Mario is Melting
There
were two big surprises at this year's Space World show: a Zelda game that shocked the gaming community and an interesting new Mario game. Zelda was surprising to most of us simply because we expected to see a lavishly detailed, realistic version of Zelda in the same vein as what was displayed by Nintendo at last year's show. Instead, we were shown a cel-shaded Zelda, which very much resembled a cartoon. While a lot of Zelda fans were outraged at the change initially, things seem to have calmed down significantly since then. In addition to the Zelda trailer, Nintendo revealed a short first glimpse of Mario Sunshine. The trailer received a mixed response; some liked the smooth, rounded Mario and his realistic world, while others criticized the design of the game's environment, saying that it doesn't look at all like the Mushroom Kingdom that we all know and love. In this feature, I take a closer look at the Space World trailer and provide my thoughts and speculation on what Mario Sunshine might be all about.
Lovely, isn't it?
The Island Village
The trailer for Mario Sunshine takes place on an expansive island village. The village appears to be full of things to do; it is littered with roads and paths, houses, trees, pools and what appears to be some kind of marina. Many websites have suggested that the village in the trailer is actually part of a level in Mario Sunshine. While this could be true, I have a different theory.
A level within a level? Or the entrance to a new world?
In the above picture, we can see what appears to be the entrance to one of the buildings lining a road in the village. The walls on either side of the entrance itself seem to become progressively darker as we look from right to left, from the path into the entrance itself. It's the same kind of effect seen in the Zelda games on Nintendo 64 and specifically, it looks similar to the various entrances and exits seen in the forest areas of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Is this island village actually a hub of sorts, like Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64? Or is this place actually the entrance to another part of the level? The latter being a feature that was used in both Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel, Banjo-Tooie. Nonetheless, it's an interesting part of the trailer which warrants further thought.
Mario proudly models his weird new contraption
Mario's New Toy
One of the major points of interest in the Mario Sunshine trailer is the strange new object that Mario has strapped to his back. Most agree that the object bears some kind of relationship with the water gauge located in the top right hand corner of the screen. However, there has been some debate as to exactly what the device does and how it has been implemented into the game.
It has been suggested that the device on Mario's back holds water and periodically spurts water onto his head to keep him cool, with the presumption that Mario somehow heats up. After all, the game is titled Mario Sunshine and so it is only logical to assume that the heat of the sun plays a major role in the game. My question is how exactly does Mario become hot in the first place? Does his water gauge simply deplete gradually as he is exposed to the sun, or could there be other factors involved?
Mario wipes the sweat from his brow
One theory of mine is actually related to the kinds of tasks that the player must perform in Mario Sunshine. In the trailer, we see Mario running around the streets of the seaside village, jumping off walls and performing all kinds of cool tricks. But running around all day and performing such tricks when the harsh sun is beating down on you must make you thirsty, right?
I believe that as Mario is exposed to the sun, his water gauge depletes very gradually. And every so often, he must find water (either a pool or beach) to fill up his little "water cooler" to replenish his health. However, what if the water gauge was to deplete faster than normal if Mario were running or jumping? As Mario runs, jumps, and flips under the hot sun, maybe he'll lose energy more quickly and thus, be forced to drink water more often to keep his energy (hydration) levels high.
Swimming pools can be found scattered around the village
As you can see in the above image, there are swimming pools located at various points around the village. These pools can presumably be used to refill Mario's water gauge. But what if Mario needed to find a certain item further away, where there are no pools nearby?
For example, let's say that Mario sees a Sun Coin (I'll get to those a bit later) on the top of a large building. In order to reach the highest point on the building, Mario has to run up stairs and along ramps and ledges, which are littered with enemies. Under normal circumstances, Mario might just run past or jump over these enemies in order to avoid them and reach the top. But with no pools or water in the immediate area, Mario is unable to replenish his water supply. The more he runs, the faster he loses water. If he loses his entire supply of water, he becomes much weaker, taking more damage from enemies (similar to when Mario loses his cap in Super Mario 64). Or perhaps he might run a little slower, or his attacks might be weaker. Take your pick.
So in this situation, how does Mario reach the top of the building while also maintaining his precious water supply?
Perhaps, in these circumstances, the player must be more careful and use a little more strategy than normal. Think of those thin ledges in Super Mario 64 where you need to quietly sneak across in order to avoid falling, or those areas where you need to crawl past a sleeping piranha plant. In situations where there is no water supply nearby, the player might be required to use either stealth or some other strategy. This could potentially be a lot more interesting than the relatively simplistic idea of a standard level of water depletion that never changes.
Another theory of mine is tied to what's been said in the previous paragraphs. But in this second theory, I am assuming that water supplies are more plentiful and can be found at fairly regular intervals.
A few quick squirts would surely take care of this guy
If your water level drops slowly over time as you are exposed to the sun, but drops a little more quickly if you run around, you may still end up having more than enough water to last for quite a while. But perhaps your water (which essentially resembles Mario's strength) doubles as a weapon. Most enemies might be easily defeated with a few kicks, punches or butt-stomps, but larger enemies might require you to spray water at them from the little water machine on your back. In this case, the player would need to carefully balance the way they use their water supply. On one hand, you might need to release some water every now and then to ward off Mari's enemies. But on the other hand, you might need to preserve what you can to keep his health up. This approach may add even more variety to the game. And to make things even more difficult, perhaps the idea of the water having a double use could be combined with the idea that some areas of the environment contain less water than others.
Sun Coins: what are they good for?
The Sun Coin Enigma
The Mario Sunshine trailer had another interesting element -- the "Sun Coin". What exactly are these coins and what do they do? Read on for more speculation...
Mario Sunshine's gameplay screens are unique in the sense that there doesn't appear to be much in the way of information or counters. There is no indicator that displays the number of lives the player has left, there is no indicator displaying stars and there is no indicator displaying the traditional golden coins seen in most Mario games. Rather, there are only two onscreen indicators; the water gauge in the top left corner and the Sun Coin counter in the bottom left corner. The fact that the only item counter to be displayed during gameplay sequences is the Sun Coin counter, suggests that these Sun Coins play a vital role in the game.
In Super Mario 64, golden coins were used to increase health (as well as taking a quick swim in any body of water). In Mario Sunshine it appears that the water gauge is directly tied to Mario's health/power. The other primary onscreen indicator in Super Mario 64 was the star indicator. The gathering of stars for the purpose of opening up new levels was the primary focus of the game. Could it be that Sun Coins perform a similar function in Mario Sunshine? Maybe the Sun Coins are used to open up new levels or to grant new abilities to Mario over time.
However, there is something present in the Mario Sunshine demo that leads me to believe that Sun Coins do not play that kind of role. Presuming that the level in the Space World demo was one of the early areas in the game, we can see in the above image that Mario has collected 41 Sun Coins. In Super Mario 64, the stars themselves were usually hidden and more often than not, the player was required to undertake some sort of task in order to unlock a star.
Mario jumping for a Sun Coin
The above image isn't terribly clear (due to the motion blurring effects used in the game), however, the Sun Coin can clearly be seen floating above the tree. In this case, it appears that the Sun Coin is merely sitting out in the open for Mario to take. This leads me to believe that the coins are more plentiful than the stars were in Super Mario 64. On the flip side, some stars in Super Mario 64 were relatively easy to find. So it's quite possible that the Sun Coins could infact be the "star" or "jiggy" of Mario Sunshine.
Relaxing in the shade of a tree. Notice the empty water gauge
Hiding From the Sun
Finally, there is one more area of interest in the Mario Sunshine video that I think is worth mentioning. The screenshot above shows Mario standing under the shade of a tree with an empty water gauge.
It is obvious that the shade somehow protects Mario from the sun's harsh rays. But at this point, I am unsure exactly what its purpose might be. As I mentioned in my previous theory regarding the water device on Mario's back, Mario might move more slowly or become particularly vulnerable to enemy attack if his water meter is empty. The screenshot above demonstrates that Mario doesn't seem to actually die when his water gauge is completely empty.
Does the shade offer some kind of protection to Mario? Perhaps, if Mario stands in the shade for long enough, he somehow "recharges" his energy. Maybe the shade of the tree acts like a warp portal, once again, in the same way that standing under a tree in Super Mario 64 allowed the player to warp to different parts of the environment. It is possible that trees are located far from water -- standing in the shade of a tree might transport the player to the nearest source of water so that they can replenish their supply.
A well, maybe?
If you look closely at the above image, you can also see what looks like some kind of well behind Mario. The object has been circled to make it easier to see.
If the tree is in fact some kind of warp portal, it is possible that it sends you to one of these wells so that you may stock up on water. The well might even be some kind of save point, who knows.
Though the surface has only been scratched and very little has been revealed, Mario Sunshine promises to be a very interesting game. As always, N-Sider will be following the progress of Mario Sunshine very closely. If you have any feedback about this article or Mario Sunshine in general, don't hesitate to email me.