Super Mario Sunshine?

[KazeAizen]

So I know I'm a bit late but I have a question. What the heck is people's problem with Super Mario Sunshine? I mean when I see a video or something talking about the Mario franchise and they say its all good this is always the "except this" part. So am I missing something here? I thought it was a good game. It took the 64 style and amped it up. The visuals are great and the gameplay solid so what is in this game that people seem to say its a stinker or at least sub part? Usually I'm able to spot that stuff that I can see piss fans off. For example I know why people hate the Star Wars prequels, I know why people have an issue with Iron Man 3. So what did I miss here?

 

[piinyouri]

I don;t know either. I played it quite extensively.

It had the usual lighthearted Mario style, interesting mechanics, fun levels, and could be quite hard.

If I remember...this was the first 3-D open world styled game for Mario after Mario 64 right?
If that's true, there could have been/could be some nostalgia altering opinions.

 

[Ritualist]

The changes to the platforming. People generally boil down to not liking the FLuDD.

It's my favorite Mario game.

Snipsky

Only quoted for having the best avatar ever. Ever.

 

[lechat]

never played it myself but i assume it was a more generic version of mario 64

 

[Lieju]

I liked it, but it was bit of a disappointment after Mario64.

The step to 3D was amazing, and the environments were more diverse in 64.

In Sunshine all stages were on a tropical island. (Understandably.)
I liked Fludd, though.

 

[MysticSlayer]

never played it myself but i assume it was a more generic version of mario 64

I don't think you can call Super Mario Sunshine generic. Even by Mario standards, it is arguably the most unique of the 3D platformers. Of course, most of what made it unique was eventually adopted by Super Mario Galaxy 2 in some way, but you still see more of Mario 64 in the other games than you do Sunshine. The only real difference is that Mario 64 revolutionized the 3D platformer, but Sunshine obviously didn't have the chance to do that as much, so its quality compared to Mario 64 was somewhat clouded by its lack of innovation compared to Mario 64.

Anyways, I think there were multiple reasons. The first is, as I mentioned above, it was nowhere near as innovative as Mario 64, but this sort of comes with the territory of releasing 5 years after Mario 64 established the standards for what a good 3D platformer should be. It also had less diverse environments, basically boiling down to nothing but tropical settings as opposed to your standard set of different Mario settings. Some felt it tried to be too story heavy, and some also felt that it had some of the most annoying Stars/Shine Sprites in the series (which, in all fairness, it did have the most annoying one). Finally, it released between Mario 64 and Galaxy, so it is hard to see it stand out when it is mashed between arguably the two best received 3D platformers of all time (yes, yes, I know, Banjo Kazooie probably beats both of them).

Personally, though, Sunshine was my favorite. I loved the tropical setting, the additions FLUDD gave to the game, the general challenges, and just about everything. It offered plenty of potential to create your own challenges, and it regardless of having the most annoying level in the whole Mario series, most of the Shine Sprites were the most enjoyable to go after of all the Stars/Shine Sprites. I can see why people don't like it as much as Mario 64 or Galaxy, but I think anyone who hates the game is just exaggerating those negatives and possibly ignoring the numerous faults of Mario 64 and Galaxy in the process.

 

[Story]

I liked Super Mario Sunshine, but I had the very unusual advantage of that being my very first Mario game. Seriously.
So played it with no bias at all. I remember it being very challenging, very pretty, and the music was fantastic. That being said, now that I have played other Mario games over the years I can see why that game is considered the "Dark Horse". The fact that it was very story driven (and there was even voice acting), was pretty odd. It didn't help that the story was kinda meh. I know quite a few people who thought FLUDD was very gimmicky, which he was. The platforming overall was kinda so-so.

 

[Zeke63]

i mean its the best mario game arguably, it world or 64. such a fantastic game, idk why people had an issue, it destroys galaxy

 

[gigastar]

I recall there being camera clipping issues with Sunshine.

I still remember it fondly though.

 

[Teoes]

I never gave it enough of a chance really. I was just turned off by what I thought were gimmicky additions that got in the way of the only reason I'll ever play a Mario platformer: for the platforming. Maybe if I gave it another shot now that I'm older, I'd appreciate it more.

 

[uncle_yuri]

I liked Sunshine. It didn't stand up to 64 in my humble opinion but it was still very enjoyable. Except for little things like the voice acting that made the characters sound downright disturbing. But other than that, it was all catchy music and memorable levels.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I loved it, its one of those games thats just really fun to look at and play, Happiness on a disk.

I've seen people say "Its just Mario 64 with fLUD", well FLUD is kinda the main point of the game!

This Thread has actually put me in the mood to play it, Thank you good sir.

 

[Vivi22]

Simple explanation: fewer levels, less variety in those levels, and removing the long jump in favour of that hover mode was an awful idea.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

No problem, here. Super Mario Sunshine is my favorite 3D Mario, to date.

 

[FPLOON]

"Alright! Another 3D Mario platformer just like Mario 64!"
The F.L.U.D.D. is the main focus in the platforming...
"Okay! I just made it to the cave and... the game takes my F.L.U.D.D away... The fuck?"
Now, it like that Mario 64 you like so much...
"NO, it isn't! GOD!!! The fucking camera!!! The fucking jumping!!! Fucking EVERYTHING!!! Fuck this game!!"
...That was only the third shine, though...

OT: Honestly, I thinks it just that it didn't live up to the expectations set by Mario 64... and even when you give it a chance, the controls(?) and camera(!) makes everything more difficult than it should be...

I still can't get over all of the dicks on the island, who are holding shines for ransom basically, but I don't find the game terrible in the sense that it's the worse 3D Mario platformer so far... (It's just... different...)

 

[KazeAizen]

"Alright! Another 3D Mario platformer just like Mario 64!"
The F.L.U.D.D. is the main focus in the platforming...
"Okay! I just made it to the cave and... the game takes my F.L.U.D.D away... The fuck?"
Now, it like that Mario 64 you like so much...
"NO, it isn't! GOD!!! The fucking camera!!! The fucking jumping!!! Fucking EVERYTHING!!! Fuck this game!!"
...That was only the third shine, though...

OT: Honestly, I thinks it just that it didn't live up to the expectations set by Mario 64... and even when you give it a chance, the controls(?) and camera(!) makes everything more difficult than it should be...

I still can't get over all of the dicks on the island, who are holding shines for ransom basically, but I don't find the game terrible in the sense that it's the worse 3D Mario platformer so far... (It's just... different...)

So part of the reason might've been that Nintendo had just come off of one its biggest wins ever and the bar was set so unbelievably high that people were probably gonna be disappointed no matter what? Maybe I need to go back and replay it. I don't really remember the camera giving me too much trouble and I remember adapting the controls quite well.

 

[dl_wraith]

Ha - you made me smile remembering the times I played this. I came at this one feeling like I wouldn't like it (Sonic fan here. Mario usually leaves me cold) but after wrestling with the camera a bit I had a good time with it (to the eternal shame of my Sonic Heroes disc).

Yeah - never understood the hate for this one. It was an enjoyable and stylish little romp that even a hardcore Sonic fan could play.

 

[dl_wraith]

People with camera controls most be really bad at games, I never had those.

Do you mean 'Mostly are bad at games' or are you asking the question that they 'Must be bad at games'

Either way, I don't think people that sometimes struggle with 3d camera controls in 3rd person adventures or platformers are necessarily lacking in gaming skills. My (ex) wife could never work the camera right on these things but when she finally got an angle allowing her to see the action she was a dynamo!

Horses for courses. I struggle to work Virtua Fighter yet I'm quite good at Street Fighter - does that mean I'm bad at fighting games? Or for a better analogy, I struggle with radar displays in space combat sims yet I still kick ass with my star fighters. Does that mean I'm bad at 3d space shooters?

The camera is just one gameplay element. More power to you if you've mastered them better than most.

EDIT: Or do you mean you don't play games with camera controls in them? In that case ignore everything I just said