These Super Mario Sunshine 3d platforming stages are kicking my ass

Those were my favourite parts of the game back in the day! Loved those platforming gauntles.

And yeah they are challenging. I remember one with a boat, of a leaf or something like that which you needed to propel using the FLUDD. Nighmare material.
 
Omnipunctual Godot said:
Yeah. I kind of forgot how ass the camera is in Mario 64. Still a great game, though.
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Too many years of mind being programmed to think the right stick moves the camera fully around. I'm getting a little more comfortable with it, but it's rough...probably always was rough but I don't remember 20 years ago quite so well anymore
 
they are really cool. a lot of people have said they are the best part of the game and i tend to agree. to me, this is proto-Galaxy level design, here is where you are seeing the start of that kind of experimentation with 3D design.

it being more complex (and having no FLUDD) means it will be more difficult by design. you really have to pull out all the stops with the im basic moveset.

i'm glad Odyssey has a variation on these powerup-less rooms, with the Cappy-free areas.
 
Dthomp said:
Too many years of mind being programmed to think the right stick moves the camera fully around. I'm getting a little more comfortable with it, but it's rough...probably always was rough but I don't remember 20 years ago quite so well anymore
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The way it just stops rotating for seemingly no reason is such an incredible pain. And the fact the it follows Mario well but will literally fight you if you try to keep the camera behind him...pretty bad stuff.
 
Those 3d platforming stages were quite difficult, but I loved them back in the day - I find them to be charming aspects of the older 3d Mario games. Later ones felt almost too easy, like 3d land and so in some cases.
 
My exact impressions. I had a multi-hour trip today, I wasn't driving, and as conversation wound down, I decided to crack out a few of these.

So. much. fun. (As is portable Sunshine in general, which is kind of crazy to me as a mega-GameCube fan) It's like Mario meets Super Monkey Ball, in terms of utter simplicity and difficulty, and it just works so well.

Nintendo, this is an old request, that I honestly believe you turned into Galaxy, but it remains as valid now as in 2002. How about an entire downloadable level pack of these, but brand new? Call it Super Mario Arcade or something. All we need is the same basic visuals, music, premise, and fantastic difficulty.

It'd be perfect for something to feed people until the next full masterpiece.
 
Those stages are the best thing about Sunshine.
They showed Nintendo could actually make a hardcore, challenging game if they tried. Too bad we only get it in spurts.
 
I remember the FLUDD-less stages being the easiest and best parts of the game. A lot of the rest felt really held back by the floatier, less precise FLUDD moveset.
 
Don't forget the zangief jump, spin the stick in a circle as you press jump. It's very high and you can land slowly and carefully as you spin down, but it's not great for horizontal movement.
 
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Best part of the game and what inspired Galaxy (and Destiny's prophecy dungeon).

At the time Sunshine underwhelmed by looking like shit even back then.

In the end, I liked it. It's Odyssey I cared less to play and bored me.
 
They are my favorite in the game. I'm at 83 stars and doing the second run on some of them - time pressure makes them challenging in a different way.
 
I don't like them. The controls and the camera are not that great. I feel like I die constantly by surprise in those levels. And Mario's moveset is limited. In fact, the FLUDD is the best part of Sunshine for me, always has been. The movement with FLUDD is very satisfying.

Super Mario Galaxy totally annihilates those Sunshine platforming stages.
 
They're hard because the camera is terrible and the physics of the rotating elements are anyone's guess. Whatever physics engine Sunshine has, it basically turns to RNG mode the second Mario's feet are on a sloped surface. It's absolutely exceptional that I mess up a jump on flat surfaces, but those rotating cubes? Fuck them.

It doesn't help that the Switch's analogue sticks are far, far less reliable than the GC's.
 
Honestly, I have played all the abstract levels thrice and I haven't had any problem with camera or Mario's movement. You can just run up the turning cubes and some surfaces are just slippery, like those brown blocks.

This time I had problems with camera only couple of times and none of those were in the abstract levels. If seeing distances is hard, zoom out and look downwards.

I don't usually say this but like I have had to say to my son when he is complaining: stop complaining about the game and think about what you could do differently. Because maybe it is not the game, maybe it is you.

how does FLUDD work without analogue triggers?
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Two different triggers. Imo better than the original where you could push it too far.
 
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Touch fuzZy. get BizZay said:
Don't forget the zangief jump, spin the stick in a circle as you press jump. It's very high and you can land slowly and carefully as you spin down, but it's not great for horizontal movement.
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Doing the set-up for a sideways jump, but then pressing A+B also grants you a super dive that gets some serious height and distance. That and your tip can really save you in a bad situation.
 
Nico_D said:
Honestly, I have played all the abstract levels thrice and I haven't had any problem with camera or Mario's movement. You can just run up the turning cubes and some surfaces are just slippery, like those brown blocks.

This time I had problems with camera only couple of times and none of those were in the abstract levels. If seeing distances is hard, zoom out and look downwards.

I don't usually say this but like I have had to say to my son when he is complaining: stop complaining about the game and think about what you could do differently. Because maybe it is not the game, maybe it is you.



Two different triggers. Imo better than the original where you could push it too far.
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This. Definitely set the camera up for the best possible angle before you start moving (a good Sunshine/early 3D tip in general), as well. For example, if you can't judge depth well, take it to the side, or above, or an angle. You have that flexibility.
 
Mario's movement sucks. It isn't made for those levels. I don't know how many times I fell to my death already because there's a delay in Mario's jump.
 
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