One of the most prolific game designers of all time, Shigeru Miyamoto, says he "regrets" how Switch 2. Throughout his long and storied career history at Nintendo, Miyamoto has been responsible for creating some of its most iconic franchises, including Donkey Kong, Zelda, and, naturally, Mario. He's also remained the company's face for decades, and frequently appears to announce new releases at Nintendo Directs.
Miyamoto clearly takes pride and joy in his work, but he can also be his own worst critic. There's one major flaw, he says, in Mario Sunshine that he deeply regrets, and it's something he's tried to veer away from in later Mario games. While you could argue it was a creative choice that served Sunshine particularly well, it may be a good thing that Miyamoto has changed his design philosophy in the years since.
Miyamoto Says Mario Sunshine Was "Difficult" For Casual Players
Not Your Grandmother's Mario Game
In a 2002 interview with the Japan-only magazine Nintendo Dream, translated by Shmuplations and spotted by Games Radar, Miyamoto claimed that he regretted making Super Mario Sunshine too hard. He's quoted as saying,
I want Mario to be a game that all audiences can enjoy. Something that Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, even little children can easily pick up and play, and right away understand what's fun about it. However, I think Mario Sunshine turned out to be difficult for the average . It's something I very much regret.
He goes on to say that he wants Mario - if not all his games - to be accessible to just about everyone. "Mario is supposed to be an easy-to-understand game," he says, "even if it's confusing at first, after playing for a day, you should be able to understand what today's games are all about."
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In that way, Mario is supposed to serve as an introduction to gaming, even for players who haven't played a new game in years, or indeed have never played a video game before. That's why Mario games, including Mario Kart World, are typically released as launch titles.
Mario Sunshine Is Coming To NSO Soon
But apparently, Miyamoto's regret surrounding Mario Sunshine isn't too severe - it's not like he's trying to forget the game ever happened. To that end, Super Mario Sunshine is confirmed to be part of the Switch 2's library of GameCube games. This is an expansion of the Nintendo Switch Online service, which allows players to access a wide variety of Nintendo classics through a virtual console by paying a subscription fee.
NSO will be renamed Nintendo Classics with the launch of the Switch 2.
Although Mario Sunshine is one of ten games coming to NSO's GameCube library, we don't know exactly when it'll be available. Only three GameCube titles will be available at launch: The Wind Waker, Soulcalibur 2, and F-Zero GX. The rest of the library will be released piecemeal following the console's launch.
Mario Sunshine Is A Classic For A Reason
But Miyamoto Has A Point About Difficulty
Now, I won't sit here and tell you Mario Sunshine isn't worth playing because of Miyamoto's regrets. It's my personal favorite 3D Mario game, and it's probably the single thing I'm most excited to see in the new Nintendo Classics library. The tropical aesthetic, the laid-back music, and the fun of controlling FLUDD made it a fixture of my childhood, and I can't wait to relive that nostalgia on the big screen once the Switch 2 is out.
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At the same time, Mario Sunshine is no beach vacation. It can be really hard. The regular levels are perfectly fine - I'd argue that controlling FLUDD with precision could get a little confusing for Grandma and Grandpa, but if you have even a little experience with video games, it's easy enough to figure out. The real problem - and Miyamoto himself its this - is the Secret Courses. In these areas, you lose access to FLUDD entirely, and you're forced to navigate solely using Mario's (ittedly extensive) toolbox of jumps and flips.
These are hard because there's no correcting a mistimed or poorly aimed jump with FLUDD. Secret Courses require incredibly quick reaction times and commitment to each course of action - otherwise, you'll fail. I vividly the frustration of the "I'm a Chuckster" level, and, though I didn't discover it until later in life, the infamous Pachinko level has gained notoriety for its soul-crushing difficulty. So Miyamoto's regrets about Super Mario Sunshine aren't totally unjustified, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't play it when it comes to Switch 2.
Super Mario Sunshine
- Released
- August 26, 2002
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- unreal engine 4
- Franchise
- Super Mario
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