It hit me today, that I will be a gamer for the rest of my life. As I paced the lobby of my apartment building waiting for fellow staffer Daniel Bloodworth to bring his modded

Cube and copy of Mario over, it hit me. Then when I saw him drive up and I sprinted

out the door, it hit me again. I’m going to be 27 in October, yet I act like a 9 year old for Nintendo games. Nothing else does it. Yes, I get excited about other games (I own all 3 next-generation systems), but a new first party Nintendo title is like a drug. So onto the digital crack.

OK, first thing you notice is the use of FMV for the opening. Nintendo, what the hell are

you thinking? I think it’s a testament to just how poor Mario’s model is in this game,

that showing it off in cutscene was avoided. I know that’s harsh (just wait until the rest of the impressions), but it’s the only excuse for using FMV. That was the one nice thing about Nintendo is their cutscenes were always real-time, drawing you even further into the game. Oh well, at least you get through them quick. Artifacting is present as well (showing it had some heavy duty compression to fit on the tiny disc), and again - the only thing I can think of is they didn’t want to use the in-game models because they leave quite a bit to be desired. Moving on...

First thing I did, was spin Mario around and noticed it was 30 fps. This game was

absolutely 60 fps at E3. It was one of the saving graces for the poor textures and chunky models that it was at least 60 fps. I can only assume they had some trouble with

slowdown in levels NOT shown at e3 so they decided to lock it at 30. I can hear all the

fanboys crying now about how this doesn’t matter, but graphics are the first thing you

notice in a game, so deal with it. Listen, I’m a fanboy too. Nintendo games are my

absolute favorite, and I want nothing more than my purple cube to blow me away, but the

truth of the matter is the “lowly” PS2’s Jak & Daxter looks much, much better than this.

It’s a silky smooth 60 fps, beautiful textures, and all sorts of eye candy. There is no reason for the GameCube to not be able to match that. Then you’ve got the models. I just don’t get it. The Mario model is a low polygon seam filled, blocky mess. Same with every character you meet. Of course it isn’t N64 bad, but it’s simply not up to par with today’s games. Hell, even yesterday’s games. Even more annoying is the polygon count of some of the buildings and areas within the game. I hate to hearken back to Jak & Daxter, but man it easily surpasses Mario in this area too. Everything in Super Mario Sunshine seems very flat, with very little bump-mapping. It’s a picture of a window sill, not a window sill. Things of that nature. It’s very confusing given the power of the GameCube. And the third

graphical strike has to be the textures. This is indeed a mixed bag as some are quite nice, but for the most part - they’re good from far, but far from good. Looking at Sonic 2 for example, there’s some rock textures in that game that are absolutely breathtaking, the machine can pull them off, so what gives?

Now is the water beautiful in Mario? You bet. Is the draw-in distance wonderful? You

bet. It has some nice touches and effects for sure, but seemingly at the expense of the

basics. Great, you can see nearly a mile (no exaggeration) across a level - but the guy in front of you looks like he’s from 1996. It’s a disappointment for sure.

Now can I tell you why none of this matters? Why I’m pretty certain this will be the greatest game ever made? Even surpassing Mario 64 and Zelda: OoT on my personal list? Because the sense of wonder and exploration is absolutely unsurpassed in gaming. You can easily put 50-60 hours into this game without getting all 120 stars. It’s that great. It really is Mario 64 on steroids. There’s just so much to do! So many buildings to explore, so many crevices to find, so many coins to get, so many secrets to discover. You just want to play forever. The levels are so well thought out, and so polished, as a gamer you’ll be

overjoyed. It’s the Nintendo Difference in action. This is why you’re a gamer.

A quick bit of good news on some of the “other” reported short-comings of the game. First off, the camera isn’t as bad as we’re all lead to believe. I think what people are forgetting is that you can zoom in. There’s a video floating around the net of someone trying to complete an obstacle course within a level - but the camera is zoomed all the way out. He’s spinnin’ all over, and the camera’s actin’ all wacky - it’s highly frustrating to watch. When I did that level, I just zoomed the camera in a bit, and it was perfect. You just need to think of the C-Stick as another part of Mario’s arsenal. It’s a “move” just like any jump or spin. Think of it like that, and you’ll soon find creative ways to get

around some tight corners. It just takes a little practice.

As well, the “difficulty” has been brought up quite a bit, and I must say it’s the one thing that will make this the greatest Mario ever. Kiddie my ass. Kids will break their

controller before they get all 120 shines in this game. For the rest of us though: yes, it’s challenging, but it’s about time. Super Mario World, and Mario 64 weren’t the toughest of games to get through, Sunshine however will require some time and effort to fully complete. This is a good thing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You’re a gamer dammit now act like one. Take the challenge, and kick it’s butt.

Ok, I’m about done for now- the myriad of other impressions on the site will give you

info into all the other areas I didn’t cover. I simply wanted to throw out some

impressions from a different point of view. The graphical shortcomings are a great

disappointment to me. If all you’ve ever owned are Nintendo consoles, then you’ll be in heaven. For those who have “gone to the other side” a few times with a Dreamcast, PS2

or Xbox - you’ll be underwhelmed graphically. But that will pass very quickly. This will go down as one of the greatest videogame titles ever made. I cannot wait until August 26th.