Many words have been written about the problems of Super Mario Sunshine, at the time of its initial Gamecube release in 2002 and more recently after the game got remastered as part of 2020’s Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection for the Switch. There’s no denying Sunshine’s physics might be clunky, some level feel rushed, and its 3D camera is usually the most significant threat the player might face. However, the game’s legacy shouldn’t be so easily dismissed, as, without Sunshine, there would be no Super Mario Odyssey.
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A Whole New World
While many 2D Mario games have beautiful overworlds that work as fancy level selection screens, Super Mario 64 took things up a notch by turning Peach’s Castle into a level itself, filled with secrets to discover. The Castle, however, remained disconnected from the main levels, which can be accessed through enchanted paintings and objects everywhere. This clever design choice allowed Super Mario 64 to have levels with unique locations without breaking the narrative cohesion of the enchanted castle. Sunshine took a step forward by connecting every level to the overworld before the players’ eyes.
Sunshine takes place in the paradisiac Isle Delfino, where Mario and his troupe go on vacation. There, the gang ends up involved with the evil deads of a Mario doppelganger who’s been polluting the island. While magic portals are everywhere, Sunshine’s main levels don’t teleport the player to different dimensions. Instead, they take Mario to distinct corners of the same island. That means Sunshine’s levels share the same overall tropical island theme.
While this choice could have led to repetitive level design, Nintendo did an exceptional job in making each level unique, leading the player to explore a harbor, a beach, a haunted hotel, and a lush forest, among many other locations. Stitching everything together is Plaza Delfino, the most vivid and exuberating HUB world in Super Mario history. From Plaza Delfino, the player can also see other levels in the distance. Other locations are also present in most of Delfino Isle’s main levels. So, for instance, when the player explores the touristic village, they can also see the attraction park on the horizon, another location they can explore. These small details help create the illusion that Sunshine takes place in one colossal scenario instead of disconnected levels.
Sunshine’s failure led Nintendo to go back to the structure of disconnected levels. Both Super Mario Galaxy game HUBs work like Peach’s Castle, teleporting players to distant corners of the universe. As for Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario 3D Land, both reuse the level selection map made famous by Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. While the overworld of these games creates some connection between levels, each location works as a separate challenge. Not only do these games go back to the safe formula of disconnected levels, but their gameplay is also focused on small-Sunshine level-sized challenges that must be completed one by one. On the other hand, Sunshine’s levels follow Super Mario 64's lead in creating giant sandboxes filled with collectibles to reward players’ exploration.
For 15 years, Super Mario games went back to the linear progression of early titles. Then, everything changed when Odyssey brought back the freedom to the Switch in 2017. Odyssey’s levels are the largest locations of any Super Mario game. And while there are set story goals in Odyssey, the game truly shines when it allows players to explore to their heart’s content, uncovering surprises beneath every unturned rock.
Odyssey’s levels are also part of the same scenario: the world. While the trip around the globe creates an excellent excuse for level variation, Odyssey also resonates with Sunshine by organically connecting its locations. It’s possible to see new places on the horizon, and characters from different corners of the world are always visiting distant levels as tourists. Odyssey constantly reminds the player that every level is actually part of something bigger, a lesson learned from Sunshine. That’s not the only lesson Odyssey learned from Sunshine, though.
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Cappy, Meet FLUDD
Odyssey is highly (and deservingly) praised for its gameplay. The introduction of Cappy allows players to master a whole new set of movements. With Cappy, beginners have a new tool that can help them explore the vast levels and evade danger. For experienced players, Cappy turns the world upside down by becoming part of dangerous maneuvers that are still fluid and exciting to execute. For example, while players can finish Odyssey’s main story without ever learning how to use Cappy to prolonged jumps mid-air, the ability is needed to grab every Power Moon available. In a few words, Cappy is an easy-to-use and hard-to-master tool that brings something new to players with different skill levels to play with.
Only one other Super Mario game ever had the same approach to game design, and that was Sunshine. In Sunshine, Mario received the water backpack FLUDD, capable of helping the mustachioed hero clean Delfino Island while also adding new tools to explore levels. With FLUDD, Mario can hover to gain more air control, a much-needed ability that helps new players to finish the game. However, expert players can do wonders by exploring FLUDD’s advanced skills. For example, you can reach Sunshine’s credits without learning how to wet the floor to slide and gain impulse or spray water in a circle mid-air. But like with Odyssey’s Cappy, Sunshine’s FLUDD demands players’ mastery if they want to find every secret.
Unfortunately, FLUDD removes some of Mario’s classic moves to work properly. Also, the physics-based precision of the water spray drains some of the fun in specific challenges. Nevertheless, Odyssey reuses Sunshine’s idea of adding a new tool on top of Mario’s tested and proved range of jumps, cautious not to repeat FLUDD’s mistakes. Still, FLUDD’s DNA is all over Odyssey’s Cappy. And by possessing creatures with Cappy, Mario can even get some of the same abilities — Odyssey’s Gushen propulsion works identically to Sunshine’s Turbo Nozzle.
‘Sunshine’s Legacy Should Be Praised
At first glance, Sunshine and Odyssey might seem like they are in opposite corners of the 3D Mario spectrum — Sunshine is often considered the worst 3D Mario game, while Odyssey is almost consensually declared the best. Even so, a closer look might reveal the games are more alike than one might think, as Odyssey echoes the many inspiring design choices Sunshine brought to the table.
We cannot argue Odyssey’s implementation of these elements is by far more polished and thought-through — finishing a 100% run of Sunshine was one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done. Even so, it’s fair to say that Odyssey’s success is also due to some great Sunshine ideas that Nintendo wiped underneath the carpet for far too long. Lucky for all of us, Nintendo decided to learn from their mistake, turning Odyssey into the definitive Mario adventure. Now, Odyssey’s success leads to the reinventing of other franchises, such as Kirby.
While Nintendo missed a huge opportunity when they refused to fix some of Sunshine’s problems for Super Mario 3D All-Stars, we should still praise the game’s legacy. Sunshine proved we could create diverse levels without losing cohesion, showed that rewarding exploration leads to more engaging 3D levels, and demonstrated how you could shake the classic Mario formula by introducing a new tool. So, yes, without Sunshine, there would be no Odyssey. And that’s already reason enough for us to spray more love over Sunshine.
