I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I still remember the day Super Mario Sunshine launched in 2002. It was a summer's day and I couldn’t wait to line up at the GameStop in the Natick Mall to pick up my pre-ordered copy. It was getting rave reviews — a 9.4 from IGN, a 9.75 from Game Informer, perfect marks from Nintendo Power! — so it felt like an instant classic. Players at the time seemed to agree, considering that the 3D platformer would go on to become the third best-selling GameCube game of all time. Everyone loved Super Mario Sunshine.

In 2026, that sounds like a bit of revisionist history. These days, Sunshine is regarded as one of Nintendo’s most divisive games; it’s both overrated and underrated at the same time. Some players continue to go to war for it, praising its wealth of creative ideas. Others are proud haters who point to poor camera controls and a handful of dud levels to give its apologists a reality check. Switch 2 owners will get to play jury this week, as Super Mario Sunshine is available now as part of Nintendo Switch Online’s GameCube collection.

Allow me to play the role of prosecution as you dive into Mario’s most polarizing adventure: Despite some undeniable flaws, Super Mario Sunshine is the one Mario game that best captures the ethos of the entire series. Even today, I am still happy to go to bat for one of Nintendo’s most inventive and focused games.

Super Mario Sunshine was a heck of a curveball in 2002. Rather than following up the generational Super Mario 64 with a reliable sequel that included more levels in the more-of-the-same vein, Nintendo put an inventive twist on the........

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