7: Super Mario Sunshine
As the direct follow up to Mario’s first 3D platform adventure, Super Mario Sunshine didn’t do quite as well as it should have. The game was arguably shorter and smaller in scope than Mario 64 in many ways. Where as the N64 game had varied levels based around fire and ice and sand and the sky and even one set inside a clock, Super Mario Sunshine stuck mostly to it’s tropical island theme.
Plot wise this felt very much like a side story as the grand stakes of Mario having to rescue Peach were replaced with Mario and peach on holiday and Mario being forced to do community service for a crime he didn’t commit.
Also the game controlled quite differently to every other game on this list as Nintendo became obsessed with their ‘back packs for Mario characters’ approach long before Captain Toad would be weighted down by a backpack. After Luigi lost his jumping ability due to his ghost sucking backpack in Luigi’s Mansion, Mario gained a water based jet pack which changed up the approach for all of Mario’s platforming in this game. Mario could now effectively float and adjust landings like tails from Sonic the hedgehog and the game, whilst still very fun, was almost like a reverse Jet Set Radio as you had to go around the levels and remove graffiti in order to collect the shines which were this game’s power stars.
