Super Mario Sunshine, the classic hit from Nintendo GameCube is now available on the Nintendo Switch 2 via Nintendo Switch online! That's a lot of Nintendo for one sentence.
Super Mario Sunshine originally released back in 2002, around a year after the GameCube launched. Critically acclaimed with incredible graphics, gameplay, story, and the unique F.L.U.D.D. mechanic, Super Mario Sunshine was one of the top-selling games for the console coming in at number 3 on the chart at just shy of 6 million copies sold, losing out only to Mario Kart: Double Dash and Super Smasha Bros. Melee.
The gameplay? Pretty top tier! The camera did feel a bit off at times and the higher difficulty of the game vs other games in the Mario series made it challenging for many fans (myself included at times).
This is the second time that Super Mario Sunshine has appeared on the Nintendo Switch line of consoles with it first appearing as a part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection that came out back in 2020 and celebrated 35 years of Mario which created HD ports of three titles, Sunshine alongside Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. This iteration of Super Mario Sunshine, running exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2, arrives just in time to celebrate the tail end of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Mario franchise and, honestly, doesn't look as great as the HD remaster found in 3D All-Stars, though you can be the judge of that.
One big benefit of 3D All-Stars is you actually own the game and it isn't just a glorified rental done via Switch Online. Though, graphically, the version we have via Switch Online runs in a non-widescreen resolution using emulation, so we're getting the original deal so that counts for something if you're looking for a more "traditional" experience without the use of a real GameCube but playing on official Nintendo hardware instead of an emulator like Dolphin.
So, if we're going to get opinionated here, no, this is not better than 3D All-Stars and it's a damn shame that Nintendo got rid of that just a year after they brought it out with physical copies no longer produced and it being digitally removed from the e-shop; It's like Nintendo hates money.
How do you feel about Super Mario Sunshine on NSO?
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