Super Mario Sunshine
Review by Trent Dickerson
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As hard as it is to believe, it has actually been six years since there has been a new Mario game. Don't believe me? Think about it. Super Mario 64 was a launch game for the Nintendo 64, and that was back in 1996. The closest thing any of us have had to a new Mario game was Luigi's Mansion, which was a launch game. However, LM received many low scores due to that fact that the game was merely a rushed spin-off game to keep players at ease until Super Mario Sunshine would arrive nearly a year later.
Okay, so the story is this. Mario, Princess Peach, and several Toads have decided to take a tropical vacation to relax after all their recent adventures and the recent fight with Bowser which ended with him being sent to prison. However, as luck would have it, as soon as Mario and crew land on the island, they learn that somebody has been vandalizing it with paint. Though no one has actually seen the culprit up close, he is said to have a round nose, a thick mustache, and a cap with an "M" on it. Mario is of course immediately arrested and put on trial. The judge decided that Mario is the culprit and must clean up all of the mess he supposedly made. To get the job done faster, Mario is given FLUDD, the latest invention from the folks at Gadd Science, Inc. Now Mario must recover the island's "Shine Sprites" in order to return light to the island. In addition to that, he must find out who the real criminal is who is impersonating him AND clean up after him.
For the first time ever in a Mario game, Mario actually has a weapon: FLUDD. FLUDD is a complex water gun device that has several different nozzles. There are four different types of nozzles, and you start out with two of them. The first is the one that you always have, and that is the "Squirt Nozzle". This is the nozzle you will use most of the time to use as a weapon against enemies and in any basic puzzles. The other nozzle you start out with is the "Hover Nozzle". By using this, you can actually hover in mid-air for a few seconds. One of the hidden nozzles is the "Rocket Nozzle". This is never used as a weapon and is only used to reach very high places. The last nozzle is the "Turbo Nozzle". This nozzle as well cannot be used as a weapon but is used as a motor to make you run or swim extremely fast. If your FLUDD runs out of water, all you have to do is jump in any body of water and press R.
The gameplay of Super Mario Sunshine is extremely excellent. This was of course expected since all Mario game play well anyways. Most of Mario's movements were smooth, though I did note some slowdown in the framerate, which usually occurred when I was using the Hover Nozzle. There isn't a lot of FMVs in the game, but the few that there are were very long. Like past Mario games, figuring out the button configuration is a snap. A is to jump, B is to talk, X switches between nozzles, R uses FLUDD, and the C-Stick is used to move the camera. And speaking of the camera, as bad as the camera got to be in Super Mario 64, I think it is actually sometimes worse in Super Mario Sunshine. While the C-Stick does allow for more creativity, sometimes the camera gets stuck at a position that makes it near impossible to see what you are doing. But besides the camera and the occasional framerate slow down, I really have no problem with the gameplay.
The graphics department is another thing I have no problem with. While I was disappointed that the game's original more realistic graphics were redone to look more cartoony like Super Mario 64, I still like how bright and vibrant everything is in SMS. And while some textures may be a little dull, the game's physics are jaw-dropping. Mario Sunshine's water is unlike any other water in any other video game. There are of course other example I could give to amaze you with the game's physics such as tightrope jumping, but I won't go into that. The game's real-time lighting and shadowing effects are awesome as well and perfectly implemented. I honestly don't think any of the enemies or creatures in the game are blocky, not even if you get up close. There are however some graphical seaming in some of the architecture, which is a downside. You will hardly notice it though since over a period of time of playing SMS, you will get used to and accept the graphics because as I have said before, they are similar to those of Super Mario 64.
The sound in Super Mario Sunshine is not half bad. While some may be opposed to the entire game being based on a tropical island theme, personally, I like it. All of the game's overworld themes all sound like something you would hear if you went to Hawaii or Italy or something. The tunes truly set the mood. The sound effects are near perfect, since they have to be what with the important of water in the game and so forth. The sound effects from all the nozzles are appropriate as well. However, the game's voice acting is pretty dull. Especially Princess Peach's, which makes her sound completely clueless of all things around her. Luckily, there is little talking in the game and most of it takes place at the beginning.
In conclusion, Super Mario Sunshine can easily be described as the best platformer game to date and arguably the best game of 2002. Because of this, SMS has unlimited replay value. I say this because there are 120 Shines in the game to collect, and most people beat the game with only about 70 or 80. Also, when you beat the game you have the option of getting the chance to wear a tropical shirt. Then there are of course the Shines that must be collected through the secret areas and by collecting 100 coins. All this aside, SMS is a solid AAA game that any gamer should buy. And with any luck, the next Mario game on GameCube(which has already been confirmed) will be better than this one with a more intriguing story and with all the graphical and voice acting problems fixed. Shine get.
My Score: 9.5 out of 10
Advantages: It's a new Mario game, great graphics, good sound
Disadvantages: It wasn't a launch game, occasional camera problems, some graphical seaming, some framerate slow downs, bad voice acting
