Mario Sunshine is a very weird case. There is SO MUCH wrong with this game. Countless glitches, weird difficulty spikes and dozens of shine sprites that were clearly thrown in just to fluff the game to a total of 120. The blue coins are an especially infamous example of this. It's clearly rushed and unfinished. Not allowing the player to choose, which missions they want to complete is also a questionable choice at best.

But I still love it everytime I complete it. I can't even really explain why. It'd probably because of how the game feels to control. Mario feels so snappy and jumping around in Delfino Plaza is just fun in itself. In that regard, it's pretty similar to Mario 64. Moving around feels good. And the theming oh GOD, THE THEMING!!! Listening to the soundtrack and seeing the gorgeous levels brings me to my happy place. Mario Sunshine isn't just fun to control, it's also fun to look at. Maybe I also like it so much, because it's so weird and different in comparison to the other 3D Marios. It has this daring nature of trying out something completely different with its franchise that so many GameCube games seem to have. By this point, I can find everything I need for 100% without consulting a guide, because I have played it so much and once I reached that point, Mario Sunshine became even more fun.