While perfect by no means, Super Mario Sunshine is a worthy addition to any gamer's collection.
Gameplay
Once again, you play Mario, the endearing red overalls clad plumber who is out to save Princess Peach from another impending disaster. This time however, you receive aid in the form of a little backpack called FLUDD, who is like a pumped up squirt gun. Boasting morph abilities such as a hover mode, rocket mode, and speed run mode, this little pack allows you to race around Isle Delfino, your vacation destination, cleaning up the mess left by your doppelganger. On each level you explore, you are expected to race around, cleaning up the island and collecting "shine sprites", this game's version of the Mario 64 castle stars. The shine sprites have left because of the mess that's been made of the island, and Mario is employed to clean after being accused of causing the havoc (anyone ever heard of checking flight records, people? Mario can't exactly paint the island in muck while on a jet in the middle of the ocean).
You can do a lot of things with FLUDD. New places are accessible because of your ability to be propelled upwards by the hover and rocket modes. The squirting mode lets you wash the muck off of objects and discover hidden coins and other such things. FLUDD doesn't hold infinite amounts of water, but you're on an island, so it's not exactly hard to find the stuff. Level designs are interesting and range from coves to amusement parks, to resort hotels, and even a native tribal village. They're mostly all large and expansive enough to satisfy you, and the variety is quite nice. The residents of the island, the Piantas, are more than willing to give you helpful advice on level completion or ask you to do tasks for them to earn coins.
There are a few issues that have to be dealt with. The camera can be very, VERY annoying at times. There is always one spot people seem to complain about, and I will too. On the amusement park level, the camera is near impossible to use in an area with a large brick wall where you are supposed to climb up metal fences. It's a very frustrating area, but it's not the only place where this happens. Sometimes the camera just refuses to work how you want it, which can be quite annoying during delicate situations.
Another annoyance is how two particular concepts were put into place. First is the speed run nozzle, which allows you to speed quickly all around the island with a super powered engine. The second is Yoshi, who can be used on the main island to walk around. These two concepts are great, except you do next to nothing with them. Yoshi is helpful rarely, and the nozzle isn't applied to situations nearly as much as it should be.
One plus side is the inclusion of "classic" Mario levels, when your doppelganger steals FLUDD, and you're forced to complete the level without it. They're entertaining and varied enough to never get too boring. Another plus are the interesting Boss levels you encounter, though the last boss is quite disappointing compared to the rest. Overall, the gameplay is quite good however, and is a solid concept.
Graphics
There are so many things I could say about these, that can all be summed up in one word. GORGEOUS. These are some of the best graphics I've ever seen for the Gamecube. Scratch that, these are THE best graphics I've ever seen for the cube. They were designed brightly and with some nice realism, the water looks especially nice, and there's no pixelation or any displeasing looking character models, all rendering is smooth. They also almost never cause lag, the only tiny bit of lag I ever saw was on the final boss fight, and even that was barely noticeable. There's really nothing to complain about in this section, because I can think of no other game that's currently available on the Gamecube that has managed to capture the graphical beauty that SMS has. A ten if I ever saw it, better than the graphics of some PS2 games.
Sound
Bright and cheery island sounding music accompanies your journey throughout Isle Delfino. Most themes work well with the place they were put, never becoming grating or dissatisfying. The sound effects themselves were nicely done, with realistic water splashing sounds, and even the robotic voice of FLUDD becomes endearing (seriously, does FLUDD have a gender? Voice sounds either like a young boy or a woman, can't tell.) Peach's voice is really the only one I didn't much like, but her voice is always too squealy and whiny for my taste. And Bowser sounded like Grover from Sesame Street! If that isn't endearing, I don't know what is. I finally figured out who he sounded like at the end, and that just made me laugh. Overall, great sound, and very Mario-esque.
Value
Overall, this game really is quite wonderful, and a worthy sequel to Super Mario 64. Nothing in here stands out by itself as being particularly horrible, with one or two flaws in each category that overall don't affect it too much. If you're looking for a good platformer, Mario is probably your best choice for the cube. Miyamoto has once again come up with a classic, and I'll probably be enjoying this game for ages to come.