Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy?

[Malon_Forever]

Which do you feel is better? I have a feeling many of you are going to take the latter, but I'll go with Sunshine. I've completed Sunshine (90 some shines), and I'm almost finished with Galaxy, and I can pretty much say Sunshine is my choice. The main reasons for me are because the control of Mario in Galaxy seemed, for lack of a better word, dumbed down, and the linear path of each level/galaxy. Seemed like Mario Galaxy had very little exploration, and that's one of my favorite aspects of Sunshine (and ofcourse Mario 64).

So what do you say?

[Therealqtip]

Too many people hate Sunshine for some reason, it kicks ass MUCH better then Galaxy.

[SkiDragon]

I like Galaxy more, for the same reason you disliked it. The more linear nature of the levels make it feel more like a traditional 2D Mario game, and makes the gameplay more action oriented.

Sunshine is a decent game, but again, my favorite levels in that game were the special platforming-only stages.

[j_factor]

I agree with SkiDragon. Exploration is nice in some games, but in Sunshine, I felt like there wasn't much "there" to make the exploration actually interesting.

[BetaWolf47]

This is a no-brainer for me: Super Mario Galaxy. The amazing little scenarios you get put in make the game amazing, especially all of the little gravity tricks in the Bowser levels. While Sunshine was a good game in its own right, it felt far less polished. Fludd pretty much removed any kind of timing or skill needed for platforming, while some parts seemed impossible due to the game's flawed mechanics. Some parts in Sunshine were downright BS.

[Tupin]

Super Mario Sunshine, just seemed a lot more open.

[Sonicwolf]

I chose Galaxy as I found Mario Sunshine to be a little boring in comparison.

[VG_Maniac]

I never liked Sunshine that much. All the stages had that sunny tropical theme to them...and that got pretty boring. I also didn't like the whole water gun deal. Galaxy was the best Mario game to come out in years. I definitely think it's the best 3D Mario by far (yes, even better than Mario 64). The stages were fresh feeling and very innovative, new power ups like the bee and spring suite were awesome, the flying airships returned, and the soundtrack was amazing (fully orchestrated music for the win).

[Sonicwolf]

(yes, even better than Mario 64).

Im usually the last person to care about graphics but I really think Mario 64 has aged terribly, graphic-wise. I prefer mario 64/ds over Galaxy myself though.

[Zing]

Wow. I can't believe this is even up for debate. Galaxy is one of the best Mario games ever made. Sunshine is one of the worst.

[Berserker]

Galaxy, no contest.

I was only able to appreciate Sunshine a little bit after I basically made myself go through its frustrating and lazily-implemented gameplay. It's like these tiny nuggets of fun are there, but you have to trudge through all these barriers around the beginning of the game to reach them.

Bottom-line, Sunshine is a game I have to force myself to pick up, and Galaxy is a game I have to force myself to put down, which is what I expect from a Mario platformer.

[Cobra Commander]

Sunshine all the way.
I haven't even finished Galaxy. It just never really did interest me. I think it may be the controls. I hate them.

[heybtbm]

Galaxy is great, but I'm going with Sunshine.

[BydoEmpire]

Galaxy is a better game all round, but strangely, I finished Sunshine and never got around to finishing Galaxy. Sunshine had a lot of frustrating and unpolished bits. Galaxy is just pure fun.

[joshnickerson]

What, no "I love them both!" option?

Sunshine was a bit rough in spots, while Galaxy was a bit too linear, but they are both awesome games in my book.

[kupomogli]

Mario 64 and Sunshine blew. I haven't played Galaxy, but two out of two is pretty bad.

[Solertia]

I dunno, I kinda like them both equally. They're both amazing. I really don't understand where all the hate toward Sunshine comes from, unless there are a LOT of people who hate great games?

[Zing]

Sunshine is just a meandering game that doesn't have any focus. One of the the main things you need to do is collect blue coins, except there is no easy way to keep track of which coins you have collected or where they may be located in the first place. If you enjoy randomly exploring every nook and cranny in wide open, non-linear worlds, then you would like it.

I don't.

Here is an article that only indirectly mentions Sunshine, but the general feeling is spot on.

"Super Mario Sunshine's blue coins are perhaps the biggest design misstep in the series' history -- randomly hidden coins that translate into the game's star equivalent that were tedious to find, which made it difficult to judge if they'd all been found."

[BHvrd]

Sunshine had way too many boring parts that dealt with using the water gun and made it feel too much like a chore rather than a fun Mario game.

Galaxies for me.

[retrocollectorguy]

I enjoyed both but found Sunshine a bit tedious to get into and Galaxy way too easy and straight forward. All the levels guided you through them and there seemed to be very little search-for-it-by-yourself areas. And it ended too abruptly imo.

Never understood why many people hate Super Mario 64. I thought it was a masterpiece at the time and a classic today. There were quite a few stars that were impossible to find without the help of a strategy guide or someone helping you. Something that SM Galaxy did not have. If anything, I dont like the New Super Mario Bros and cant understand the hype that game gets?