"Was Mario Sunshine Rushed?"

Now it happens once in a while that a game so hyped up that even you can't wait to get it, the eventful day happens and you take your new game still in shrink wrap home all excited about playing it. So you slip the game into the console and press the 'On' button, with joy you get into the game, further and further you get into it then suddenly realising that the game is a huge disappointment. And I'm afraid Mario Sunshine is one of these games, though I'm not saying it was a major disappointment, it was more of a let down. It had been six years since the last true Mario game (Mario 64), so this game was very hyped up indeed, even I was excited. People were saying it's going to even better than Mario 64, or they said, "it will be good coz it's Mario". I'm sorry to say this, but that is not how you judge a game, this was even before it was released. So before I carry on ranting in the introduction I shall get on with the investigation. Expect to be shocked!!

Graphics

I'm not really someone who judges a game solely on their graphics, but I can be harsh when dealing with graphics in games. To be honest I was quite surprised at the graphics in SMS, by some of the screenshots I was slightly worried that the game looked too much like Mario 64 graphics wise. But I must say I was glad to see my initial worries were just a figment of my imagination. The graphics within the game are crystal clear, there is no fogging either so you can see right into the distance. But, I'm afraid there has to be a but, the detail on some of the areas look like they were done in a rush, there are area's where the detail is very pixellated.

But on a good note, the graphics do Mario Sunshine some justice.

Sound and Music

Music and sound FX within a game is always an important factor, it sets the mood(s) of the levels. Nintendo have managed to apply their musical magic to Mario Sunshine, but not as well as I expected. Cast your minds way back to Mario 64 (again), the music was great it fitted the levels perfectly and managed to set the mood of each and every level, SMS on the other hand seems like Nintendo just couldn't be bothered to add any interesting qualities to the songs. Fine I can admit that the plaza's music was quite good, but nothing compared to the catchy tunes in Mario 64. The music was just too random and didn't really fit the levels at all, the music was just too bland for my liking.

What really disappointed me was the lack of remixed "old-skool" tunes, fine there is the ok-ish acapella version of the theme tune and various versions of the underground level's theme tune. SMS was the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to re-invent some of their older catchy tunes, but Nintendo have blatantly missed this opportunity and instead given the game very bland and dull tunes. The only real good part music wise is the intro part for the music of impostor Mario.

Control

The GameCube controller is one of the most easiest controllers to get used to, and in SMS it's no exception. The controls for SMS are good, there are no hard button combo's to fiddle with, the wall jump has been majorly refined so all you have to do now is jump towards a wall and press A. The Fludd is easily controlled, the R button and the control stick work well together without getting your fingers into a muddle. Also the C-stick works well for the camera (even though the camera in the game is very bad). So the controls are something that SMS should be proud of, but there is something lacking (read the overall look part).

Storyline

Mario games are well known for their easy storylines, the princess gets captured and Mario has to go get her, it's plain and simple but works. And SMS comes as no surprise, the princess is captured, but why add all the rest? SMS's storyline is very dry and lacking in any particular depth, fine it's a kid's game "simple" is the key, plus it doesn't ever add up.

Mario is accused of causing havoc with his grafiti and has to clear it up, of course Mario never did it, an impostor did (which by the way it must be said that Impostor Mario looks nothing like Mario, Mario is colourful for start!). Also are the residents of Isle Delfino simple? They arrest Mario, thing is he's just landed on the Island so how on earth would he have be able to cause trouble is he wasn't there?

Like I said, though "simple" is the key word, it doesn't mean that the storyline shouldn't make any sense. I'm sorry but Nintendo should have thought harder about the storyline.

Overlook - Other Bits Missed

I've been a huge fan of Mario games since I was very young but I'm sorry to say this, but Mario sunshine has some really major flaws. For a start the game is just too short, there 7 levels split up into 8 episodes, then in each level there are a few secret shines and a one hundred coins shine. The main problem is that levels themselves are just so small that it's embarrassing, this is meant to be a GameCube game! The levels certainly should be bigger than what the levels were in Mario 64. There are basically 120 shines to get, the thing is once you've got all the shines in the 7 levels you've then got those annoying blue coins to find. What is wrong with Nintendo? The Blue coins task is just pointless, half the shines can only be obtained by getting the blue coins, instead of Nintendo adding more levels like they should have done, they've added this task of getting the blue coins because they couldn't be bothered to work on it anymore and wanted the game to seem longer. I'm sorry but Nintendo really need to re-think their plans. Come on Mario 64 is way bigger than SMS and was released 6 - 7 years ago. Also unlike Mario 64, SMS is just un-playable after you've got all the shine, the task in each episode are just too repetitive and boring.

Now...The camera, the camera in a game is very important, remember how great the camera was in Mario 64? Expecting the same thing on SMS? Well I'm afraid Nintendo decided to do a but of re-programming to the camera system from M64 for SMS and the end result was awful. Fine it's free moving, but not free moving as it should be, at times the camera get's stuck behind a wall and even by pressing L the camera still stay's behind the wall, so you can't really see what Mario's doing. The Camera in my opinion is just too "buggy" and random.

So SMS is meant to be kid's game? Right...so why the frustrating levels? There are some very un-fair, frustrating, hard tasks to do in SMS, mostly these are the old-skool levels. Have Nintendo lost it? It's a kid's game, but kid's can't complete the game because they don't know what to do, that really doesn't make sense. The game can be downright unfair at times, there are points where you've pushed the button so you can save Mario, but you still end up seeing Mario falling to his apparent doom, this is where the controls start to lack. It just feels like the controls are un-responsive at times, as if Nintendo have programmed the game to ignore the button you've pressed so that Mario can fall off.

At times it feels like Nintendo have made Mario Sunshine in such a rush, that they by-passed the important factors for a good game and compiled a game that seems half done at the most. Come on Nintendo pick up your act!!