Super Mario Sunshine Review by Avenger
Gamecube Reviews
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Super Mario Sunshine Review

Well, here it is. The long-awaited Mario game. Super Mario sunshine had been in development for some time, and caused some controversy. ''Clean up Graffiti? Why I want to do that?'' However, as the game gathered more and more hype, it kept looking better and better. I knew I was hooked as soon as I read about the E3 coverage. And now it's out. Is it good? Yes. Does it live up to the hype? Not really.

Graphics - 10 (Excellent)
The graphics are good. Mario looks awesome, to begin with. No more blocky models like in Mario 64 - they all look really good. The textures are decent - however, they could look better. So why does this category get a ten then? The water. EVERYTHING about the water looks good. It actually looks like you're spraying water against a wall. Reflections are top notch too. Everything about the water looks good.

Story - 4 (Pretty bad)
The story is pretty bad. Mario is going to vacation with Peach and a couple toads to Island Delfino. Upon arrival, however, Mario is arrested and charged with the crime of vandalism. Apparently, someone resembling Mario has defaced the isle with toxic graffiti. It's now Mario’s job to clean it up. While Original, it seems to me Nintendo could of made a story better than that. It doesn't get much better after that, either.

Game play - 5 (Average)
First of all, this game can basically be described as Mario 64 with a Jetpack. You have most of the moves from the game, plus FLUDD. FLUDD is your best friend in this game. FLUDD can shoot water, make you hover for a few seconds, and perform other functions. Control is tight when FLUDD is around.

Now, here comes the problem - You eventually have to go to these obstacle course type things, where you have to make complex jumps and do some pretty risky things. You might think ''But FLUDD is there to save me if I fall! What's to worry?'' Nope. FLUDD is taken away from you, making these challenges pretty difficult, some VERY annoying. If you mess up, you fall to your death. They are beatable, however. You will get them after a while, but probably after you've died at least 5 times because you were 1 degree off of facing the exact right direction. You lose it for two shies per level (for the most part).

It doesn’t help that the Camera angles are horrible. The camera angles change at the worst times, like when you're trying to solve an obstacle course. If it changes while you're on an obstacle course, you're as good as dead. Plus, because of the camera angle, it's VERY easy to jump too far, or to the side, or jump too far and to the side. You really need a good camera angle to see what you're doing, and you really have to mess with the camera to get it right.

The object of the game is to gather Shines - 120 of them to be exact. As you get more shines, more worlds open up to you. What game does this sound like? A lot of the game is exactly like Mario 64 - Collecting shines and Red coin hunts, to name a few.

There a couple of changes, however. First and most exciting is Yoshi. Yes, you get to ride Yoshis around. Too bad they really only have a few purposes. They are used for getting around 10 shines, maybe less. If they touch water, you lost it. If it gets hungry, you lose it. They are fun to use when you do need them, however. Another change is blue coins. You get these for doing tasks, which you can buy shines with them. I didn’t bother getting all the shines in the game because of this reason. The 12 that I have left are all blue coin shines. Blue coin collecting isn't too fun - the tasks you have to do are either way too obvious and easy, or hard and not fun.


Mario and FLUDD


Challenge - 5 (Average)

This is, by afar, the hardest Mario we've had since The lost levels. Too bad it's only certain parts that are hard. Like I stated above, it's only the parts where FLUDD is missing that's hard.

Sound - 7 - (Decent)
The Music is OK. They're good tunes, but easily forgettable. Even the Classic Mario song remix is pretty forgettable. The sound effects sound good. The only really thing I could see people having problems with is the character's voices. They speak gibberish. I see why people might not like that, although it doesn’t bother me.


Fun - 8 (Very good)
I was debating between a 9 and an 8 for this category, but because of the number of obstacle courses and the annoyance factor, I gave it and 8. Other than those, this game is fun. And hey, that's what videogames are all about in the end, right?

Rent/Buy - Rent first. It's a fun game, but it's not for everyone.
In conclusion, I had a lot of fun playing this game. However, this game really isn't for everyone, and you should really give it a try before you buy.

Wow, that was a lot more than I thought I was going to type...

AVENGER'S ANALYSIS -Mario reaching for a shine sprite
GRAPHICS - 10
STORY - 4
GAMEPLAY - 5
CHALLENGE - 5
SOUND - 7
FUN - 8
FINAL SCORE - 7

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