Game profile
Super Mario Sunshine
With the water jet F.L.U.D.D. on his back, Mario cleans up the sunny Isle Delfino of mysterious grime and collects Shine Sprites. The 2002 title remains one of the most idiosyncratic 3D Mario entries thanks to its unusual water mechanics.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Platformer, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. Story exists mostly as background texture rather than a reason to keep going. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available on one platform. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Water jet F.L.U.D.D.
- Sunny island world
- Quirky Mario mechanics
This fits you if
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you want to wind down rather than be tested
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
- you want something light that leaves you in a good mood
Look elsewhere if
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want something with real weight to it
- you want either a pure challenge or pure relaxation, not the middle
How long is Super Mario Sunshine?
About 15 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 3 weeks, or 8 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 92 out of 100, which puts it above 93 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 81 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Platformer averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 9 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 531 collected ratings.
Released in 2002, which makes it 24 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2002
- Genres
- Platformer
- Playtime
- approx. 15 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Background flavour
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- Switch
- Critic rating
- 92 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Sunshine | 2002 | approx. 15 hrs. | 92 | Budget |
| Super Mario Galaxy | 2007 | approx. 15 hrs. | 97 | Mid price |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury | 2021 | approx. 16 hrs. | 91 | Mid price |
| Kena: Bridge of Spirits | 2021 | approx. 12 hrs. | 84 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- 97/100 Super Mario Galaxy Shared: Platformer, Fantasy, rated higher
- 91/100 Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Shared: Platformer, Fantasy
- 84/100 Kena: Bridge of Spirits Shared: Platformer, Fantasy
- 90/100 Rayman Legends Shared: Platformer, Fantasy, shorter
- 87/100 Kirby und das vergessene Land Shared: Platformer, Fantasy
- 84/100 Spyro Reignited Trilogy Shared: Platformer, Fantasy