Super Mario Sunshine

 GameCube
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1033 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 843 out of 1033
  2. Mixed: 126 out of 1033
  3. Negative: 64 out of 1033
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  1. GameMan2005
    Aug 23, 2023
    9
    Excellent 3D Platformer with beautiful graphics, especially the water. Some cheap side missions here and there and wonky camera, but overall controls and plays great.
  2. romstarr
    Aug 14, 2023
    10
    Gameplay 10/10
    Story 8/10
    Performance 10/10
    Characters 10/10
    Music 10/10
    Content 10/10
  3. Yojimbo2015
    Jul 27, 2023
    8
    Being very pretty and rather quirky, Super Mario Sunshine takes the basic premise of Mario 64 and gives it a sandbox-style environment that makes it feel very similar to Banjo Kazooie...although not quite as good. Jumps can be unnecessairly awkward - especially when you're against the clock - and the camera can be erratic so for those reasons it does not feel as "special" as some of theBeing very pretty and rather quirky, Super Mario Sunshine takes the basic premise of Mario 64 and gives it a sandbox-style environment that makes it feel very similar to Banjo Kazooie...although not quite as good. Jumps can be unnecessairly awkward - especially when you're against the clock - and the camera can be erratic so for those reasons it does not feel as "special" as some of the other Mario games. But it is still a damn fine game in its own right if judged on its own merits.… Expand
  4. EtaYorius
    Jul 17, 2023
    9
    My second favorite Mario game after 64 and a worth successor, The mechanics with "Flood" are fun, difficulty is good and the amount of shine sprites is huge too! i Got no idea why this game was not very popular back then.

    I even like this one a bit more than Odyssey. My score is 91 - 100.
  5. Jaimelikegames
    Jun 17, 2023
    10
    Super mario sunshine is best game ever i love playing super Mario sunshine and it part of my childhood . ❤️❤️
  6. Shinglinhg
    May 17, 2023
    10
    In my opinion, the best Mario game, I love the tropical atmosphere of this game, and the addition of F.L.U.U.D was amazing. It's very satisfying to use it. The game's camera is good, the controls are good, and the soundtrack is, in my opinion, the best soundtrack ever made in gaming history. It's a shame that the game was released for such a failed console like the Nintendo GameCube.
  7. Lugubra
    May 15, 2023
    10
    No entiendo porqué la gente lo pone como lo peór en juegos de Mario, es sumamente divertido, la camará puede presentar problemas pero en pocas ocaciones, en general se puede usar muy bien, y F.L.O.O.D me parece las mejores mecanicas de un juego de Mario en 3D
  8. RVamp101
    May 14, 2023
    9
    This is so close to being perfect, it sadly has some odd choices when it comes to the stages and the hub. I loved nearly everything but i won't nit-pick here.
  9. Tonatiu
    May 1, 2023
    8
    The levels are great, the control you have on Mario is good, it could be better, and the voices are the only thing that gives it an 8
  10. wii43j
    Apr 7, 2023
    10
    Don't worry about the 0 score ratings, because they probably have not beaten the game. The people that say this game is too hard need to get good. Super Mario Sunshine has some of the most compelling and colorful graphics in any Mario game, and it's music is impeccable. It's very fun to play, even when it gets extremely difficult in the secret courses, they even got me frustrated at times.Don't worry about the 0 score ratings, because they probably have not beaten the game. The people that say this game is too hard need to get good. Super Mario Sunshine has some of the most compelling and colorful graphics in any Mario game, and it's music is impeccable. It's very fun to play, even when it gets extremely difficult in the secret courses, they even got me frustrated at times. The controls are buttery smooth, although may be a bit controversial based on the player's point of view on it. As a person who has beaten this game twice, I'd say it is a must play for all gamers if they want a true challenge. Super Mario Sunshine is very controversial, but it is one of the most breathtaking adventures a videogame has ever offered.… Expand
  11. Mlpwatercritic7
    Mar 19, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is my favorite game ever. I love the tropical vibe and the atmosphere is amazing. The boss fights are creative and the control is best out of any Mario game. FLUDD allows for so much diverse movement and the final boss fight where you first treverse through corona mountain and fight Bowser and Bowser Jr. is pretty cool. And the graphics and voice acting is so good. 10/10
    Would recommend 100%    … Expand
  12. oopkp
    Feb 23, 2023
    10
    This game singlehandedly killed the Gamecube. The collision works... less than half the time. I was speedrunning this steaming pile of **** and I literally clipped through the wall in one of the secret stages and died as a result. Why would ANYONE like this game? One word: nostalgia goggles. Take 'em off, people. This game is worse than 64, worse than galaxy, this is the sonic 06 of theThis game singlehandedly killed the Gamecube. The collision works... less than half the time. I was speedrunning this steaming pile of **** and I literally clipped through the wall in one of the secret stages and died as a result. Why would ANYONE like this game? One word: nostalgia goggles. Take 'em off, people. This game is worse than 64, worse than galaxy, this is the sonic 06 of the mario series and I am very disappointed.… Expand
  13. ReviewGod05
    Feb 23, 2023
    10
    "wah wah wah game too hard and too wepetative" - anyone who complains about this game
    Easy, fun, silly goofs and gaffs for the whole family, what's not to love. If you don't like this game then you are a silly baby doodoo head. Grow up and learn to overcome some difficulties, show some commitment and determination, it's not that hard, its not that time consuming, and its awesome and fun.    "wah wah wah game too hard and too wepetative" - anyone who complains about this game
    Easy, fun, silly goofs and gaffs for the whole family, what's not to love. If you don't like this game then you are a silly baby doodoo head. Grow up and learn to overcome some difficulties, show some commitment and determination, it's not that hard, its not that time consuming, and its awesome and fun. Good game 10/10.    … Expand
  14. Epixel
    Jan 5, 2023
    9
    Insanely underrated, after just playing for the first time I'm blown away by some of the creativity and level design, however, while the game has very high highs, it also has some very low lows, The low parts don't happen often though
  15. RANDOMJUKE
    Jan 4, 2023
    9
    There is so much garbage in this game that I could talk about it for hours, but there are so many instances where everything is just perfect that it would be a disservice to discuss its imperfections. The core movement is a joy to experience; I often found myself running around the hub world with no real objective simply because it was fun to do so. The levels are top-notch and are alwaysThere is so much garbage in this game that I could talk about it for hours, but there are so many instances where everything is just perfect that it would be a disservice to discuss its imperfections. The core movement is a joy to experience; I often found myself running around the hub world with no real objective simply because it was fun to do so. The levels are top-notch and are always hiding secrets around every corner. The music slaps and the story is simple but charming. Unfortunately we will never get a sequel but I like to think Sunshine’s spirit lives on in Odyssey.… Expand
  16. DanielGG91
    Nov 15, 2022
    10
    Un dignísimo sucesor de Super Mario 64. Divertido, original y con gran variedad de movimientos. Un juego obligatorio en mi opinión para los fans de los plataformas 3D.
  17. AntiqueGull
    Nov 14, 2022
    10
    Платформер с отличной на момент выхода графикой и физикой, атмосфера и геймплей как всегда на высоте
  18. BigNig69
    Nov 13, 2022
    9
    Probably the best controlling Mario game. The shadow Mario levels are fun and challenging and the FLUDD is an interesting mechanic that makes this game unique.
  19. hector_bcn98
    Oct 31, 2022
    8
    Ser un gran videojuego no basta para Mario, por eso quizás es un gran olvidado... Chapó por la innovación con el tema del agua y tal, pero creo que frente a frente a 64 y Galaxy, eso mismo le hace no alcanzar la perfección. Los mundos no están tan inspirados en comparación con los otros, y aún así, juegazo. Las cosas como son.
  20. Jattaman
    Oct 8, 2022
    8
    Meno geniale dei Galaxy, ma comunque ottimo platform con un sistema di comandi diverso dagli altri episodi.
    Originale, buonissimo titolo.
    Non il miglior Mario della storia, ma assolutamente meritevole di essere giocato.
  21. ThunderAlmond
    Sep 9, 2022
    8
    This is a great game overall but lacks polish and is a step or two down from the typical Mario game’s quality, let alone 3D Mario. Satisfaction in the game is everywhere. The aesthetics are top tier. The water graphics ace the test!! The menu sounds and little things like that also show for great presentation. This might be my favorite Mario theme.

    The gameplay is still good, but there    This is a great game overall but lacks polish and is a step or two down from the typical Mario game’s quality, let alone 3D Mario. Satisfaction in the game is everywhere. The aesthetics are top tier. The water graphics ace the test!! The menu sounds and little things like that also show for great presentation. This might be my favorite Mario theme.

    The gameplay is still good, but there is noticeable movement jank. The GameCube controller's deep sinking triggers satisfyingly shoot water from the new FLUDD, eliminating most crouch moves from SM64 but elevating everything else (sans punching/kicking). The stick flicks great for reliable side jumps, twirls clean for the trickier spin jump, and the C-stick grants more flow to camera control. The now gone long jump is made up for by the belly slide jump, no longer being able to directly wall jump out of it. Using FLUDD to prime your belly slide feels great, but you can’t hover nozzle out of it. Larger jumps may be harder to aim so the Hover Nozzle over corrects, but you’re going to end up relying on it because of imprecise platforming. It moves rough for long distances. When you hover at a ledge, grabbing it after is inconsistent and not snappy. Even when you teeter on an edge, it is inconsistent whether you will drop to the ledge or fall off entirely. The Turbo and Rocket Nozzles are cool one note powerups that end up feeling underused, like Yoshi. The Blooper racing is very similar to Turbo but if you hit anything, you lose a life. You can’t slow down or even get off by yourself once you get on. Ironically, the least fluid movement in the game is the swimming. You go too far with each stroke and underwater segments have tank controls. This feels worse than in SM64. There is a fine smoothness to the controls that outweighs the flaws, with quenching animations, but the jank adds up over time, blooming especially in level design.

    There’s wonderful free movement in these open spaces until the camera gets stuck (no option to invert it). Despite water being a key theme, most missions don’t engage with large bodies of water enough to constitute as 'water levels'; it’s just the safety net from platforming. It's 3D Mario so all the levels are pretty good. They finely compliment the generally smooth movement. There are a lot of options to get off the beaten path, not just being 'easier' shortcuts but fun alternatives. The earlier levels noticeably have higher quality. 'Delfino Plaza', the hub world, is the most fleshed out "level" in the game! All the powerups, including Yoshi, are the most fun and useful here; Shines are hidden well and mostly out of order; Blue Coins have good distribution. The major downsides are the sub levels, like Pachinko and Lily Pads. All levels have a sub level without FLUDD, inconsistent with the main game, that showcase the lack of precision jumping Mario has, sourcing the difficulty. Most, if not all of these missions self-awarely have accessible 1 Up Mushrooms early on. Many of these are mandatory, too, so there’s no escaping the bad game design.

    There’s a lot of fun new toys, like the hyper responsive bungee wires. But then we have broken toys like boats and Chucksters. Even other optional missions, like Lily Pads and melon rolling, seem luck based with horrid physics, as if getting good at the game doesn’t apply. We also have literal casino slots. Also, there are friendly NPCs in all levels, adding hints if you’re stuck on a mission and adding to a lovely vacation feel. Thing is, you have to do one mission at a time in strict order, requiring you to slog through the many below-average missions. There’s barely room to skip around as the first seven missions of all levels MUST be completed.

    The game is not worth completing 100%. However, the presentation admittedly counters a lot of the jank for me. Blue coins are cool as 1/10th of a Shine and non-level-locked, but their distribution is not worth exploring for. Also, there is no good coin counter if you already cashed some in, so try not to do that either until you get all 240. While the game has significant jank and noticeable room for improvement, the smoothness that it does have alongside the feeling of warm sunshine overpowers it greatly.

    ‘Bowser’s Fury’ also uses Shines but is “open-world”, untypical of the 3D Mario being “open-level” (“open-worldS”?). Levels in ‘Sunshine’ are viewable in backgrounds of other levels and it’s unsatisfying to Turbo into an invisible wall from 'Plaza' to the 'Airstrip'. Becoming open world with lessons learned from ‘Odyssey’ (checkpoints, continuous Stars, auto saves) would be enough quality-of-life fixes to potentially make 'Sunshine' the best 3D Mario game. Fans have been optimizing the game longer than Nintendo (check out 'Sunburn')! Heck, I played this in 60fps on a WiiU.    … Expand
  22. nxtr
    Jul 22, 2022
    9
    Although this game has many problems like the camera and the different glitches in the game, It is my FAVORITE Mario game. It was the first Mario game I EVER played! It definitely has a special place in my heart because of the memories it gave me. I hate collecting the blue coins!! I'm pretty sure its considered "torture" in some countries. Anyway, I love this game for the gameplay and theAlthough this game has many problems like the camera and the different glitches in the game, It is my FAVORITE Mario game. It was the first Mario game I EVER played! It definitely has a special place in my heart because of the memories it gave me. I hate collecting the blue coins!! I'm pretty sure its considered "torture" in some countries. Anyway, I love this game for the gameplay and the memories it gave me when I was younger!!… Expand
  23. waywardlaser
    Jun 28, 2022
    10
    Still like it more than the Galaxy games. Sorry, but sandbox Mario is simply more fun to me and before Odyssey this was the tightest he ever controlled. That stuff matters to me more than 100% completion, which is something I've never bothered to do with this game.
  24. Birdo7
    Jun 12, 2022
    10
    This game is my favorite game ever it even has story not a lot but no plot holes and the movement is very good the intro is fun and this game is creative when they are limited to just a beach theme you’ll go from shooting a dancing plant to rolling a watermelon down a hill it’s a game you should try out
  25. Paralativ
    Jun 12, 2022
    10
    Such a grandiose and, despite the hectic pace of releasing the game at the time, a super creative as well as just bubbling over with fantasy Mario masterpiece. A difficulty level that you desperately try to find today and certain daring decisions that brought the needed pep. I would give anything for an equal sequel.
  26. schoolbus
    May 12, 2022
    10
    This is the BEST GameCube game in the planet it is so calm and relaxing by the ocean with all of the fish in the ocean and especially I am a huge Super Mario Fan unlike Disney's Party which is the WORST GameCube Game is because Disney's Party does have a terrible mini game with based on the Disneyland attraction Mad Tea Party called Round & Round which had bad awful fast and loud music andThis is the BEST GameCube game in the planet it is so calm and relaxing by the ocean with all of the fish in the ocean and especially I am a huge Super Mario Fan unlike Disney's Party which is the WORST GameCube Game is because Disney's Party does have a terrible mini game with based on the Disneyland attraction Mad Tea Party called Round & Round which had bad awful fast and loud music and giant strawberries falling on the players and killing them which is extremely bad and made me worry for Corduroy the Bear and his buttons and I care about Corduroy the Bear and his buttons a lot. And that mini game in Disney's Party Round & Round reminded me of when Corduroy the Bear's button fell in a storm drain which made me extremely upset but at least they got the button out of the storm drain and put the button back on Corduroy the Bear's overalls and Corduroy The Bear does have two buttons on his overalls this year and forever and Mickey Mouse's iconic red shorts are overalls too.… Expand
  27. Xrayplayer
    May 11, 2022
    8
    One of the most enjoyable and creative mario games, the new and different ideas that this game introduced are inventive and makes this game more unique and memorable compared to most mainline mario games, the water jetpack is a great edition and it adds more to the complex and varied move sets and the controls are very smooth with some fun level design and amazing locations and delfinoOne of the most enjoyable and creative mario games, the new and different ideas that this game introduced are inventive and makes this game more unique and memorable compared to most mainline mario games, the water jetpack is a great edition and it adds more to the complex and varied move sets and the controls are very smooth with some fun level design and amazing locations and delfino plaza is the best mario hub world and the soundtrack is so good, unfortunately the game has a serious lack of polish with some of the glitchy missions and the blue coins needed more indication on how to get them all.… Expand
  28. JAG7
    Apr 9, 2022
    9
    This game is very challenging and very difficult. Some levels , especially the 2D ones are harder than “normal-classical” Mario. But I’m a sucker for Mario games. Love the game . Not as amazing as Odyssey but still great. The water nozzle it’s a new feature in this game. It’s not that bad as many people say . It’s just different. The camera and camera angles are terrible. Can’t understandThis game is very challenging and very difficult. Some levels , especially the 2D ones are harder than “normal-classical” Mario. But I’m a sucker for Mario games. Love the game . Not as amazing as Odyssey but still great. The water nozzle it’s a new feature in this game. It’s not that bad as many people say . It’s just different. The camera and camera angles are terrible. Can’t understand why they didn’t fix that? Overall very well recommended.… Expand
  29. ElRagnarLocro
    Mar 31, 2022
    8
    Mario Sunshine es un juego especial y curioso, que tiene muy buenas ideas y ambientación, pero que falla justo en lo que mejor suele hacer Nintendo: El diseño de niveles y "misiones" por hacer en cada uno. El juego ofrece la que es para mí la mejor jugabilidad que tiene un Mario (exceptuando a Odyssey que no lo jugué al momento de esta reseña). El ACUAC le brinda una versatilidad alMario Sunshine es un juego especial y curioso, que tiene muy buenas ideas y ambientación, pero que falla justo en lo que mejor suele hacer Nintendo: El diseño de niveles y "misiones" por hacer en cada uno. El juego ofrece la que es para mí la mejor jugabilidad que tiene un Mario (exceptuando a Odyssey que no lo jugué al momento de esta reseña). El ACUAC le brinda una versatilidad al gameplay única, y hace que desplazarse por todo Isla Delfino sea muy placentero, pero hay momentos en los que simplemente esto no puede aprovecharse por el mal diseño que tienen algunos niveles, no por su estructura sino por lo que el juego te pide que hagas, con objetivos muy ambiguos, tediosos, o simplemente aburridos, y no son casos aislados, sino que buena parte del juego suele ser así. Un juego con el potencial de ser, para mí, de los mejores de la historia en plataformas, pero que corta sus propias alas. Aún así, no quita que sea uno de los mejores de su época, y está a la altura de un buen Mario.
    Nota Final: 8.3    … Expand
  30. LikeOrNoLike
    Mar 27, 2022
    9
    Still the best 3D Mario to date. The movement is so good and the aesthetic is so enjoyable I don’t even care about all the jank.
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Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best GameCube Game of 2002
2
#2 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2002
2
#2 Most Shared GameCube Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 61
  3. Negative: 0 out of 61
  1. Inside Gamer Online
    76
    The FLUDD system is used throughout the game and can either be why the game is so great or why the game is so mediocre.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    60
    To say that the camera in this game is atrocious is like saying being kicked in the teeth kinda hurts-it gives the person an idea about how bad it is, but it doesn't even begin to describe the agony in detail.
    Read full review
  3. GamePro
    100
    A masterpiece of superior game design, infinite gameplay variety, creativity, and life-and it's got a water cannon…and a damn brilliant one at that.
    Read full review
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