This is one of those games where a lot of people are going to judge it more harshly depending on whether you just played to beat the game or if you tried to 100% the game - which means getting every blue coin - and that's pretty bullshit even with a guide. Take it from me, someone who has gotten all 120 shine sprites. Just play it to beat it. You just get a special photograph if you get 100% and you can look that up on the Mario Wiki. Don't force yourself to do the red coin acid river leaf challenge. Don't torture yourself, the bragging rights aren't worth it.
However, while I do think getting all 120 Shines is not worth it, I appreciate this game for what it does and nowadays, in a world where Nintendo has since codified the look and style of the Mario games in order to fit with the giant corporate "brand" (which isn't completely a bad thing but I will admit I miss the days where they didn't figure out which same five voice clips Bowser would cycle through in each game), playing this game and its more oddball character designs and color palettes feels like a breath of fresh air. I love that this entire game is built around a tropical island theme and so they had to get more creative with designing the levels rather than going "here's the ice level, we drew a snowman and some penguins".
The one actual downside to the game besides "bullshit challenges"? Corona Mountain. Having the final level be a single hallway with a completely underused mechanic show up in the middle of it is just bad (the boat sucks) and really shows the signs of a last-minute game crunch before the game's release.
Still a good Mario though. I'm still salty about quite a few of the Blue Coins but eh, I won't hold the game against them much like how I won't hold the Green Stars of Super Mario Galaxy 2 against it.
However, while I do think getting all 120 Shines is not worth it, I appreciate this game for what it does and nowadays, in a world where Nintendo has since codified the look and style of the Mario games in order to fit with the giant corporate "brand" (which isn't completely a bad thing but I will admit I miss the days where they didn't figure out which same five voice clips Bowser would cycle through in each game), playing this game and its more oddball character designs and color palettes feels like a breath of fresh air. I love that this entire game is built around a tropical island theme and so they had to get more creative with designing the levels rather than going "here's the ice level, we drew a snowman and some penguins".
The one actual downside to the game besides "bullshit challenges"? Corona Mountain. Having the final level be a single hallway with a completely underused mechanic show up in the middle of it is just bad (the boat sucks) and really shows the signs of a last-minute game crunch before the game's release.
Still a good Mario though. I'm still salty about quite a few of the Blue Coins but eh, I won't hold the game against them much like how I won't hold the Green Stars of Super Mario Galaxy 2 against it.