Post by UsualNoise on Jun 28, 2018 18:22:09 GMT -5
Whilst digging through old notepad files I found this review that I inexplicably saved. I figured I'd post it here for your amusement / enjoyment. Even with the passage of time I'd probably give it about the same grade today - not elite 3D Mario, but still good. And very hard.
Lazy Man's Summary
This is a must-own platform game for the GameCube.
Details
I think the best way to describe Super Mario Sunshine (SMS) is to relate my experiences thus far with the game. While I haven't gotten too far yet, my brother and I have played it enough to get a feel for the controls, difficulty, etc. As one who has played and beaten every other Mario game to come out for the various Nintendo systems I can say without reservation that SMS is a very challenging game. While the plot of the game is somewhat weak, I don't really remember Mario having much of a compelling motivation in most of the previous games either - so it's not a big deal to me.
So far, it is fairly clear that SMS has retained much of the game play that Super Mario 64 introduced, including the level system (each level can be accessed from a common central area and contains eight 'episodes' to be beaten - Mario 64 had six each - and you collect 'sun sprites', instead of stars, upon completion of each) and many of the same jumps and maneuvers (triple jump, wall jump, etc.) This, in my opinion, is a good thing because Super Mario 64 was just a great game. SMS, however, introduces an added layer of difficulty by giving Mario a water jet-pack type thing that is instrumental in defeating certain enemies and reaching otherwise unreachable places. Having the additional job of controlling this water pack *while* moving around *and* making sure the camera stays where you want it combines to make mastering the controls a bit more difficult that previous Mario incarnations. At times having your view of Mario blocked by a wall or other obstacle can get frustrating, but getting used to moving the camera around with the C joystick - even while moving around with the main joystick - is definitely worthwhile.
As far as actual difficulty of play, my brother and I have completed the eight episodes of the first level and a few of the ones from the main area; so far, I'd say the difficulty is about an 8 or 9 out of 10. While the first few 'bosses' are pretty easy to defeat the episodes quickly increase in difficulty. To put it in perspective, one of the last episodes of the first level took us a full 15 men before we finished it (fortunately there are 2 1-up mushrooms in that level) - and another hidden level in the main area took another 15 or so (without bonus lives, so we had to continue twice). Again, we haven't even moved on to the second or third areas/levels (although they are accessible), so I'd have to assume that this is one challenging game.
Because of the difficulty of SMS, this game is really not meant for inexperienced gamers (this is NOT Super Monkey Ball - which, by the way, is difficult in its own right (at least the main game) but only requires use of the joystick, not every possible button on the control). For example, my wife started out on the first couple levels but quickly got frustrated with the plethora of controls you need to master to get around without repeatedly dying. This isn't meant to discourage anyone, but you will have to spend time getting used to the controls before you can make significant progress, especially if you didn't play Super Mario 64.
Regardless, I highly recommend SMS if you own a GameCube; while not quite as good as Super Mario 64 (the repetition required to defeat some of the levels can get a bit annoying), it's a very enjoyable game nonetheless. Let me know if you have any questions or have thoughts about it if you've already played it. If the rest of the game alters my opinion in any significant way I'll be sure to update this review. The fine job Nintendo did on this game has me eagerly anticipating their Metroid and Zelda future releases.
Grade: A-
This is a must-own platform game for the GameCube.
Details
I think the best way to describe Super Mario Sunshine (SMS) is to relate my experiences thus far with the game. While I haven't gotten too far yet, my brother and I have played it enough to get a feel for the controls, difficulty, etc. As one who has played and beaten every other Mario game to come out for the various Nintendo systems I can say without reservation that SMS is a very challenging game. While the plot of the game is somewhat weak, I don't really remember Mario having much of a compelling motivation in most of the previous games either - so it's not a big deal to me.
So far, it is fairly clear that SMS has retained much of the game play that Super Mario 64 introduced, including the level system (each level can be accessed from a common central area and contains eight 'episodes' to be beaten - Mario 64 had six each - and you collect 'sun sprites', instead of stars, upon completion of each) and many of the same jumps and maneuvers (triple jump, wall jump, etc.) This, in my opinion, is a good thing because Super Mario 64 was just a great game. SMS, however, introduces an added layer of difficulty by giving Mario a water jet-pack type thing that is instrumental in defeating certain enemies and reaching otherwise unreachable places. Having the additional job of controlling this water pack *while* moving around *and* making sure the camera stays where you want it combines to make mastering the controls a bit more difficult that previous Mario incarnations. At times having your view of Mario blocked by a wall or other obstacle can get frustrating, but getting used to moving the camera around with the C joystick - even while moving around with the main joystick - is definitely worthwhile.
As far as actual difficulty of play, my brother and I have completed the eight episodes of the first level and a few of the ones from the main area; so far, I'd say the difficulty is about an 8 or 9 out of 10. While the first few 'bosses' are pretty easy to defeat the episodes quickly increase in difficulty. To put it in perspective, one of the last episodes of the first level took us a full 15 men before we finished it (fortunately there are 2 1-up mushrooms in that level) - and another hidden level in the main area took another 15 or so (without bonus lives, so we had to continue twice). Again, we haven't even moved on to the second or third areas/levels (although they are accessible), so I'd have to assume that this is one challenging game.
Because of the difficulty of SMS, this game is really not meant for inexperienced gamers (this is NOT Super Monkey Ball - which, by the way, is difficult in its own right (at least the main game) but only requires use of the joystick, not every possible button on the control). For example, my wife started out on the first couple levels but quickly got frustrated with the plethora of controls you need to master to get around without repeatedly dying. This isn't meant to discourage anyone, but you will have to spend time getting used to the controls before you can make significant progress, especially if you didn't play Super Mario 64.
Regardless, I highly recommend SMS if you own a GameCube; while not quite as good as Super Mario 64 (the repetition required to defeat some of the levels can get a bit annoying), it's a very enjoyable game nonetheless. Let me know if you have any questions or have thoughts about it if you've already played it. If the rest of the game alters my opinion in any significant way I'll be sure to update this review. The fine job Nintendo did on this game has me eagerly anticipating their Metroid and Zelda future releases.
Grade: A-
