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[Duck of Death]

OK, so I finally got around to playing Super Mario Sunshine. The game has been trashed by many people here, so I'm happy to report that the game wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

It was still very bad in some areas, though.

First, the good: platforming joy in SOME levels. I can't recall all of their names, but some of the platforming in the worlds is incredibly fun. The windmill world, Noki Noki Bay, the harbor, and the amusement park are all entertaining. Some of the warp zones are also fantastic. The playable Yoshis are delightful. Although most of the game was good (and great at some points), there were still some areas of poor quality.

One world in particular is downright awful. It is the one with the beach and the hotel. What in the hell was with those damn hotel missions!? EVERY one of them (except the warp zone) was horribly designed. What were they thinking!? Why am I navigating a retarded maze in a hotel that looks like ass and I can't see shit when I should be taking Yoshi and jumping and eating and killing things!? Why is the King boo such a little bitch? Why am I still doing chores for this shiftless hotel manager!? These levels offer NO challenge, only FRUSTRATION.

Speaking of frustration, I was surprised by how easy and non-frustrating the camera was. Sure there were parts where I wish the designers had fixed the camera at an optimum position, but overall it worked well. Controls were great as well, although there were a few instances where Mario would be jumping backwards instead of turning around and jumping.

Graphics and sound offer nothing exciting, although a few of the songs are catchy and I am impressed by the endless view offered in the game.

I finished the main "story" game with only 64 shrines, and I have no intention of finding the rest. The game was fun while it lasted, but the promise of more ridiculous frustration keeps me from completing the game. With Metroid Prime 2, Halo 2, GTA: San Andreas, and the rest of this year's deluge of gaming greatness, Super Mario Sunshine can take a seat.

A fun game, but flawed: 7.8/10 (THAT's RIGHT, I PULLED IT OUT BITCHES!!)

Oh, and as far as the story:

Spoiler

I thought it was awesome that FLUDD died in the end. Too bad he somehow got resurrected.

Stupid douche :lol

 

[GDJustin]

It's underrated, to be sure. It remains one of the handful of top platformers this gen. One of the only "pure" platformers out there, in fact.

 

[Duck of Death]

I'm not sure about underrated. Most gaming publications scored the game quite high (92% average on Gamerankings), which is overrating the game as far as I'm concerned. I think most people on this board are more accurate: it's a good game, not terrible, but not great.

 

[mCACGj]

92% is not overrated. Sunshine is still better than most platformers this gen including Jak II, and it's a close call with R&C II(havent played the III's).

The controls are good, physics pretty good, and the camera wasnt as bad as people thought it was IMO.

 

[Duck of Death]

How is it possible that ALL platformers this generation are worse than SMS? The game was fun and all, but some of its levels were atrocious and there are too many poorly designed areas and objectives to ignore. There has to be something better.

 

[The Main Event]

I still think SM 64 deserves a 10.

Comparing SMS to SM64 I give it an 8.

Comparing SMS to everything else this gen except R&C: UA and Jak III (since I didn't play them), I give it a 9.

Some things that bothered me in SMS: Tropical theme, soundtrack not on par with SM64 and I never finished the game at 100% since I got tired of collecting 100 coins in each stage. But as the overall game itself, I enjoyed it very much.

 

[akascream]

I don't understand the nastalgia for SM64. SMS is better in every way.. I guess it just wasn't better enough.

 

[mCACGj]

I don't understand the nastalgia for SM64. SMS is better in every way.. I guess it just wasn't better enough.

It's not nastalgia, it just fucking rules.

 

[demon]

SMS at its best was quite a bit better than Mario64. It had tighter and deeper gameplay and was more of a true platformer. Some of it really sucked, though, and the camera at times was reeeeeally shitty.

 

[soundwave05]

It seems like Mario 64 DS is probably closer to what people wanted in a GameCube Mario.

 

[snapty00]

I don't want to play through Super Mario 64 again (honestly, it'd be damn near a borefest nowadays), but it is a much better game than Super Mario Sunshine. Whereas I used to love Super Mario 64 and can tolerate it even now I suppose, I could never even get to the toleration level of Super Mario Sunshine, let alone actually liking the game.

 

[soundwave05]

Mario 64 DS has new levels, minigames, new characters, and a multiplayer battle mode.

That sounds more or less what people really wanted from Mario on the GCN. Sometimes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Jade Knight 08]

Both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine is great. And i love both of 'em.

One thing i hated about "Super Mario Sunshine" is that one level where you have to take Yoshi to ride on the platforms to get the shine get. Nintendo damn well knew we all couldn't get Yoshi to do what we wanted him to do. Talk about giant leap and perfectly timing to land onto the next platform to platform. I practically gave up!

Super Mario 64 = collecting stars and coins.

Super Mario Sunshine = collecting sun sprites and blue coins.

Mario Revolution = be creative nintendo and you still got all the time you need to perfect this. So, don't screw this up! DOWN WITH COLLECTIONS!

 

[soundwave05]

I dunno if I'd agree that Mario 64/Sunshine are star/sprite collecting games.

That's kinda like saying the original Super Mario Bros. is a game about a plumber jumping onto a flag.

Stars/sprites are only there to keep track of your progress in terms of completing tasks in certain worlds.

I agree though, Mario 128 will probably break the "you got a shine/star" formula.

 

[disabledHeliocentric]

I really liked Sunshine. AFter I've assimilated all the hype and gimmicks from this gens other platfomers Sunshine comes out looking damned good even if it wasn't the mario sequel some had wanted.

 

[Wellington]

I really liked the camera in SMS, except for that part in Pinna Park where you have to hop up that fenced area, ugh.

If it makes any sense, I think the game is underrated by Nintendo haters, overrated by Nintendo lovers. I'd give it a solid 8.5/10. Probably the best pure platformer of this generation, but it just feels so incomplete, and I really can't see how anyone would disagree with that. The blue coins really really ruin such a great game, and hell yes that hotel level was fucking awful. Other than that though it was all pretty cool fun. Had there been a few more levels it wouldn't get as panned as it does. Can't believe I am saying this but I miss the old Nintendo that would delay games until they were perfect instead of this gen's Nintendo that Sticks to their release dates. Mario and Zelda both suffered from it... though Pikmin 2 is the exception and the polish shows.

 

[Ristamar]

I really liked the camera in SMS, except for that part in Pinna Park where you have to hop up that fenced area, ugh.

IAWTP

 

[TheGreenGiant]

I really liked the camera in SMS, except for that part in Pinna Park where you have to hop up that fenced area, ugh. .

Had no problem with this at all. Cleared it first go. And every subsequent time first time round. The only times I had a problem with the camera in parts are in the retro levels with the spinning rectangular blocks. Can be a bit touch and go to get the right view but it is a VERY obedient camera and very well implemented. We need a Super Mario sequel. on Revolution

I believe it is NOKI bay with the towering shells. Climbing to the very top = shock and awe. Getting there is half the fun. Really enjoyed SMS - great retro levels...great water effects. Good platforming (And just normal platforming.. non of that weapon bullshit). Mario is incredibly response and the various things you can do with Fludd (spray a bit of water to enable Mario to slide is very well done).


BEST BIT IN SMS if you haven't tried it. That underground Pianta village - when its all lavaed out and you have no FLUDD. Try to get to FLUDD without going underground... You will see how fun it is then. Doable too. Quite challenging. Had a hoot doing it.

 

[MetatronM]

I still wish they would have just made a friggin' game out of those ridiculously awesome "Secret" stages from Mario Sunshine. You know, the ones where they took away the gimmick-pack, I mean, water pack?

Those levels were BRILLIANT. Unfortunately, those levels also made the failures and short-comings of the rest of the game even more blatantly apparent.

 

[crumbs]

SMS was the first Mario game that I had to force myself to finish. The first couple of levels were all right, but it went downhill fast. The graphics were inconsistent and the music was average, except when riding Yoshi, then it became extremely annoying. I'm not sure how it's underated since it got mostly 9's when it came out. I'd say 7 to 7.5 would be a fair score.

 

[Mejilan]

My favorite platformer this gen. Then again, it's practically alone as far as pure platformers go.

 

[sc0la]

My favorite platformer this gen. Then again, it's practically alone as far as pure platformers go.

true true

I only have three things to say about SMS.

Play control, Play control, play control

 

[Musashi Wins!]

SMS was the first Mario game that I had to force myself to finish. The first couple of levels were all right, but it went downhill fast. The graphics were inconsistent and the music was average, except when riding Yoshi, then it became extremely annoying. I'm not sure how it's underated since it got mostly 9's when it came out. I'd say 7 to 7.5 would be a fair score.

Exactly.

 

[Hellraizah]

I thought you were speaking about Sega Master System (SMS). You would have been so fucking late to the party that everybody would be rotting in it.

Anyways, about Super Mario Sunshine, I traded it in for a GBA carrying pouch, that says a lot about my enjoyment of this game.

 

[Catchpenny]

If it makes any sense, I think the game is underrated by Nintendo haters, overrated by Nintendo lovers. I'd give it a solid 8.5/10. Probably the best pure platformer of this generation, but it just feels so incomplete, and I really can't see how anyone would disagree with that. The blue coins really really ruin such a great game, and hell yes that hotel level was fucking awful. Other than that though it was all pretty cool fun.

I agree with this, though I'd score the game a little higher. The people who rag on Sunshine are usually the same tiresome people trolling Gamecube in general. However, the game really did need another six months or so of development to flesh out the levels a little more, fix up those few areas where the camera would go wonky, and iron out some of the glitches present in the game.

 

[Crazymoogle]

I still have a lot of problems with Super Mario Sunshine, but the core mechanics are so damned good that I think the game will always have a certain amount of appeal that most platformers lose over time.

Despite that, the best platformer I've played this gen is still Ape Escape 2.

 

[Wellington]

I still have a lot of problems with Super Mario Sunshine, but the core mechanics are so damned good that I think the game will always have a certain amount of appeal that most platformers lose over time.

Despite that, the best platformer I've played this gen is still Ape Escape 2.

I agree on the mechanics. I think it's easily the tightest controls of any game this gen, if not ever. Getting Mario to do exactly what you needed came completely naturally.

 

[Alf-Life]

If it makes any sense, I think the game is underrated by Nintendo haters, overrated by Nintendo lovers.

IAWTP

 

[DDayton]

I think the game's problems stem from the rather linear forced progression -- Super Mario 64 allowed a lot more freedom. In SMS, you -have- to complete the shines in a certain order... which means if there is one shine you just can't stand, you're stuck on that stage until you complete it.

 

[olimario]

Mario Sunshine's GAF approval has evened over time.
People who loved it too much then acknowledge problems now and people who were too hard on it then see that is has quite a few redeeming qualities now.

Sunshine is a solid 8/10 title.
10/10 for control and the like
8/10 for graphics
5/10 for basically everything else

 

[Ollie Pooch]

i loved mario sunshine - one of my favourite games this gen by far. i felt the sunshine/tropical theme was really pulled off well (though i'll agree that the hotel level was absolute shit) , but i just loved the simple (but complete) control you had in the game, and the music in noki noki bay/ricco harbour

 

[Azih]

Bah SMS is a 7.5, Mario64 is still 9.5+.

Just the fact that SMS put me in a level with an objective that was IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETE kills me still. Why hast thou forsaken me Nintendo? Why?

 

[TheGreenGiant]

Bah SMS is a 7.5, Mario64 is still 9.5+.

Just the fact that SMS put me in a level with an objective that was IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETE kills me still. Why hast thou forsaken me Nintendo? Why?

what level. you MUST suck. Mario64 is all nostalgia calling. I tried to play it again.. and was like URGHHHed... not as responsive as Mario in SMS and block to boot.

 

[Alf-Life]

Still, I was heartbroken in SMS when, on the first level (Windmill something or other) I managed to clamber high onto that chalk-like sun-drenched wall. I looked down and saw Delfino Plaza... the hub. Excitedly I jumped, expecting to hurtle and slide down the hill in a manner akin to the start of the invisible/blue Cap stage in Mario 64. Bam! Invisible wall. Heartbroken.

 

[Xellos]

SMS in a nutshell:

Graphics: Very good
Sound: Blah
Land controls: Great
Swimming controls: Boring
Fludd: < SM64 Kung Fu << Wing Cap <<< Long Jump
Yoshi: Barfs fruit can't swim
Delfino Plaza: Meh
Sub-levels: Fucking awesome
Main levels: teh suck, all of them
Blue Coins: >_<
Worst Mario Evar?: Yes

 

[Rocket Punch]

SMS' main flaw is its scope. Or rather the lack of it. I just wish there was more to it. They could have done so much more with FLUDD in my opinion. The level while nice were just not enough. There should have been at least twice as many in order for it to be a contender with SM64. The graphic were nice. As was the water. I enjoyed the change of scenery (outside mushroom kingdom) but there should have been so much more. I also loved the sub-levels. Still, I enjoyed it a great deal.