MARIO REVIEWED: Super Mario Sunshine (GC)

In this series of posts that I'm doing because I literally cannot contain my excitement for Super Mario Galaxy 2, I'll be looking back at the games in the Mario franchise. I'm primarily going to be concentrating on games in the main series, but there might be a couple of detours along the way, too.

Wait, I thought this game was supposed to suck?

Super Mario Sunshine probably has the worst reputation out of all of the main series Mario games, and I can't fathom for the life of me why. Sure, I definitely like Galaxy and 64 better, but there's some really cool design choices happening in this game that shouldn't be overlooked; not to mention that it's a gorgeous and fun platformer with interesting elements.

Disclaimer: I had never played this game before yesterday. Not even once. I knew a couple of friends who owned the game, and I actually used to own a Gamecube myself, but for some reason, this game never entered my system. At the time, I was buying a whole lot of third-party Gamecube games (which is weird, because there's so few worth playing), and I only ever played Metroid Prime and Wind Waker out of all the first-party Nintendo games created for the system (not even Pikmin. What the hell is wrong with me?). There was something about the oppressively bright, cheery gameplay that didn't set well with the Matthew who had just discovered Death Cab for Cutie at the time, I guess.

My loss, because this (and I'm starting to sound like a broken record in these features) is a fantastic game. I wasn't expecting to be quite the departure from 64 that it is, because I've noticed something in my (many) hours of play so far – Super Mario Sunshine is a Zelda game in Mario clothing. The progression from central town to outlying areas is extremely Majora's Mask-ish, and FLUDD, the big new gimmick in the game that basically looks like a Super Soaker backpack, allows Mario to perform some very Link-ish moves.

Another element of the game that I'm totally in love with is the game's sense of geography. Delfino Island feels like a real place, and oddly for a Mario game, populated. The Piantas have been reviled by the gaming press as being too "generic," but I kind of liked their big noses and floppy hats, and it felt like the continuity in looks for the enemies and allies alike really helped to make the game feel cohesive. That cohesion doesn't stop at the NPCs, though – the entire game world is thoughtfully crafted to look like each piece fits into the whole, which is something quite drastically different for a Mario game. Gone are the fire worlds, ice worlds, etc., and in their place is a tropical beach locale that, well – maybe it's not as interesting as those other areas (I'd love to see a take on Sunshine that takes place in a city or a forest or something), but considering the limited palette that Nintendo had to work with through their own self-imposed limitations, each area still feels alive and interesting.

Although I'm about to contradict something I said yesterday in my Super Mario 64 review, the comparison between this game and Super Mario Bros. 2 doesn't quite hold up. That game is great, sure, but it's weird in a weird way. This game makes a number of much more subtle adjustments, and while it feels quite different from Super Mario 64, it's hardly weird. In fact, I'd say it's very much in line with the Mario ethos, just switching up the gameplay while keeping everything pretty resolutely cheery.

In other words, I think that people were up in arms about this game because it spurns Mario tradition pretty forcefully and carves out its own path (and those "Mario in a dream world!"/"Mario on vacation!" contexts always seem to make people think that they're less important games, for some reason). Sure, you'll come across Bloopers and Piranha Plants, and Princess Peach is still in tow, but the game just feels like its own beast. Something I've learned from playing all of these games is that Nintendo is incredibly judicious about juggling their chaotic history in games. They could very easily fall into the trap of constantly rehashing all elements of their games (and end up in the same boat as Capcom with the Mega Man series), or they could constantly make games that only have the barest elements of what makes a Mario game and constantly be trying to do crazy things with their games (and, probably, fail a lot). Instead, they've boldly blazed the perfect middle road, balancing creativity with serious quality.

Now, some might argue that Sunshine represents them going too far off the deep end in terms of switching things up, but I honestly couldn't find fault with many elements of the game (outside of the music – never been a big fan of synthesized tropical music). I was having too much fun to notice. Why, then, do I not hold this game in as high regard as 64 and SMG? Well, I know why I like Galaxy better – because it's simply one of the most perfect games of all time, and Sunshine's soundtrack and kind of atrocious camera controls make it not quite as perfect. Plus, the challenge isn't quite there – the FLUDD pack can really save your ass a lot of the time, and the segments that are FLUDD-less (and therefore, quite a lot like SMG) are really awesome. But I don't know why 64 resonates with me more. I think because it's such a bold and innovative game, and Sunshine is just a refinement. Not that that's anything to hold against it, but it's not quite as fresh, and there's nothing that Nintendo could have done better with the tropical direction they decided to take the game.

At any rate, Sunshine is a game I'm glad to finally have in my collection. I haven't beaten it yet, so here's hoping I can do that before SMG2 comes along and destroys my life.