RSS
Review compilation written by Lee Capili, Kenny Burgess and Max Jones.
December 20, 2003 | 10:00 PM PSTby: Donny Simpson
With some games one opinion just isn't enough. That's why we will have multiple reviewers just for the really big games coming to the GameCube. This time around we're taking a look at the biggest game Nintendo has released on the GameCube to date, none other than Super Mario Sunshine. This is the game all GameCube owners have been waiting for, and will no doubt sell many systems. Mario Sunshine alone is reason enough to go out and get a GameCube.
Gameplay:
Kenny Burgess- The story starts with Mario, Toad, and Princess in a jet on the way to a tropical island, "Delfino Island". As soon as they land you find an Island full of icky pollution all over the place. Mario is charged with the crime and is ordered to clean up the mess. All story sequences are told through FMV, and usually don't pop up too much luckily, because the voice acting leaves much to be desired. Gameplay is where Sunshine truly shines. The control is spot on. The level objectives are fun and varied. The addition of the water cannon makes the game quite a bit different from Mario 64, but still retains a similar feel. The only flaw worth mentioning is the sometimes-awkward camera. You have total control of the camera, but it is hard to constantly baby-sit the camera. Once you get used to it, it works well, but that learning faze can be frustrating for some gamers. Throughout the levels you will find mini old school platforming type levels. They are a mix of jumps, moving, rotating, and disappearing platforms. They're reminiscent of the old style platformers.
Max Jones- Mario Sunshine is what I think of as a true plat-forming gem. I believe that no other game has ever surpassed its fun-factor. Even if you're not collecting Shine-Sprites, red or blue coins, there's still so much to do on Isle Delfino and in all of its levels. May I also add that the game is very well organized. What I mean by this is that the game takes place on a fairly large hub-world, where several "Stages" are cleverly located on in some way or another. These stages are then broken into a series of "episodes". Episodes are usually about Mario completing specific tasks, such as "Finding the 8 Red Coins" or the many "Secret of" episodes, in which the evil "Shadow Mario" steals Mario's FLUDD, which forces the plumber to take on a fun and sometimes frustrating obstacle course, set in an old-fashioned Mario 64-esque "block-world." After completing one of these stages, FLUDD is given back to Mario, and he is also rewarded a "Shine Sprite". Although I do like these stages, I do wonder why and how this "Shadow Mario" gives the oddly-crafted watering tool back to its rightful owner, as the villainous mystery man is no where to be found in any of these "Secret of" stages. Another problem I have is the camera. Throughout almost the entire game I had my right thumb glued to the C-stick. Some situations were so bad that I had to rely on Mario's black silhouette to actually see where the mustached-man was going. Although the camera issue is a major drawback, the game is extremely fun, and I found it hard to put down my Wavebird when it was way past my bedtime.
Lee Capili- If you remember your first time playing SM64, you probably started out by messing with the controls and fooling around outside Peach's castle. The same thing applies here in SMS the first time you get FLUDD, the water cannon. This addition of the water cannon makes for a lot more harder objectives and missions, which is a definite plus if you're looking for a challenge. The first few Shine Sprites will be easy to get, but some shines towards the end can be quite frustrating. This is what makes the game so great though. After failing a few tasks, you will just want to keep playing until you complete them. Problems I have with the game other than the somewhat screwy and annoying cameras are the levels. In SM64, there were plenty of stages to go to with many different tasks. SMS is the same case, but there are fewer stages, but even more goals to do in each one. The reason I don't like this is because I usually don't like going around the same places over and over again. I would rather have more places to explore. All in all though, SMS is an extremely fun experience.
Graphics:
Kenny Burgess- Screenshots just don't do this game justice. You have to see it in motion to fully appreciate it. The texture detail isn't always the greatest, and the game does have slowdown occasionally, but it never really hinders gameplay much. Other than that the graphics are fabulous. The character and enemy detail is spot on. Mario and his water pack really look great. Mario and enemy animation is awesome, and never seems stilted. But the most amazing graphical feat is the total lack of draw-in. You can see for what seems like miles at some places with no pop-up in sight. You can be standing on one side of a level, and see the enemy's moving all the way on the other side. Mario also sports some quite amazing special effects. The water is probably the best I have ever seen. Up close it leaves a tiny bit to be desired (still better than Waverace), but just a short distance away to miles away the water is downright gorgeous. You will also notice a faint heat distortion in the outside levels that really adds a nice touch to the graphics.
Max Jones- For the most part, the graphics are very clean and vibrant. The water and paint-like muck that Mario has to clean up both look beautiful and authentic. With water effects of the such I wonder why Waverace: Bluestorm received all of its hype, as water in this game puts Bluestorm to shame. In fact, when it comes to water, think of Bluestorm times five, I'm serious. The colorful muck flows, moves, and washes away as any paint in real life would, with absolutely no differences. The clear, bright blue sky adds to this stunning visual experience. It even comes to the point where Mario actually has to put on sunglasses so the "sunshine" doesn't bother the players eyes. The animations are perfect, and look completely natural and smooth when playing. Even so, I did notice a few frame-rate issues in which the game is slowed down for a short period of time. I also think some of the textures could have been improved, as some are low quality. Aside from those two problems, SMS is a visually mesmerizing experience.
Lee Capili- As Kenny said before, the draw-in is amazing. Enemies, stages and coins are visible even though they seem like they are miles away. The water effects are awesome, too. If you look at still water, you'll see some pretty good reflections of Mario. If you look at the large bodies of water in the game … oh, you'll just notice how absolutely beautiful they look. One complaint I have about the graphics is that the game is just a little too bright. There are too many bright colors used in the game, which sometimes gives it a washed out look. Another complaint would be some textures are rather ugly and low in quality.
Sound:
Kenny Burgess- The sound in Mario Sunshine is very pleasant to the ears. The music has a tropical theme throughout, which fits the game very well. The music is also tied to the gameplay by changing depending on situation. The music is very useful when you're chasing Shadow Mario. When you're near him you'll hear a special chase tune, but if he gets too far away the music will change back to the normal level music. Then, the closer you get to him the louder the chase music will get. So the music kind of guides you to the evil Mario if he gets away from you. There is a remix of the original Mario song that plays during the old-school levels, and is quite catchy. Of course all the sound will now be CD-quality for the first time in a Mario game. As far as sound effects go, from the taping of Mario's shoes on all the different surfaces he will walk on, to Mario's, "Woo-hoo" and, "Ya-hoo", everything sounds great and more importantly fits the game perfectly.
Max Jones- The in-game music is great and well-suits the gameplay and overall mood of the title. Although it may not be as catchy as Mario's previous game soundtracks, it does give off a happy-silly sort of feel. I can also say the same about the sound effects, but I can't say the same thing about the game's voice dialogue. Let me explain it to you this way; SMS makes old, dubbed Kung-Fu movies cry for mommy. Do I have to explain much else about that? I don't think so.
Lee Capili- The music in this game is very strong. I just love the old-school Mario remixes when you're in the "pipes" and in the "secret of" levels. They're great to hear and might even give you some memories of the old games. While the music is pretty good, the game lacks in voice dialogue. A lot of it is just plain bad. Also, a certain amount of Mario's phrases can get repetitive at times. But overall, the sound is actually nicely done.
Replay Value:
Kenny Burgess- Sunshine is a long game. It will take even the most hardcore gamers a couple weeks to complete 100%. Throughout the game there will be a total of 96 Shine Sprites to collect and 240 blue coins. Blue coins can then be traded in, ten coins for one Shine Sprite, making a grand total of 120 shines. The breakdown is: each main level has 8 main objective shines, 2 secret shines, the 100 coins shine, and 30 blue coins. That is 98 shines. Delfino Plaza has 16 shines, the airport has 2 shines and a 100-coin shine, and Mount Corona has one shine. That is 117 shines. You will find 19 blue coins in Delfino Plaza, one at the airport, and 10 at Mount Corona for 30 more blue coins and a total of 120 shines. Sunshine is one of those games you know your going to play a lot. I would love to do a lot of the objectives over now that I know what I know about them. I will definitely be playing through Sunshine a second time. It's one of those games that sucks you in and doesn't let go. I have such a hard time putting the controller down. I always just want to do one more thing. I usually think, "Just one more shine, then I'm going to quit." about 5-8 times before I would actually quit.
Max Jones- Usually adventure games don't have much replay value, but SMS is packed with little secrets and surprises, even if you beat the game with 120 shines the first time through. I'd say the average gamer can play this game three times through without getting tired of it, which is around 75 to 100 hours of gameplay. And believe me, that's worth the fifty bucks out of your wallet.
Lee Capili- There is plenty of replay value here. Look at all the shines you can get. Even if you don't beat the game with all the shine sprites, you'll still find more gameplay than most games. Collecting blue coins in every level is like a treasure hunt and you know how fun that can be. There are many aspects of the game that are pretty difficult and these just increase the replay value even more. At times, things can get rather frustrating and tough, but you just know you want to complete that task, and you know you can.
Gameplay:
Kenny Burgess- The story starts with Mario, Toad, and Princess in a jet on the way to a tropical island, "Delfino Island". As soon as they land you find an Island full of icky pollution all over the place. Mario is charged with the crime and is ordered to clean up the mess. All story sequences are told through FMV, and usually don't pop up too much luckily, because the voice acting leaves much to be desired. Gameplay is where Sunshine truly shines. The control is spot on. The level objectives are fun and varied. The addition of the water cannon makes the game quite a bit different from Mario 64, but still retains a similar feel. The only flaw worth mentioning is the sometimes-awkward camera. You have total control of the camera, but it is hard to constantly baby-sit the camera. Once you get used to it, it works well, but that learning faze can be frustrating for some gamers. Throughout the levels you will find mini old school platforming type levels. They are a mix of jumps, moving, rotating, and disappearing platforms. They're reminiscent of the old style platformers.
Max Jones- Mario Sunshine is what I think of as a true plat-forming gem. I believe that no other game has ever surpassed its fun-factor. Even if you're not collecting Shine-Sprites, red or blue coins, there's still so much to do on Isle Delfino and in all of its levels. May I also add that the game is very well organized. What I mean by this is that the game takes place on a fairly large hub-world, where several "Stages" are cleverly located on in some way or another. These stages are then broken into a series of "episodes". Episodes are usually about Mario completing specific tasks, such as "Finding the 8 Red Coins" or the many "Secret of" episodes, in which the evil "Shadow Mario" steals Mario's FLUDD, which forces the plumber to take on a fun and sometimes frustrating obstacle course, set in an old-fashioned Mario 64-esque "block-world." After completing one of these stages, FLUDD is given back to Mario, and he is also rewarded a "Shine Sprite". Although I do like these stages, I do wonder why and how this "Shadow Mario" gives the oddly-crafted watering tool back to its rightful owner, as the villainous mystery man is no where to be found in any of these "Secret of" stages. Another problem I have is the camera. Throughout almost the entire game I had my right thumb glued to the C-stick. Some situations were so bad that I had to rely on Mario's black silhouette to actually see where the mustached-man was going. Although the camera issue is a major drawback, the game is extremely fun, and I found it hard to put down my Wavebird when it was way past my bedtime.
Lee Capili- If you remember your first time playing SM64, you probably started out by messing with the controls and fooling around outside Peach's castle. The same thing applies here in SMS the first time you get FLUDD, the water cannon. This addition of the water cannon makes for a lot more harder objectives and missions, which is a definite plus if you're looking for a challenge. The first few Shine Sprites will be easy to get, but some shines towards the end can be quite frustrating. This is what makes the game so great though. After failing a few tasks, you will just want to keep playing until you complete them. Problems I have with the game other than the somewhat screwy and annoying cameras are the levels. In SM64, there were plenty of stages to go to with many different tasks. SMS is the same case, but there are fewer stages, but even more goals to do in each one. The reason I don't like this is because I usually don't like going around the same places over and over again. I would rather have more places to explore. All in all though, SMS is an extremely fun experience.
Graphics:
Kenny Burgess- Screenshots just don't do this game justice. You have to see it in motion to fully appreciate it. The texture detail isn't always the greatest, and the game does have slowdown occasionally, but it never really hinders gameplay much. Other than that the graphics are fabulous. The character and enemy detail is spot on. Mario and his water pack really look great. Mario and enemy animation is awesome, and never seems stilted. But the most amazing graphical feat is the total lack of draw-in. You can see for what seems like miles at some places with no pop-up in sight. You can be standing on one side of a level, and see the enemy's moving all the way on the other side. Mario also sports some quite amazing special effects. The water is probably the best I have ever seen. Up close it leaves a tiny bit to be desired (still better than Waverace), but just a short distance away to miles away the water is downright gorgeous. You will also notice a faint heat distortion in the outside levels that really adds a nice touch to the graphics.
Max Jones- For the most part, the graphics are very clean and vibrant. The water and paint-like muck that Mario has to clean up both look beautiful and authentic. With water effects of the such I wonder why Waverace: Bluestorm received all of its hype, as water in this game puts Bluestorm to shame. In fact, when it comes to water, think of Bluestorm times five, I'm serious. The colorful muck flows, moves, and washes away as any paint in real life would, with absolutely no differences. The clear, bright blue sky adds to this stunning visual experience. It even comes to the point where Mario actually has to put on sunglasses so the "sunshine" doesn't bother the players eyes. The animations are perfect, and look completely natural and smooth when playing. Even so, I did notice a few frame-rate issues in which the game is slowed down for a short period of time. I also think some of the textures could have been improved, as some are low quality. Aside from those two problems, SMS is a visually mesmerizing experience.
Lee Capili- As Kenny said before, the draw-in is amazing. Enemies, stages and coins are visible even though they seem like they are miles away. The water effects are awesome, too. If you look at still water, you'll see some pretty good reflections of Mario. If you look at the large bodies of water in the game … oh, you'll just notice how absolutely beautiful they look. One complaint I have about the graphics is that the game is just a little too bright. There are too many bright colors used in the game, which sometimes gives it a washed out look. Another complaint would be some textures are rather ugly and low in quality.
Sound:
Kenny Burgess- The sound in Mario Sunshine is very pleasant to the ears. The music has a tropical theme throughout, which fits the game very well. The music is also tied to the gameplay by changing depending on situation. The music is very useful when you're chasing Shadow Mario. When you're near him you'll hear a special chase tune, but if he gets too far away the music will change back to the normal level music. Then, the closer you get to him the louder the chase music will get. So the music kind of guides you to the evil Mario if he gets away from you. There is a remix of the original Mario song that plays during the old-school levels, and is quite catchy. Of course all the sound will now be CD-quality for the first time in a Mario game. As far as sound effects go, from the taping of Mario's shoes on all the different surfaces he will walk on, to Mario's, "Woo-hoo" and, "Ya-hoo", everything sounds great and more importantly fits the game perfectly.
Max Jones- The in-game music is great and well-suits the gameplay and overall mood of the title. Although it may not be as catchy as Mario's previous game soundtracks, it does give off a happy-silly sort of feel. I can also say the same about the sound effects, but I can't say the same thing about the game's voice dialogue. Let me explain it to you this way; SMS makes old, dubbed Kung-Fu movies cry for mommy. Do I have to explain much else about that? I don't think so.
Lee Capili- The music in this game is very strong. I just love the old-school Mario remixes when you're in the "pipes" and in the "secret of" levels. They're great to hear and might even give you some memories of the old games. While the music is pretty good, the game lacks in voice dialogue. A lot of it is just plain bad. Also, a certain amount of Mario's phrases can get repetitive at times. But overall, the sound is actually nicely done.
Replay Value:
Kenny Burgess- Sunshine is a long game. It will take even the most hardcore gamers a couple weeks to complete 100%. Throughout the game there will be a total of 96 Shine Sprites to collect and 240 blue coins. Blue coins can then be traded in, ten coins for one Shine Sprite, making a grand total of 120 shines. The breakdown is: each main level has 8 main objective shines, 2 secret shines, the 100 coins shine, and 30 blue coins. That is 98 shines. Delfino Plaza has 16 shines, the airport has 2 shines and a 100-coin shine, and Mount Corona has one shine. That is 117 shines. You will find 19 blue coins in Delfino Plaza, one at the airport, and 10 at Mount Corona for 30 more blue coins and a total of 120 shines. Sunshine is one of those games you know your going to play a lot. I would love to do a lot of the objectives over now that I know what I know about them. I will definitely be playing through Sunshine a second time. It's one of those games that sucks you in and doesn't let go. I have such a hard time putting the controller down. I always just want to do one more thing. I usually think, "Just one more shine, then I'm going to quit." about 5-8 times before I would actually quit.
Max Jones- Usually adventure games don't have much replay value, but SMS is packed with little secrets and surprises, even if you beat the game with 120 shines the first time through. I'd say the average gamer can play this game three times through without getting tired of it, which is around 75 to 100 hours of gameplay. And believe me, that's worth the fifty bucks out of your wallet.
Lee Capili- There is plenty of replay value here. Look at all the shines you can get. Even if you don't beat the game with all the shine sprites, you'll still find more gameplay than most games. Collecting blue coins in every level is like a treasure hunt and you know how fun that can be. There are many aspects of the game that are pretty difficult and these just increase the replay value even more. At times, things can get rather frustrating and tough, but you just know you want to complete that task, and you know you can.
February 8, 2010
