Who Has Played Super Mario Sunshine - A Show Of Hands???

Well_H0ly_God

I'm just getting into SMS now. Didn't have the chance to get through it earlier but thought I'd give it a bash now for the first time.

I've read that it is one of the weakest Mario games ever made - is that true?

Mr E

Great game, some flawed levels and dodgy camera let it down. I'd put money in a remake appearing (or at least announced) before the end of the year.

Corholio

A brave game that did work but had flaws that put some off. Would love Nintendo to revisit the openness of the worlds in a future Mario game.

Ol' Donie

One of my favourite games. I even bought a spare.

Been wanting to replay it for a good while, but I'm waiting for the (unannounced) re release.

Edit: I can see why some people say it's one of the weak ones, but it's right up there for me.

CiDeRmAn

Bought it on launch from Japan, loved it, picked it up again on PAL release.
It's the weakest of the 3D Mario games but, and a testament to the franchise, its yards better than anything else in the genre on consoles of the time, PS2, Xbox and PC.
The liquid ink effects are brilliant though, but the setting is what is a little off, the move from the Mushroom Kingdom didn't do it any favours.

Mr.Saturn

Loved it, wholly. Like the OP, missed on it years back and got into a couple year ago. It feels like the last Mario title to keep the meatier challenge as part of the main quest and not as a post-game option.

Machismo Fan

I played it when I was around 10 so I don't really have vivid memories of it aside from the fact that I was really bad at it and the sand bird being the hardest thing ever. I can see Nintendo giving it the Wind Waker HD treatment for Wii U. From what I remember and what I've heard it could potentially be a really great game with some of the rough edges smoothed in a remaster.

Ol' Donie

Machismo Fan wrote: »

I played it when I was around 10 so I don't really have vivid memories of it aside from the fact that I was really bad at it and the sand bird being the hardest thing ever. I can see Nintendo giving it the Wind Waker HD treatment for Wii U. From what I remember and what I've heard it could potentially be a really great game with some of the rough edges smoothed in a remaster.

The minute a hd release is announced, I'm booking a day off work.

God, the sandbird. It's a miracle i never broke a Gamecube controller. The later "secret" levels were absolute bastards.

That game I think has my favourite music of any game.

Corholio

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Bought it on launch from Japan, loved it, picked it up again on PAL release.
It's the weakest of the 3D Mario games but, and a testament to the franchise, its yards better than anything else in the genre on consoles of the time, PS2, Xbox and PC.
The liquid ink effects are brilliant though, but the setting is what is a little off, the move from the Mushroom Kingdom didn't do it any favours.

Funnily enough that's one of the things I really loved about it. Delfino Plaza was such a fresh approach to Mario's surroundings, it made you want to explore it. But I guess the flipside of that is I can understand people feeling out of place with it.

gouche

Personally think it's one of the most underrated Mario games.
Some really good set-pieces - sandbird as an example.

And as has been mentioned, some of the best music in a Mario game - still hear some tracks in my head.:)

CiDeRmAn

Corholio wrote: »

Funnily enough that's one of the things I really loved about it. Delfino Plaza was such a fresh approach to Mario's surroundings, it made you want to explore it. But I guess the flipside of that is I can understand people feeling out of place with it.

It's really just the hub world and the jobs you're given.
The music was the thing that grabbed me, remembering that the last 3D Mario game was Mario 64, and the music was much simpler.
The game had some lovely levels though and even the first one visited was a layered delight of objectives and muddy fun.

Damn

Need to play it again now!

remoteboy

Played it when it came out. Loved it.

Someone made the point once that it's the only game where Mario actually does his job - ie working as a plumber. :-)

So there's that too

FallSilently

Got it with my Gamecube, which isn't saying much, because I got the Gamecube to play Zelda. But I did play it to completion and everything. The sandbird was fine, but the level I despise was the manta ray. In fact, I recall going through the whole game with a general background rumble of annoyance and frustration. It didn't feel like Mario, it was an imposter. The levels often felt like they were being spitefully infuriating - the lava one with the chain chomps, the cliff at the cove, the ghosts, the BLOODY PACHINKO TABLE, not to mention the sheer annoyingness of those ducks that flip you into the sky or the gusties that blow you off the high parts of the harbour or the big blooper bosses or the way Yoshi graphically disintegrates in water. As well as that, the theme of the game felt forced, the storyline was god awful and the whole world was too... damn... SPARKLY.

Though I did love the special stages with the rotating blocks and things. That felt like proper Marioing. Other than that, though, the game was just exasperating.

CiDeRmAn

Thank the gods, I thought I was the only one that hated that stupid manta ray stuff!
Completely buggered my enjoyment of the game, quite frustrating.

Banjo

HAd it, played it, didn't complete it but that's nothing unusual for me. I seem to recall it being rather good but very frustrating - as I was always terrible at 3D platforming I assumed that it was me, not the game that was at fault. Great to hear that I was awesome all along and it was the games fault that I was ****.

Ol' Donie

Oh, God, the pachinko table! That took me forever!

Corholio

I thought it was challenging, frustratingly challenging but not in a bad way. I never thought it was unfair really, just more precise parts in stages.

Star Lord

One of my happiest gaming memories was the satisfaction of getting the last shine. Great game, much maligned, rather unfairly I think.

abbir

Those damn blue coins, I hated them.

Josey Wales

I played about an hour of it a few years ago on the Wii. Not sure why I didn't continue with it. Generally I prefer the 2D Mario games so that is probably why.

Len_007

Yoshi's hovering bit when you jumped is the first thing that came to mind.

cherryghost

I'll get flamed for this but SMS is my favourite Mario platformer.

RobertFoster

I got a GameCube before I got an N64, so Sunshine was my first 3D Mario. I remember really enjoying it, and it was the reason I picked up an N64 afterwards to play Mario 64. While I enjoyed 64 (and later the two Galaxies) too, I think I had more fun with Sunshine. I don't get any of the negativity towards it.

The same happened with Wind Waker - my nostalgic fondness for that is higher than OoT or Twilight Princess. Thinking back to the way the cell shaded graphics were mocked when Wind Waker came out still makes me laugh, especially considering all the forgettable brown shooters we've had since.

abbir

cherryghost wrote: »

I'll get flamed for this but SMS is my favourite Mario platformer.

My thoughts on Mario Sunshine is that it is so close to being my favourite but it falls short because of a lack of polish and variety, the game at many times felt rushed. It controls really really well, I like FLUDD but the levels without him are brilliant.

I missed the freedom of Mario 64 i.e. in Mario 64 you could get almost any star in the level at any time while in Sunshine you could only get the one selected at the start. I also didn't like its linearity, to unlock the final level it wasn't a matter of getting any 70 stars or something, it was only a matter of getting the right shines. Finally, the blue coins. I hated them and how you had to collect them split up amongst different shines in each world. They were terrible filler to get the game to 120 shines.

Star Lord

The thing that annoys me most about Super Mario Sunshine is when FLUDD talks... That voice just irritates me to no end!

CiDeRmAn

Star Lord wrote: »

The thing that annoys me most about Super Mario Sunshine is when FLUDD talks... That voice just irritates me to no end!

I had a fludd once, but once off the diuretics I never had one again

Turtwig

I have really fond memories of this game. The water effects were amazing. I loved the little touches of charm here and there. Delfino Plaza is probably my favourite hub world in video games of all time.

The little tricks you could do with the water nozzle. The pace at which Mario could move and slide. The little combinations and challenges you could set yourself. There wasn't just one way to reach to some objectives there were several. On some occasions you could push yourself to experiment with the level try to reach somewhere with a water supply to check for blue coins. Or just, well explore it for the sake of exploring. Each level changed significantly for each shine episode. The turbo nozzle and rocket nozzle were great fun. That shine where you board yoshi's on a ferry and wait patiently for the boats to move taking in the scenery as you go. The realisation that you can leave Yoshi alone beside fruit and he'll feed himself as necessary. Rico Harbour and Noki bay and all their jumping combinations you were offered. There were easy approaches, hard approaches and creative approaches.

The game is probably the last 3d mario game that had huge sections of non linearity. Figuring out how to beat the manta ray easily. Realising from the awful camera angles provided that you were actually approaching an objective the wrong way. Those camera angles should still have been better but in part I was forcing the game to do something that were a little outside its limits.

That level where the village was on fire and you had to navigate through lava. That same village where some of the blue coins quite literally require some ballsy jumping. The "throwback" secret levels where mario lost his pump. My favourite being the one based in the amusement park. My least favourite being the tossers. Spraying birds with water. Spraying people with water. Spraying ALL the thing with water.

You know what? I'm going to play this game this weekend now.

Irish Halo

I played this and enjoying it but not finishing it. I think it was because you needed (as said before) certain shines to continue and at the time just couldn't do one and gave up.

Turtwig wrote: »

The game is probably the last 3d mario game that had huge sections of non linearity.

This is why I'd buy a version on the Wii U, I love the 3D games since but Mario 64 and this had, what felt like, more mini open world levels not just the more linear levels we have had since.

Ol' Donie

I'm on hols beside a pool right now, surrounded by little fountains an those wicker parasol yokes.
Can't get the Delfino Plaza music out of my head (and frankly I don't want to).
:-D

Star Lord

Turtwig wrote: »

The realisation that you can leave Yoshi alone beside fruit and he'll feed himself as necessary.

I never realised that! :eek:

Turtwig

It's adorable!

Ol' Donie

Turtwig wrote: »

I have really fond memories of this game. The water effects were amazing. I loved the little touches of charm here and there. Delfino Plaza is probably my favourite hub world in video games of all time.

The little tricks you could do with the water nozzle. The pace at which Mario could move and slide. The little combinations and challenges you could set yourself. There wasn't just one way to reach to some objectives there were several. On some occasions you could push yourself to experiment with the level try to reach somewhere with a water supply to check for blue coins. Or just, well explore it for the sake of exploring. Each level changed significantly for each shine episode. The turbo nozzle and rocket nozzle were great fun. That shine where you board yoshi's on a ferry and wait patiently for the boats to move taking in the scenery as you go. The realisation that you can leave Yoshi alone beside fruit and he'll feed himself as necessary. Rico Harbour and Noki bay and all their jumping combinations you were offered. There were easy approaches, hard approaches and creative approaches.

The game is probably the last 3d mario game that had huge sections of non linearity. Figuring out how to beat the manta ray easily. Realising from the awful camera angles provided that you were actually approaching an objective the wrong way. Those camera angles should still have been better but in part I was forcing the game to do something that were a little outside its limits.

That level where the village was on fire and you had to navigate through lava. That same village where some of the blue coins quite literally require some ballsy jumping. The "throwback" secret levels where mario lost his pump. My favourite being the one based in the amusement park. My least favourite being the tossers. Spraying birds with water. Spraying people with water. Spraying ALL the thing with water.

You know what? I'm going to play this game this weekend now.

Great post. I loved it all, but Pianta Village was very special. The musuc is really special, one of two things I can (kinda) play on the ukulele.

But don't play it yet! Wait for the hd version!

*crosses fingers & waits*

Generic Dreadhead

Compared to SM64 and Galaxy 1, I did not enjoy it as much. I wasn't terrible and I sunk a fair few hours into it having a lot of fun. But I found it frustrating and lacking overall

Cantstandsya

I absolutely loved this game when it came out... I remember chasing those bloody blue coins to get to 120 stars. Was only recently thinking of giving it another spin. One of my all time favourites.

super_furry

Modded my Wii to play from USB so it's on the list, having never beaten it first time around.

Banjo

You can play GC from USB now? To the Console Modding Forum! (deddle-a-deddle-a-dah!)

Star Lord

Banjo wrote: »

You can play GC from USB now? To the Console Modding Forum! (deddle-a-deddle-a-dah!)

CastorTroy

I remember playing Sunshine and liking it. Then finding out later it was supposedly rushed out. I just thought "This is a rushed game from them?"