Outer Space and Mario

Super Mario Sunshine was at a disadvantage from the very beginning. Remember, this was the semi-official sequel to Super Mario 64, a project even today remembered as one of the best videogame platformers of all time. But in the interest of being objective for just a brief moment, let's altogether forget about Super Mario 64 and look exclusively at Sunshine. Was it a failure? Some Nintendo fans - more than you might expect, in fact - will tell you yes. They'll argue that Nintendo dropped the ball and that the title completely failed to live up to its potential. I'd call that a dramatic critique, at the very least. I don't think Sunshine was a failure. Actually, I happen to feel that it was a great game, but also one whose theme was uninteresting and whose mechanics were sometimes frustrating, if not broken. When I look back on Sunshine, I can't help but summon up the happy inhabitants of Isle Delfino.