I'm not sure whether to mark this as completed or abandoned, but I literally 100% the game prior so I'll say the former. Here's the thing: A couple years ago I 100% 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy when I borrowed Super Mario 3D All Stars from my friend. I liked 64, loved Galaxy (even though it was my 7th playthrough), and just... really didn't click with Sunshine. I ranted about it to a new friend of mine and he said my experience was a "skill issue." I thought about it and considered that maybe it was, so I thought of bumping it up higher in my list. Today, I decided to come back to it after a while and go in with an open mind. The verdict? I can't enjoy it. I tried so hard but every level just failed to be fun somehow. I really dislike the controls, especially because they feel so slippery at times. During both playthroughs, I felt like Mario DESPERATELY needed the Hover Nozzle in order to actually control well. Maybe I do just suck, but that's how it felt playing the game. So for me, Mario needs FLUDD right? Well, for some reason they decided to keep adding a bunch of levels WITHOUT it. These are possibly some of the least fun levels I've played in a platformer. Mario lacks moves such as the long jump that has in LITERALLY every other Mario game. Without these great movement options, the game becomes MUCH more tedious to play. Even with FLUDD though, the game isn't all that great. Levels are so difficult to enjoy because a lot of them have tedious objectives, and each of these gets worse and worse the further you go on. I did enjoy a bit of Bianco Hills and the boss fights aren't terrible, but other objectives are so annoying to complete. See, Sunshine differs from something like 64 because you need to beat Episode 7 of every single area, which sucks because you can't just play the levels you want to play and instead have to do everything. It's not as open as the game wants you to think and because of this, you need to do all of the FLUDDless levels for instance (which for me is the lowest point as I've mentioned before). Where the level design, controls, and gameplay fail, the presentation is what saves this game, most of the time. The cutscenes are really... awkward... especially due to the voice acting. Other than that, the aesthetics and music really take the cake here. The thing that's the biggest shame is that the game has everything I could've wanted for level themes, each area is a unique in that it's all a part of Delfino Plaza and not a bunch of areas that don't feel connected. I don't hate the random areas thing that the 3D and some of the 2D games do, but I love seeing just one area be the focal point of the game. I want to love Delfino Isle, but the levels are just so unfun to play that I can't fully enjoy all it has to offer, especially with Sirena Beach and Noki Bay. I'm happy they at least went hard with the worldbuilding and aesthetic of Delfino Isle because that's definitely the high point of the game for me, but the gameplay itself I just can't get behind. Overall, Super Mario Sunshine is a massive disappointment for me because while I love the ideas they want to present, the gameplay itself is such a tedious slog that I just can't enjoy it.

A mario game that tries to reconstruct what is a mario game for better or worse

It's interesting to see that a sequel change the rules already what it's groundbreaking previous ancestor established.

Surface wise it's actually not so different. There is an hub world. There are levels to jump into and stars... No... Sunshines to collect to unlock next part of to adventure. But everything changes when you look at it more deeply.

Before explaining these changed mechanics and rules it's hard not to touch the subject that is this game's reputation. Because the things it changes make this game for some people one of the worst mario experiences has to offer, but for some it brings mario even further.

Which is right? In this case it's not so white and black. That's because both of them are right in their own way.

So, with playing this game which side of the discussion you choose, actually can deduct what is the most important things in a game for you. Or to be exact. What is the meaning of a GOOD game for you rather than everybody else. Also this discussion is a proof that why there will never be a perfect game for everybody. Everybody's values for a PERFECT game is different after all.

Anyway without broading the subject on hand too much, let's return to mario sunshine. What do I think? Where do I stand on this discussion?

I think it's my favorite mario game and think it's the one that resonates with me the most.

But there is a reason it's 4 stars. Not 5. Because this mario game... it's the most flawed one.

Now let's remember what mario 64 established beforehand.
-You go into other levels from the hub world with jumping into paintings in the castle
-Every level have their own atmosphere, own enemies and own stars to collect and even after selecting the objective from the level, let's you collect another star rather than your objective one if there are in the level
-Power ups works as a rule changers like changing mario's weight/invisibility/air time etc. And they are hidden in the levels and they are timed and mostly used for hard or impossible to get without the necessary power type of stars
-You are only required to get some number of stars to finish the game so most of the game is optional content.
-Other than some bullshit levels, most of the game's challenge is platforming and consistently goes up, also world stays consistent and even when levels teleport you somewhere else, it's somewhere with the similar atmosphere

But mario sunshine changes them into
-You go into levels from hub world with not jumping into paintings but using something in the overworld that carries you into the level. Be it a pipe, a mirror, a cannon, a ship etc. Not just that, most of the levels visible from the outset rather than be a painting or an image.
-Every level have a island/tropical atmosphere, have their own enemies and own stars to collect, but every selectable objective have only one star that can be obtained(aside from the 100 coin stars)
-Power ups not timed, also they work as a modifiers of sort that changes how the mario's water pumpers work. They are also used for sunshines that is hard or impossible to get without the necessary power type
-You are required to finish every level's 7 objectives no matter what, rest is optional.
-Most of the game's challenge is a gimmick related to that level's tropical concept be it diving deep in the water, be it cleaning hidden interactables, be it riding boats etc. Also difficulty stays consistent and stays similar throughout in the adventure until levels teleport you into a secret courses with completely different and a vague atmosphere and difficulty that is with focusing into pure platforming with taking your water pump away.

You see, with the somewhat detailed description I gave to you is enough to make you understand what makes mario sunshine different I assume.

It's acts more like an adventure game rather than focusing on being a platformer with incorporating level gimmicks more, also it's commitment to it's tropical atmosphere makes the world more immersive, in fact it goes even one step more and makes the obstacles a part of the world rather than making them a vague flying platforms or objects unlike every mario game did it before. Mario 64 or other mario games did this before yes but never to this degree.

Be it, being able to see other levels from the distance, or be it interacting with the levels gimmicks itself or be it having enemies that completely different looking than what mario games uses often or be it even going into the levels with using the hub world's own tools that uses that level's concept like a cannon for a level filled with cannon enemies, using a pipe for a cleaning level, cave entrance for a volcano level etc. It feels like an tropical journey throughout and that what I love about it.

But when it comes to platforming it's rarely fully used. Also It's not a good collectathon because number of level completion is required rather than the number of collectibles for main progression. Also it's sudden change of difficulty and atmosphere at the secret courses feels like a slap in the face also a big indication that is the game's unfinishedness with forcing player to go for them. Also being forced for those secret courses with breaking it's consistency is the reason why this game can't get a 5/5 stars for me.

But you see, like I said it's immersiveness, it's surprises and focus on world is enough to make it a superior game for me. I didn't even went into the movement that is joy to experience and super enjoyable to use with it's instantaneous input response even with it's questionable physics.

So even with it's shortcomings that's why it's my favorite in the franchise. It's because it's dedicated to one thing. Being a tropical vacation adventure and does that with pushing it's ideas to the max.

I finally did muster through Super Mario Sunshine after about three and a half years of leaving it on the backburner, and I must say I still don't get it. It's not all bad but it's like, not very fun to me at all. I found its best moments to be pretty decent, and put up against Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy I don't really think it stands a chance in most if not all fields. I did not gel with the aesthetic, controls, or level design nearly as much as in either of them.

The biggest thing that irks me about Sunshine, though, is it doesn't feel as open as it lets on. You can beat the game with a minimum of 50 shines (I completed it with 53), but rather than a basic threshold to close off the final level, like how you can get any 70 stars in 64 to reach the end, you are required to do all the first seven missions of each level. In order, too. You can't go out of order like you can in 64, you have to do mission 1, then mission 2, etc. This works fine in Galaxy because the level design reflects it better, it's already more linear to begin with in its design and progression. Sunshine's level design does not reflect its linearity, it presents itself as a lot more open and implies a lot more freedom than you're actually provided. The end result takes away the feeling of free exploration, and it begins to feel more like crossing off a checklist than finding things yourself and reaping the rewards for doing so. Some of these required missions are frankly quite awful as well. A few of the bosses (Petey Piranha 2, Manta) are super tedious and slow, and some other missions littered around are bordering on unacceptable. I could not locate any enjoyment to be found in the "chuckster" mission, for example, and there's just no way to get around it without enduring it. If you have a star in 64 you really hate, chances are you can just work around it, but such is not the case this time.

I figure you can warm up to this with enough playthroughs, but the first is deeply unsatisfying and unrewarding. A competently made and designed game for the most part, but mundane and unenjoyable especially in comparison to the high points surrounding it in the series. Why would I want to play it some more in order to warm up to it if the first playthrough was so consistently rough? How often do you want to replay something you thought was lame, especially with people breathing down your neck about how you're wrong? I dunno, man. It just doesn't really make sense to me. I really see now why this seems to be the most divisive of the 3D Mario entries, and try as I might to enjoy myself during its runtime, I can't seem to do so often enough to really call it something I like as an overall experience. I'm just glad I at least have it off my back now.