Title: Mario Sunshine
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer
Platform: Gamecube
Players: 1
day at the beach
Mario is an under appreciated chap. People keep slandering him for appearing in all manner of games. But it's not his fault, it's those evil executives at Nintendo who keep whoring him out to those horny 3rd party developers, such as Konami (Mario DDR) and Namco (Mario Baseball). And the countless Mario Party games don't help his reputation either. But people don't have to take notice of these games. They should concentrate on Mario's best trait. And that's the platformers he stars in. Ever since the N64 Nintendo has ran along with a tradition. And that's to release one Mario platformer among all those Party, and sports games. The Nintendo 64 started it all with the release of Super Mario 64 when it first launched. It changed the face of gaming, giving most gamers their first taste of free form exploration and analogue control. In 2002 it was the Gamecubes turn with Mario Sunshine.
The story goes like this: Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, and his bunch of dim-witted apprentices are going on vacation to a holiday resort island called "Isle Delfino" as their private jet approaches the land strip it comes to a sudden halt causing quite a disturbance in Mario and the gangs daydreams about the wonders that await on the Isle. Upon getting off the plane they are confronted with a huge pile of goo blocking the land strip. While Toadsworth is talking to Mario Peach notices a strange figure standing atop a nearby water tank located at the end of the walkway. The figure looks remotely like Mario. When she looks again the mysterious figure is gone. Soon after Mario is put in the slammer by a bunch of local police Men. Shortly after Mario is put before a judge in a court of law. Some bumbling fool is going around spreading graffiti all over the island and for some stupid reason this is scaring off the shine spirits that power the island giving out light. This means that a lot of the isle is in darkness. Mario is proven guilty due to the "overwhelming" evidence (A really crappy picture of Mario with wanted above him) and is given community service to clean up the island.
...Or a Wet Weekend in Blackpool?
If your familiar with Mario 64 then you'll feel right at home with the basic controls. All the standard moves are there. (Except for the long jump or the two punch kick combo) And pulling them off feels almost identical to how you did in Mario 64. It's adapted to the Gamecube controller really well. However, there is a new addition to the game. And this is the inclusion of a water-powered jetpack, which Mario has strapped onto his back. This can be used for multiple scenarios. The default setting allows you to clean graffiti off of walls/floors, or shoot water at enemies killing or stunning them, pressing Y allows you to go into an aiming mode that allows you to aim accurately and precisely in this mode. The other setting shoots out a downward blast of water allowing you to hover. This option is useful for clearing larger gaps or raising you just that little bit higher to reach a ledge. The jetpack can also be upgraded allowing to attach another two upgrades, a propeller that allows you to run across water at high speeds, and a boost jumped that throws you up into the air at an incredible height and speed. But switching for one of these modes means losing your Jetpack option until you complete a task or find the Jetpack nozzle again so be careful when you use one of the additional nozzles. It's a great addition and fun to use, it makes exploring much more enjoyable as you can experiment with the nozzles and find all manners of shortcuts and ways to navigate around each level.
The main hub is the central point of the island, which is littered with stalls, shops, and various other large buildings. The hub itself is just like one big level as there are about 30 puzzles to solve alone so exploring the hub extensively rewards the player with more shines. You see, for each successful task completed you get a Shine. These are needed to restore power to the island. Dotted around the hub are certain structures that are actually warps to each stage, when entering a warp you are given a chapter select menu, upon selecting a chapter you are thrown into the stage, a quick hint of where you have to go appearing on the screen. After that it's up to you to scout out the hot spot and work out what you have to do to complete the task. It leaves you to your own devices and doesn't give you an objectives list, this makes exploration much more fun, and it doesn't confuse the player too much as finding your destination is a piece of cake due to the great level design and controls. It's those factors that make Mario Sunshine such a relaxing game to play. There are no time limits, no pressure, and hardly ever a frustrating moment. Each level feels like a sizable play area filled with fun little obstacles and items that you can interact with using your Water Jets unique abilities. Be it spraying a slope so you can slide down on it on your belly, hitting fans with water to makes them spin, or hanging of a tightrope and using the jet to spin you around and around boosting you off it, there’s always something for you to do. You can literally spend hours searching for neat little touches in the game, sometimes making you forget about your assigned task. The whole game is a really interactive experience, fun, easy to play, and time consuming due to its simple gameplay and great ideas, the game does have a sizable flaw though...
Mama Mia!
And that is the camera, people expecting the games camera to be as polished as Mario 64's will come away very disappointed. It feels nowhere near as fluid as it's predecessors. The camera can get stuck behind walls at times, hindering your movement and forcing you to stop at intervals. Of course this isn't as common as a lot of other games but hell, when it happens it isn't half annoying. One example being on the games 3rd level Pinna Park, in which you have to stop an out of control Ferris wheel. You have to climb a bunch of mesh panels along the back of the wheel, the camera really starts to act up here. Constantly placing itself behind the wall and showing you the face of the wall way too often, it's a jerky and annoying moment that really makes completing the task a pain in the royal rear. It happens other times too. Controlling the camera manually is a far more manageable option, tapping L centres the camera behind you while the c-stick controls zoom and rotation. Adjusting the camera to suit your needs feels like second nature and an extension of your own thumbs after a while but that doesn't hide the fact that the camera is flaws. Because let's face it, you shouldn't have to control the camera that much. So it lets the side down quite a bit.
Flaws aside, the game looks great. It isn't the most detailed game around but it throws around a lot of little details such as birds flying over you, sun glare, heat waves, and a constant framerate that never drops once. It's a colourful affair as well throwing a bright palette in your face, it really mixes well with the theme of the game, and it never feels too drab or dull. There are a few rough edges, mainly the character models as some of them look a bit angular but there isn't anything bad about the game that is too noticeable or lets the game down.
The sound is mostly great, the tropical theme of the music feels nice and upbeat, jungle drums, maracas and various other instruments related to the theme of the game crop up to give the player an enjoyable audio experience that feels like a treat to the ears. The game actually has voice acting in some part of the game but it isn't pulled off very well, yes, it isn't a serious game but the acting just feels wooden.
Mario Sunshine is an enjoyable platformer, it has a troublesome camera at times, and completing the game first time round is fairly easy but the game has enough distractions and things to do to keep you playing, the game falls short though due to the legacy it has to live up too, and comparing both will make you notice the little flaws in Sunshine, but if your looking for a fun, high quality Nintendo title then buy this.
Graphics: 8.8
A wonderful mix of colour and design that mixes well with the tropical theme, lovely water effects too. Blurry textures at time let the side down a little sometimes.
Sound: 8.6
A nice upbeat tropical soundtrack that’s satisfying to the ear, but the voice acting will want you to plug your ears up at times. Luckily it doesn't raise its ugly head too much.
Gameplay: 9.1
It has a great engine, level design and the controls feel very responsive and tight, plus good level design. But the camera let's the side down a little. Stopping it from getting a much higher score.
Lifespan: 8.9
Completing the main part of the story is easy and can be completed within days, but collecting all the additional content hidden away in the game will take a while. Depends on how long you want to play the game. You want to commit yourself to it, or just want to complete the main story? Up to you.
Score: 8.8
One of the best platforms out, it provides players with a laid back, absorbing experience that players can while away the hours with, the camera leads to frustration at times but the pro's far outweigh that one sizable con. And there are platformers that feel and play a lot worse. So this is a gem among a sea of platformers.
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Enter Sunrise
Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
Originally Posted by dakidski
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