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For the WarioWare microgame of the same name, see Super Mario Sunshine (microgame).
"SMS" redirects here. For information about the first Mario Strikers game, see Super Mario Strikers.

Super Mario Sunshine (スーパーマリオサンシャイン Sūpāmariosanshain?) is a 3D platforming game for the Nintendo GameCube. It is a Super Mario series title that serves as an indirect sequel to Super Mario 64. The game was developed by Nintendo's EAD division and published by Nintendo. It was released in North America on August 26, 2002, Japan on July 19, 2002, in Europe on October 4, 2002, and in Australia on October 11, 2002. In 2003, the game was re-released as a Player's Choice title.

The game's principal mechanic centers around FLUDD, a rechargeable water tank who spray water at enemies, goop, and other objects, hover or launch through the air, and dash to high speeds. Aside from FLUDD, Super Mario Sunshine introduced several recurring characters and bosses to the Mario franchise, Toadsworth, Bowser Jr., Petey Piranha, Gooper Blooper, Piantas, Nokis, and Shadow Mario. It is the second Mario game to feature extensive voice acting, the first being Hotel Mario; other Super Mario games would not follow suit. It also features an Italian aesthetic, especially the architecture of Delfino Plaza itself, and several locations have Italian names and sometimes reference Italian culture.

In 2020, Super Mario Sunshine was ported as a Nintendo Switch title, as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars along with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy; all three games have a 1080p resolution with upscaled graphics and a hacked aspect ratio.

Story[]

Mario, Toadsworth, several colored Toads, and Peach go on to vacation to the fabulous Isle Delfino. As they arrive on Delfino Airstrip to find the runway is covered with goopy slime-like graffiti! After further exploring, he finds Delfino Plaza, along with many other areas of the island are covered with graffiti! This goop sprouts out Polluted Piranha Plants along with little goopy monsters that leave goop trails. The goop has made the island dark, and Mario must clean the mess and retrieve Shine Sprites to make the island light again. Shadow Mario is revealed to be the culprit of this mess, but the Piantas and Nokis accuse Mario of being the culprit, due to them looking so similar. Mario is now set out to clean up every acre of Delfino Island, with the help of F.L.U.D.D., a device created by Professor E. Gadd. Mario uses F.L.U.D.D. to clean up the various messes Shadow Mario makes, and receives Shine Sprites while doing it. Not only that, he has to chase Shadow Mario down on several occasions, and rescue islanders who have become trapped in the goop.

After chasing down Shadow Mario, he turns out to be Bowser Jr. in disguise. He had been using a special bib/cloth tied around his neck that, when worn over his face, turns him into Shadow Mario. He then takes Peach away to Corona Mountain. Mario must continue to clean up Isle Delfino and receiving Shine Sprites along the way. After a major flood happens in Isle Delfino, Mario goes into Corona Mountain to find out this is another one of Bowser's diabolical plots to get Princess Peach. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are relaxing in a giant hot tub with green waters, while Peach is stuck on a boat in the water. After defeating Bowser, they all come falling down and crash into the island off the shore of the cannon leading to Pinna Park. F.L.U.D.D. becomes damaged breaking, but the Toads take F.L.U.D.D. and fix him all up. Mario and Peach continue their vacation along with Toadsworth and the Toads As to the whereabouts of Bowser Jr. and Bowser, they are on the same small island they crashed on. Bowser Jr. says Peach really isn't his "mama" and Bowser tells his son the truth. At the end of the game II Piantissimo, an adversary that Mario has encountered several times throughout his adventure, finds the magic paintbrush, hinting he will use it for evil.

Gameplay[]

SMS Clean Mario FLUDD Pose Artwork

Artwork ofMario, with F.L.U.D.D. on his back.

Super Mario Sunshine is the first game where Mario extensively uses an accessory to complete his mission. F.L.U.D.D. features spray and hovering capabilities when it is first acquired; other nozzles can be unlocked to extend F.L.U.D.D.'s functionality, such as the "Rocket Nozzle" which propels Mario high into the air, and the "Turbo Nozzle" that 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. Gameplay is based around collecting Shine Sprites by completing various tasks in the levels and over world, very similar to Super Mario 64, but with Shine Sprites instead of Power Stars.

There are 120 Shine Sprites in the game, and 240 Blue Coins. There are two Shine Sprites at the airstrip (although it cannot be reached), sixteen in the plaza, and eight in each of the seven other areas. Including the plaza there are eight Sprites for collecting 100 Coins. There are thirty Blue Coins in each of the seven areas, making 210, in the plaza there are nineteen, one in the Airstrip, and ten in Corona Mountain, making 240 altogether. Ten Blue Coins each can be traded for one Shine Sprite at the Blue Coin Shop, making another twenty-four Shine Sprites through the Blue Coins.

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, such as Shadow Mario appearing in the Plaza.

Gameplay proceeds in this fashion until all of the Shadow Mario's related missions are completed (the 7th mission of each level), which unlocks Corona Mountain, containing the final boss. As the total number of Shine Sprites available at any given point is greater than the number of Shine Sprites needed to unlock the next level, the player may choose which tasks they want to attempt.

Mario can also ride Yoshis in this game. Yoshis can be used to eat certain insects and birds to produce coins, Blue Coins, Red Coins, and even Shine Sprites in a few cases. Yoshis can also eat fruit and squirt the juice of the color of that fruit, just like F.L.U.D.D. sprays water. This juice can be used to dissolve certain kinds of pulsating goop 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, depends on the type of fruit last eaten. Also which direction the platform created by spraying juice on an enemy depends on the color of the platform, Yoshi and the color of the juice it sprayed.

Items[]

  • Shine Sprites - When certain totals are achieved, the story progresses.
  • F.L.U.D.D. - Helps Mario throughout the game with various abilities.
  • Nozzles- Allows Mario to Hover for a short time, blast up in the air, or make him go extremely fast.
  • Red Coins - Some levels require all eight Red Coins of the level to be found in order to get the Shine Sprite.
  • Blue Coins - Can be traded for Shine Sprites at the Blue Coin Shop.
  • 1-Up Mushrooms - Give Mario an extra life.
  • Fruit - Food for Yoshis, which refills their Juice Meter.
  • Water Bottles - Fill F.L.U.D.D's water tank.
  • Mario's Cap - Stops Mario from losing lives.
  • Gold Coins - Mario can collect 50 to get a life, or 100 to get a Shine Sprite.
  • Water Barrel - Mario can throw it to clean a large area, as it releases a large burst of water.
  • Trampoline - Allow Mario to reach higher areas.
  • Water Rockets - Missiles that attach to F.L.U.D.D that can be launched with water.
  • Barrel - Objects that Mario can carry and throw at enemies.

Locations[]

Isle Delfino[]

Courses[]

  1. Bianco Hills
  2. Ricco Harbor
  3. Gelato Beach
  4. Pinna Park
  5. Sirena Beach
  6. Noki Bay
  7. Pianta Village
  8. Corona Mountain

Episodes[]

The first seven courses, outside of the Delfino Plaza hub and Delfino Airstrip, have 11 Shine Sprites each: the first eight are each part of a main episode; the ninth and tenth are part of a hidden bonus episode; and the eleventh is obtained by collecting 100 coins in a course, but it does not have a corresponding episode title. Most of the two bonus episodes involves revisiting a secret course, which are areas where Mario goes without FLUDD at first, but after obtaining the first Shine Sprite there, can revisit it with FLUDD to collect eight red coins during a timed challenge.

The episode titles for Delfino Plaza and Delfino Airstrip are provided in official strategy guides, not including the former location's secret courses that take place in the sky.

Bianco Hills
No. Episode title
1 Road to the Big Windmill
2 Down with Petey Piranha!
3 The Hillside Cave Secret
4 Red Coins of Windmill Village
5 Petey Piranha Strikes Back
6 The Secret of the Dirty Lake
7 Shadow Mario on the Loose
8 The Red Coins of the Lake
9 Red Coins of the Hillside Cave
10 Red Coins of the Dirty Lake
Ricco Harbor
1 Gooper Blooper Breaks Out
2 Blooper Surfing Safari
3 The Caged Shine Sprite
4 The Secret of Ricco Tower
5 Gooper Blooper Returns
6 Red Coins on the Water
7 Shadow Mario Revisited
8 Yoshi's Fruit Adventure
9 Red Coins in Ricco Tower
10 Blooper-Surfing Sequel
Gelato Beach
1 Dune Bud Sand Castle Secret
2 Mirror Madness! Tilt, Slam, Bam!
3 Wiggler Ahoy! Full Steam Ahead!
4 The Sand Bird is Born
5 Il Piantissimo's Sand Sprint
6 Red Coins in the Coral Reef
7 It's Shadow Mario! After Him!
8 The Watermelon Festival
9 Red Coins in the Sand Castle
10 Sandy Shine Sprite
Pinna Park
1 Mecha-Bowser Appears!
2 The Beach Cannon's Secret
3 Red Coins of the Pirate Ships
4 The Wilted Sunflowers
5 The Runaway Ferris Wheel
6 The Yoshi-Go-Round's Secret
7 Shadow Mario in the Park
8 Roller Coaster Balloons
9 Red Coins in the Cannon
10 Red Coins in the Yoshi-Go-Round
Sirena Beach
1 The Manta Storm
2 The Hotel Lobby's Secret
3 Mysterious Hotel Delfino
4 The Secret of Casino Delfino
5 King Boo Down Below
6 Scrubbing Sirena Beach
7 Shadow Mario Checks In
8 Red Coins in the Hotel
9 Red Coins in Big Boo's Mouth
10 Red Coin Winnings in the Casino
Noki Bay
1 Uncork the Waterfall
2 The Boss of Tricky Ruins
3 Red Coins in a Bottle
4 Eely-Mouth's Dentist
5 Il Piantissimo's Surf Swim
6 The Shell's Secret
7 Hold It, Shadow Mario!
8 The Red Coin Fish
9 A Golden Bird
10 Red Coins on the Half Shell
Pianta Village
1 Chain Chomplets Unchained
2 Il Piantissimo's Crazy Climb
3 The Goopy Inferno
4 Chain Chomp's Bath
5 Secret of the Village Underside
6 Piantas in Need
7 Shadow Mario Runs Wild
8 Fluff Festival Coin Hunt
9 Red Coin Chucksters
10 Soak the Sun
Corona Mountain
1 Father and Son Shine!
Delfino Plaza
1 Shine Sprite in the Sand
2 Boxing Clever 1
3 Boxing Clever 2
4 Clean the West Bell
5 Mario Toss
6 The Gold Bird
7 Turbo Dash!
8 Lighthouse Roof
9 Clean the East Bell
10 The Shine Gate Sparkle
11 Super Slide (secret course)
12 Pachinko Game (secret course)
13 Lily Pad Ride (secret course)
14 Turbo Track (secret course)
15 Red Coin Field (secret course)
Delfino Airstrip
1 Delfino Airstrip Dilemma
2 Red Coin Waterworks

Enemies[]

Bosses[]

  • Polluted Piranha: Huge Piranha Plants made out of sludge. Defeated by simply squirting water into their open mouths. They appear once in both Delfino Airstrip and Bianco Hills and a total of three times in Delfino Plaza.
  • Petey Piranha: Appears in two of the episodes of Bianco Hills.
  • Gooper Blooper: Appears in two of Ricco Harbor's episodes and one of Noki Bay's.
  • Wiggler: Resides on Gelato Beach as the boss of the third mission, angry at Mario for disturbing his nap.
  • Mecha-Bowser: A giant mechanical version of Bowser that is controlled by Bowser Jr. Appears only in the first episode of Pinna Park.
  • Monty Mole: Shows up in two levels, both times arming a large, triple-gun cannon that fires Bullet Bills, Bull's-Eye Bills, Bob-ombs, and Glorpedoes.
  • Phantamanta: The silhouette of a giant manta ray appearing in Sirena Beach's first episode that splits into smaller manta rays when sprayed by F.L.U.D.D.
  • King Boo: Only appears in Sirena Beach's fifth episode.
  • Eely-Mouth: Has taken up residence under Noki Bay and is unwittingly poisoning the water with purple sludge due to his teeth being in poor condition.
  • Shadow Mario/Bowser Jr.: Although causing the whole island's issues, is never actually the boss of a level, besides every level's one Shadow Mario chasing mission found in episode seven of every main area.
  • Bowser: The final boss of the game, is found sitting in a hot tub full of green sludge floating in the skies of Corona Mountain. Bowser Jr. and Princess Peach are both found in the tub with him.

Cast[]

Role English Actor Japanese Actor
Mario Charles Martinet Kōichi Yamadera
Isle Delfino Commercial
Princess Peach Jen Taylor Yuri Shiratori
Toads Makoto Tsumura
Bowser Scott Burns Kenji Utsumi
Toadsworth Ichiro Nagai
Male Pianta Toru Okawa
Yoshis Kazumi Totaka
Bowser Jr. Dolores Rogers Atsuki Murata
Female Pianta Yumi Tōma
Male Noki Kat Harris Urara Takano
Female Noki Satomi Kōrogi
F.L.U.D.D Motoko Kumai
Petey Piranha Toru Minegishi

Trivia[]

  • This is the game where the "game over" music samples the "too bad" music.
  • This is the first game where Bowser and Bowser Jr. receive their main voices, thus completing the non-human Mario characters' vocal effects changelog direction that started with Yoshi Story and continued with Donkey Kong 64.
  • This is the second Mario since Hotel Mario to feature extensive voice acting, but unlike Hotel Mario, the protagonist (Mario) remains silent/unscripted or non-extensive dialogue.
  • This is the only game where Mario wears a T-shirt as opposed to his normal long-sleeved shirt (considering he is vacationing on a tropical island).
  • This is the first Mario game where Princess Peach wears her hair in a ponytail as it is later reused for future Mario sports games and the later Mario Kart games starting with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
    • This also makes Super Mario Sunshine the first game of the mainline series (with the exception of the protagonist (Mario)) to have voice acting.
  • The game introduced a few recurring characters: Bowser Jr., Toadsworth, Shadow Mario, Petey Piranha, Gooper Blooper, and F.L.U.D.D..
  • This is one of few Mario 3D games not to feature any of the common enemies such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Piranha Plants.
  • As F.L.U.D.D. scans Mario, various clips from previous games are shown such as Mario swinging Bowser by the tail in Super Mario 64 in the level, "Bowser in the Dark World", and the fight with Iggy Koopa from Super Mario World. This also confirms that the events of Super Mario Sunshine take place after Super Mario World and Super Mario 64.
  • This game would make the last 3D sandbox Mario game until Super Mario Odyssey, to not feature Luigi.
  • The regular boss theme is a remix of the Super Mario World Bowser battle theme, which is just as ominous as the latter, and later got its own, but lighter and less ominous, remix in the 2003 Disney MMORPG Disney's Toontown Online, reprising the role it has in Sunshine.
  • This is the first main series Mario game for the Nintendo GameCube, as Luigi's Mansion is a spin off.
  • F.L.U.D.D. was made by Gadd Science, Incorporated, which means it was made by Professor E. Gadd from Luigi's Mansion. E. Gadd gets mentioned as a strange man in a white coat.
  • Unlike most other Mario games, Super Mario Sunshine uses the "Bogen Multicom 2000 bell tone #2" sound effect if Mario burns from touching fire rather than of fire sizzling.
  • This is the second game in the series where it is possible for Mario to lose his cap, first being Super Mario 64.

Reception[]

Super Mario Sunshine was critically acclaimed by game critics. Particular praise went towards the graphics, music, story, gameplay and the addition of F.L.U.D.D. IGN praised the addition of the water backpack for improving gameplay,[1] and GameSpy commented on the "wide variety of moves and the beautifully constructed environments".[2] The game received a perfect score from Nintendo Power, who commended the "superb graphics, excellent music, clever layouts, funny cinema scenes and ingenious puzzles".[3]

Super Mario Sunshine won GameSpot's annual "Best Platformer on GameCube" award.[4] GamePro gave it a perfect score, stating that the game was "a masterpiece of superior game design, infinite gameplay variety, creativity, and life."[5] The American-based publication Game Informer said that the game is arguably "the best Mario game to date."[6] Computer and Video Games also mentioned the game is "better than Super Mario 64."[7] The game placed 46th in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.[8] AllGame gave a lower review, stating that "During the six-year span between Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, platform games have become more epic, more interactive, and prettier. Yet the core element of collecting items in a world divided into sub-sections has been left unchanged. So it comes with a modicum of disappointment that Super Mario Sunshine doesn't shake up the genre with a number of new and fresh ideas other than the usual enhancements expected from a sequel."[9]

Some reviewers were critical towards certain aspects of the game. The camera system and high difficulty were the most criticized aspects of the game. The decision to use full voice acting for some characters in the game, as well as F.L.U.D.D., received mixed responses. GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann criticized the various additions, including F.L.U.D.D. and Yoshi, calling them "mere gimmicks." He also complained about the camera system.[10] Gerstmann said that the game seemed somewhat unpolished and rushed, a sentiment shared by Matt Wales of Computer and Video Games.[11] GameSpot named it 2002's most disappointing GameCube game.[12]

During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Super Mario Sunshine for "Console Platform Action/Adventure Game of the Year".[13]

Fan Reception[]

WatchMojo ranked it as the ninth best Super Mario game in their "Top 10 Mario Games of All Time" list countdown,[14] and they also ranked it as the fourth most hardest game in the series in their "10 HARDEST Super Mario Games" list countdown over on MojoPlays (following behind New Super Luigi U (#3), Super Mario Bros. (#2), & Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (#1)).[15] Sunshine was was placed at the #7 spot in MojoPlays' "Every 3D Super Mario Game Ranked" video, which was ranked as the worst entry out of all of them.[16]

Gallery[]

Hat mario To view Super Mario Sunshine's
image gallery, click here.

External links[]

References[]

  1. Mirabella III, Fran (August 22, 2002). "Super Mario Sunshine review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 21, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  2. Guzman, Hector (August 25, 2002). "Super Mario Sunshine review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. "Super Mario Sunshine review". Nintendo Power. Nintendo. September 2002. p. 160. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007.
  4. GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
  5. Stardingo (August 25, 2002). "Super Mario Sunshine review". GamePro. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  6. Reiner, Andrew (September 2002). "Super Mario Sunshine". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  7. "Super Mario Sunshine". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  8. "60–41 ONM". ONM. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  9. Scott Alan, Marriott. "Super Mario Sunshine Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  10. Gerstmann, Jeff (August 25, 2002). "Super Mario Sunshine review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2005.
  11. Wales, Matt (May 17, 2006). "Super Mario Galaxy preview". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
  12. GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
  13. "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Super Mario Sunshine". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  14. Richardson, T. (2019, May 21). Top 10 Mario Games of All Time. WatchMojo.
  15. Kline, A. (2023, Feb 5). The 10 HARDEST Super Mario Games. MojoPlays (WatchMojo).
  16. MojoPlays (WatchMojo). (2019). Every 3D Super Mario Game Ranked. YouTube. Retrieved August 16, 2023

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