Mario games are omnipresent in Nintendo’s console line up. Each console having at least one big Mario platformer to its name and with Mario 64 having been a world changing game we waited for a sequel. Then with the GameCube announced we waited for its Mario game, the sequel to Mario 64. Of course first Luigi got his mansions but after that we got what we were asking for with Super Mario Sunshine.

Super Mario Sunshine is the Mario platformer game for the Nintendo GameCube. A sequel in nature to Mario 64 it uses that game as a basis. You have a collectable item that you get multiples of in each level, the level changing slightly when you get one to allow access to a different item exact.

Mario’s jumping abilities are mostly unchanged from 64 however he has lost his main attacks. Instead you are given access to the FLUDD a sentient robotic water spouting device. Using this you can spout water in various ways, from a front facing hose, using it as a jetpack to make jumping more stable, using it to jet propel  you into the air, and using it like a jet engine to allow you to run really fast and even on water.

The story is sadly rather infamous. Mario and Peach (as well as a few toads including Toadsworth) are on a summer vacation to Delfino Island. However some mysterious vandal has been painting graffiti M’s about and scared away the shine sprites (the items you will be collecting). After collecting the first one of these at the airport using the FLUDD Mario is instantly arrested and proclaimed guilty with no defense allowed… yeah the treatment of the law has irked many Mario fans. So it’s up to Mario to clear his name from this mysterious dark doppelganger and collect the shine sprites. The game plays very much like Mario 64 but with the FLUDD. It should be noted that areas are far more open this time rather than the more constrained 64 levels. The shine sprites can be gotten from a diverse number of tasks, ranging from beating bosses, collecting red coins, accessing a hard out of reach area and completing the special stages hidden in the levels which remove your FLUDD ,creating some very challenging Mario moments, that are ironically some of the most memorable parts.

You see that jetpack feature makes your controls of Mario’s jumping almost too good in areas so when you’re without it you’re suddenly doing some very challenging platforming.

While the main game is fun and colorful… there are moments in the game that become very frustrating and outright hated (the red coins on the poison river is well hated). These often relate to certain mechanics that never really worked, such as using the FLUUD to propel and control a boat something that is mandatory even if not trying for 100 percent as it’s used on the way to the final boss.

And yes this game is not worth 100 percent. Even if you do all the most horrible difficult special stages there’s then the blue coin hunt. At no point have I found any way to track in game how many blue coins you have collected in a level so good luck coming back to one trying to find them all. You end up needing 10 for a shine and there are 24 shines you get from blue coins, that’s 240 in the game with no means of tracking.

And the reward for 100 percent the game getting all the shines… a picture… just a different picture shown at the screen when you beat the boss… that’s it… it’s not worth the hassle. The game is fun with just playing but the 100 percent is not worth it.

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