The Official Super Mario Sunshine Thread

[NeoZeedeater]

I must say, I hate having story-elements(cut-scenes)in a Mario game. They should have learned by looking at Sonic Adventure games that it doesn't fit in the mascot-platform genre. Or maybe it's just me.

[lithium]

Originally posted by Zerodash
What if SMS was Cell Shaded?

In a way it'd end up looking like paper mario, except not flat. I dunno. I'm fine with the graphics as is. They don't blow me away, but they're also quite pleasant with some creative locales. The water looks great.

I take it the little mini levels without the water pack are going to be a staple throughout the game. They remind me of Monkey Ball in a way.

Assuming the same feel carries throughout the game, I think SMS may end up being the oddest game Miyamoto has ever done. Some things are just plain bizarre. Which I haven't decided if it's good or bad yet.

[Kbu Chan]

I love it love it love it love it!!!!! Pure feakin magic. I can't believe how good it is. After hearing some negatives from people on this board who claim to have beat it already and said it wasn't that good, I was a little worried(silly me). I had so much fun last night playing it that I actually got a natural high. Thats exactly what the other Marios did to me and its also why I love them so much. There are a few things I want to talk about. First off, the camera. I have an opinion about people who don't like it. I believe people play 3d games two different ways; either manipulating the camera heavily or not even touching it. I manipulate the hell out of it, so for me, it's without a doubt the closest to perfection that you can get in a 3d platformer with such open-ended gameplay. Up until now Mario64 had my favorite camera but you could only move it in segments. The camera in SMS is exactly what I've always wanted since Mario64. If you don't play with it a lot and constantly put it where you need it, your gonna have a hard time. I absolutly love it. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I was just hanging out last night on top of a roof watching birds fly by, slowly tracking them perfectly with the camera, it was a very enjoyable moment. Someone also said earlier in this thread that the game has fewer moves than 64 because two were left out. Thats just not true. I've found many new moves, with and without the use of FLUDD. Has anyone discovered what you can do on the lilly pads with FLUDD? This is a perfect example of how useful the camera is and this wouldn't be possible without such camera control. Stand in the middle of a lilly pad, rotate the camera to where Mario is facing directly at you, then click the right shoulder button all the way in and your using the lilly pad as a FLUDD powered boat. You steer it with the left stick and keep your camera in place with the right stick. There's lots of other stuff I'd like to point out but I gotta go. Anyhow, this game is the stuff, it's amazing in so many ways, it's probably the best game I've ever played...no, actually, it's definitly the best game I've ever played and I'm only about 4-5 hours into it. I just hope it's not another six years before we get another one. I'm just now realizing how uneventful gaming has been since Mario64(with a few exceptions).

[Saint of Killers]

Originally posted by SpoDaddy
I'm so tired of these people that try to rationalize never buying/selling their N64 because Square went to Sony by going around spouting off about how Nintendo stopped making great games after SNES. If anything Nintendo's weakest platform for first party games was SNES, considering stuff like Stunt Race FX.

Holy crap. SNES, the weakest platform for Nintendo first party titles? Not on a console with the Nintendo holy trinity of Super Metroid, Yoshi's Island, and Zelda: LttP.

N64 didn't have any first party clinkers approaching that level of suckitude.

Yoshi's Story.

Oh yeah, Sunshine is fuckin' awesome.

[RedCoKid]

SMS is going back to Soft Etc this weekend for $30 store credit. It doesn't meet my expectations of a good platformer, in part spoiled by the likes Rayman 2, Napple Tale, and even Klonoa 2.

Here are my opinions (my prerogative, too):
1- The camera is terrible and stubborn like a mule when you try to move it where you want. There's no designated "Mario cam" as in Mario 64, either. Getting it stuck behind a wall is a common occurance.
2- No lock-on mechanism. What good is strafing if you cannot move either forward/backward or in an arc around your target?
3- Bland textures. Did the game designers intend for the game to be cell-shaded, or does it just look like it?
4- Overly bright colors. Usually having bright colors is a good quality, but when combined with a bad camera system, it just contributes to my nausea.
5- Lack of character. Mario has become the Mickey Mouse of videogames. He has no personality in contrast to Rayman, Alicia(sp?), Klonoa, or others. Even Luigi's Mansion did a better job of portraying Luigi as a fearful hero than SMS did of anything for Mario. It's almost as if Mario is a generic representation for the gamer-CPU interface, which as I mentioned above is mediocre.

I still haven't learned my lesson: don't buy a game just for the hype; get it because you want it.

[lithium]

But you haven't made one comment about the gameplay. Everything else you mentioned is superficial save the camera.

I agree the camera isn't the best .I don't like how if it's far away it goes directly above you, and upclose it's down to the side, regardless. I wish I had control over that, sometimes you want close and above or far and to the side, or somewhere in between. But still, camera's in 3D games are pains we've dealt with since Mario64. If you're not used to their shortcomings by now, I don't know what to say. I think it's pretty clear no one has any really good ideas on how to make a good camera in an open ended 3D game.

Mario Sunshine provides exploring, unique play mechanics and platforming action in spades. All it ever promised, all it needs to deliver. The hype is not Nintendo's fault, they've been very honest about the game.

So yeah, if you don't like platformers, SMS was a bonehead purchase.

[RedCoKid]

To me, the gameplay is unremarkable. The squirtgun/jet on his back would have been more fun if you could hover until the water's gone, target easier (an aspect which falls victim to the camera). I had a terrible time getting that thing to aim where I wanted it to aim, especially during boss fights. Try to squirt the plant's mouth? Seems easy. But you can't strafe or target it. You're left with (1) trying to run around it, (2) facing it, (3) locking the camera, and (4) squirting it. But then all is lost because the camera didn't react as fast as I did, so I end up shooting 90 degrees to the side.

In Zelda:OoT, the above would have been lock & slash, slash, slash all you want. 1 step.

What else? I hate stalemates. If you run out of water, you shouldn't be forced to quit, no matter where you are-- even in the midst of a dried-arena boss battle. Why not allow the player to slurp some of the water off the ground to partially refill the tank? You should be able to punch the boss or enemies & make them spit up water so you can use it as a last resort. How about recycling the paint off the ground, separating it into brown sludge waste plus water you can use?

I'll give this game 1 or 2 more days, but I have a hunch that I'll only be gathering more complaints--not coins. (Oh yeah, coin collecting? It's a 16-year-old concept. Time for something new, or at least don't make it the focus of the game.)

I don't hate platformers. This game just happens to fall far short of others.

[JM]

Originally posted by Rose4256
To me, the gameplay is unremarkable. The squirtgun/jet on his back would have been more fun if you could hover until the water's gone, target easier (an aspect which falls victim to the camera). I had a terrible time getting that thing to aim where I wanted it to aim, especially during boss fights. Try to squirt the plant's mouth? Seems easy. But you can't strafe or target it. You're left with (1) trying to run around it, (2) facing it, (3) locking the camera, and (4) squirting it. But then all is lost because the camera didn't react as fast as I did, so I end up shooting 90 degrees to the side.

In Zelda:OoT, the above would have been lock & slash, slash, slash all you want. 1 step.

The things you are complaining about here are very basic & simple aspects of the gameplay.
Maybe you should learn how to play THIS game instead of trying to play it like other games you already know how to play.

Originally posted by Rose4256
What else? I hate stalemates. If you run out of water, you shouldn't be forced to quit, no matter where you are-- even in the midst of a dried-arena boss battle. Why not allow the player to slurp some of the water off the ground to partially refill the tank? You should be able to punch the boss or enemies & make them spit up water so you can use it as a last resort. How about recycling the paint off the ground, separating it into brown sludge waste plus water you can use?

That would totaly defeat the purpose & take away all challenge from the game. Honestly, you just can't seem to come to grips with the game itself. You are spending all your time comparing it to other (Inferrior - Rayman2 or Totally different - Klonoa is 2D) games instead of learning how to play this one.

Originally posted by Rose4256
I'll give this game 1 or 2 more days, but I have a hunch that I'll only be gathering more complaints--not coins. (Oh yeah, coin collecting? It's a 16-year-old concept. Time for something new, or at least don't make it the focus of the game.)

Have you ever played a mario game before? No really, have you? Tell me which one doesn't have coins in it, I'd really like to know. It isn't a tired concept, it is an integral part of the atmosphere & heritage of the series. It is one of the things that makes it a mario game.

Originally posted by Rose4256
I don't hate platformers. This game just happens to fall far short of others.

I know this "fall short" statement is an opinion, but really, Rayman 2 or Napple Tale?

JM

[EThugg]

Despite my avatar (I'm too lazy to change it) I must admit SMS is one of the .1% times I've misjudged a game. I thought it would be SM64 with a water gun, instead it's crap. I can't stand the controls at all. I think this is the final nail for me in the GC coffin, I just have no faith in Nintendo any more. Oh well... back to Bruce Lee....

[lithium]

Hovering until the water runs out most likely would have a negative effect in a lot of areas in the game. This is a platformer, precisely aimed and timed jumps is an important part of the game. A jet pack that you can use as a fallback would ruin a lot of that.

Also notice you can only use the jet pack once per jump, again a conscious decision to deny you a safety net for the jumps.

The jet pack really just needs to add a little flavor and spin to the platforming aspect, which it does. It needs to not be a crutch, which it isn't.