One of the most prolific game designers of all time, Shigeru Miyamoto, says he “regrets” howSuper Mario Sunshineturned out - and it’ll be available on theSwitch 2. Throughout his long and storied career history at Nintendo, Miyamoto has been responsible for creating some of its most iconic franchises, includingDonkey 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, inMario Sunshinethat he deeply regrets, and it’s something he’s tried to veer away fromin laterMariogames. While you could argue it was a creative choice that servedSunshineparticularly 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 magazineNintendo Dream, translated byShmuplationsand spotted byGames Radar,Miyamoto claimed that he regretted makingSuper Mario Sunshinetoo 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 user. It’s something I very much regret.
He goes on to say thathe wantsMario- if not all his games - to be accessible to just about everyone. “Mariois 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.”
In that way,Mariois 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 whyMariogames,includingMario Kart World, are typically released as launch titles.
Mario Sunshine Is Coming To NSO Soon
But apparently, Miyamoto’s regret surroundingMario Sunshineisn’t too severe - it’s not like he’s trying to forget the game ever happened. To that end,Super Mario Sunshineis confirmed to be part ofthe 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.
AlthoughMario Sunshineis 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, andF-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 youMario Sunshineisn’t worth playingbecause of Miyamoto’s regrets. It’s my personal favorite 3DMariogame, 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.
At the same time,Mario Sunshineis 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 admits this - isthe Secret Courses. In these areas, you lose access to FLUDD entirely, and you’re forced to navigate solely using Mario’s (admittedly 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 remember the frustration of the “I’m aChuckster” 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 aboutSuper Mario Sunshinearen’t totally unjustified, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play it when it comes toSwitch 2.
