With the GameCube coming out everyone was wondering how Nintendo would follow-up the success of Mario 64 however, they would have to wait a bit longer than they might of thought at least they had Luigi's Mansion to hold them off. When it finally did come out I can only imagine that many were surprised to see the changes to gameplay and even story that were implemented in this game. I didn't grow up with this game unlike Super Mario 64 which really I didn't play till I was 13 but close enough I only finally got to play Super Mario Sunshine thanks to the release of Super Mario 3D All Stars which is what I'm using to review the game.



Gameplay 9/10 -

Leave it to Nintendo to somehow make Mario's movement even more smooth and crisp it's honestly impressive how good it feels to control Mario this time around, and what makes that even better is the inclusion of F.L.U.D.D. which can be used to hover to be more precise with where you wish to land mid air. Hovering is far from FLUDD's only use however, it also has a spray feature which is used to go insane looking for blue coins and for clearing off paint. FLUDD also has a rocket which can be used to send Mario flying far into the sky, and finally a turbo that is probably the least used power in the entire game. Yoshi also is included this time around and he keeps his flutter jump but now also has the ability to shoot liquids that have the power to turn enemies into platforms to jump on.



Graphics 9/10 -

I might be a bit bias on this part but I honestly believe Super Mario Sunshine to have some of the best graphics on the entire Nintendo GameCube and I don't believe that's just the Switch port I used to always be amazed seeing gameplay of it just how good the water looked and I still think it looks pretty good even after all this time. The other thing I have to give credit to when it comes to graphics is just the leap from Super Mario 64 to Super Mario Sunshine is incredible I'm shocked just seeing how far the graphics came just one console later.



Sound 8/10 -

Sound is an area I'm a bit more critical of when it comes to this game for the sole fact that most of the songs on the soundtrack end up feeling pretty similar but that's not really a fault of the sound design and more the fault of the setting so sound is getting a free pass because the music is still good regardless.



Addictive 8/10 -

If you get the chance to play this game while on a vacation of some kind absolutely do it I did it after finishing my GED during the summer which means I was back to having all the free time in the world so I took it as a summer break and just enjoyed it as a tropical vacation which with it being summer just made the game all the more addictive.



Story 6/10 -

I wasn't sure how to rate the story because I don't think it's that good but for a Mario game it's actually brave enough to take some new steps the main one being that they actually tried voice acting which is unfortunately pretty hit or miss. For a basic plot summary Mario and Peach go on a vacation just to arrive and Mario get blamed for making the Isle dirty and then he get's thrown in jail by the worst possible police force and doesn't even get an attorney to represent him in court.



Depth 10/10 -

This is another hard part to rate I went ahead and gave it a 10 for the sole fact of how difficult it is to collect all 240 blue coins in this game I can't undersell how annoying these things are to find that without a guide to know which episodes had more coins I was missing since you can't get them all in the same mission of a level and to be able to keep a checklist of which ones I already had cause the game only tells you the number of ones you have for each level.



Difficulty 9/10 -

This is likely the hardest 3D Mario game to complete fully some of the Shines feel like it's luck to complete or well you need extreme luck and skill on top of it to complete the game you are going to die a lot when going for some of the hidden Shines you just have to be ready to keep on trying if you want to get everything.



Overall 8.5/10 -

I overall don't think this is anywhere near the best 3D Mario game but I do think for the follow-up of a legendary game it did a pretty good job keeping a basic gameplay style while not being scared to try new things out. If your patient this game can be a blast to sit through and slowly find everything but if you value your time a lot you might find trying to get through the game at a good pace a stressful time. When it comes to 3D platformers nothing fits a summer vacation better than Super Mario Sunshine.