Mario sets out for the prestigious tropical retreat Isle Delfino, for a well-deserved vacation with [[Princess Peach]] (Princess Toadstool) and [[Toadsworth]]. Upon arrival, Mario finds that the once-pristine island has been vandalized with [[graffiti]] and toxic goop. As a result of this [[pollution]], star-shaped creatures called Shine Sprites, the island's sources of power, have dispersed and the island is covered in a perpetual shadow. Even worse, the culprit seen spreading the graffiti is disguised as Mario (he is later referred to as "[[Koopa Kid#Bowser Jr.|Shadow Mario]]"); thus, Mario is promptly arrested as soon as his plane lands.
Mario sets out for the prestigious tropical retreat Isle Delfino, for a well-deserved vacation with [[Princess Peach]] (Princess Toadstool) and [[Toadsworth]]. Upon arrival, Mario finds that the once-pristine island has been vandalized with [[graffiti]] and toxic goop. As a result of this [[pollution]], star-shaped creatures called Shine Sprites, the island's sources of power, have dispersed and the island is covered in a perpetual shadow. Even worse, the culprit seen spreading the graffiti is disguised as Mario (he is later referred to as "[[Shadow Mario]]"); thus, Mario is promptly arrested as soon as his plane lands.
Mario is put on trial, found guilty, and is ordered to clean up the mess and return the Shine Sprites. To help with the cleaning, Mario finds [[FLUDD]], a powerful water cannon toted like a [[backpack]]. Mario sets out on his adventure vowing to clear his name and locate the real criminal while restoring tranquility and order to Isle Delfino.
Mario is put on trial, found guilty, and is ordered to clean up the mess and return the Shine Sprites. To help with the cleaning, Mario finds [[FLUDD]], a powerful water cannon toted like a [[backpack]]. Mario sets out on his adventure vowing to clear his name and locate the real criminal while restoring tranquility and order to Isle Delfino.
Mario sets out for the prestigious tropical retreat Isle Delfino, for a well-deserved vacation with Princess Peach (Princess Toadstool) and Toadsworth. Upon arrival, Mario finds that the once-pristine island has been vandalized with graffiti and toxic goop. As a result of this pollution, star-shaped creatures called Shine Sprites, the island's sources of power, have dispersed and the island is covered in a perpetual shadow. Even worse, the culprit seen spreading the graffiti is disguised as Mario (he is later referred to as "Shadow Mario"); thus, Mario is promptly arrested as soon as his plane lands.
Mario is put on trial, found guilty, and is ordered to clean up the mess and return the Shine Sprites. To help with the cleaning, Mario finds FLUDD, a powerful water cannon toted like a backpack. Mario sets out on his adventure vowing to clear his name and locate the real criminal while restoring tranquility and order to Isle Delfino.
Gameplay
Super Mario Sunshine is the first game where Mario extensively uses an accessory to complete his mission. At the beginning of the game, Mario finds FLUDD (the acronym for Flash Liquidising Ultra Dousing Device), which has an ability to spray water. When Mario first acquires FLUDD, he can spray and hover in the air using its nozzles. Two other nozzles can be unlocked later in the game to extend FLUDD's functionality - the Rocket Nozzle which propels Mario high into the air, and the Turbo Nozzle which lets Mario sprint on land and water, as well as break down wooden doors.
The game contains a number of independent levels, which can be reached from Delfino Plaza (the hub or overworld). Gameplay is based around collecting Shine Sprites by completing various tasks in the levels and overworld.
At first, each level features one task which may be completed to acquire a Shine Sprite. The player is then returned to Delfino Plaza and a new task is unlocked on the level they just played. Each level consists of up to eight of these tasks, which may be played again at will once they are completed. Once the player has collected enough Shines in total, a new level is available at Delfino Plaza, either by the acquisition of a new ability or some plot-related event. Shines are also available by collecting blue coins. Ten of these coins may be traded for one Shine in the overworld.
Gameplay proceeds in this fashion until all of the Shadow Mario–related missions are completed, which unlocks the level containing the final boss. As the total number of Shines available at any given point is greater than the number of Shines needed to unlock the next level, the player may choose which tasks they want to attempt.
In homage to Super Mario World, Mario can also ride Yoshi in this game. Yoshi can be used to eat certain insects and birds to produce yellow or blue coins or Shine Sprites. Yoshi can also eat fruit and squirt the juice of that fruit. This juice can be used to dissolve orange Generators acting as obstacles as well as to briefly transform enemies into platforms for Mario to step on. The color of the Yoshi as well as the effect of its juice depend on the type of fruit last eaten. Yoshi will disappear if he touches a deep body of water or dismounted in water. While Mario is riding Yoshi, a woodblock will accompany the background music as in Super Mario World.
The game takes place on the beautiful tropical resort of Isle Delfino. Not based on any particular area of the world, the names of the island and the different areas of the island seem to be Italian in origin and the architecture is Mediterranean in style, though the Piantas, its main inhabitants have a Hawaiian appearance, what with their grass skirts.
Locations
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Isle Delfino (Italian for "Dolphin". Incidentally, Isle Delfino is shaped like a dolphin) is divided into several different areas/levels:
Delfino Airstrip, a small offshore international airport where Princess Peach and Mario land in their airplane on arriving at Isle Delfino. The story also begins here, as this is where players are introduced to the concept of cleaning up the game's areas, as well as the introduction to the plot.
Delfino Plaza, an urban area of Isle Delfino and the main area of the game. From here Mario can access all of the game's main levels and it is where the much of the story advances also.
File:SuperMarioSunshineGCNScreenshot.jpgMario hovers while spraying away goop in Bianco HillsBianco Hills (Italian for "white" or "white man"), a small village northwest of Delfino Plaza. It contains a vast lake and a large central windmill. The town is besieged by various evils during Mario's adventures there, including a devastating attack by Petey Piranha.
Ricco Harbor (Italian for "rich"), an industrial area the west of Delfino Plaza and a major shipping port. At any given time, several ships are in the harbor. A farmer's market is also found here. The harbor is attacked by a giant squid named Gooper Blooper on two occasions. The water in the harbor is frequently polluted with black goop.
Gelato Beach (Italian for "ice cream"), a peaceful, eternally sunny beach which resides by a great bay. Along with Pinna Park, it is one of the only levels in the game which does not require the cleaning up of goo, but rather the completing of other tasks including stopping an angry Wiggler and competing in a watermelon contest. In the middle of the beach, there is an enormous tower devoted to capturing sunlight which it uses it to warm the egg of a giant sandbird.
Pinna Park (Italian for "pineapple"), a colorful amusement park on an island, separated from Delfino Plaza by a small strait. The amusement park is home to many attractions including a merry-go-round, a ferris wheel, and a rollercoaster. The park is surrounded by a beach, which is home to large talking sunflowers. The park suffers from perils such as a cannon-wielding Monty Mole, giant Snooze-A-Koopas, and Electrokoopas.
Sirena Beach (Italian for "mermaid" or "siren"), a lovely resort area located on the far side of the bay from Delfino Plaza noted for its spectacular sunsets. It is also home to the four-star Hotel Delfino, said in the game to be a favorite retreat for couples. The resort is somewhat disrupted when attacked by a large, manta ray–shaped phantom that leaves a trail of electrified goop, which can divide into smaller phantoms when sprayed with water. The hotel is often haunted by King Boo and his Boo minions.
Noki Bay, a mystical bay on the far side of the island and is home to the Nokis, a race of crustacean-like creatures and one of two races that inhabit Isle Delfino. Unlike most of the other areas in the game, it is industrially undeveloped and sparsely populated, giving it a very natural, peaceful feel. The gigantic waterfall is said in the game to be the area's main tourist attraction. The first time Mario visits, the water is found to be horribly polluted and is dangerous to swim in. The source of the pollution is later found to be a gigantic underwater eel with a bad case of gingivitis. Gooper Blooper and Monty Mole are also each encountered again here.
Pianta Village, the ancestral home of the Piantas, the other and more prominent of the two races who live on Isle Delfino. The most notable thing about this level is that the entire village is built on a massive tree that extends its branches over a canyon which seems to be endlessly deep. Another thing worth nothing is that all odd-numbered episodes in this level take place at night, while all even-numbered episodes take place during the day. At night, the village hot spring is closed, but a small river which is dry during the day runs through the village. The village underside contains many large mushrooms and is infested by giant spiders and wind sprites. Also at times, the village becomes covered in a burning goop.
Corona Mountain (Italian for "crown"), a large volcano in the middle of the island and is where Mario's final battle takes place. Unlike the other levels, Corona Mountain does not contain multiple episodes. The level involves navigating platforms which shoot flames or protrude spikes, and guiding a small boat across a magma river.
Secret Levels
Every main level in the game has one or two secret levels. These are not part of the main level and are often found inside an alcove. These secret levels begin with a short cutscene of Mario traveling through a portal and Shadow Mario stealing his FLUDD, thus leaving Mario only to rely on his acrobatic skills (this cutscene also happens in Pianta Village Episode 3: Goopy Inferno, but it is not a secret level).
These levels have a remix of the Super Mario Bros. theme featuring synthesized a cappella and snapping fingers.
Secret levels are staged on platforms floating in an apparently infinite void. Falling into the void will cause Mario to lose a life. These levels feature many different kinds of platforms and obstacles, including:
Red and blue (sometimes yellow that constantly rotate) platforms that flip constantly. Because the blocks of one color all flip at the same time, Mario must time his jumps carefully from the blocks of one color to those of the other.
Long square-faced wooden blocks with colored knobs that also rotate, forcing Mario to constantly move against the rotation while crossing it or risk falling off.
Large glass cubes that turn as they move across platforms. They may push Mario off of the stage or sandwich him in between them and another glass cube, squashing him and causing him to lose a life. Mario may, however, also ride on top of them to gain access to certain parts of the level.
Blocks made of sand that crumble as soon as Mario steps on them (but regenerate shortly after).
Blocks that disappear and reappear at fixed intervals.
Moving blocks that Mario can use to reach other place.
Rotating star-shaped platforms.
Yoshi egg-patterned blocks that each move in a particular pattern.
Square-shaped watermelons that Mario can ground pound on to destroy.
Brick blocks that Mario can destroy by hitting them from underneath.
Ice blocks that Mario can destroy by spraying them with water (this can naturally only be done when Mario has access to use FLUDD).
Once completed, if one of these levels is revisited, Mario will have access to the FLUDD. A red switch will also be found that when pressed, causes eight red coins to appear throughout the level and starts a timer. Collecting all eight red coins within the time limit will cause a new Shine Sprite to appear. If the timer runs out, Mario will lose a life and will have to restart the level.
A second type of secret level also exists. These levels feature a cloudy background and different music which makes use of steel drums, and each focus on an unusual method of gameplay (one resembles a pachinko game; another involves guiding a leaf down a stream of toxic water like a raft). Mario begins these levels with the FLUDD, and returning to these levels after they have been completed will not reveal a red switch (most of them involve collecting red coins to begin with, but without a time limit).
It should also be noted that, when Mario loses a life on a secret level, he will restart at the starting point of the level as opposed to losing a life anywhere else, whereas he would be returned to Delfino Plaza (except when he loses all his lives, in which case he would invariably be returned to the plaza). It is also notable one of the backgrounds used in two secret levels which features Super Mario Bros. style sprites jumping across a blue background is re-used as a battle stage in Mario Kart : Double Dash!!, called Tilt-a-Kart.
Petey Piranha, a stocky variety of the Piranha Plant species that spits goop out of its mouth and uses winglike leaves to fly. It makes trouble in two of Bianco Hills's episodes.
Gooper Blooper, a giant squid that spurts globs of goop and uses its long tentacles as means of attack. It is encountered twice in Ricco Harbor and once in Noki Bay.
Wiggler, a giant caterpillar encountered in Episodes 2 and 3 of Gelato Beach (You only fight it in Episode Three.) It sleeps at the top of the Sand Bird's tower until it is awaken by Mario, on which occasion it goes into a fit of rage and rampages across the beach, threatening to trample anything in its path.
Mecha Bowser, a colossal mechanical clone of Bowser who is weak against water rockets. Fought in Pinna Park.
Manta Ray, an annoying manta ray that appears in Sirena Beach. It has to be sprayed with FLUDD to defeat it. When it is sprayed, it divides. Pretty soon there are many little Manta Rays everywhere.
King Boo, a large crown-wearing Boo with an equally large tongue. It is found in an episode of Sirena Beach in which it uses a giant roulette wheel an arena and reveals that it has a wide variety of tricks up its sleeve.
Eely-Mouth, An enormous eel with bad gingivitis. Not necessarily a 'bad guy' but is destructive nonetheless. His teeth must be cleaned to make it leave.
Bowser Jr., Bowser's son. Due to his father's lies, he thinks that Princess Peach is his mother. This is his first appearance.
Bowser, Mario's typical archenemy and the final boss of the game, he is encountered at the top of Corona Mountain, where he makes use of his notorious fire breath and shakes the hot tub so that its boiling contents spill over the sides. He is also assisted by his son, Bowser Jr., who fires Bullet Bills out of a cannon mounted on a boat floating in the tub.
Trivia
At the beginning of Episode Three in Noki Bay, Mario is transported to a secret level, resembling a water-filled bottle, in which he must collect red coins. At the bottom of the bottle there is a mound of rocks with two crevices on the side of it. Inside one of these crevices there is a door which cannot be opened, but if the player moves next to the door and rotates the camera towards it, it will pass through the door, revealing a mysterious book behind it. This has aroused a great deal of rumors and curiosity. Some thought that a player could open the door and access the book once he/she had collected all 120 Shine Sprites, however this has been proven false. If the book has a purpose in the game, it is yet to be discovered; but it is most likely that if it ever had a real purpose, that purpose was removed from the final version of the game.
It is possible for the player to actually skip Episode One of Bianco Hills. After revealing the Shine Sprite, a slope rises which leads to the path to the windmill and is available in later episodes. If the player, instead of collecting the Shine, follows the path and climbs to the top of the windmill, he/she can encounter and defeat Petey Piranha as one might in Episode Two. After retrieving Petey's Shine Sprite, the player will return to Delfino Plaza, having completed Episode Two but not Episode One. This trick is possible in certain episodes of some other levels as well. This has been seen not to be an error in the game's programming, but simply an alternate way to play (such as in Super Mario 64, being able to collect Stars which were not the one designated by the mission chosen at the beginning of the level), as when Mario talks to the Pianta at the base of the windmill in Episode One, he says something different than he does if Mario talks to him during later episodes (the Pianta says that you might have forgotten something and should come back later).
Unlike in Super Mario 64, in which 70 Stars were required to access the final stage, collecting a strict number of Shine Sprites is not required to reach the end of Super Mario Sunshine. In this game, the seventh episode of every main level involves chasing and catching Shadow Mario. After each of these episodes is complete, the game's final level (Corona Mountain) becomes available; the actual number of Shines collected not mattering (The minimum is 50).
In the game, Asterix & Obelix XXL, a character looks like a skinny version of Mario with his own water cannon backpack that looks like, FLUDD.
Glitches
In SMS, there are quite a few glitches that escaped the programming team. Here are a few examples of some:
In Delfino Plaza, directly behind the street with the Great Pianta Statue (on which the portal to Bianco Hills is found) and the fountain with the nozzle boxes in it, there is a Pianta woman with a basket. To the left (facing the wall), there is a window with a ledge and a small area that Mario can walk into. If Mario performs a side somersault and a wall kick, then hovers with FLUDD over the window (revealing a coin) to the roof and hovers over the roof with FLUDD directly above the window (and a little back from the window), then drops on the roof, he will drop down into an area inside the building that is pure blue, with Delfino Plaza partly visible. He will stand there for a few seconds before the "Too bad!" message is displayed and one of Mario's lives is lost unless Mario keeps jumping. This window was originally intended to lead into the sewers (the tunnels under the manhole covers), but the tunnel was removed for some reason (but not the path into it), thus leading into empty space. The game understands this as falling off the edge of a level (as in Pianta Village or the secret levels) and it generally results in a life lost. On rare occasions, however, Mario will land on one of the sewer tunnels from above. Since the tunnels are made to be entered from above (as through a manhole cover), they can still be entered in this fashion. Thus, Mario will land inside a tunnel and be able to exit the sewers through a manhole.
After Delfino Plaza is flooded, a manhole cover appears inside the jail, then disappears after the floodwaters have gone. There is no sewer pipe running under the jail connecting to the manhole and it, therefore, cannot be used.
In the level Pinna Park, before you actually enter the park, you start on a beach. If you are playing episode 8, head all the way to the right, staying on land. There is a red rocket there, similar to the one that launched you there in the first place, but a man will be working in it. Ground pound on top of him (Jump over him and press "L") and you will actually be under him. Jump normally to exit.
Criticism
One of Sunshine's most common criticisms is its lack of variety; excluding the final level and the secret levels, which do not really qualify as levels in the same way as the seven main levels do, there is little variation from the tropical theme, and many have found this overly repetitive.
Another matter of debate is the game's untraditional feel. In this game, Mario is placed in an unfamiliar environment, with unfamiliar characters, and makes much use of his FLUDD to accomplish his tasks. Also, the game's environment has a relatively strong real-world feel, with levels which resemble towns, ports, and theme parks; places that a person might actually visit rather than the more abstract environments of earlier Mario platform games. These factors combined give the game a distinctly different feel than that of earlier Mario platform games, which some fans have come to dislike.
Many gamers found the game more linear than its predecessor, Super Mario 64. In that game, players could pursue Stars that weren't necessarily described in the mission that they selected. However, in Super Mario Sunshine, the player generally must retrieve the Shine Sprite for the episode chosen; no other Shines are available unless a different episode is selected. In addition, new episodes are not selectable until the player completed the last episode.
Another criticism is of the game's imbalanced difficulty. This latter complaint is focused mainly (but not exclusively) on the secret levels, where perfect jumps are required to obtain the Shine Sprite (and later, the 8 red coins) without FLUDD's help. Other gamers, however have expressed a particular enjoyment of these levels, and argue that the addition of the backpack to the main part of the game only served to dilute its excitement.
The graphics are another point of concern for some. Though the game boasts spectacular water graphics, it is argued that some of the game's other graphics such as the terrain textures or the character graphics are poorer in quality.
The camera is another criticism. Although the C-stick allows for more fluid camera control than the C-buttons on the N64 controller, it has many technical difficulties. Sometimes it will get "stuck" when Mario is behind something; the player will see a silhouette of Mario, but all other obstacles are turned into question mark boxes. Some have said that such problems made the game significantly more frustrating [1]. Many of the camera problems are similar to problems found in Super Mario 64's camera system, leading many to speculate Nintendo either rushed the release or didn't take the time needed to develop a new system.
Another common criticism of this game is its overall unpolished feel. Many aspects of the game seem quite glitchy or awkward, or simply not very developed. This has given some the impression that the game was likely rushed in its development.
Some have cited the game's cinema sequences for poor voice acting, particularly on the part of Princess Peach. Throughout the sequences, her speech maintains a monotonously blissful tone, even during times when she should be distressed, making her seem almost more like a robot than a person. Also, her voice itself is very high-pitched, which many gamers have found quite annoying. Another concern is that Mario remains virtually silent throughout all of the cinema sequences, which seems slightly disconcerting to some.
It has also been said that too many Shine Sprites are obtained through the collection of Blue Coins, and that this task lacked Nintendo's imagination, drama, and spectacle. Also, even though the game's inventory tells the player how many coins he/she has collected in a level (there are 30 in each main level, 20 in Delfino Plaza and 10 in Corona Mountain, giving a total of 240 coins, which can be exchanged for 24 Shine Sprites), Blue Coins are often hidden in very unlikely places, and some only appear in certain episodes; meaning that it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to track down every Blue Coin.
In addition, critics expressed disappointment in the game's final boss which could be defeated quite easily, and the lack of reward for obtaining all 120 Shine Sprites; they cited Super Mario 64 as an example of a great reward for obtaining all 120 Stars.
