
CONCLUSION
3/5.
The game is not as bad as I remembered, but it isn't perfect. I could go onto try and explain the game's faults and why it might've gone in this direction, but I have a better idea than that and it basically involves paraphrasing someone who said it best:
Super Mario Sunshine isn't a bad game. In fact, its a good game. Its just a very mediocre Super Mario game.
