BUY IT, BABY

Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
Reviewed by Avi Fryman

It starts the moment the plane screeches to an abrupt halt at the Delfino Airstrip, where a vibrant, slippery puddle of psychedelic goop covers the runway. Mario's tropical island paradise vacation with Princess Peach and her clan of mushroom-like Toads is clearly not destined to be a restful one. In fact, the mustachioed one is accused of polluting the entire island, and is forced to clean it, starting with the runway.

This might sound like a bum trip, but equipped with the robotic Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device (FLUDD for short), the acrobatic plumber doesn't have it so bad. Aside from its primary function as a portable hose, the FLUDD also provides Mario with simple advice when needed, and a number of new abilities, determined in part by which of its three secondary nozzles (hover, rocket or turbo) is attached to the device at the moment.

The ability to hover over toxic ooze and spray it with vertical streams of water from dizzying heights is quite useful on this particular getaway, not to mention exceedingly fun, once you've got the hang of it. The same goes for leaping over enormous structures in a single rocket-nozzle-enhanced bound, or zooming around at ludicrous speeds with the turbo nozzle. Sadly, the FLUDD's water supply is limited, so you've got to be relatively frugal as you get down to business. Thankfully, Isle Delfino is, well, an island, so there are plenty of opportunities to refill the tank.

Although tidying up the place is a top priority, Super Mario Sunshine's action is hardly limited to community service, as one would rightfully anticipate. The Princess gets kidnapped (again), this time by what appears to be a liquid metal version of Mario, which explains why the locals are so initially pissed off at the innocent hero. Making matters worse, mutant squids, gargantuan Piranha Plants, electric Koopas, and a slew of weird creatures abound on the island, including ghosts, who crowd the Hotel Delfino, much to the dismay of other would-be vacationers.

In fact, from the lush windmill-strewn villas of Bianco Hills to the steepest cliffs of the breathtaking Noki Bay, Mario has got quite a bit of work cut out for him. Picture acrobatically leaping and bounding to the highest point of an enormous mountain, looking down below to the now-miniscule point where you were recently standing, then running to a nearby ledge where a waterfall powerfully cascades, diving into the waterfall, and ultimately swimming to the bottom of the ocean, where you must perform a bit of much-needed dental work on a giant eel with four eyes, using only your hover nozzle. That's just one of the many bizarre situations that makes Super Mario Sunshine such a profound joy to behold. Although there are a handful of impressive titles on the system, this is the first major example of the GameCube finally coming into its own.

The sound, graphics, and controls are all top notch, improving vastly on those in Super Mario 64, which was a major groundbreaker in its own right. In Super Mario Sunshine, the depth of perspective, immense fluidity of animation, and overall ease of control (of both Mario and the camera itself) once again set a new benchmark of what 3D games ought to be like. This also happens to be one of the only games we know of that inspires frequent, intense feelings of vertigo. You'll know what we mean when you're walking a tightrope nine stories above sea level, only to notice another one far above you. more >>