I finished Super Mario Sunshine at the weekend.
Just the minimum viable product pretty much, I didn't get all 120 Shines or anything.
I kind of came into the game pretty negatively. The controls aren't as on point and precise as other entries, there's a bunch of frustrating objectives, Yoshi is a sham of a creature who makes everything he's involved with a thousand times more difficult, and the shine (ho ho) has really come off the cleaning of paint motif now that it's now longer revolutionary graphical technology.
But here's the thing - the more I played, the more the game turned my opinion around. Yes, it's the weakest of the mainline 3D Mario games. Yes, it's unpolished, and yes, it feels a bit unfinished in places.
But it's still a mainline 3D Mario and by God that means it's still more fun to this day than 99% of other games out there.
There are some terrific bits of level design, and I actually felt like some of the later stages were some of the best. In particular there is a 'Find the 8 red coins' level - usually the most uninteresting objective - on Pianta Village that had some brilliantly creative hiding places. It was a wonderful level, a real consummation of the central 3D Mario concept that each level should be a playground, rather than an assault course.
Speaking of assault courses, I must give mention to the 'Secret of...' levels, where you're stripped of the FLUDD and given an abstract platforming challenge. These are great and pitched very well in difficulty. Thank goodness they give you 1UP mushrooms on them though, because it would have been infuriating to keep finding my way back to their entrances after dying repeatedly.
I love the setting, too. It feels unique to me in that it has this single cohesive setting. I don't recall any other Mario game really having that. It's a very cool idea. Even Bowser's on holiday - you fight him in a hot tub that he's relaxing in, and he complains that you're ruining his vacation! What a fun idea.
It also hews away from the traditional platforming settings. Lava world, jungle world, and of course as legally mandated for all platform games, slippy slidey ice world. You won't find them here. The hotel level in particular I thought was very interesting, a spin on the traditional Mario ghost houses that still feels fresh in 2021. It gave me Gregory Horror Show vibes a little bit.
Anyway, I'm rambling. It's a lot of fun. Well worth playing.
Just the minimum viable product pretty much, I didn't get all 120 Shines or anything.
I kind of came into the game pretty negatively. The controls aren't as on point and precise as other entries, there's a bunch of frustrating objectives, Yoshi is a sham of a creature who makes everything he's involved with a thousand times more difficult, and the shine (ho ho) has really come off the cleaning of paint motif now that it's now longer revolutionary graphical technology.
But here's the thing - the more I played, the more the game turned my opinion around. Yes, it's the weakest of the mainline 3D Mario games. Yes, it's unpolished, and yes, it feels a bit unfinished in places.
But it's still a mainline 3D Mario and by God that means it's still more fun to this day than 99% of other games out there.
There are some terrific bits of level design, and I actually felt like some of the later stages were some of the best. In particular there is a 'Find the 8 red coins' level - usually the most uninteresting objective - on Pianta Village that had some brilliantly creative hiding places. It was a wonderful level, a real consummation of the central 3D Mario concept that each level should be a playground, rather than an assault course.
Speaking of assault courses, I must give mention to the 'Secret of...' levels, where you're stripped of the FLUDD and given an abstract platforming challenge. These are great and pitched very well in difficulty. Thank goodness they give you 1UP mushrooms on them though, because it would have been infuriating to keep finding my way back to their entrances after dying repeatedly.
I love the setting, too. It feels unique to me in that it has this single cohesive setting. I don't recall any other Mario game really having that. It's a very cool idea. Even Bowser's on holiday - you fight him in a hot tub that he's relaxing in, and he complains that you're ruining his vacation! What a fun idea.
It also hews away from the traditional platforming settings. Lava world, jungle world, and of course as legally mandated for all platform games, slippy slidey ice world. You won't find them here. The hotel level in particular I thought was very interesting, a spin on the traditional Mario ghost houses that still feels fresh in 2021. It gave me Gregory Horror Show vibes a little bit.
Anyway, I'm rambling. It's a lot of fun. Well worth playing.
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