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Super Mario Sunshine

by Billy Berghammer - July 22, 2002, 6:24 pm EDT

100% spoiler free impressions! Check out what Billy thinks of the import version of Super Mario Sunshine! We're kicking off our complete Super Mario Sunshine coverage right NOW!

The moment has finally arrived. I was so intent on getting Super Mario Sunshine early, and actually ordered from two different places. Days passed, and I didn’t receive my bundle of love from either import store. Friday, I finally got confirmation that I’d receive it yesterday. I went through my typical pre-Mario festivities, like going to the grocery store and stocking up on Mountain Dew and enough food for a week. I even cleaned my apartment. I basically did everything I could so I wouldn’t be interrupted by any responsibilities. Hell, I even played through Mario 64 again for the first time in 6 years. Super Mario Sunshine is basically the only game I have truly cared about for the GameCube. I waited all day long. It never came. Finally today, Monday, I have finally got shine. The agony was over.

So far, is Super Mario Sunshine worth the wait? You have no idea!

I’ve only been able to sink a few hours into the game (11 shines), but so far in the four levels I’ve played in, I’m extremely impressed. If you were looking forward to a proper sequel to Super Mario 64, you’ll be more than satisfied. Not surprisingly, Super Mario Sunshine plays very similarly to Super Mario 64. The controls have been well adjusted to the GameCube controller, and now you have the addition of the backpack. Just as I did with Super Mario 64, I just played around for the first 20 or so minutes, bouncing off of everything, and getting used to the controls. It’s truly just as fun as ever just to mess around, and the levels beckon you to do so. Within moments you’ll walk kick onto roofs, and use the water pack to hover on top of trees. It’s all very fluid, familiar, and comfortable.

For all the people out there who think Super Mario Sunshine isn’t that much of a graphical upgrade to Super Mario 64, go play Super Mario 64 for a couple of hours, and then play this. Say it again, and I’ll slap you silly. I think this is one of the best looking games on the GameCube, period. The framerate is rather quick, and it doesn’t seem to stray far from 60 frames per second too often. I personally haven’t noticed any slowdown yet. The graphics are also much improved over the E3 demo, and are even more beautiful. The draw distance is great, and when you get up really high, you can see everything far away, which will help with some of the Shine objectives. The camera is also a lot better than in Mario 64, yet I’ve encountered some slight issues that generally plague 3-d platformers like Super Mario Sunshine. Overall though it’s not bad.

Super Mario Sunshine is all about gameplay. It smells, sounds, and feels like a Shigeru Miyamoto title through and through. Shine objectives are usually either beating a boss, collecting items (the 8 red coins are back), reaching a certain area, or surviving the warp obstacle courses. Even though this is the Japanese version of the game, it’s very easy to figure out what you’re supposed to do next thanks to the camera fly-bys. Not to say Super Mario Sunshine is a breeze, because it is rather challenging. I’m not saying it’s difficult, but some of the shines are harder than others.

The level design is fantastic. They seem a little larger than the levels in Mario 64, and I’m still learning most of them. Super Mario Sunshine seems extremely linear when you get into a level, but as in Super Mario 64, when the levels are opened, you can go back and forth to whichever level you want. It’s just when you get in a level, you are going for a specific shine in that level. At least, that’s the way it seems so far.

The music in this game is some of the best Mario music I’ve ever heard. I’m dying for a complete soundtrack to this game. You will hum, and whistle to these tunes. Aurally Super Mario Sunshine is impeccable. I do believe the voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, got the shaft in this game because Mario is the only one that is really limited in speech. He barely talks. Sure you get the yahoos and yippees and all that. It’s even more varied than in Super Mario 64. But Mario barely speaks. Boo! After speaking to Mr. Martinet at E3 about this, I’ll have to agree with him. Mario needs to talk more!

All that said and done, it pains me to be away from Super Mario Sunshine any longer. I’m very happy I stayed away from spoilers and watching video. Ironically most of you think I’ll be playing this game day and night, and that really won’t be the case. I’m going to be very patient and take my time, because God knows how long until we’ll get our hands on another new Super Mario title. Super Mario Sunshine is like a fine wine. It should be sipped and savored, and not gulped and swallowed. So far, if you can’t tell, I’m loving every moment I’ve had with Super Mario Sunshine. I’ve screamed, laughed, cheered, and applauded while playing this game. My neighbors must think I’m on crack. If you’ve got a modded GameCube, order this game immediately. Super Mario Sunshine truly does the Mario series justice, and is hands down the best game for the GameCube as of yet.

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GC

Game Profile

Super Mario Sunshine Box Art

Genre Action
Developer Nintendo
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Super Mario Sunshine
Release Aug 25, 2002
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Super Mario Sunshine
Release Jul 19, 2002
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Super Mario Sunshine
Release Oct 04, 2002
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+

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