Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine, released in 2002 by Nintendo's internal development group, continues directly from the three-dimensional line the series opened on the Nintendo 64. Its central addition is a water pack worn on Mario's back that reshapes both movement and problem solving: it sprays water, allows a short hover above the ground and permits sliding across surfaces. Water also serves to clean polluted environments, which forms the game's main objective.

The whole game is set in a tropical region, and unlike its predecessor the world is more unified, with a hub area from which individual zones open up. Alongside tasks built around the pack there are sections where you lose it entirely and the game reverts to pure platforming. Those stretches are routinely singled out as the hardest, because they forgive nothing in the way of imprecision.

The GameCube had the power for detailed water simulation and densely populated environments, and the game leans on that as its main visual signature. Reception at launch was divided: some players welcomed the new mechanics while others objected to camera handling and to repetition in certain objectives. In hindsight Sunshine is viewed more warmly, largely because of how boldly the series was willing to alter its own fundamentals at that moment. Single-player, with areas unlocked progressively.

Progression is worth noting too. You complete objectives within each area, some required and some optional, so you decide how much of the game to see. The series still uses that model, and Sunshine is the entry where it is most tightly bound to one island setting.