- Super Mario Sunshine
- Available on: Gamecube
- More information: wikipedia
- Cover scans: mobygames - covergalaxy
- FAQ's/cheats: gamefaqs
- Press reviews: ign - gamespot - gamespy
Content review for this game:
Pertaining to content listed in the upper left corner of this site.
Comic mischief: After all that saving of Princess Peach from Bowser routine, Mario is in need of a little break. So, he, Princess Peach and her entourage take a jet to Delfino Island for a vacation. But as soon as they arive, Mario is put under arrest for polluting the island city with a type of gooey graffiti, and is made to clean it up. Obviously, some imposter has framed Mario. Now to clean up the city and unmask the villain. Poor Mario--vacation over.
The ESRB rated this game for "Comic Mischief," and violence-wise, this game is extremely mild. The worst of it being, when Mario sprays an enemy with water, resulting in it flying to the ground and disappearing in a puff of white smoke. Or when Mario jumps on an enemy's head, it scrunches up like an accordian, and then disappears into a puff of white smoke. I mean, please--this stuff's very, very mild, nothing to worry about.
Content-wise: This game's content is perfectly suitable to watch for kids 6-, and in some ways, play. And unlike Super Mario 64 (in which the story was all text), half of the game's story is told through text, but the other half is told through cutscenes with full voice acting. Kids in this age group can run around the main hub, in the form of a large colorful city, and play in the water, jump on buildings, and even later in the game, ride on Yoshi. And many of the games levels can be played and explored without having to complete the main objective--just don't expect them to complete any of the level's actual objectives without lots of help from you.
Difficulty-wise: The game starts you out in Delfino Plaza, the island's biggest city, which serves as the game's main hub, and is roughly 3 times bigger than the hub presented in Super Mario 64. This hub has portals in the form of statues on the side of building, and in other strange places that lead to the game's many levels. When you enter a level, a screen pops up and shows you 8 Shines (which replace the stars from Super Mario 64), which represent each of that level's 8 objectives and the game's 120 total Shines. You then enter the level, complete the objective, and earn the Shine, which will start to unlock more doors to more portals and levels, and ultimately lead you to the final showdown with the last boss (no I won't tell you who... guess). Every level also has two hidden Shines, and one Shine for collecting 100 coins in each level.
Like Super Mario 64, Mario has the many moves available from the last game like jump (A), double jump (A,A), triple jump (forward, A,A,A), side jump (left, right, A), backflip (R-trigger, then A), kick (B), dive/slide (A, then B), climb, shimmy on poles/trees, and much more. New to this game is Mario's sidekick, FLUDD, which is a talking water tank that goes on Mario's back like a backpack, and serves as a tool to clean up the gooey graffiti found all around the city and the game's levels. You start out with just being able to spray from the FLUDD like a hose, and float in the air for a few seconds with the FLUDD's hover attachment. But, later on, you gain attachments like the Rocket Nozzle, which shoots Mario straight into the air, and the Turbo Nozzle that shoots Mario at high speed on land and makes him like a mini power-boat on the water. The FLUDD and it's attachments are controlled by the right-trigger to spray water, the X button to switch attachments, and the Y button to manual aim. Also, the FLUDD will (of course) eventually run dry, and to refill it, you get in the water (which is plentiful) and press the right-trigger.
A surprise (and welcome) return to this game is Yoshi, who you unlock a little over a quarter in the game. Once you do unlock him, he'll be accessible any time in the Delfion Plaza. But, before you can ride him, you have to get his favorite fruit, which results in him hatching from his egg. He can (depending on what fruit you feed him) also shoot fruit juice from his mouth, which can be used to dissolve the many barrier puzzles around the city and the game's levels. Just don't take him in the water (he really hates it), as he'll disappear, and you'll have to hatch him again.
Last but not least, A few of the levels have an objective where the main villain temporarily steals the FLUDD and traps you in an obsatcle course, where you have to maneuver without its help. These levels have many weird obstacles like shifting, spinning, and moving platforms that you have to use to escape the level. Most of these levels are extremely challenging, which is one of the main things that could frustrate kids 7+. These areas will probably require some help from older, more experienced (and patient) gamers (I had a hard time with them).
