Is Super Mario Sunshine Too Difficult?

I woke up this morning to an interesting video game related story in my feed. It is based on a 2002 Developer Interview, contemporaneously published in Nintendo Dream Magazine and translated by video game periodical translator site shmuplations. If you are not familiar with their mission, I highly suggest heading over there and checking them out. It’s a great site with a treasure trove of information and insights into the minds of Japanese developers.

Thoughts in Time

The original translated article can be found at shmuplations’ in its entirety. It centers on Super Mario Sunshine, though it also offers a small window into Nintendo’s creative leadership’s thoughts regarding the GameCube itself. Released in Japan and North America in late 2001, this interview would have been published not long after the console’s release. In fact, the first few paragraphs focus on the new GameCube controller and how this impacted development of the FLUDD mechanic.

While the article shares thoughts from Director Yoshiaki Koizumi and Producer Takashi Tezuka, it is really a portion attributed to Producer Shigeru Miyamoto that’s currently making the rounds. Most headlines I’ve seen are a variation on the theme of “Shigeru Miyamoto Regrets Super Mario Sunshine Difficulty”.

While subject of the game’s difficulty comes up several times during the interview, more time is spent on how the change from 2D to 3D impacts development of puzzles. The transition from crafting pixel perfect platforming to an increased emphasis on creating tools to allow player freedom is also an idea that’s explored at good depth. Overall, I think the trio spend much more time discussing their thoughts of how a Mario game ‘feels’ and what its essence is, with the question of difficulty a relatively small portion of the exchange.

That being said, the quote in question starts “However, I think Mario Sunshine turned out to be difficult for the average user. It’s something I very much regret.”. Miyamoto continues, “I want someone who hasn’t played a game in 10+ years to play our game, but I think such a person wouldn’t know what’s going on in Mario Sunshine.”.

Is Super Mario Sunshine That Difficult?

I have played through Super Mario Sunshine twice that I can remember. And while it has been quite a long time since my last run, I really don’t remember it being that difficult.

There seems to be general agreement among some that Sunshine is the black sheep of the Mario Gaming Universe. I have to wonder if that is simply because it was the first mainline Mario game to come after the watershed moment in gaming history that was Super Mario 64. It also probably didn’t help that it was locked onto a platform that was 3rd in a 3-way race, from a North American perspective at least. Even then, judging by critical reviews of the time and as evidenced by a Metacritic score of 92, I have to question this apparent consensus by some.

While I can appreciate tastes and opinion changing over time, I still don’t remember it being all that difficult of a game though.

It should be noted that earlier in the article Miyamoto states that Sunshine “…may be the most user-friendly 3D action game out there, especially for new players., in reference to the sensation of using FLUDD to move around. It appears that it’s only in relation to the “athletic” courses in each stage that causes Mr. Miyamoto to lament the games difficulty.

What Do You Think?

So, am I just not remembering how difficult a game this is? It feels a bit disingenuous to argue with Shigeru Miyamoto! Do you think Super Mario Sunshine is a difficult game?

My last playthrough really must have been quite some time ago, because I honestly don’t even remember those Athletic Courses, or what Miyamoto also refers to as Secret Courses, as being mandatory. Yet he says it right in the article. If I can’t recall that, perhaps I’m simply not remembering the overall difficulty level?

It may be time to break out Sunshine and see again for myself. I would highly recommend you do the same, especially if you haven’t yet had the opportunity to give this gem a go.

Unfortunately, I believe the only way to do so is either with the original GameCube release, or else via the Switch release of Super Mario 3D All-Start. The latter, to my knowledge, was not only made as a limited physical release but for some mind-boggling reason also a limited digital release.