Throwback Thursday - Super Mario Sunshine

Feeling nostalgic?  Curious about a game you missed out on?  Well buckle down, because it's time for Throwback Thursday!  Every Thursday, I will highlight a game from my personal Top 100 Games.  (For those doing the math, yes, this should provide at least 2 years worth of content for this blog) Hopefully in doing this as well, you'll be able to identify my tastes as a gamer and if you similarly identify, try some new games or recommend some games my way.  ;)

So, this week's oldie but goodie: Super Mario Sunshine!  Yahoo!  Was released in the US on August 26th, 2002 for Nintendo GameCube.  It's a single-player platformer / action-adventure game featuring your favorite goomba stomping plumber, Super Mario, headed on a well deserved vacation to Isle Delfino.  Unfortunately, trouble is afoot on the island to which Mario is framed for polluting the island with hostile goo.  Teaming up with an artificially intelligent squirt gun called FLUDD, Mario sets off to clear his name and restore Isle Delfino to its former sunny glory.

Similar to Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine's core gameplay is exploring the island for new worlds and levels, and then adventuring to gather "stars", or in this case, Shine Sprites.  With this entry, the worlds and levels were all built with a tropical theme in mind, to form an island that felt real and alive.  It's really neat to look in the distance of certain areas, such as Ricco Harbor, and see in the distance other worlds, such as Pinna Park.  Another element that adds to this sense of a unified world is the aspect of sunshine.  At the start of the game, the town is downcast in shadow with but a small ray of light in the center of the town.  However, as you begin to collect more and more Shine Sprites, that ray of light will begin to grow, slowly encompassing the town in more and more sunshine.  It's a wonderfully subtle way to add satisfaction to your accomplishments and encourage players to finish restoring the island.  And if that weren't enough, collect enough Shine Sprites, the island becomes so bright that Mario can don some shades and tropical wear to accommodate.  Classic.

The game isn't without its faults: The controls are often frustrating and not as finely tuned as other Mario games.  And its near impossible to find all the secret blue coins and such in the game without the use of a guide.  (Darn blue butterflies)  But this game outshines these faults (pun intended) for being a game willing to try something new.  An interesting new world to explore.  Fun and creative ways to traverse and interact with the world through use of the FLUDD pack.  Going extra fast by squirting water in front of you and then diving to slide on your belly like a slip-n-slide.  Clever and memorable new characters such as the Piantas.  Even the dialogue boxes have a new sense of charm to them as the text rolls along their three curved tracks.

Pianta - Local inhabitants of Isle Delfino & mafia gang in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

If you've never had the pleasure of trying this game, or are now suddenly getting the itch to play again from reading this Throwback, I heartily encourage you to do so.  Miyamoto has been quoted noting games like Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64 are serving as a strong direction for Super Mario Odyssey on Nintendo Switch, most notably for their free exploratory gameplay.  So thank goodness for games like Super Mario Sunshine.

Fun Fact: "Isle Delfino" is Italian for "Dolphin Island", which is not only the shape of the island in the game, but also likely references GameCube's original code name, Project Dolphin.