Shigeru Miyamoto Regrets Making Super Mario Sunshine

[RAMROD 104,572]

Super Mario Sunshine remains somewhat of a black sheep in the jump-and-running series - this is Mario, though, so it still had near universal acclaim back in 2002 - mainly because of how damn tough it can be at times, but that difficulty is something that series creator Shigeru Miyamoto also regretted "very much."

"I want Mario to be a game that all audiences can enjoy," producer Miyamoto said in a recently resurfaced interview from Nintendo Dream, posted to Shmuplations. "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 user. It's something I very much regret. 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."

The Mario maker specifically calls out the platformer's Secret Courses that stripped our moustachioed man of his FLUDD - the big water canon strapped to the plumber's back that lets him both wash paint off of surfaces and glide in the air with downward-facing water beams, something that made early 3D platforming much less clunky. Miyamoto said he "absolutely wanted to include" them because that kind of "obstacle-based platforming" is part of "Mario's roots" - and he wanted people to have the "'I died 200 times, but it was fun!'" feeling. Still, Miyamoto couldn't help but regret that players have to clear those stages before moving forward: "I think we should have allowed people to go the final stage even if they can't beat it."

It's interesting to look back at comments made more than two decades ago since you can definitely see a course correction with the Super Mario Galaxy games, which relegated potentially the entire series' hardest stages to the end and postgame, and maybe an overcorrection with Super Mario Odyssey, which was a tad too simple for my tastes. But no matter which direction Mario leans, Miyamoto always seemed to have his finger on the pulse.

 

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/super-mario/nintendos-shigeru-miyamoto-very-much-regretted-making-super-mario-sunshine-so-hard-as-it-should-be-something-that-even-grandma-and-grandpa-can-pick-up-and-play/

[Red 94,909]

The only 3D Mario I’ve never played

[Ceres 3,204]

I respect his viewpoints about Sunshine- I was a fan because it was an unexpected difficulty.
 

I think current Mario games are skewing a bit too easy and makes me question if it’s worth paying $60 for something I can breeze through. I hope the new one coming out had more of a challenge in some areas.

Odyssey was fun but I felt the challenging bits were the final run and all the photo quests which I just ignored. 

[darkgaga 2,983]

I played it as a kid and though I loved it, I remember how difficult it could be indeed. I am even wondering if I have ever completed it to be honest. But I was like 6/7 yo

[Red 94,909]

5 minutes ago, Ceres said:

I respect his viewpoints about Sunshine- I was a fan because it was an unexpected difficulty.
 

I think current Mario games are skewing a bit too easy and makes me question if it’s worth paying $60 for something I can breeze through. I hope the new one coming out had more of a challenge in some areas.

Odyssey was fun but I felt the challenging bits were the final run and all the photo quests which I just ignored. 

My problem with Odyssey was that a lot of moons were ridiculously easy while some were so damn ****ing hard and it felt unfair that both had the same weight, I feel like those easy moons should count as one and the hardest as three. 

[clownery 3,857]

Can someone tell me what made this game difficult? I have never played it

[zerojk 4,837]

"I don't remember ARTPOP" teas

literally mario sunshine is the ARTPOP of the series

[Davidsdaze 156]

I beat it once as a kid by sheer luck. He’s not kidding; the secret stage ones… those were a huge pain. I replayed it with the Mario allstars pack for switch, and haven’t bothered beating it again. 

[Ceres 3,204]

47 minutes ago, clownery said:

Can someone tell me what made this game difficult? I have never played it

The main game you had the FLUDD- a water jetpack that helped with defeating enemies and extra jump distance. 
 

in order to access final levels you had to complete separate levels without FLUDD, making it much harder. Also some had strict time limits to finish. 

[PunkTheFunk 123,643]

Whaaat??? Super Mario Sunshine is amazing. He has no reason to be regretful. That game is a huge part of my childhood.

[27monster27 11,330]

Oh his fanbase is about to have another "he thinks we're stupid" reaction. A game that is a part of a series like this getting hate from him will not be viewed kindly by his supporters.

[Bronco 6,281]

1 hour ago, clownery said:

Can someone tell me what made this game difficult? I have never played it

A large factor in the difficulty was the same thing a lot of 90s/early 00s platformers had problems with. 

3D environments were still relatively new and tech was constantly updating. 

So controls would often be a little janky, hitboxes and pathing wasn't perfect etc.

I love Super Mario Sunshine but some of the secret levels he mentions were difficult as **** which is fun but then you could be nailing all the time sensitive inputs etc and then get ****ed by a little bit of game jank and Mario would toss himself off the edge into oblivion lol

[DopeEnigma 921]

17 minutes ago, PunkTheFunk said:

Whaaat??? Super Mario Sunshine is amazing. He has no reason to be regretful. That game is a huge part of my childhood.

I agree, it’s still very fun and like you say the unexpected difficulty in this game and others make them more memorable and enjoyable when you come back to them. 

[elijahfan 24,919]

My first ever home video game 

Loved it very much, tho I'll admit I've never managed to finish it...

[Gohan 16,134]

I thought he was going to trash Super Smash B. but then I remembered it wasn't his idea