Super Mario Sunshine Review

Spraying the canon also sounds nice and will constantly remind you how cool you are while you’re hovering over the landscape with the jetpack. The foundation music is wonderfully done as each tune matches its respected level. I found Mare Bay to be the most impressive world to listen to. I don’t know what but, something about that music touched me.

The GCN controller was meant for Mario. Pulling off fancy maneuvers with the jet pack or doing insane flips has never been easier. I can sometimes get lost in this game’s controls. I will spend hours just jumping, hovering around having a blast. I honestly cannot find one single issue to complain about, superb.

The camera is the most improved feature in this title. While it does become hairy at times, once you master the ‘C Stick’ you will use it just as you would use the water pack. When you shift the ‘C Stick’ left the camera moves left, as for right it moves right. When you move it up it pans in when you move back it pans out. It’s all here and it blows the Mario 64 camera to kingdom Kong. The camera will bother you when zoomed out too far, but zoom in and everything will be groovy.

The levels are massive. Each one is bigger and even if you think one level is small it will always surprise you with its depth and it’s constant commotion. There are people and objects everywhere to interact with, if someone wants fruit well gosh darn it Mario better get the fruit they want and fast! In Mario 64 you could venture freely and collect stars in any order. This is the exact opposite in Mario Sunshine. If you set out for one star you can only get that star. You might think this is bad, but it’s oh so good!! Good in the fact that you have a specific task at hand and you won’t ponder off and get Story 8′s Shine when you’re on Story 2.

Wall kicks that were a pain to perform in Mario 64 have been redone. This time, instead of just falling off a wall, Mario grabs hold making for an easier wall kicking experience. Other nice touches include the many uses of each nozzle. The Hover nozzle allows Mario to hover. The Spray nozzle sprays water at enemies and object. The Jet nozzle allows for Mario to cross both water and terrain at very high speeds. Finally, the Rocket nozzle allows Mario to fly high up above levels and reach areas previously not available to him. Everything is blissfully controlled using the Game Cube controller.

If you have played Mario 64, you know what the game feels like already. Now take that feeling, and enhance it 100 notches, and you have what I would like to call, one hell of a rush. The use of the jetpack has me both happy and sad. I am happy since it is an absolutely awesome addition, but sad because I don’t know if I will ever be able to play another Mario game without it. I cannot foresee how they will ever top this game. With that aside the title is very addicting and will consume a lot of time. I have been engulfed by this game for quite some time now, and I can say Nintendo has covered every base and has yet another system seller on their hands.

Through and through this game will take you a while to complete. For the collecting freaks I’d say at least 70 hours to get every shine. There’s ten shines to a level, and thirty blue coins per stage. Your favorite “red coin” hunt is also back and in each level twice. The stages are massive and Mario 64′s pale in comparison. I have a new favorite game, and it’s called Mario Sunshine!

If you own a Game Cube or are looking for a reason to own a GCN, then you now have even more reason to either be proud to own or should be ready to pick one up, because if you’re a hardcore gamer, then you better not be caught without Super Mario Sunshine! Do not rent. BUY!