Super Mario Sunshine always felt a little under-baked when it came to 3D Mario games. Whether it was wonky camera controls, aggravating coin quotas, or the inclusion of a sentient super-soaker the game didn’t quite fulfill fan expectations. Seeking to wash-away that reputation [Wade] created a mod to revitalize the oft disparaged GameCube game. Over two years in the making, Super Mario Sunburn breaks Super Mario Sunshine wide open with new levels, more coins, and the freedom of a modern open-world game. Collecting in-game shine collectibles no longer automatically warps Mario back to the island hub, but rather allows Mario to keep filling those pockets.
In order to apply the Sunburn mod patch, a clean rip of Super Mario Sunshine for Nintendo GameCube is needed. The easiest method of ripping GameCube discs is actually with a Nintendo Wii — provided it can run CleapRip via the Homebrew Channel. With a clean game image, the Sunburn patch can be applied on Windows by running Delta Patcher. From there a Sunburn-patched image can be enjoyed via emulator with the optional HD Texture pack, or even real Nintendo hardware. A comprehensive mod like this is surely deserving of some WaveBird time.
The arrival of [Wade]’s mod comes at a crucial time for many Mario fans. Late last year Nintendo released an underwhelming compilation of 3D Mario games called Super Mario 3D All-Stars. The release brought with it the lightest of touches and failed to provide a suitable modernization of Super Mario Sunshine. The company didn’t even allow players to play in 16:9 widescreen (unlike Sunburn). At the end of March Nintendo will cram Super Mario 3D All-Stars into “Bowser’s Vault” thereby removing it from store shelves. All the more reason to give Super Mario Sunburn a try.
If you were looking for a mid-2000s twist on Nintendo’s modern console offering, then you might be interested in this GameCube controller Switch grip mod.
Mind blowing work. It always makes me wonder what could these people achieve with dev tools instead of having to patch.
Also had no idea Super Mario Sunshine wasn’t highly thought of, it was a simpler time for me when I just played games and enjoyed it instead of worrying about meta critic scores!
+1 and +1
I never liked the first 3D Mario (nor the console it went on) but this second instalment on the then new Gamecube all felt solid and entertaining to me and my brother. That being said I’m eager to play this modded version, especially for the open world part (how the hell did they manage to do that?!)
Sunshine on 3D all stars did have widescreen support. It was mario 64 that was locked in at 4:3.
Yeah, came to say the same thing. It was an underwhelming collection, but there’s no need to make it seem lazier than it was.
YOU COULDN’T EVEN CALL IT A GLOWUP?!
I would like to run this on Wii Homebrew. Could anyone help me with the needed steps? I already have Homebrew installed.
Here’s the rough steps :
– Pop your Gamecube’s Super Mario Sunshine DVD (US version, not a PAL one) in your wii and rip it to a external support (USB key or SD card) using Cleanrip (https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/guides/ripping-games/)
– Transfer your ripped DVD image (iso) to a Windows computer and put it in a directory
– Download (https://gamebanana.com/maps/download/209335) and unzip the patch in the same directory as the iso and run the patcher (DeltaPatcherLite.exe).
If you did all these steps correctly you should have a patched ISO of Super Mario Sunburn. You can burn it to a dvd or more conveniently (as the mod is regularly updated) put it on a USB key/SD card and load it through you usual game loader through homebrew channel.
This makes the game go from an unfinished mess to something that could be playable. Props!
Sunshine was one of the greatest mario games of all time and you call it under-baked? Game got a 9/10 everywhere. Your first paragraph makes me think you don’t know what you’re talking about. Cool mod though.
I played through this one again on Wii during the pandemic. It’s a surprisingly fun entry in the franchise. I’d love to see a version two on modern hardware. This mod is a nice stopgap while we’re waiting for that to happen.
Pretty good article, but I mean 3D all-stars does let you play in widescreen.