A good attempt at trying to bring some change to the series.
User Rating: 9 | Super Mario Sunshine GC
Now a lot of people think this game doesn't live up to the Mario name, well I disagree. The platforming and level design aren't the best in the series, but they're not the worst either. In my opinion, the platforming and level design are actually better than most other plat-formers out there. Now, for years the Mario series has been merely running and jumping, but now they tried to throw in something new, a little water cannon backpack. Some may argue that it is annoying to use and detracts from the game-play, but in my opinion if you take the time to get used to it, it ends up adding something new and somewhat refreshing to the mix. If you are desperate to go back to the basics there are a few neat levels with weird visuals and zany music in which you simply try to get through the level in time, and with no water cannon backpack. I thought these were a good addition and mixed it up a bit. The difficulty was pretty hard at times. I know there were some levels that took me a long time to finish. The soundtrack is nothing to get excited about, but I guess its not really bad either. The visuals look pretty good, but some people will argue that its not "realistic" enough, I think that the day Mario starts looking realistic is the day I stop buying Mario games. The water effects in particular are surprisingly good, and the water reacts to your movement. Overall I'd say give it a try, you can probably get it for cheap now anyway. 
