It's a late start for the Cube, with software not coming through fast enough to impress new gamers (who see the varied software range on the PS2 as key buying motivation). The effort is worth the wait and definitely stands out on the cube when compared to other software.
We are introduced to Mario, Princess and Toad as they head to Delfino Island for a vacation. The plane they are on makes a shaky landing as the runway is covered in technicolour goo. Its not long afterwards that Mario takes the lead and helps clean up the mess thanks to a trusty new device known as FLUDD (the water cannon). This scene includes a brief training session on the contraption which acts in a very similar way to Navi, who helped Link make his way through the Ocarina of Time. FLUDD will give Mario advice on his objectives, which unfortunately for the most part only occurs when you have figured it out yourself.
Once the mess is clean Mario makes his way back to his pals but is interrupted by the Islands police who arrest him for causing the damage. A cheesy intro explains how a figure fitting the description of Mario has been terrorising the Island and covering its beautiful landscape in horrible paint. Mario is found guilty of the crimes and is sentenced to clean the entire Island before he is allowed to leave.
You start in the towns square which has small villas and is mostly surrounded by lavish beach (which looks truly incredible). This is the central hub of the game, it's where all the worlds (levels) are accessed from and is home to several mini games which assist Mario in his quest for the valuable Shine Sprites.
Mario gains access to the games 7 worlds via a teleportation vortex (which divides our hero in molecules before shifting him off to the other dimension). All worlds have their own unique theme, however the traditional platform theme of snow & ice is missing because of course, the game revolves around hot weather and the beach. The heat is represented well as you make your way around the landscape, whilst the visuals are not completely mind blowing you really get the sense of heat when the sun shines brightly over the town.
Each world consists of 8 Episodes which have missions that include the classic hunt for 8 red coins, the old school 100 Coin Collection and a myriad of large sub-bosses.
When the episode is complete you are rewarded with a shine sprite then get sent back to the games epicentre in the town square. Return through the same portal to access the worlds second episode and so on. As you progress through the episodes collecting Shine Sprites new worlds become accessible.
The worlds range in size but don't really blow away anything found in Mario64. As you enter an episode the cinematic camera pans around the landscape giving you a clue to your objective. Gameplay is varied and at times it feels like your working your way through a catalogue of mini games. The control system retains some of the effective Mario64 manoeuvres including the back flip and triple jump.
The water cannon expands Mario's ability to travel via a rocket attachment (for height) and a hover nozzle, but take the water cannon out of the package and you have an enhanced version of the Nintendo64 classic. At the end of the day its traditional Nintendo gaming, a trusted formula that ensures we are going to have a good time for the next few weeks whilst we join Mario on his quest to save the kidnapped Princess (and in this situation rid the island of horrible graffiti). Sure, there is a new tool to help us through our quest, but honestly when you look beyond the water cannon as a resource you get platform jumping, butt-stomping action. It's what we expected and if it was any different it wouldn't be a Mario game.
The C-Stick allows you to tailor camera angles to suit your style of play, whether it be a close up behind shot or wide angle overhead view. At times this freedom is destroyed by awkward level design which makes seeing things difficult, that in turn makes gameplay frustrating. However, the camera angle issue doesn't affect a great deal of the game, and once you get through the trying levels you can take full control of the action again.
Swimming is another slight frustration. The B-Button makes Mario dive whilst the A-Button swims straight. This at times can also be frustrating as Mario seems to perform only 2 actions under water (Down via the B-Button) and (Forward via the A-Button). This control system restricts underwater freedom and the swimming sensation doesn't come off as good as Super Mario64.
The objectives are fun and at times incredibly challenging. Whether you're a veteran gamer or inductee to the Mario way of life, if you like exploration, action and adventure gaming this is a dream come true. Once the episode and worlds are complete you will need to return to fully finish the area by collecting numerous blue and gold coins. The replay value is always huge with these games if you're really going to finish everything the game has to offer.
Initially the game seems a little smaller than Mario64, we opened up all worlds, collected 70 Shine Sprites and fully cleaned out the entire first 4 worlds (including 100 gold coins and over 20 Blue Coins per level) within the first 36 hours of owning the disc.
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