There are many things I adore about this game. Delfino Plaza is a relaxing main hub, I like that it gets brighter the more stars you acquire throughout the game. You can see all the locations from different spots on the map, that was always really neat to me. The music is super memorable and really fits each location. Cutscenes with voice acting really add to the appeal of this game and bowser is really funny in this game. This was my favorite 3D Mario game, that is until I just replayed through it. While all the things I adore about this game remain true, I’ve discovered that I do not enjoy playing this game as much as I used to. Mario is very clunky in this game, I feel like you never really have full control over him. The levels are very hit or miss. Some are tedious, some can be boring. There are still some good levels though. This is not a bad game. It definitely is rough around the edges, but it has a unique feel with the flood gameplay gimmick and coming from an era where Nintendo really experimented with their series and was trying new things, you have to appreciate this games existence in some aspect.