This level shows the advantage of having a lot of mechanical depth and a loose mission structure. Most of these routes most probably were not intended, but since the game has so many movements options and the objective is simply to get to a place that is seemingly out of reach, it ends up encouraging players to come up with a bunch of out of the box solutions. It also help that the actual solution is not super obvious so people are actually likely to look around and find those alternate methods.
I feel that during play testing of this level they just decided to not patch out or alter a lot of paths too, maybe help encourage some ever so slightly like with water and goop placements and shit
This is what I loved about sunshine and 64. Every game after this started heavily nerfing Mario’s movement and abilities and loosing this non linear style of game play at least until Mario odyssey brought it back (well except for his long jump and wall kicks which are still heavily nerfed)
@@DaGhostToastRoast I enjoyed Odyssey but I wish the wall jumps were like sunshine and I wish sliding down hills gave you a huge momentum boost like it used to.
I did the water trick too first time. I love this level as it seems like an impossible insurmountable challenge (to a kid) that ends up having so many ways forward.
Did it the same way, but i hated the level instead because of how frustrating it was, trying out all the really difficult paths with no idea on how to solve it.
@@TheOfficalAndI Same method, same sense of "What?? How am I supposed to beat this?!" after several failed attempts. For a while, I even considered it one of the "worst" levels before I got to the poison river one lol
Are we the same person? I swear same, this one seemed impossible until the river happened, then free the tree with water and then by doing some fancy footwork I was able to finally get where I wanted to, a few droplets of water at the time. Ayee those were the good times.~
I don't think I've beaten this mission the normal way in over 10 years. Jumping off the tree, damage boosting from the wind gusts and the river droplets all take less time and are infinitely more fun than the underground cage labyrinth they expect you to take. At times, I even feel like they intended people to be able to skip the level. If they REALLY wanted you to do it the way they wanted, they would have put the shine on the underside of the level, where the actual challenge is.
I think they just didn’t realize how in depth people could really go with the tiny patches of safe spaces in the mission. Putting the shine UNDER the level where the intended route kinda makes the “the floor is lava but you have to get to the middle of it” pointless if the objective has nothing to really do with the lava imo. Still I agree the intended method is not fun at all.
1:17 's underground pathway was my strategy as a kid for clearing it. I have an intense love for games that leave gaps for independent problem solving like this. Structured solutions are great, but the most memorable moments are always when it feels like you, as the player, found a solution by your own merits.
This blows my mind! 😮 Didn’t know there was so many ways to tackle this mission. I wish one day Sunshine gets a sequel. It was my favorite Mario before Odyssey .
Don't forget jumping from goop boy to goop boy to platform your way across the sea of lava! Seriously, though, I think I solved the level the way you did as a kid my first time through. I remember trying the method of walking along the narrow paths but getting frustrated because one wrong step and Mario would bounce in place eternally. But once I started maturing to the point of paying attention to dialogue, I found out that the game literally does point you in the direction of what is by far the easiest method.
See, this is what I love about The Goopy Inferno: it allows for player creativity alongside having an intended method for players that either prefer to do it traditionally or they don't feel like coming up with their own method. There is no right way, and yet, everyway is the right way.
50% of my mind is blown away from watching this because I actually never thought about the intended way to clear this until I clicked on this video meanwhile the other 50% of my mind is laughing at this video so hard because the dripping water effect is the only way I’ve done this since I was a kid!
When I first played the game as a young lad, I did it the "intended" way because I knew about the underside the village connecting, previous missions showing it off. It was just a matter of finding the right hole to start with, and that nice Piñata tells us that the one he is next should be the right one. Then I just followed the coins, because coin trails are good directions. My young mind was dancing in the designers" palms, yes child, keep collecting those coins all in a row like we wanted.
In discussions where it's relevant I always say Sunshine is my favorite game, in large part due to how acrobatic Mario is and how the simple act of jumping and diving around is fun. The loose structure of this mission drives that point home, especially with all the potential routes you showed. Great video
I found the intended method the first time I played the game as a kid by talking to that one pianta, but afterwards I thought "that can't be the only way to get to the mayor". So I retried the level a few times and eventually found the method where you climb up and jump down from the tree on the left and that's how I've always completed that level ever since.
I beat it via the intended way: by ground pounding the hole where the Pianta tells you the mayor is, and by following the trail of coins. I didn't know that you could beat this mission in so many different ways. Cool!
This is what led to people making so many challenge runs i think. So many ways to get over it, but so much to do to make it as challenging as possible. Also my method was the one of going to the tree and doing a dive jump. Literally the way it was done here was the exact way i done it, because "Well why not use the tree?" Was my first instinct when no water.
One of my favorite past times is going on Twitch and seeing who is casually playing Sunshine (If any) and asking them to play this level just to either see which method they use, or if it is a first playthrough, watch and see which method they end up with. This is one of my favorite Mario Levels in general and I am glad that ZoomZike was able to see the same enjoyment of this level as I was.
This mission has been a personal favorite for this reason. Love how many ways you can approach it. I beat this level using the intended route; mostly because I talked to every Pianta as a kid. Great video!
The fact that this comes so late in the game, likely intended to be one of the last Shines you get given Pianta Village is the final world unlocked, I would bet that the million different ways you can approach this was the dev team's way of saying "By now, you should know every trick in the book, you've surmounted every challenge we've thrown at you. Now put all of that to work and figure out how to get through."
I did it exactly the same way! With the water, just like you did years ago. And I was mindblown by this video, this is amazing So many ways, and we did it the same way✨
One of the best Mario Games of all time. Each world, if you talk to each the NPCs for every mission, you get to see how the world changes around them. Even as things changed during the mission. Delfino Island as a whole was full of life.
So many different pathways! I only knew of the Tree Jump (Chuggaaconroy), Intended Way (Mario Wiki), Damage Boost Method and the River Way (Particular Mushroom). Truly, such a game that is very hated for Blue Coins, is also very open ended at times. Like Chuggaaconroy said in 2011: "It's better than Mario 64."
you know any other youtuber would’ve made this into a fifteen minute or longer video essay about level design but you got your point across so beautifully quick and to the point. really loved how you scripted this
Everyone: "Wow, it's crazy how the dynamic level design of Sunshine can allow the mission to be completed in so many different ways! The designers really knew what they were doing!" Nintendo: "...mhm."
I have to say, seeing all these methods really makes me appreciate the little quirks of Sunshine's mechanics! Amazing how stuff that may have seen superfluous, like the water splashing physics, can actually aid a player and open more options
I like this. The idea of solving a level in multiple different ways with multiple different paths, it's something I absolutely love in video games. Sonic does this quite frequently, too, which happens to be another one of my favorite game series.
the crazy thing about this level and it's variety of ways to beat it, is that with all the different routes you showed in this video. you never mentioned the route that I took as a kid (and adult) to beat this level lol
bro, i wish you uploaded this YESTERDAY. I did a race today with this mission, and thought I had a badass route, but literally every route you showed was much faster, and even easier than mine. Curse you. And thank you.
this reminds me of how I couldn't figure out how to unlock the wing cap in SM64, so I spent hours shooting myself from the floating island over and over until I got the coins needed for the star
One of the goals you can get in SMS bingo is to do this level damageless, and your river strat from childhood is the strat of choice for many runners because of how solid it is.
Thank you so much for making this. I’ve had a really difficult week, and seeing that you uploaded a video about one of my favorite games really cheered me up. Furthermore, learning that you complete this level in the EXACT WAY I DO really brightened my day significantly. I love what you do and I love how you look at things, man. Keep being you 😌
Holy flip ZoomZike, I clicked on this thinking okay, I know the intended route haha let’s see, not only did you blow my mind, you made me realize I didn’t even complete it the intended way. I did the other underground one where you go across the bridge. Nice! Can’t believe it’s been 20 years and I’m just finding out.
Oh my gosh I remember finding so many ways you could beat this level as a kid! I had a huge fear of falling underneath the world(I always forgot which was action button) so I never went with that method. Amazing!
The water trick was the way I beat this level for the first time too! I eventually found the intended route, but I always forget where it is, so I usually end up doing some stupid unconventional route even if I initially go in intending to do the "correct" route.
This was the beauty of Mario Sunshine- there were many levels that had multiple ways to beat them it just let the player explore and goof around. Something that was lost in Galaxy and the newer more linear Mario games.
I remember trying the water droplet strategy, as well as the guide intended method, the latter of which I found hard because of the maze-like underside, the electric things, & trying to go to the underside via the mushrooms approached from the further-from-the-village side of the bridge. It's a testament to the exemplary design of this game, how many ways there are to beat this level! I wish there were more with such open-ended design! Thanks a ton for uploading this analysis video!
It’s this sort of creative level design that I truly miss in modern 3D Mario games. In Odyssey, there’s many objectives you can do in any order, similar to Super Mario 64, but unZike 64, there really aren’t too many ways of going about each one of them. Sunshine is a great game that can offers the player with experimentation that not many other games offer.
I was fortunate enough to have the official Super Mario Sunshine Player's guide with me when I got my GameCube YEARS ago. I was stuck on this exact level for a ludicrously long time, but managed to beat it using that guide of mine. It instructed me to follow the path that leads to the underground scaffolding, over the mushrooms, back to the surface, & on my merry way to Fludd & the mayor. It really gets me how difficult the levels in this game were. I never struggled with any Super Mario game I played as much as this one.
I was the one who used the intended method. Back then, I never thought of using an alternative way to clear this stage. In hindsight, I maybe should’ve experimented a bit more.
i love all your videos dearly, but i must admit that the ones where you run through a level's design are some of my absolute favorites. it's really incredible getting to hear the story of how you began analyzing that kind of thing! especially since super mario sunshine is a childhood favorite!
As a kid, I hated The Goopy Inferno because of how hard that intended path was. When I got a little older I tried the Wind Gust enemy damage boost method, and that felt easier, and once I discovered the River method, I never went back. I might try that Tree Jump, though. That looks fun.
Funnily enough the technique you did at 0:35-0:40 was the exact same technique I discovered by accident back in 2005 when I first played this game. The goopy inferno and consequently Pianta Village were the last shines I needed to unlock Corona Mountain. Aaaaaaahhhhh the memories.
It's been so many years I'm not sure which method I used the first time, but I think I remember taking the intended route and also using the droplets early on. I always thought this mission was super cool, and is a big reason why Pianta Village is my favorite level in Sunshine.
I think the very first time i did this mission, I did it the "intended" way, and later playthroughs I got lost trying to find the "right" way and found some of your alternate paths.
I did a few different methods as a kid, none under. I didn’t much care for this level then but now I love it. Lots of unintended options because of good game design!
When playing the game as a kid, I always took what is clearly the Intended route. I never found out about the water splashes removing goop, and any other route requires precise movement across narrow paths that I wouldn't have been mechanically skilled enough to complete. Well, except for the path at 1:17 I suppose. I think I might have started that one up, but wasn't confident/skilled enough in my jump distance to make it to the bridge, so I considered it a dead end from there. These days, I mainly do the big tree jump directly to the goal area.
This variety of options allowing you to use your tools to achieve the dame objectives in multiple ways from different directions is a core aspect at the heart of the 'sandbox' distinction for 3D Mario games when compared to the 'course clear' entries.
I distinctly remember as a kid thinking jumping off of those little goop bubble guys to safe areas was the only way. Then I discovered the tree and that became my 2nd way.
This was such a wholesome little love letter video about game design. I have a similar story but with crazy gadget in sonic adventure 2. I was very confused about the intended way to beat the puzzle room at the end even after watching my uncle play it for me. But I remember where the switch was and used the springs on the back of the goal ring platform to go back to the beginning of the room and for years that was the only way I knew how to beat that stage lol.
I never got to this stage as a kid without a guide, because I was clueless back then. In this world, I was stuck on the first shine because I wasn't in the habit of talking to NPCs, so I didn't get the memo about grabbing the Chain Chomplets' tails, let alone the idea of launching them into the river to cool them off permanently. But there was a similar phenomenon when I did Ricco Harbor's first shine. The game intends for you to go to the side of the first ship that you cross and navigate through the yellow mesh cube, then raise a submarine to get to the upper section of the cobble cliffs. But I just used the hover nozzle to get to that point instead. As for this shine, the guide I owned did cite the underground catwalks as the "official" way of completing the shine, but cited your river drips as a "Lava-ly" shortcut. There's also the "Toad-ally Awesome" shortcut which involves you hopping across the mushroom platforms below the stage's starting point to eventually converge with the intended method.
I always loved how this level brought a childhood game of “THE FLOOR IS LAVA” but into a video game. I have fond memories of just doing whatever in this level, not even to win but just to simulate the fear of barricading myself from the goop... I don’t know what little me was thinking. It was only years later I learned the water method 😅
Walking across the railing to get to the giant tree to jump off was always my method, and it wasn't until like 5 years ago that I found out about the "proper" method, but I gotta say; using the droplets that fling off you when you jump out of the water is a 9000 IQ play I would have never have thought of in a million years! I gotta try is sometime!
Geez... I never realized there were so many possibilities. I knew about the option where you climb the giant tree and dive from the palm thanks to other internet searches, and there's the "canon" route but I always found it to be way too hard. I actually REALLY like your water droplet solution. The others are cool too, but the fact that there's so many I never considered is blowing my mind. Cool video!
I think I went in one of the flip panels right by the starting bridge, and had a longer, more difficult obstacle course to go through than if I took the hot springs panel. Fantastic level design, because the existence of the big, risky, and slow underside area makes you feel extremely cool when you skip it. The underside area may have vague lore implications. Could be some kind of emergency escape infrastructure, like their version of those stairs outside of tall apartment buildings. Or maybe a glimpse into the scaffolding infrastructure that was built in the "grand tree", before they made the huge platform that is the town.
I knew what the intended route was to an extent, but I was terrified of the underside, so I just used the water method. These days I can definitely use the intended route, but I like to skip most of it by simply dropping down at the start and jumping across the mushrooms.
This mission really delivers on the promise of having multiple ways to clear a mission that fans of 3d mario like to say comes from the movement. The puzzle like setup for the level really makes it clear.
Of all the many years of playing Sunshine as a kid, I never knew any other way other than using the river. Spin jumping out of the river really was fun, and for me, it made sense since you use that very same body of water to cool the baby chain chomps earlier on...if I'm remembering correctly that is. ^^; In any case, I've always thought that the river method was the intended method, although, I was aware Sunshine often allowed multiple methods of getting a shine, so I figured that was possible for this level too. (I just never cared to explore any other way, lol!)
I intend to make a game that’s sort of a half-Metroidvania Kirby inspired game and one plan is that in order to access different routes in the stages and obtain collectibles, you’re faced with a chalk and of some sort, which the gimmick of it is like this mission; there is a clear solution for those who want it, but also several alternatives the player can use with the knowledge and awareness they have of the game’s gimmicks
People hate on Sunshine for its complex and unpredictable physics, but it's those unique physics that make it one of the most dynamic and freeing platformers ever.
1:33 My way was to go across those poles to get to the tree from step 2. I didn't think you could walk along the edge, so I tried hanging off of it but I think Mario has a limit to how long he can do that.
This is the only time I had to play A PREVIOUS mission to try and understand the layout as a kid. That's how I found the endgoal is so close to the central pond which is connected to the edge of the stage through a river... Sure enough you that isn't blocked by fire goop, PLUS you can use the physics of the game to make use of the few water drops Mario drips after leaving water and you can form a path. Incredibly satisfying way to reach the goal.
I beat it three different ways: Going underneath as I was 'meant' to. Then, in subsequent playthroughs, I got tired of that and started using the water at the mini lake. The third time I forget how I managed it, but I recall jumping off a piant and reaching a shroom. Probably a fever dream, though.
I always used the water off Mario's body method. I never knew about these other ways until a couple of years ago. I was so baffled as a kid, because there was never a mission where you had to throw water off Mario's body to get rid of goop until ep 3 of Pianta Village (or so I thought).
Ahh, i remember this mission. At first, i tried and failed dozens of times to win this the intended way. Then, i tried the "climb the giant palm tree and make a giga jump" method, but i kept slipping off or not jumping far enough. Although i think i eventually beat it this way. Well, either that way, or by somehow forcing my way through the lava, which i also remember doing. Maybe i jumped off of one of the little goo monsters and had barely enough distance and HP to lava-hop to a safe mushroom fence. I think i noticed the "riverwater" method waaay later, as i remember being astonished that jumping out of water lets you clear the goop around you, as you're dripping wet. I eventually did beat it the intended way, too. And pretty much in every other way you've shown in this video. Ahh, good old times. Honest talk, i much prefer the "unintended" ways. Had much more fun with them!
Wow that is actually really cool. I only knew about the water trailing route and the main/intended one. This makes me want to try the others. Lol honestly I do really admire the level design for this one now because it almost feels like the creators intended there to be multiple ways based on skill level. That is super cool and well thought. More and more we discover the passion put into Sunshine.
I think I remember jumping off the starting bridge to get below, or maybe using one of the trees to reach the mushrooms below… I gotta find my old disc real quick-
I think that is the beauty of this level design. "Yes there is an intended way, oh you found another path? Nice job!" Thats it, no punishment for thinking outside the box and using the tools you have available to solve a problem or work around it
As a child I was definitely throwing water to make a path. It took over a decade before I saw a livestream with chat listing all the ways they did the mission.
I have always done the second method shown in this video. Though instead of tip-toeing on the edge, I would have Mario hang off the edge and cross that way.
Thanks to Celerity 910 for suggesting this video topic in the June Zoom 3 Finale!
How did you beat The Goopy Inferno?
I beat it the intended way, I liked to talk to every npc
Thank you again! And my first one was the leaf method.
I did it the intended way in 3D Allstars.
tree method never fails.
The intended way though it did take me a while since I thought I could just damage boost through the lava.
This level shows the advantage of having a lot of mechanical depth and a loose mission structure. Most of these routes most probably were not intended, but since the game has so many movements options and the objective is simply to get to a place that is seemingly out of reach, it ends up encouraging players to come up with a bunch of out of the box solutions. It also help that the actual solution is not super obvious so people are actually likely to look around and find those alternate methods.
I feel that during play testing of this level they just decided to not patch out or alter a lot of paths too, maybe help encourage some ever so slightly like with water and goop placements and shit
This is what I loved about sunshine and 64. Every game after this started heavily nerfing Mario’s movement and abilities and loosing this non linear style of game play at least until Mario odyssey brought it back (well except for his long jump and wall kicks which are still heavily nerfed)
@@DaGhostToastRoast I enjoyed Odyssey but I wish the wall jumps were like sunshine and I wish sliding down hills gave you a huge momentum boost like it used to.
@@tetermc I agree. I also miss when U jumps weren’t so heavily nerfed.
@@DaGhostToastRoastand it was the better for it (galaxy is the best game of all time)
I feel like this level specifically taught me to try literally any path other than the intended one
Sounds like a life lesson too. We often look for an intended path for us in life, but maybe other paths can be funnier or even better to take.
I did the water trick too first time. I love this level as it seems like an impossible insurmountable challenge (to a kid) that ends up having so many ways forward.
Did it the same way, but i hated the level instead because of how frustrating it was,
trying out all the really difficult paths with no idea on how to solve it.
@@TheOfficalAndI Same method, same sense of "What?? How am I supposed to beat this?!" after several failed attempts. For a while, I even considered it one of the "worst" levels before I got to the poison river one lol
@@That_One_Xatu Yeah that one is the worst, considering how frustrating it always was to even _get_ there!
I knew there was no way the droplets were intended, but I didn't care.
Are we the same person? I swear same, this one seemed impossible until the river happened, then free the tree with water and then by doing some fancy footwork I was able to finally get where I wanted to, a few droplets of water at the time. Ayee those were the good times.~
what i love about this video is that it's really clear, it's not padded with boring or useless content, and goes straight to the point
unlike this level 😎
@@kreeperkiller4423 The Goopy Inferno seemed pretty streamlined to me.
Agreed
That's an incredibly low standard.
I don't think I've beaten this mission the normal way in over 10 years. Jumping off the tree, damage boosting from the wind gusts and the river droplets all take less time and are infinitely more fun than the underground cage labyrinth they expect you to take. At times, I even feel like they intended people to be able to skip the level. If they REALLY wanted you to do it the way they wanted, they would have put the shine on the underside of the level, where the actual challenge is.
I think they just didn’t realize how in depth people could really go with the tiny patches of safe spaces in the mission. Putting the shine UNDER the level where the intended route kinda makes the “the floor is lava but you have to get to the middle of it” pointless if the objective has nothing to really do with the lava imo. Still I agree the intended method is not fun at all.
The guy...
I don't think I've ever beaten this the normal way, i don't even remember what that is
I’m late but same I did it the right way probably three times and usually die or go to the wrong place so I just went in the tree idk
My attempt included washing all the paint by backflipping from the water source
1:17 's underground pathway was my strategy as a kid for clearing it. I have an intense love for games that leave gaps for independent problem solving like this. Structured solutions are great, but the most memorable moments are always when it feels like you, as the player, found a solution by your own merits.
I always thought that was the only way to beat the level to be honest
I feel like that was the actually intended way. Little did they know I'm way too impatient and will find any way to make this mission go by fast
That was my preferred method too. I died way too many times to count, but I eventually got it in the end.
I believe that Route is the Official Route?, but you can quickly bypass it using the River Skip to quickly bypass that Path.
This blows my mind! 😮 Didn’t know there was so many ways to tackle this mission. I wish one day Sunshine gets a sequel. It was my favorite Mario before Odyssey .
The ol’ tree method. Works 10% of the time but ain’t subject to unavoidable clipping.
i think you meant to say that it IS subject to unavoidable clipping lol
I did that as a kid 0:30
@@spimbles nope. That method would be the intended method.
Haha I thought I was the only one. I actually got it second try...
Don't forget jumping from goop boy to goop boy to platform your way across the sea of lava!
Seriously, though, I think I solved the level the way you did as a kid my first time through. I remember trying the method of walking along the narrow paths but getting frustrated because one wrong step and Mario would bounce in place eternally. But once I started maturing to the point of paying attention to dialogue, I found out that the game literally does point you in the direction of what is by far the easiest method.
See, this is what I love about The Goopy Inferno: it allows for player creativity alongside having an intended method for players that either prefer to do it traditionally or they don't feel like coming up with their own method. There is no right way, and yet, everyway is the right way.
Imo this is peak Mario. I didn’t like how later games heavily nerfed Mario and essentially forced you to doing the intended way for everything.
50% of my mind is blown away from watching this because I actually never thought about the intended way to clear this until I clicked on this video meanwhile the other 50% of my mind is laughing at this video so hard because the dripping water effect is the only way I’ve done this since I was a kid!
Same. I’ve beat this game a handful of times lol
First time I beat it was definitely with the water trick. Once I saw you could simply jump from the giant tree I felt like a silly goof.
Hey NBC! Love your channel
When I first played the game as a young lad, I did it the "intended" way because I knew about the underside the village connecting, previous missions showing it off. It was just a matter of finding the right hole to start with, and that nice Piñata tells us that the one he is next should be the right one. Then I just followed the coins, because coin trails are good directions. My young mind was dancing in the designers" palms, yes child, keep collecting those coins all in a row like we wanted.
In discussions where it's relevant I always say Sunshine is my favorite game, in large part due to how acrobatic Mario is and how the simple act of jumping and diving around is fun. The loose structure of this mission drives that point home, especially with all the potential routes you showed. Great video
Never once have I ever felt I did this level the intended way.
I found the intended method the first time I played the game as a kid by talking to that one pianta, but afterwards I thought "that can't be the only way to get to the mayor". So I retried the level a few times and eventually found the method where you climb up and jump down from the tree on the left and that's how I've always completed that level ever since.
I beat it via the intended way: by ground pounding the hole where the Pianta tells you the mayor is, and by following the trail of coins. I didn't know that you could beat this mission in so many different ways. Cool!
Super Mario Sunshine is truly a timeless game. Sharp controls, design that barely ages, awesome soundtrack
True 👍 still my fav game
Super Mario Sunshine is the reason I wanted a GameCube.
That game is awful. Everything you said are all terrible, is this just a troll comment?
@@barkley8285 Are you a troll comment?
@@JRS06 "a fan of cars, star wars, harry potter and" lmfao cringe
This is what led to people making so many challenge runs i think. So many ways to get over it, but so much to do to make it as challenging as possible.
Also my method was the one of going to the tree and doing a dive jump. Literally the way it was done here was the exact way i done it, because "Well why not use the tree?" Was my first instinct when no water.
One of my favorite past times is going on Twitch and seeing who is casually playing Sunshine (If any) and asking them to play this level just to either see which method they use, or if it is a first playthrough, watch and see which method they end up with.
This is one of my favorite Mario Levels in general and I am glad that ZoomZike was able to see the same enjoyment of this level as I was.
I did use that water when I was a child 0:30
I've played this game at least 4 times and NEVER spoken to that pianta. In a way the intended solution kind of seems like the most obscure one too
This stage perfectly encapsulates why I love this game. There are so many ways to beat a stage, whether intentional or not.
This mission has been a personal favorite for this reason. Love how many ways you can approach it. I beat this level using the intended route; mostly because I talked to every Pianta as a kid. Great video!
The fact that this comes so late in the game, likely intended to be one of the last Shines you get given Pianta Village is the final world unlocked, I would bet that the million different ways you can approach this was the dev team's way of saying "By now, you should know every trick in the book, you've surmounted every challenge we've thrown at you. Now put all of that to work and figure out how to get through."
I did it exactly the same way! With the water, just like you did years ago. And I was mindblown by this video, this is amazing
So many ways, and we did it the same way✨
One of the best Mario Games of all time. Each world, if you talk to each the NPCs for every mission, you get to see how the world changes around them. Even as things changed during the mission. Delfino Island as a whole was full of life.
So many different pathways! I only knew of the Tree Jump (Chuggaaconroy), Intended Way (Mario Wiki), Damage Boost Method and the River Way (Particular Mushroom). Truly, such a game that is very hated for Blue Coins, is also very open ended at times. Like Chuggaaconroy said in 2011: "It's better than Mario 64."
Now that I’m a game developer/designer. This just has me giddy. It’s beautifully crafted level design. What an amazing game
you know any other youtuber would’ve made this into a fifteen minute or longer video essay about level design but you got your point across so beautifully quick and to the point. really loved how you scripted this
Everyone: "Wow, it's crazy how the dynamic level design of Sunshine can allow the mission to be completed in so many different ways! The designers really knew what they were doing!"
Nintendo: "...mhm."
I have to say, seeing all these methods really makes me appreciate the little quirks of Sunshine's mechanics!
Amazing how stuff that may have seen superfluous, like the water splashing physics, can actually aid a player and open more options
As a kid I beat this level the same way you did at 0:35. I never realized there were so many other ways. That is amazing
I like this. The idea of solving a level in multiple different ways with multiple different paths, it's something I absolutely love in video games.
Sonic does this quite frequently, too, which happens to be another one of my favorite game series.
the crazy thing about this level and it's variety of ways to beat it, is that with all the different routes you showed in this video. you never mentioned the route that I took as a kid (and adult) to beat this level lol
bro, i wish you uploaded this YESTERDAY. I did a race today with this mission, and thought I had a badass route, but literally every route you showed was much faster, and even easier than mine.
Curse you.
And thank you.
this reminds me of how I couldn't figure out how to unlock the wing cap in SM64, so I spent hours shooting myself from the floating island over and over until I got the coins needed for the star
This was always one of my favourite levels because of how dynamic it was
One of the goals you can get in SMS bingo is to do this level damageless, and your river strat from childhood is the strat of choice for many runners because of how solid it is.
Thank you so much for making this. I’ve had a really difficult week, and seeing that you uploaded a video about one of my favorite games really cheered me up. Furthermore, learning that you complete this level in the EXACT WAY I DO really brightened my day significantly. I love what you do and I love how you look at things, man. Keep being you 😌
Holy flip ZoomZike, I clicked on this thinking okay, I know the intended route haha let’s see, not only did you blow my mind, you made me realize I didn’t even complete it the intended way. I did the other underground one where you go across the bridge. Nice! Can’t believe it’s been 20 years and I’m just finding out.
This is the level that singlehandedly left a kinda sour taste in my mouth when I remember Sunshine.
I've literally never seen the intended route with the safe patches with coins, wow.
Oh my gosh I remember finding so many ways you could beat this level as a kid! I had a huge fear of falling underneath the world(I always forgot which was action button) so I never went with that method. Amazing!
The water trick was the way I beat this level for the first time too! I eventually found the intended route, but I always forget where it is, so I usually end up doing some stupid unconventional route even if I initially go in intending to do the "correct" route.
This was the beauty of Mario Sunshine- there were many levels that had multiple ways to beat them it just let the player explore and goof around. Something that was lost in Galaxy and the newer more linear Mario games.
I remember trying the water droplet strategy, as well as the guide intended method, the latter of which I found hard because of the maze-like underside, the electric things, & trying to go to the underside via the mushrooms approached from the further-from-the-village side of the bridge.
It's a testament to the exemplary design of this game, how many ways there are to beat this level! I wish there were more with such open-ended design! Thanks a ton for uploading this analysis video!
It’s this sort of creative level design that I truly miss in modern 3D Mario games. In Odyssey, there’s many objectives you can do in any order, similar to Super Mario 64, but unZike 64, there really aren’t too many ways of going about each one of them. Sunshine is a great game that can offers the player with experimentation that not many other games offer.
Masterpiece of a game! One of the only games I enjoyed learning to speedrun and not just executing it.
I was fortunate enough to have the official Super Mario Sunshine Player's guide with me when I got my GameCube YEARS ago.
I was stuck on this exact level for a ludicrously long time, but managed to beat it using that guide of mine. It instructed me to follow the path that leads to the underground scaffolding, over the mushrooms, back to the surface, & on my merry way to Fludd & the mayor.
It really gets me how difficult the levels in this game were. I never struggled with any Super Mario game I played as much as this one.
I was the one who used the intended method. Back then, I never thought of using an alternative way to clear this stage.
In hindsight, I maybe should’ve experimented a bit more.
I'm sad to say that I never knew the intended way. I tended to do the water trick that you did.
I always used the river method, I had no idea about the intended way until... just now! Sunshine is so fascinating.
i love all your videos dearly, but i must admit that the ones where you run through a level's design are some of my absolute favorites. it's really incredible getting to hear the story of how you began analyzing that kind of thing! especially since super mario sunshine is a childhood favorite!
I will always remember doing the droplet splashing method when I played this as a kid. It was messy, but it got the job done!
As a kid, I hated The Goopy Inferno because of how hard that intended path was. When I got a little older I tried the Wind Gust enemy damage boost method, and that felt easier, and once I discovered the River method, I never went back. I might try that Tree Jump, though. That looks fun.
Funnily enough the technique you did at 0:35-0:40 was the exact same technique I discovered by accident back in 2005 when I first played this game. The goopy inferno and consequently Pianta Village were the last shines I needed to unlock Corona Mountain. Aaaaaaahhhhh the memories.
It's been so many years I'm not sure which method I used the first time, but I think I remember taking the intended route and also using the droplets early on. I always thought this mission was super cool, and is a big reason why Pianta Village is my favorite level in Sunshine.
I think the very first time i did this mission, I did it the "intended" way, and later playthroughs I got lost trying to find the "right" way and found some of your alternate paths.
I did a few different methods as a kid, none under. I didn’t much care for this level then but now I love it. Lots of unintended options because of good game design!
When playing the game as a kid, I always took what is clearly the Intended route. I never found out about the water splashes removing goop, and any other route requires precise movement across narrow paths that I wouldn't have been mechanically skilled enough to complete. Well, except for the path at 1:17 I suppose. I think I might have started that one up, but wasn't confident/skilled enough in my jump distance to make it to the bridge, so I considered it a dead end from there.
These days, I mainly do the big tree jump directly to the goal area.
This variety of options allowing you to use your tools to achieve the dame objectives in multiple ways from different directions is a core aspect at the heart of the 'sandbox' distinction for 3D Mario games when compared to the 'course clear' entries.
I distinctly remember as a kid thinking jumping off of those little goop bubble guys to safe areas was the only way. Then I discovered the tree and that became my 2nd way.
This was such a wholesome little love letter video about game design. I have a similar story but with crazy gadget in sonic adventure 2. I was very confused about the intended way to beat the puzzle room at the end even after watching my uncle play it for me. But I remember where the switch was and used the springs on the back of the goal ring platform to go back to the beginning of the room and for years that was the only way I knew how to beat that stage lol.
I never got to this stage as a kid without a guide, because I was clueless back then. In this world, I was stuck on the first shine because I wasn't in the habit of talking to NPCs, so I didn't get the memo about grabbing the Chain Chomplets' tails, let alone the idea of launching them into the river to cool them off permanently. But there was a similar phenomenon when I did Ricco Harbor's first shine.
The game intends for you to go to the side of the first ship that you cross and navigate through the yellow mesh cube, then raise a submarine to get to the upper section of the cobble cliffs. But I just used the hover nozzle to get to that point instead.
As for this shine, the guide I owned did cite the underground catwalks as the "official" way of completing the shine, but cited your river drips as a "Lava-ly" shortcut. There's also the "Toad-ally Awesome" shortcut which involves you hopping across the mushroom platforms below the stage's starting point to eventually converge with the intended method.
I always loved how this level brought a childhood game of “THE FLOOR IS LAVA” but into a video game. I have fond memories of just doing whatever in this level, not even to win but just to simulate the fear of barricading myself from the goop... I don’t know what little me was thinking. It was only years later I learned the water method 😅
Walking across the railing to get to the giant tree to jump off was always my method, and it wasn't until like 5 years ago that I found out about the "proper" method, but I gotta say; using the droplets that fling off you when you jump out of the water is a 9000 IQ play I would have never have thought of in a million years! I gotta try is sometime!
Sakurai: "No! This isn't how you're supposed to play the game!"
Geez... I never realized there were so many possibilities. I knew about the option where you climb the giant tree and dive from the palm thanks to other internet searches, and there's the "canon" route but I always found it to be way too hard. I actually REALLY like your water droplet solution. The others are cool too, but the fact that there's so many I never considered is blowing my mind. Cool video!
I think I went in one of the flip panels right by the starting bridge, and had a longer, more difficult obstacle course to go through than if I took the hot springs panel. Fantastic level design, because the existence of the big, risky, and slow underside area makes you feel extremely cool when you skip it.
The underside area may have vague lore implications. Could be some kind of emergency escape infrastructure, like their version of those stairs outside of tall apartment buildings. Or maybe a glimpse into the scaffolding infrastructure that was built in the "grand tree", before they made the huge platform that is the town.
The water trick is insane. Props to you that you came up with this as a child.
I knew what the intended route was to an extent, but I was terrified of the underside, so I just used the water method. These days I can definitely use the intended route, but I like to skip most of it by simply dropping down at the start and jumping across the mushrooms.
THE FIRST METHOD WAS EXACTLY HOW I BEAT IT! Awkwardly splashing water from the river onto the goop! I'm so glad someone made a video about it.
Love this mission for how many ways you can tackle it and how cool it is to climb about the underside if you take the "intended" routes
This mission really delivers on the promise of having multiple ways to clear a mission that fans of 3d mario like to say comes from the movement. The puzzle like setup for the level really makes it clear.
Of all the many years of playing Sunshine as a kid, I never knew any other way other than using the river. Spin jumping out of the river really was fun, and for me, it made sense since you use that very same body of water to cool the baby chain chomps earlier on...if I'm remembering correctly that is. ^^; In any case, I've always thought that the river method was the intended method, although, I was aware Sunshine often allowed multiple methods of getting a shine, so I figured that was possible for this level too. (I just never cared to explore any other way, lol!)
I intend to make a game that’s sort of a half-Metroidvania Kirby inspired game and one plan is that in order to access different routes in the stages and obtain collectibles, you’re faced with a chalk and of some sort, which the gimmick of it is like this mission; there is a clear solution for those who want it, but also several alternatives the player can use with the knowledge and awareness they have of the game’s gimmicks
I really love this whole concept. I LOVE games that make you feel like it wasnt an environment designed for you, because, well, it shouldn’t be
I adore the sandbox aspect of this game.
People hate on Sunshine for its complex and unpredictable physics, but it's those unique physics that make it one of the most dynamic and freeing platformers ever.
I guess it's called the black sleep of mario games for a reason.
1:33 My way was to go across those poles to get to the tree from step 2. I didn't think you could walk along the edge, so I tried hanging off of it but I think Mario has a limit to how long he can do that.
I remember hearing about splashing water off Mario's body from particular mushroom's series, some crazy map trivia and secrets all over his stuff
This is the only time I had to play A PREVIOUS mission to try and understand the layout as a kid. That's how I found the endgoal is so close to the central pond which is connected to the edge of the stage through a river... Sure enough you that isn't blocked by fire goop, PLUS you can use the physics of the game to make use of the few water drops Mario drips after leaving water and you can form a path. Incredibly satisfying way to reach the goal.
I’ve used the 2nd method shown my whole life and am blown away away that there was a proper way to this mission all along.
I beat it three different ways: Going underneath as I was 'meant' to. Then, in subsequent playthroughs, I got tired of that and started using the water at the mini lake. The third time I forget how I managed it, but I recall jumping off a piant and reaching a shroom. Probably a fever dream, though.
Never knew you could just splash water from the lake. Really blew my mind actually
Even replaying it on the Switch collection, I didn’t think of doing this strat, let alone thought it even existed 😭 I feel so stupid!
Always adored this mission, best part of Mario Sunshine easily. I liked cleaning up every single drop of the goop when I got Fludd back.
I always used the water off Mario's body method. I never knew about these other ways until a couple of years ago. I was so baffled as a kid, because there was never a mission where you had to throw water off Mario's body to get rid of goop until ep 3 of Pianta Village (or so I thought).
Ahh, i remember this mission.
At first, i tried and failed dozens of times to win this the intended way.
Then, i tried the "climb the giant palm tree and make a giga jump" method, but i kept slipping off or not jumping far enough. Although i think i eventually beat it this way.
Well, either that way, or by somehow forcing my way through the lava, which i also remember doing. Maybe i jumped off of one of the little goo monsters and had barely enough distance and HP to lava-hop to a safe mushroom fence.
I think i noticed the "riverwater" method waaay later, as i remember being astonished that jumping out of water lets you clear the goop around you, as you're dripping wet.
I eventually did beat it the intended way, too. And pretty much in every other way you've shown in this video. Ahh, good old times.
Honest talk, i much prefer the "unintended" ways. Had much more fun with them!
I'm convinced there is no normal way to get this shine.
Wow that is actually really cool. I only knew about the water trailing route and the main/intended one. This makes me want to try the others. Lol honestly I do really admire the level design for this one now because it almost feels like the creators intended there to be multiple ways based on skill level. That is super cool and well thought. More and more we discover the passion put into Sunshine.
I think I remember jumping off the starting bridge to get below, or maybe using one of the trees to reach the mushrooms below… I gotta find my old disc real quick-
I think that is the beauty of this level design.
"Yes there is an intended way, oh you found another path? Nice job!"
Thats it, no punishment for thinking outside the box and using the tools you have available to solve a problem or work around it
Sunshine was quite special with all the dynamic ways you could accomplish the same goal, but ill be darned if it wasn't a painful experience.
Every time I replay Sunshine, I forget how I did this shine and discover a janky/creative way anew. I love it.
Personally, my favorite method to beat this level is what I like to call the "Gameshark"
All this time, I thought solution #4 (left + panel + wall jump) was the intended solution.
As a child I was definitely throwing water to make a path. It took over a decade before I saw a livestream with chat listing all the ways they did the mission.
I've gone from above and I've gone from below, but I never considered using my body as FLUDD to clear a path. That's genius!
I have always done the second method shown in this video. Though instead of tip-toeing on the edge, I would have Mario hang off the edge and cross that way.
Ha. As a kid I remember jumping in the river to get wet, and using the water dripping off mario to make a path in the lava to the platform.