22:20 The bizarre grunting noise is from an instrument called a cuíca, a Brazilian drum that has a metal rod attached to the drum membrane that you play by sticking your hand inside and stroking to produce a squeak/grunt (you tune it by putting pressure on the drum membrane with your other hand). Mostly it's used for comedy sound effects, but there's a sampled version in the general midi soundbank that's found its way into some old video game soundtracks (Black Mage Village from FF IX for instance). I guess it sort of fits since it's a tropical instrument.

About the Yoshi-boat-poison-river-lily-pad-mission: Instead of the jelly they could've just put another giant pineapple in that pipe on the island like the one that blocks the Sirena Beach pipe. That one you only have to eat ONCE and then it's gone forever. That way you'd still have to take Yoshi to the island but you'd only have to do it once.

The visuals in this game have aged so, so well.

Ffffffuck. "It's ironically a game that I love to revisit, but just like going on holiday, it's not long until I want to go home again." That last point literally summed up this ENTIRE game.

Your critical eye is second to none. You could make me question my own existence.

Damn, the water still looks awesome.

Honestly, I always found the "there's no visual variety in Sunshine" argument pretty shallow. Its as if people jump to that conclusion just because its set on a tropical island. But really, it doesn't hold much ground once you compare the levels. There is no mistaking Bianca Hill's, well, hills, giant wall and windmill with the bustling port and crazy mechanical work of Ricco Harbour. Every level does a great job at distinguishing itself as different locales, but are design in such a brilliant way that it feels like a consistent island and culture.

I think it's pretty funny that Super Mario Sunshine has a more realistic geography than Dark Souls 2

I think the greatest evidence to support Sunshine being padded is just how many stars involve collecting coins. 24 sprites come from the blue coins, each level has 4 red coin missions, two in the main area, and two more secret red coin missions, 4x7=28, 24+28=52. Add the 7 100 coin missions and we have 59 sprites. This doesn't count the secret levels in Delfino Plaza which require red coin hunts like the Pachinko level. This also doesn't count the sprites dedicated to doing stupid things like pushing giant watermelons and not platforming. This means that we can assume over half of the content in the game is either collecting coins or not platforming. That's pretty ridiculous.

5:00 Nailed it lol, that's exactly how it now works on the switch. I'm rewatching all his Mario vids because of the 3d all stars release! They really are a timeless collection of game analysis. I already know I'll be marathoning his Zelda and MGS stuff again, next

22:19 Matthew's review of his roommate having sex in the room next to his. "The bizarre grunting noises can wear out their welcome very quickly."

Just imagine the secret levels in the cave as an LSD trip in a cave.

Something interesting to note, there were MANY more stages originally planned. Still existing in the game's code, there are dialogue trees for the "Delfino Express", a quick travel-esque train that would bring you from stage to stage, and there were several more stages listed in the intended train stations. Tickets would have been purchased with "Sol Coins", which can actually be seen in the early spaceworld 2001 demo video.

These reviews are simply wonderful.

"Super Mario Sunshine" is a game I enjoy conceptually - I love the Fludd mechanic, setting, and aesthetics. That said, I don't enjoy playing it - the sensitive movement, boring level design, and broken structure make it a chore to experience. Even as a kid, I found "Super Mario 64" to be the better game, and replaying both has only highlighted its predecessor's superior and tighter, more efficient and intuitive game design.

Looking back on this video, it's impressive to see how Mario Odyssey addressed a lot of these shortcomings.

"A rushed game is forever bad" makes Majora's Mask in 18 months

23:39 You don't need to throw the fruit into the basket. You can just stand over it and drop them in.

Did you delay that text about delaying games on purpose? 25:56 Oh you...

21:24 Damn the clown honking at Mario.

It's a good analysis, but I'm disappointed that you didn't touch on the game's illusion of non-linear progression towards a win condition. One of Super Mario 64's strengths was the ability to tackle levels in any order you like, obtain stars outside of your main objective, it rewarded exploring and allowed you to progress, opting to skip levels you don't like or skip stars that were too difficult to collect. The very fact that you could outright skip Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride were testament to that. In Super Mario Sunshine, events occur on the hub world as you collect more shines, and eventually you will have unlocked all of the 7 main stages. Most any player playing for the first time will collect all the shines they can in the pursuit of a final level, unaware of the enigmatic condition for entering such a level: Capturing Shadow Mario in the 7th episode of each of the 7 levels. There are no other conditions for beating the game, the end result is the 7 of the shines in 7 stages (except for one skippable shine) are completely mandatory, and the rest (which total to 70, including 24 just for blue coins) are actually less than optional, they serve no purpose what-so-ever. Where the minimum legal condition for beating Super Mario 64 was collecting any 70 stars, only one of which absolutely had to be collected in bob-omb battlefield, Super Mario Sunshine only has a single minimum legal condition for beating it. I can't help but feel this is disingenuous to the player, and acts to limit any sort of strategy or planning in attempting to beat the game as quickly as possible. The opposite end of this is collecting all 120 of the game's shines. This includes having to collect 240 blue coins scattered throughout the 7 main stages and the hub world for a total of 30 blue coins per area, in effect 3 additional shines per area, but also accounts for an entire 5th of the game's content. The major problem with blue coins aside from being cryptically hidden in a "spray at random" fashion is that they disappear and reappear between episodes with no indication of which episode you need to be scouring blue coins for. If it weren't already insulting enough that these Tanooki were holding 24 shine sprites hostage which are established as vital for the well-being of Isle Delfino, the reward for finding them all is actually downright insulting, a mere change of ending screen picture that manages to be worse than Il Piantissimo looking at Shadow Mario's paintbrush. This is in contrast to Super Mario 64's special triple jump technique, a surprise visit from Yoshi and acknowledgement of your accomplishment from Bowser, and then later Super Mario Galaxy's surprise of a Luigi mode and Super Mario Galaxy 2's final extra challenging stage.

I recall loving this game because I didn't play it in a completionist way.Because I think its the best mario control scheme, but the most time wasting game too.

Hey it's my favorite 3d Mario game! Let's see how this game holds up to Matthew's investigatory abilities. EDIT: After watching I'd say he did the game justice. He nailed all the issues and also highlighted all the places where the game shines. Great review as always Matthew.

25:00 why don't more publishers embrace the quote? That quote is at its most relevant now.

At 1:49, I just noticed that FLUDD shows footage of Mario's accomplishment from the previous game (defeating Bowser), establishing an immediately understandable connection between 64 and Sunshine.

Miyamoto: "A delayed game is eventually good." Duke Nukem Forever: "Hold my beer."

Man FUCK the lilypad level

this game had better looking water effects than gears of war 1 & 2

This is by far the best review for a video game I have ever seen in my life. You pay extremely close attention to all the details, and explain both the positive and negatives in great depth. It also finally explained why I liked this game so much while others hated it. Atmosphere in a game is very important to me, and it's because of this game's focus on building a consistent world that makes me enjoy it so much.

"...infact it's the most polished, half finished game ever made." Well that Crown goes now sadly to MGS5!

I love the way you do your conclusions over the credits of the game. It does a great job of wrapping up the video like it should.

Rewatching this nearly 9 years later, and this is still your best video. Simple, to-the-point, and packed with curious insights and observations. Miss these videos :(

Sunshine is one of my favorite games of all time because the controls and the details are just so good, but even then, I recognize all of these criticisms and you're very right about them. Something I noticed is that some of the most egregious examples of filler, non-platforming stars are delegated to Episode 8 in a stage, which means it's not required to complete the game. The Watermelon Festival and Yoshi's Fruit Adventure are both Episode 8 stars, so you can safely skip them. That doesn't excuse them entirely, but it's good that they are at least optional.

So far, I've only seen your Zelda reviews and the first half of this Mario set, but it didn't take long for me to say you are AMAZING at taking a game and looking at what it does both holistically and on a case-by-case basis. If you've heard of them, I'd say you're like Extra Credits, but study a single game in depth rather than a single idea broadly. I really like this content, and I'm looking forward to continuing this series and any more that you might have.

I am incredibly impressed with your reviews. You pay attention to so many details that most people miss, myself included. I get so much out of your videos, even with games that I've played more than 10 times. Thank you for your hard work. I'm eagerly waiting for you next videos =)

This is best review I’ve seen for this game yet. Extremely well thought out and detailed. Can’t argue with a single point you make. Well done indeed.

A very nice, analytical video. But I do take issue to what you've said at around 11:30-12:00 about the Yoshi character. Yes, Yoshi is a useful tool within Super Mario World - but between SMW and Sunshine the character DID get fleshed out quite a bit. He and other Yoshis are in lots and lots of other spin-off games as well. Even in SMW, Yoshi was quite the lovable little beast - with cute sound effects, his own little alcove at the beginning of the game, and, well, he's a dinosaur-thing. He's indeed a useful little guy, but I find it hard to believe that people only originally liked Yoshi because of his usefulness. I mean, while it was certainly advantageous to have a Yoshi in most situations it was also *fun* to have him as well.

I love the discussion about kicking away a player's crutch at 15:45 Another more recent example of this in gaming is the "Core" level from Celeste. In that game, players have likely been relying on the air dash to correct mistaken jumps the entire game, but in the 8th level of the game, you are only allowed to use the air dash twice per screen. It takes away your biggest crutch and requires you to use the more basic movement mechanics to get through the level. It's extremely engaging.

Have been following your videos since your Wind Waker review. Genuinely incredible work. I'm incredibly excited to see your future reviews. Thank you!

Matthew, you are my favorite youtuber. Part of me wishes you would put out more videos but I understand the amount of effort that must go into each one of your amazing videos must be tremendous and I can't imagine you to be the kind of person who would put quantity over quality.

Great to hear a working class Dublin accent on youtube, especially one that voices such well informed analyses.

The complaint about the music especially in regards to the frantic track seems a bit strange. Remember how all of the stages in the top part of the castle in Super Mario 64 as well as most of the special stages all had the same frantic background music? Now that was truly awful.

Fantastic job, as per usual. Always happy when I see that you've uploaded a new video. Keep up the great work!

I appreciate how well-thought-out all your videos always are.

I'm surprised you didn't highlight Shadow Mario very much, and how unlike 64 where you need at least 70 Power Stars to reach the final battle with Bowser, but which star you get was completely irrelevant, whereas here you have to beat Episode 7 of every world. Furthermore, I'm surprised you didn't point out the inconsistency between Shadow Mario being damaged by spraying him with water, but being perfectly fine when swimming through water, when you made it a point to highlight the conflicting time travel logic in your Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword reviews.

You fucking Matthew! I'm getting tired of this shit! Everytime I'm going to sleep like "Yeah, it's getting pretty late, I should go sleep." And what do I see? Your fucking awesome 30+min review of one of my favorite games! Now I can't sleep! PS. I love you man :3

SMS is the MGS2 of 3D Mario games. Hated and misunderstood when it first released because it was a departure from the highly regarded first game in the "new" series, but in retrospective was one of the most ambitious and thoughtful titles in the series.

I know this is old but I've been binge watching your series and I don't think I've ever seen such a fair analysis of any games ever. You really state what is true about the game, what is good about it and what is bad. Not what you THINK is better and what you would like to see more. And it really shows that you took the time to make sure that everything you said was right and you explored a lot too, and the clips work very well with what you're saying. It's rare that I watch a video with just clips of the game the person is talking about and no other visuals but you make it work very well :) I've only seen like 6 of these so far and I'm so excited to see more!! I'm just sad I haven't found your channel before, you make some really really good content

You are one of the best video game critics on the internet. Your eye for the way design concepts intertwine is amazing, and I have enjoyed every single review you have put out, even when I have not played the games. Your reviews of Metal Gear Solid and The Legend of Zelda franchises are borderline definitive. It will be a long time before other reviewers get close to the work you did on those. Hears to hoping this Mario series turns out just as well. I am subscribing.

You trying the throw the fruit into that basket made me laugh as you didn't just drop the fruit in by standing on the edge of the basket and hitting (B). Sunshine is still my favorite game of all time.

So happy you uploaded this just went wild watching all your reviews yesterday

I've listened to this review a lot since it came out years ago, I always enjoy it and it helps me feel old

I just noticed something Matthew..you didn't mention the coins and, rarely, stars hidden in birds~

You know time's moving too quickly when you feel nostalgic watching a video of Mario Sunshine

Been waiting for this. Great review as always

I discovered this channel a few weeks ago when you uploaded your Mario 64 review, and in the time since then I've become a Huge fan and thoroughly enjoy your opinions and critiques. Hope you continue doing what you're doing!

Also that sand bird level holy shit kill me

I feel you matt, getting headaches when playing a game. That's how I felt after I played sonic boom wii u. Too bad it didn't kill me.

Wow! Just discovered this channel and thoroughly enjoyed this review! It made a lot of points I had never heard before, and vocalized a lot of the more common ones really well. You got yourself a new fan!

Total biscuit mentioned your channel as a nominee for best KZfaq/gamer content. Congrats, I hope it brings in more traffic because these videos are great.

I'd love to watch Matt's take on the Sonic franchise, especially considering how far it's fallen. He'd have months of material to work with. I did an analysis of Sonic 1, but after discovering Matt's channel, I feel like I should just step down and let him take over considering how much more qualified he is.

I never got sunshine for game cube but now looking at some game play and hearing what Matthew is saying it seems like a great game and I wish I had tried it when I was younger. Especially since I loved Mario 64 and galaxy.

Phenomenal review as always. I am so glad that Total Biscuit recommended your Dark Souls 2 review on his port report video.

Fantastic video as usual. Thank you for making these.

i just... how can you say theres lack of visual variety and that every level follows the same laid back tropical theme, while simultaneously playing the footage of the *electric ghost manta ray which spews corrosive blue acid everywhere*

This is a good review! I've always loved this game because of its amazing controls and-like you said, little details and nuances that make it feel so great to play. The music and environment critiques are about the only things that I think are a bit more of your opinion and less brute fact. I adore the tropics, and always the levels always impressed me in their ability to all be tropical locales, and yet look very different from one another. I didn't feel they, or the music, were samey at all-rather, from the calm to the frantic these tunes brought the whole package together for me. Nothing feels quite the same as busting the game open every winter so I can pretend that my house isn't covered in snow but rather in sun. On the other hand, I agree completely with a lot of your critiques. I don't have a problem with how any of the stages are particularly laid out, save for Hotel Delfino, but a lot of the lategame missions aren't the best. Some are good, but the truth is that, even though the aesthetics and controls make this my favorite 3D Mario game, it's only my favorite throughout the 70-90 shine sprites. Going for 100% completion is a chore. I wish it didn't have to be that way, so I hope if they make a Sunshine HD or Sunshine 2 that they really go through the effort of fixing blue coins, later stages, Yoshi, etc.

Another fantastic review Matthew! I love listening to you talk, it's very intellectually stimulating. Keep it up.

Great video, man. Truly enjoyable watch.

Really liking this series so far! I'm curious to hear your opinion on the Galaxies. Galaxy 2 stands as my favorite Mario game of all time; I was never one to worry too much about linearity. The game is very much on rails, but they are interesting and well designed rails.

5:05 he predicted mario sunshine in Mario 3D all stars mechanics for fludd

Excellent point about the camera problems while hovering. I was always frustrated by that but I never really knew why until now.

Mat your are one of the best reviewers ever and your re views are the most in deph and a little spoiler heavy but i FRIKING love them

*We have no information regarding botw 2, but we're releasing skyward sword HD and splatoon 3* 31:25 "A very nintendo solution to a serious problem."

I can't wait for your Galaxy review. Sunshine felt like it had so many good ideas going for it, but the execution wasn't thought out well. A WiiU HD remaster of it would be great so long as they add in cut content/new content, let you obtain multiple stars in levels, and actually give you something worthwhile for getting a perfect save file (Luigi/Waluigi mode?). Games like Sunshine and Wind Waker, despite their flaws, have been played over and over for their art style and game feel. When I think of the perfect summer game my mind gravitates to Sunshine and then to Wind Waker. And both games are mostly flawed because they didn't provide enough gameplay which seems like something easy to give compared to making a game enjoyable to play - which both games have down in spades. In Wind Waker HD's case they didn't add in the cut dungeons, and they sold it for the same price as a newly released Triple A title... I hope Sunshine doesn't go the same route if we see it on the WiiU in the near future.

Daang, you nailed it with this review!

Nice! Been waiting for this, love your videos bub.

Thankyou!! FINALLY! Iv'e been checking nearly daily for a MONTH waiting for your next video! I stopped checking about a week or so ago cause I would be disappointed... but I checked today (coincidental, wow) and with my had on chest I just took a huge sigh of relief/happiness, as though I had just found my lost wallet. christ, I thought you weren't going to post. Please upload sooner, your vids are so great! I was one of your first subbers & you're still my fave person on my huge sub list. You're so knowledgable! how the heck do you know all this stuff? art design, technicals... What is your job / what did you study? I even learn things about art by listening sometimes. You are great at tracking story too. Thanks for never yelling into the mic, either. Please do Final Fantasy, Skyrim, Witcher, and Dragon age above all. Please please please!!!! thanks Matt

Sunshine is a great game with a great soundtrack (the acapella is great and the music is far from obnoxious).

Always love your views on everything. Good job mate! :)

Only 1/5th into the video and it has already been so wonderful and in-depth.

You don’t need to throw the fruit... You can just DROP it in the basket.

well i guess the padding in this game wasnt padding in the end, seeing as they made an entire game out of the same busywork with odyssey lol

Excellent video, I cant wait for the Galaxy video

Your reviews are amazing! Keep up the good work~

I dunno Matt, Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine hub music was pretty memorable too.

While i understand his points about how he feels the lack luster platforming of super Mario sunshine i couldn't help but feel it was in some cases a great change of pace for the franchise some of the levels such as the mission to reflect the mirrors to the egg to hatch it on the Gelato beach level were fun to play as it was a fun change or the simple clean the area missions were relaxing and you got the chance to take in the beauty of the game. I feel as though it is better to have less levels but that were also bigger is a better way of saving space and time so long as there was more content and while i can agree that some of the stars made you want to pull your hair out for there many in the 64 version that did the same. It funny you think someone who loves the sonic franchise would love the speed in a game but i felt it complement great for it to be a slower and more relaxing game than a fast movement game.

Matthew, I really love your reviews. They are some of the best I've seen online! :D

Man, I love your videos.

7.8/10 too much water

25:56 And SEGA still hasn't figured this one out.

YAY! I've been looking forward to this since your last video. :)

Your reviews are crack to me and today I finally get to re-up.

Thank you so much for this review. I always felt that there was something wrong with Sunshine that I could never put my finger on and I always really disliked the game, and I was a big fan of the NES Mario games and Mario 64 (I'd unfortunately missed out on the SNES growing up but have since played Super Mario World), so it was very jarring for me to not like a Mario game and not understand why the game felt so off. You managed to hit every nail on the head and put into words what I always felt about the game but could never form into cohesive thoughts. Now I finally understand why I disliked Sunshine so much and why it always felt so weird to me. You're the best, I'm so glad I found your work.

Actually in the lilypad level, a way that people found around missing the coins is actually running back up the length of that orange wall. If you have bad balance it's not a good idea, but if you're careful it doesn't take as long as getting back to the level.

Just found your videos. How have I missed you? You are probably the best "reviewer" I have ever watched.

I love how you analyzed the game to such a degree

"a delayed game is eventually good"cough cough mighty no 9

"...infact it's the most polished, half finished game ever made." Is Sunshine unfinished though? Unlike Wind Waker, I never felt aspects of Sunshine were unfinished.

I really enjoy your work. I've gone back and watched ones on games that I have little interest in. Eagerly waiting for your next.

Matt, seriously mate... You've done a superb job with the narrative, the points, script & your voice is so key. But I would KILL for these to have more relevant edits! All too often I loose what you are saying because I am too engrossed in your gameplay! But its a nit pik. And this won't be obscure for long. Monetize this & collect your hard earned cash coz this is the real deal right here! Well done. I love your attention to detail. Even on the occasions where I stop, (like today at 24 mins) I STILL come back & finish it off. Thanks for creating these.