Super Mario Sunshine is a game that has gotten a lot of flack over the years by Mario fans alike for being too different from the traditional Mario formula. However, there have been fans over the years that have shown a love for the game, some saying that it's their favorite 3D Mario game, if not their favorite Mario game of all time. As much as I want to join the people who love the game, I can't, because of the pain the game gave to me, and I'm here to explain my hatred towards the game.

If you watch SomecallmeJohnny's review of the game, you would see my comment (I'm Hub Hikari), and I said that the level design is god awful. Well, I should explain myself a lot better than that. You see, for the most part, Sunshine's level design isn't so awful, as much as it is restricted. Unlike Super Mario 64 where the environments where expansive, in Sunshine, they're restricted, which doesn't bother me too much because it makes the levels more straightforward, but I can see where people might not like this approach. The problem I have is with the mission structure. Having to do every mission to get to splash Shadow Mario with water is a rather stupid way to go about the mission structure, but it's something else I can deal with. Hell, the fact that the game is different doesn't bother me, in fact, I like that it's different, as it gives Sunshine it's own identity. I like FLUDD, and as for his different nozzles, I find them better than the caps Mario had in 64, as they were more versatile, and weren't so situational, the graphics are very well done, even though the music isn't too memorable, I like what I hear in it, and the controls are tight and responsive as they should be. So... why do I hate Sunshine? Well... it's all because of two factors: The secret Shine Sprites, and the personal memories I have with it.

Have any of you played a game to where you enjoying it, and then you got to that one section that ruined the experience? I don't let that happen to me, but in Sunshine's case, it wasn't just one part: It was several. The Pachinko board, the Chuckster mission, the endless Red Coin missions, the poisonous river to where you have to ride Yoshi for five minutes to get to the stage, the goddamn... Watermelon Festival... which took me over TWO HOURS to complete. Missions like these pissed me off to my core, and I wanted to go for the 100% completion goal. I already did this for the first Galaxy and 64, so why not do it for Sunshine? It can't be that bad, right? It is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE!!! It doesn't help that the Blue Coins are everywhere, and they make the journey even more painful. I was working to my core, and I was getting pretty far too: I had 97 Shine Sprites, and I was getting close to achieving my goal. Then the personal issues came...

As I mentioned, I was 97 Shine Sprites in, and I was impressed with myself after dealing with some of the worst the game had to offer, I felt like I could handle anything the game threw at me... but then, disaster struck. My little brother (who was probably 9 at the time), wanted to play the game. I needed a little break, so I let him play the game. Not too long after, he told me that my game file was deleted. At first, I thought he was joking, so I played along with him... but then he showed me that he wasn't lying. He told me that the GameCube controller went apeshit, and as soon as he dropped it, the controller deleted my file. To this day, I can't trust him with any of my games, and even though he's 13 now, I'm still holding it against him. The realization that I couldn't get my data back... I wanted to kill him, and I nearly grabbed a knife in retaliation, but I stopped myself, as it would be wrong to kill my brother over a video game. At this point, I was filled with rage, sadness, and broken feelings. However, I wanted to know what I was working for, trying to reach for that 100% goal. I looked up what I would have gotten, and seeing that all it was just a fucking postcard at the end of the credits... I couldn't accept it. My heart was broken and crushed upon seeing that image, as I spent all my time, frustration, and effort into something that was a complete waste of my time. Yeah, 64 didn't have a grand award after getting all 120 Power Stars, but at least it was SOMETHING! At that point, I said that I hate Sunshine, and it's one of the worst experiences I've had with a game, and one of the worst Mario games ever made.

I know it's stupid to call a game bad after personal experiences and horrible missions, but if you were me, working for that goal with everything you had in you not to give up playing, it would hurt you too. Since then, no matter how many times I've tried to play Sunshine, I couldn't get far, because I have a strong distaste for it after what it did to me. It's almost like the perfect girlfriend. You have a great time with her, but then you find out that she was cheating on you with 5 other guys, and she enjoys your pain and suffering. I know that's being overdramatic, but that's how I feel towards Sunshine. I hate this game, and no matter how much I try to convince myself to go back, I can't. Fuck Sunshine, and it's one of the worst experiences I've had with a video game.