It’s finally time for Mario to shine on the Nintendo GameCube & we’ve got a last minute preview update with final details & corrections!
Super Mario Sunshine is finally here! The game should now be readily available at stores across North America, and many gamers have already snagged a copy! With lots of new details available, we figured it was high time to set the record straight on a few things before everyone embarks on their epic adventure with Mario.
In the U.S. version, the island is called Isle Delfino. We also now know the identity of the elderly toad accompanying Mario and Peach on their vacation. It’s not her father at all, it’s actually Peach’s butler Toadsworth. Our last preview update also had a mention that Mario was referred to as president of the Mushroom Kingdom; he is actually identified as a “resident” of the Mushroom Kingdom by F.L.U.D.D., the water pack. (Incidentally, FLUDD stands for Flash Liquidizing Ultra Dousing Device).
As you’ve probably read elsewhere on PGC, the beloved phrase “SHINE GET!” has been shortened to read just “SHINE!” in the North American version. If this wasn’t bad enough, it looks like the removal of “GET” leaves the picture of the shine off-center. Still, this regrettable detail shouldn’t hinder North American gamers’ enjoyment of Super Mario Sunshine one bit.
There are various other small changes in the US version, from a slightly different title screen to various level elements being colored differently. For instance, the movable fence pieces behind Pinna Park's ferris wheel have been colored green to make them stand out better. Also, Mamma Beach is now called Gelato Beach, and there are probably other name changes.
Have fun with Super Mario Sunshine everyone! Remember to be sure to consult our in-depth game guide if you get stuck and check our SMS Game Profile for all the Mario coverage you can shoot a water gun at!
Last updated: 07/18/2002 by Max Lake
Our good friend Ravi Hiranand has been lucky enough to be one of the first gamers to sink their teeth into a final copy of Super Mario Sunshine. He’s written some in-depth impressions at Gamers.com, which you’ll want to check out, but first here’s a couple of highlights to add to the preview.
The game’s intro has Mario, Peach, and the elderly Toad character (probably her father, King of Mushroom Kingdom as seen in SMB3) flying into “Dolphic Island,” (pronounced as “Dolphino Island” in the game’s intro). Interestingly enough, Mario is referred to as the President of the Mushroom Kingdom! (He certainly deserves it!) A shadowy Mario figure is seen in an in-flight promo movie. Once the plane lands on the island, the trio find that slimy goop has spread all over the island, causing the Shines to scatter across the island, plunging the city into darkness.
After Mario is accused of the crime, he is sentenced to community service to clean up the island of the muck, and hence gets the water pack. Ravi has learned that there are just the four nozzle attachments to the water pack: the regular spray, hover, rocket jump, and propulsion, which pushes Mario across the ground at super-fast speeds. It seems that the water spray is on at all times, with the other attachments found later and working as secondary functions.
The control scheme is as follows: A jumps, B dives or grabs (no punch this time), Y brings the camera to first person view, X switches nozzles, L button centers the camera behind Mario and butt-stomps in mid-air, the Z brings up a status screen and the C stick controls the camera. R controls the spray, and when the “click action” is utilized, Mario stops and you can control the spray’s direction with the control stick. Fortunately for importers, the water pack tutorial is in English.
Finally worth mentioning is the role of coins. Red coins are an objective again, 10 Blue Coins will earn a Shine and this time, you only need 50 gold coins to earn an extra life.
Ravi has a LOT more details in his impressions, and will be updating all week and answering questions, so be sure to check it out! Of course, there’s more Mario to come on PGC so get ready to Shine…
Last updated: 07/15/2002 by Max Lake
While some earlier reports declared that Mario and Peach are vacationing on a “Dolphin Island,” in the Japanese version of the game it’s called “Dolphic Island,” and is even called such in English text. It could still be called Dolphin Island for the North American release though. It’s also worth mentioning that there is an elderly, stately looking Toad who is accompanying Mario and Peach on their vacation, though his name and role are as of yet unknown.
Many have spotted the classic green warp pipes in some screens and in some of the levels, these work as short cuts to get from one area in a level to another easily, without trekking across hazardous terrain up above.
In our last update, we were mistaken on one small detail in claiming Mario’s water pack could hold juice. Instead, of being a fruity beverage shot out of a water pack, it seems that this is Yoshi’s energy level; while Mario is on Yoshi’s back the water pack icon is replaced by a Yoshi energy meter, which is even stomach shaped. Just as in Mario World, you’ll have to feed Yoshi, though this time around it looks like it’s for fuel. When the Juice meter is empty, it reads “Hungry.”
There are the green warp pipes and in some of the levels, these work as short cuts to get from one area to another easily. There are the green warp pipes and in some of the levels, these work as short cuts to get from one area to another easily.
Also, if you missed this story, it seems that having a Super Mario Sunshine save file on your memory card will unlock a new trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, featuring Mario on Yoshi from Super Mario World / Super Mario Advance 2. Yet another reason to shout “Shine Get!”
Over in Japan, with SMS’s release drawing closer by the second, Japanese gamers got their Shine On for the first time at the World Hobby Fair. Even with 10 kiosks, the wait in line was as long as 75 minutes at one point, with each person only being able to play for five minutes. Fortunately, playable demos of Super Mario Sunshine are available at GameCube kiosks across Japan, allowing people to get a good sneak peak of Mario’s GameCube debut. Along with kiosks, advertising for Mario is abundant with ads on TV & in print. It shouldn’t be long now before gamers start lining up to buy the game in Japan… And our import copies of the game arrive. Count on more Mario coverage soon!
Last updated: 07/12/2002 by Max Lake
With the Japanese launch of Mario Sunshine just days away, a bunch of new screens of Mario have surfaced, and with them, a lot of new details. A couple of screens show Mario, Peach and their Toad companion dreaming of the upcoming peaceful vacation, presumably taken from the game’s opening.
One screen provides an overhead glimpse of the island and shows 13 X’s, suggesting 13 areas to explore and all the action is confined to the island. However the X’s are spread out all over the map, making for a varied terrain of beaches, mountains and cities.
The levels seem to be diverse indeed. One area is a giant pit with multi-colored paint everywhere, including all over Mario, as several Toads stand outside the edge of the pit. There are also classic underground levels, which seem to have something to do with a strange disc with a picture of the sun on one side, and a picture of the moon. Another secret involves the giant “M”s painted everywhere-actually Miyamoto’s signature. Clean all of them up, and you might get a surprise!
We already knew piranha plants were back, but some of Mario’s familiar foes will make a return, including the Cheep-Cheep fish and Blooper squids. There’s even a screenshot showing Mario riding on what looks to be a squid. Interesting… There have also been some screens depicting Mario fighting a fire breathing Mecha-Bowser.
However, the main antagonist seems to be a water version of Mario, who is almost certainly the true culprit behind the pollution that Mario is being blamed for. One recent screenshot shows the liquid impostor lifting Peach and kidnapping her! It’s never easy is it, Mario?
Most interesting of all are boxes with a silhouette of what closely resembles the head of Professor E. Gadd (from Luigi’s Mansion, natch). It looks like the goofy inventor may have had a part in Mario’s new hardware, and these “Gadd boxes” could likely hold power-ups for the water cannon that grant some of the abilities discussed in the last preview update. One of the new power-ups we’ve discovered is the propeller attachment which works in land and sea, and apparently lets him fly laterally, about two feet off the ground. It can also be used as a wide shot of water against pursuing enemies. Used over water, it makes Mario leave a wake similar to that of a speedboat. Another interesting tidbit: water may not be the only liquid used in the backpack either, one screen shows Mario with the ability to squirt juice!
Finally, it seems that Yoshi is really back in a big way this time around. Somehow Super Mario Sunshine will feature multiple colored Yoshis, presumably each hue granting a different ability as in previous games. Could feeding Yoshi eggs various fruit be part of the color equation?
Super Mario Sunshine will be hitting Japan in just a few days, and you better believe PGC is gonna SHINE GET it! Stay tuned for more info and impressions real soon!
Last updated: 07/09/2002 by Jonathan Metts
Recently released Japanese commercials for Super Mario Sunshine show off a few of his new moves and water pump functions.
First is the Super Jump, which looks like a rocket launch. This move sends Mario VERY high into the air, and apparently has to be done on the ground. The Super Jump has its own water pump configuration, so presumably you won't be able to use it until later on in the game.
The other new pump function shown allows Mario to ski around over water on his belly. Again, this is probably not a move you'll be able to do right off the bat.
Mario's signature triple-jump was noticeably absent in the Sunshine E3 demo, but the commercials show him not only executing a triple-jump, but adding a little water jet for extra speed and height. This seems to be just like how you can add water to a spin jump for added effect.
New footage of Yoshi shows the dino "running" in mid-air for extra distance, just like he does in Yoshi's Island and the Smash Bros. games. This may be the first time we've seen Yoshi do that move while being ridden by Mario though.
One other odd tidbit: a very brief scene in the commercials seems to show Mario holding a conversation with his water pump backpack. Perhaps the pump is a sentient character? We'll know for sure next week!
Special thanks to reader Christopher Groth for bringing these new details to our attention.
Last updated: 05/28/2002 by Max Lake
Nintendo.com has just updated its information on Super Mario Sunshine, which we’ve reproduced below:
Game Summary
Seeking well-deserved rest and relaxation, Mario and Princess Peach travel to a beautiful remote island. It is said the local citizens are friendly and the weather forecast suggests year-round sunshine. However, when they get to the island, they quickly find out that the peaceful paradise has been polluted by a mysterious stranger. Worse still, the individual bears a striking resemblance to Mario! Determined to clear his reputation and clean up the island, Mario sets off on his greatest adventure yet.
Features
Not an incredible amount of info overall, though this does offer re-affirm Peach taking a vacation with Mario and the first confirmation that Toad is in the game. Could “a host of other friends” include Luigi? Other familiar faces from the Mario series? (Though the game is said to take place far from the Mushroom Kingdom…) At the Nintendo pre-show, PGC’s Jonathan Metts asked Miyamoto if Luigi would be in the game, but Miyamoto replied: “I’m actually not allowed to answer that.” Time will tell.
A note about collecting Shines: whenever you’d obtain one in the game, giant, multi-colored text would appear proclaiming “SHINE GET!” This immediately became a catch phrase for the PGC E3 Team. What can we say? We’re excited about Mario! Fortunately, the import will available before we know it…
Last updated: 05/22/2002 by Jonathan Metts
After being able to actually play Super Mario Sunshine and also hearing Miyamoto explain it a little more, we've got several new details for our faithful readers. First, and perhaps most interesting, there are indeed more water pump modes in the final version of the game. Miyamoto-san confirmed it in a roundtable media briefing today, and although he didn't say how many more modes there are or what they do, it's nice to know that even more functions are waiting.
We've also learned that Mario is still being framed for messing up the tropical town. One townsperson in the first demo level will actually throw Mario around if you talk to him, because he thinks you messed up his town. Miyamoto also noted today that the game's design is very much like Super Mario 64; you choose a world to enter and then fulfill some kind of mini-quest or solve some mystery to get a star...but in this game, they're called "Shines".
As for moves, Mario can still pound the ground by pressing L in the air, and he can fill up his water tank when in a pond or lake by pressing R. Although the water tank holds a huge amount of water, the water pressure only lasts a few seconds. So in either pump mode (spray or hover), the water pressure will dwindle slowly until almost nothing is coming out. Then you have to let off the R trigger and re-press it to start out with a fresh, strong water pressure. It's basically a balancing feature so that you can't hover indefinitely, etc.
Finally, we learned that having sludge on his body does NOT hurt Mario like a poison; its only effect is that it changes his physics. You have the advantage of being able to slide around at high speed on your belly, but you also won't have as much traction in case you need to quickly get away from a bad guy.
Last updated: 05/21/2002 by Jonathan Metts
Super Mario Sunshine was one of the premiere titles shown at today's Nintendo Pre-E3 Media Briefing. First we were treated to a promo real of various footage, and then Shigeru Miyamoto entered the room –from the rear—playing the game himself with a Wavebird. The game mechanics are essentially like Super Mario 64, but Miyamoto said they have added many new moves, and he showed a few of them. Mario’s spin jump from Super Mario World is back, but now he uses his water gun to help shoot him up in the air. The result is a very high jump with very fast spinning, and he comes back down pretty slowly. Mario can also jump on elastic-type ropes, which seem to be all over his tropical world. He can walk across them like tightropes, or jump up and down on them to get a super-high jump like on a trampoline. He can still do the diving, face-first long jump from Super Mario 64, but this move is now seemingly much more important since the world is covered with slippery surfaces, such as running water and sludge. Miyamoto did the diving jump into a large patch of mud and slid all over for several seconds, with full control and at a pretty good speed. As he did so, Mario became very muddy and in fact, he was slicked up enough to continue sliding even over clean patches of ground.
The other major new move we saw, and this one seems to be a major part of Sunshine’s gameplay, is the hover. Mario’s mysterious water pump appears to have (at least) two different modes: the one we’ve seen all along with water sprayed out over his head, and another in which two other nozzles point towards the ground. In the latter, Mario can shoot water directly at the ground to lift himself up into the air. At that point, he has full control and can tilt the nozzles around to change direction and move forward. It seems that the maximum altitude is fairly low, but Mario can continue hovering until his rather large water gauge runs out.
Spraying water, either over his head or at the ground, affects the environment in various ways. Water removes sludge from the ground or any other object, which is apparently one of the main goals of the game. We saw one place with giant mud-covered boulders rolling down a hill, which turned out to be detached Pirahna Plant heads when cleaned with water. Since Mario can’t wash himself with his water gun, when the older plumber gets too muddy (which may hurt him over time like a poison), he can jump into a river or pool and get all spic ‘n span once again. There are also lily pads in the water that Mario can use almost like boats. All he has to do is jump on top and shoot a stream of water…since the lily pad isn’t secured, simple laws of physics will propel it in the opposite direction.
By the way, we can now confirm that Mario rides on Yoshi.
The tropical environment obviously offers plenty of water to Sunshine’s environments, and it seems that Mario will be well equipped to move around in that water. When underwater, we didn’t see any breath meter; provided one isn’t added later, this would imply that Mario can be underwater indefinitely. There was also one brief scene in which Mario was surfing around on the water’s surface on top of an enemy, perhaps a Blooper (jellyfish). It was strangely reminiscent of riding Koopa shells in Super Mario 64…
We also learned that the story of Super Mario Sunshine has been revised somewhat since last reports. Mario is indeed on vacation at the tropical island, but no mention of Peach was made, and we didn’t hear anything about him being framed for any crime, which was heavily emphasized in our last story update.
Last updated: 03/30/2002 by David Trammell
On Nintendo's website, an update about Super Mario Sunshine's story can be found. From Nintendo.com:
The storyline in Super Mario Sunshine is much different than what you might expect. This time, things are much more complicated than simply rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. The adventure starts when Mario and Peach decide to take a well-deserved vacation to a beautiful island in a remote location. Since the island is perpetually sunny and inhabited by friendly locals, it seemed like the perfect choice at first.
In typical fashion, poor Mario never gets a chance to relax. When he arrives on the island, he notices ugly scribble marks covering the walls throughout the community. What's worse, the person responsible for the scribbling has disguised himself to look just like Mario!
Mario is falsely accused by the locals, so he decides to get to the bottom of things. Armed with a new water-pumping backpack, Mario sets out to clean up the scribbling and reveal the identity of the true villain.
Sounds much more interesting than your standard Mario fare. Thanks to "whzup" for the tip.
Last updated: 03/23/2002 by Jonathan Metts
The newest issue of EGM has a brief interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, on the subject of Mario Sunshine. EGM asks a few very pertinent questions, and Shiggy, unsurprisingly, lets slip a few tidbits that his fellow NCL execs probably wish he hadn't:
EGM: Does the entire game take places in or near the big town we've seen in all the screens and movies so far?
Miyamoto: No. What you have seen so far is only one part. That town is just the level that you start in. There are many other very different areas, just like in past Mario games.
EGM: Can you tell us something you haven't told anyone yet about Mario Sunshine?
Miyamoto: Hmm...well...maybe the water tank isn't the only device Mario puts on. (smiles)
Check out EGM issue #154 for the rest of the interview!
Last updated: 08/23/2001 by Jonathan Metts
A full video of the Mario Sunshine demo has hit the web, and shows off several key aspects of the game.
First, Mario is most definitely not stuck to the ground like his ghost-busting brother...the older plumber is quite the jumper in Mario Sunshine. The wall-jump and U-turn jumps are back from Mario 64 and showed off heavily in the real-time non-playable demo. Our hero is also seen kicking a white, round object...maybe an egg.
So what's this thing on Mario's back? Billy thought maybe it was a jetpack, but that seems unlikely upon review of the video. It's light-colored, perhaps white or silver, and straps around Mario's waist. His hands are apparently not required to use it, leaving them free for picking up barrels, punching, etc. The backpack contraption has a horizontal spout at the top that extends over Mario's head, facing forward; it obviously shoots something or sucks something up. Could it have something to do with the sunlight theme? Maybe it shoots out the ghosts that Luigi sucked up in Luigi's Mansion? We just don't know yet.
A couple of our readers, Yuval Lask and John Cudney, have sent in a really interesting theory about the backpack. The video shows a sun emblem in the upper-right corner, and the center of that sun appears to be a water meter. Various parts of the video show different water levels. Now here's where it gets interesting: what if the sunlight is Mario's enemy? That's what these readers think, and it makes a lot of sense. Mario could need a constant supply of water to keep from dehydrating. The water would be obtained from the ocean or various pools as seen in the video, and then stored in the backpack. The spout above his head could either be a drip-faucet for drinking or a hose to use the water for other purposes. There is some evidence in the video to lend credibility to this theory; Mario is shown wiping sweat from his forehead in one scene, and in another, he takes a break under a shade tree. If this turns out to be true, it could be a revolutionary new way to take lighting and shadows from mere visual features to actual gameplay elements.
The music played during the demo is remixed from traditional Mario songs, now with extra orchestral flairs and new musical phrases. There are drum beats that sound rather Carribean, but that could very well be attributed to the tropical level shown. You can count on plenty of new songs too.
The graphics, simply put, are jaw-dropping. Mario is rendered much like he was in Mario 64, but with exquisite roundness and detail. Lighting obviously plays a major part of the game, and the tropical outdoor level shown at Space World is just filled with an almost organic sunlight, and of course lots of screen flares if you look near the sun. The tropical level is filled with buildings of various heights and shapes, and Mario seems to enjoy wall-jumping up to the roofs for a look at the surrounding area. The overall level is huge, with the intense detail and architectural complexity apparent from the rooftops.
Finally, what of Mario Sunshine's gameplay? It's honestly hard to say from the video, especially without knowing exactly what that backpack does. But, the demo seems to go out of its way to show off the same exploring, athletic nature of Mario's first 3D adventure. The Koopa-crusher basically just runs around and plays in his giant tropical playground, and already it looks fun as hell. Isn't that what you'd expect from a true Mario game? Other than that, Mario is shown running away from a giant two-legged animal, oddly similar to some of the creatures we've seen in Pikmin. There are also some short blue guys that are apparently benevolent, and one scene very briefly shows a young girl standing in the streets. The girl is especially interesting; for the first time, it seems that Mario will interact with regular people during his adventure. Does that mean that Mario Sunshine will have a more developed plot than its predecessors?
Mario Sunshine is apparently NOT going to be playable at Space World 2001, but hopefully we'll be able to gather a bit more info on it in the next few days. Other than that, this may be all we have to go on until the game is ready for hands-on impressions at E3 2002.
Last updated: 08/23/2001 by Jonathan Metts
It's true! Mario Sunshine is the next game in the Mario series, the follow-up to Super Mario 64. Miyamoto showed off the game at the Space World 2001 press conference. Mario was shown running around on rooftops and jumping off walls. He looks very much like the model from Super Mario 64, but of course more rounded and far more detailed. One other thing to note: he's wearing some glass or metal contraption on his back, somewhat like Luigi's vacuum, but obviously different.
At this point we're still unsure what the whole premise of Mario Sunshine is. There has been tons of speculation that it will be a companion title to Luigi's Mansion, and perhaps that the results of your adventure in Luigi's Mansion will change or add to the Mario Sunshine game experience. Hopefully more info will soon leak out of Space World...
Last updated: 08/22/2001 by Max Lake
Since PGC confirmed at E3 that Mario would be appearing in his own game to be revealed at SpaceWorld, lotsa questions have been flying around. Does it interact with Luigi’s Mansion? Is it called Mario Sunshine? Is it called Marionette? When will it be available? And so on… Our theories and ideas are well documented in the Luigi’s Mansion preview and in ongoing news coverage over the summer. Now, with SpaceWorld nearly upon us, the answers are nearly here…
Last updated: 05/16/2001 by Max Lake
During Nintendo’s press conference, the first GameCube game footage showed Mario. However, he was just the first of many Nintendo characters who was seen in the seconds that followed as Nintendo showed off SSB Melee. The next game was shown was Luigi’s Mansion, which was billed by Miyamoto as “the next Mario game.”
But where was Mario? According to Shiggy, Mario has been kidnapped and Luigi must save him. Kind of a nice twist, eh? But this confirmed what we dared to venture just before E3 –there would be a Mario game separate from Luigi’s Mansion.
Every Nintendo system launches with Mario—GameCube may launch with Luigi instead but will it not have a Mario game? During the Q&A part of the press conference, PGC’s humble EiC (yours truly) asked Peter Main, Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata about Mario.
Miyamoto smiled and the translated response (filtered through Mr. Main) was essentially “wait till the next show.” That means we could see a GameCube Mario at SpaceWorld. With Mario staying in the background, one has to figure that his next full adventure (and not the ghost-hunting exploits of Luigi to save him) will be simply incredible. Till then, we’ll have plenty of other GC games to tell you about here at E3.
As for Mario on GC it’s good to know it’ll be something special… Once again, you read it first at PGC!
Last updated: 05/15/2001
OK, we had to do a preview here & now. Or at least start one. We’re taking a chance here but the unbelievable revelation that Luigi’s Mansion is indeed a game, featuring the long under appreciated “younger plumber” brother of Mario, Luigi has changed everything. Mario wasn’t seen anywhere at SpaceWorld save for the Mario 128 demo. Meanwhile, Luigi’s Mansion seemed to represent a Mario game and suggest that Luigi would hold a very playable role on GameCube. Since then, rumors have sprung forth that the demo would be Luigi in his own game. We were intrigued alright, but it seemed a bit of a stretch. Even after the SpaceWorld demo and no mention of Mario had been made whatsoever, we assumed he’d be part of Luigi’s adventure.
Now with E3 about to start, Luigi’s Mansion is standing on legs of its own and Mario is nowhere in sight. Everything has changed? Maybe not. Maybe we were just failing to see the obvious.
For the first time ever, Mario has been upstaged by Luigi. Or has he? Could the game end up to be the return of the Mario Brothers? Sure Luigi is a big name but (no offense TYP) Mario is the king. When you think Nintendo, you think Mario. Mario is always part of every Nintendo launch (any big one anyway).
This could mean that Mario’s GameCube adventure may be Shiggy’s biggest E3 surprise of all. Surely, Mario wouldn’t miss the launch of Nintendo GameCube; will he appear for it in a game called “Luigi’s Mansion” starring his brother? We’re not so sure… Nintendo has spun off several other characters into their own franchises, including Luigi’s fellow Mario sidekick, Yoshi. Sure, it is still a possibility Luigi's Mansion is just a level within the Mario game—though much evidence (including our own sources) seem to point to the contrary.
Therefore, we’re somewhat confident about Mario appearing in his own GameCube game. As for Luigi’s Mansion, is it just a quirky ghost-hunting game or could it be more? Could the old “2 disc, 2 part, 2 Mario Bros” rumor be true? Will they be separate games or could they be halves of the same whole? Will either Luigi’s Mansion or the Mario GameCube game interact with Mario Advance on GBA in any way?
Overall, there are still many questions and we are certainly going out on a limb by starting this preview. But we’re suspect we’re not too crazy here… 50-50% chance probably. Either we’ll get a game with both Mario Bros., or each will get their own game. Either way, we should have no reason to complain…
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine
