I suppose New Super Mario Bros. 2′s release has (for some reason) triggered a bizarre ripple in the Internet biosphere that forces people to defend the Gamecube Super Mario Sunshine. Why else would there be articles on 1UP and Nintendo Life attempting to make amends for it so close together?

I’ve ripped into Sunshine a few times here at LVLs. (with my Super Mario Sunshine piece from the Mario 25th serving as the best one), so I’ll refrain from going into an enormous diatribe about the game. Instead, a brief rebuttal. Despite my grievances, Super Mario Sunshine mechanically is a good game. It’s fun, it’s got enough Mario charm, and despite its failings is perfectly competent. However, when you compare that to most of Mario’s other adventures, it doesn’t stack up. Mario games are not GOOD games, they’re usually EXCEPTIONAL games. That is the issue. It doesn’t reach those high notes the series usually does, and that’s what is so disappointing about it. It’s easily the low spike on the Mario timeline, and nothing (in my opinion) can erase that. So, these arguments for reconsidering its quality may try to validate some of the poor decisions and awkward moments, but in the end it doesn’t make it any better as a Mario game. My two cents.