Is it just me, or does Isle Delfino feel a lot more hostile than it did in 2002? Honestly, going back to a walkthrough Super Mario Sunshine in the 2020s is a slap in the face for anyone used to the hand-holding of Super Mario Odyssey. This isn't just a platformer. It’s a physics-based nightmare disguised as a tropical vacation. Between the janky collision physics of the Chuckya-like Piantas and the way Mario slides off a slope if his pinky toe touches the wrong pixel, this game demands a level of precision that feels almost illegal today.
Let's be real. Most people remember the music and the bright colors. They don't remember the absolute rage induced by the "Secret" levels where Shadow Mario steals FLUDD and leaves you to navigate spinning wooden blocks with a jump that feels just a little bit too floaty.
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The Weird Logic of Progressing through Isle Delfino
Most Mario games have a linear progression: get enough stars, fight the boss, move on. Sunshine doesn't care about your total Shine Sprite count. Not really. You could have 70 Shines and still not be able to enter Corona Mountain.
The game has a very specific, somewhat annoying requirement for "beating" it. You have to finish Episode 7 of every single main stage. That’s it. That’s the goal. Episode 7 is always the Shadow Mario chase. If you haven't caught that blue jerk in Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbor, Gelato Beach, Pinna Park, Sirena Beach, Noki Bay, and Pianta Village, you aren't seeing the credits. It’s a weird design choice that leaves a lot of the game’s best content, like the 100-coin Shines or the hidden world Shines, feeling like optional busywork rather than a path to victory.
Bianco Hills: The Easy Start that Lies to You
Bianco Hills is the tutorial world, but even here, the difficulty spikes. Episode 1 and 2 are basically "learn how to spray water at a big Piranha Plant." Easy enough. But then you hit the hillside cave. This is your first "Secret" level. The music shifts to that iconic a cappella remix of the original Super Mario Bros. theme, and suddenly, you have no FLUDD.
Mario’s movement is different in Sunshine compared to 64. He’s faster, but he has more momentum. When you're on those rotating orange and blue platforms, one wrong flick of the analog stick sends you plummeting. My advice? Don't run. Walk. Small taps. If you try to speedrun these without FLUDD, you're going to see the "Game Over" screen more than you’d like to admit.
Navigating the Jank in Ricco Harbor and Gelato Beach
Ricco Harbor is where the verticality kicks in. It’s also where the blooper racing happens. Walkthrough Super Mario Sunshine guides often gloss over just how sensitive the steering is on those bloopers. If you hit a wall, you're dead. Instant life lost. The green blooper is the fastest, but unless you’re a pro, stick to the yellow one. It's the "middle ground" option that won't launch you into the stratosphere because you grazed a wooden beam.
Then there's Gelato Beach.
The Sand Bird.
Mention the Sand Bird to any millennial gamer and watch their eye twitch. It’s Episode 4 of Gelato Beach, and it’s essentially a test of patience. You’re on a giant bird made of sand cubes flying through the air. You have to collect red coins. The trick isn't the coins themselves; it's the moment the bird tilts its wings to turn. You have to stand on the very edge of the "spine" or use the Hover Nozzle to hover in place while the geometry shifts beneath you. If you try to walk on the wing while it’s vertical, you're toast.
The Sirena Beach Hotel Nightmare
Sirena Beach is home to the Hotel Delfino, and it houses what is arguably the most broken level in Mario history: The Mysterious Hotel Lobby (Episode 1). You have to fight a giant King Boo, but the fight is RNG (random number generator) nonsense. You throw peppers at his tongue. If the slots don't give you peppers? Too bad.
But that's not even the hard part. The hard part is the "scrubbing" levels. The game's engine has this weird quirk where if you leave a tiny speck of goop, the mission won't end. You’ll be running around a deck for ten minutes looking for a pixel of electric slime. Use the spin spray (rotate the stick and hit R). It covers the most ground.
Advanced Movement: Beyond the Hover Nozzle
To truly master a walkthrough Super Mario Sunshine, you have to stop relying on the Hover Nozzle. It's a crutch. The real pros use the Belly Slide.
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If you spray a bit of water on a flat surface, dive (B while running), and then just keep sliding, you move at triple Mario's walking speed. You can even jump out of the slide to keep the momentum. This is how you beat the timer on the red coin challenges. Also, the Side Somersault is your best friend. In 64, the triple jump was king. In Sunshine, the height you get from a side flip combined with a quick burst of the Hover Nozzle can bypass entire platforming sections.
Blue Coins: The Completionist’s Fever Dream
There are 240 Blue Coins in this game.
Ten Blue Coins equals one Shine Sprite.
This means 24 Shines are locked behind these things.
The problem? There is no in-game tracker to tell you which ones you're missing in which episode. Some Blue Coins only appear in Episode 3 of a level, while others only appear in Episode 6. If you're going for 100%, you basically have to use a checklist. Don't try to wing it. You'll end up with 239 coins, staring at a map of Noki Bay, wondering which butterfly you forgot to spray ten hours ago.
Pinna Park and the Yoshi Problem
You don't get Yoshi until you beat Episode 4 of Pinna Park and then deal with Shadow Mario in the Delfino Plaza. Yoshi in Sunshine is... different. He's tied to a hunger meter and he dissolves if he touches deep water. He also spits juice instead of fire or shells.
In Pinna Park, you need him for the "Wilting Sunflowers" and to get into certain secret pipes. The juice can turn platforms into different shapes depending on what fruit Yoshi ate. It’s a clunky mechanic. Honestly, the Yoshi levels are usually the low point of a 100% run because the platforming feels much heavier and less responsive when you're riding the dinosaur.
The Final Stretch: Corona Mountain
Once you've cleared Episode 7 in all seven worlds, the plaza floods. You head to the cave behind the Grand Pianta Statue. Corona Mountain is a gauntlet of spikes, fire, and a boat section that has ruined many controllers.
The boat.
You have to use the water nozzle to "propel" the boat, but the physics are inverted and incredibly sensitive. If you bump into a rock, the boat sinks. You die. The trick here is to use tiny, rhythmic bursts of water. Do not hold the button down.
The final boss fight against Bowser in the giant hot tub is actually surprisingly easy compared to the mountain itself. You just use the Rocket Nozzle to ground pound the five icons around the tub. It’s a bit of an anticlimax, but after the stress of the boat, most players are just happy to be done.
The Technical Side: Why Does It Feel This Way?
If you're playing this on the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection on Switch, you're getting a slightly different experience than the GameCube original. The Switch version bumped the resolution to 1080p (in docked mode) and updated the UI, but it didn't fix the internal logic of the game.
The game was famously rushed for its original release. This explains the lack of a Blue Coin tracker and the "unfinished" feel of certain collision boxes. In Noki Bay, for example, there are walls you can literally clip through if you wall-jump at the wrong angle. It's a "beautiful mess" of a game. It has more personality than almost any other Mario title, but that personality comes with a side of frustration.
Essential Tips for Your Run
- The Spin Jump: This is the highest jump in the game. Rotate the left stick 360 degrees and hit A. You’ll twirl upward. Combine this with the Hover Nozzle to reach platforms that look impossible.
- Water Management: You can refill FLUDD in any water source, but also from bottled water and certain fruits. Always top off before entering a "Secret" portal.
- Camera Control: The camera in Sunshine is notoriously finicky. Always use the C-stick (or right stick) to manually adjust before making a big jump. Never trust the "Auto" camera.
- The Rocket Nozzle: It's unlocked in the Plaza after you get 30 Shines and have the Turbo Nozzle. It’s essential for finding the high-altitude Blue Coins.
Real World Context: The Sunshine Legacy
For years, Sunshine was the "black sheep" of the 3D Mario family. It didn't have the revolutionary impact of 64 or the polished perfection of Galaxy. But in recent years, the speedrunning community has kept it alive. Seeing a runner blast through a walkthrough Super Mario Sunshine in under three hours is a masterclass in exploiting the game’s momentum.
Experts like Average_Trey or Samura1man have spent years documenting every glitch and optimal path. They’ve turned a game that many found frustrating into a high-speed art form. Even if you aren't trying to break world records, looking at their movement patterns can teach you how to handle Mario's speed better.
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Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
- Prioritize Episode 7s: If you just want to see the ending, ignore the extra Shines. Focus entirely on reaching the Shadow Mario chase in each world.
- Master the Dive-Slide: Practice this in the main Plaza. It is the fastest way to move and makes the 100-coin challenges much less tedious.
- Use a Blue Coin Map: If you're going for 100%, do not attempt it without a reference. Check off each coin as you get it. This will save you hours of backtracking.
- Learn the "Hover Cancel": You can tap the hover button to arrest your momentum without using much water. This is vital for landing on small pillars in the "Secret" levels.
- Calm Down: Seriously. When the physics act up and Mario bounces off a wall for no reason, take a breath. Sunshine senses fear. If you're tense, you'll over-correct your jumps and fall.
Stop trying to play Sunshine like it’s a modern, polished platformer. It’s a product of its era—experimental, a bit broken, but incredibly rewarding once you learn the rhythm of the water. Get out there, clean up some goop, and try not to throw your controller during the Sand Bird mission.
Next Steps for Your Completionist Journey
- Download a checklist for the 240 Blue Coins, categorized by level and episode.
- Practice the "Triple Jump to Hover" combo in Delfino Plaza to master vertical movement.
- Watch a "No-FLUDD" speedrun to see how Mario's base movement can be exploited for faster platforming.