I always got the feeling that this game was seen as a classic. I never owned a Gamecube growing up, but I’m pretty sure I remember my friend having one and playing Sunshine a bit (although he was way more into Zelda and Smash).
Eventually I got round to playing Sunshine the other year when Nintendo released a triple pack on Switch. It was fun! I loved the aesthetic and interesting water spraying mechanics. However the other day I had a friend round and we were emulating the game, taking turns to beat levels. It struck us how frustrating the game was at points - especially those platforming levels in which you lose the FLUDD. You really notice how slippy and floaty Mario feels in this. In Mario 64 and Galaxy, the movement felt so precise in comparison and you knew exactly how the character would react to your inputs.
The levels too seem quite harsh at points. The Ricco Harbor level which introduces the rocket nozzle has frustratingly narrow platforms with constantly spawning wind enemies. My attempts to get back up to the top after falling off felt like cheating - i.e. lining up the rocket to land on different ledges rather than going all the way around the map again. I couldn’t tell if that was what the developers intended.
Overall I do really love the game, but it feels like an awkward transition in the 3D Mario series. As if Nintendo were trying to innovate with new mechanics before they’d perfected the basic 3D platforming. Is it just me, or do others feel the same?
Never beat it as a kid, finally 100%ed it when 3D all stars came out.
Honestly? If feels very rushed. Elements like Yoshi are hardly used, the final boss stage is short and finicky, the pachinko machine is 100% broken, and the blue coin collection is needlessly difficult and unrewarding.
I think when I first played it I was blown away by how good it looked, but playing as an adult, I’m more just disappointed in how messy and unrefined it can be at times.
Oh god the pachinko machine… I salute you for 100%ing the game! Yeah Yoshi feels pretty pointless considering Mario has a more diverse moveset without him.
Graphically I still think it’s pretty impressive - the heat shimmer and water in particular. Crazy considering when it was released.