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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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✨
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."
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 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!
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
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
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.
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.
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 😌
I was about to say "I took the underground path because that's obviously the intended one", but I don't think I've ever taken the one with the coin trail...
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
It's such a treat to stumble on a video referencing such a specific childhood memory of using the river to splash water around. Genuine thanks for making this vid, I didn't even realize the bunch of other ways you mentioned
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
I had no clue that there were so many ways to beat this level! I always did it the way you did at the beginning of the video (with the water). I can't believe I missed all of these other ways lol!
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.
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.
I loved this level as a kid (and now). I was blown away when in speedruns they just go straight through the lava to it. One of my first solutions was similar to yours, using the water from the river to clear away the goop then jumping to it. Crazy seeing someone else do it that way too.
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!
Love this! I always thought there must've been multiple ways to reach the end, but after many attempts I've always begrudgingly stumbled upon the intended route
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 😅
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 first played this game when it was new and up until this point i had literally no idea that route existed, i usually go left on the rails to avoid the lava and then take the nearest climb path and just go from there, and at one point found out about the big tree methods you mentioned, but ive never even thought about the other ones as an option
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.
You know, it could be a fun idea for a series of vids where you showcase different unusual approaches to reach the same goal in various games. I loved when you showed variety of routes in SA2 stages, some of which I didn't know existed until you showed them, I love watching you explore! Excitement in your voice makes it all so much better, even if I don't know the game you are talking about, such as this one! :D But I'm unsure which games fit for these kinds of videos, or if there are even enough games like that in the era of older games or not...
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 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.
Very interesting analysis overall. The first method you described was the way I beat it as a kid, but the others were genuinely news to me. I feel like if they wanted to streamline players onto the "intended" path, they could've either set the mission during the day so that the water trick wouldn't work, or move the Pianta closer to the start of the stage, since literally all of the unintended methods require less of a walk, lol. Still though, it's neat that all these alternate routes exist for this one 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.
I did exactly the same route as you did when I was a kid. I knew there was an intended route for it when I got older but I always stayed with my youngster's mindset route!
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 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
ive always done the damage boost method you show off right at the end of the video, following what speedruns usually do. i've also always been terrible at this method and died several times attempting it in each playthrough lol i never knew about most of the routes you showed off here, not even the intended method! i always thought that the first route that you showed going underneath the ceiling was the intended method
Lol, I never would have even thought about doing all those alternate methods as a kid, I just went under the village with the wire grates as intended. Though now that you showed there was two ways to do that I can't remember if I did it through the intended one. One day if I ever replay this game I'll definitely experiment more with this mission.
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 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
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-
Игры
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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 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.~
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...
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Never once have I ever felt I did this level the intended way.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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!
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✨
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
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."
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 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!
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
Sakurai: "No! This isn't how you're supposed to play the game!"
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
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.
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.
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 😌
I was about to say "I took the underground path because that's obviously the intended one", but I don't think I've ever taken the one with the coin trail...
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 is the level that singlehandedly left a kinda sour taste in my mouth when I remember Sunshine.
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."
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
I'm convinced there is no normal way to get this shine.
It's such a treat to stumble on a video referencing such a specific childhood memory of using the river to splash water around. Genuine thanks for making this vid, I didn't even realize the bunch of other ways you mentioned
Love your videos - this is great!! Always happy when you upload a new one. Enjoy Halloween! 🎃
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 always used the river method, I had no idea about the intended way until... just now! Sunshine is so fascinating.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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 will always remember doing the droplet splashing method when I played this as a kid. It was messy, but it got the job done!
Ommg this was always my favorite mission in the game! I'm so happy to see other people had a lot of fun with it too
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.
I adore the sandbox aspect of this game.
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
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!
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.
Masterpiece of a game! One of the only games I enjoyed learning to speedrun and not just executing it.
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.
I had no clue that there were so many ways to beat this level! I always did it the way you did at the beginning of the video (with the water). I can't believe I missed all of these other ways lol!
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.
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.
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!
I loved this level as a kid (and now). I was blown away when in speedruns they just go straight through the lava to it. One of my first solutions was similar to yours, using the water from the river to clear away the goop then jumping to it. Crazy seeing someone else do it that way too.
I completely forgot about that level. Thanks for the throwback!
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!
Love this!
I always thought there must've been multiple ways to reach the end, but after many attempts I've always begrudgingly stumbled upon the intended route
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 😅
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.
i first played this game when it was new and up until this point i had literally no idea that route existed, i usually go left on the rails to avoid the lava and then take the nearest climb path and just go from there, and at one point found out about the big tree methods you mentioned, but ive never even thought about the other ones as an option
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.
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
Every time I replay Sunshine, I forget how I did this shine and discover a janky/creative way anew. I love it.
You know, it could be a fun idea for a series of vids where you showcase different unusual approaches to reach the same goal in various games.
I loved when you showed variety of routes in SA2 stages, some of which I didn't know existed until you showed them, I love watching you explore!
Excitement in your voice makes it all so much better, even if I don't know the game you are talking about, such as this one! :D
But I'm unsure which games fit for these kinds of videos, or if there are even enough games like that in the era of older games or not...
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 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.
This has always been my favorite mission because of all the ways you can approach it
Very interesting analysis overall. The first method you described was the way I beat it as a kid, but the others were genuinely news to me. I feel like if they wanted to streamline players onto the "intended" path, they could've either set the mission during the day so that the water trick wouldn't work, or move the Pianta closer to the start of the stage, since literally all of the unintended methods require less of a walk, lol. Still though, it's neat that all these alternate routes exist for this one mission.
The intended route was how i did it as a kid. I never thought there was another way to do it.
This was the one that always had me stumped and prevented me from beating the game until this year I finally did the first method shown.
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.
i've literally been wondering about this for years thank you
I did exactly the same route as you did when I was a kid. I knew there was an intended route for it when I got older but I always stayed with my youngster's mindset route!
I had no doubt you could beat it other ways, but that water droplet trick is awesome! Probably the best method here for speedruns.
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 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 was clicking this mindlessly and somehow thought you'd stretch this to 10 minutes, but you didnt. great video!
ive always done the damage boost method you show off right at the end of the video, following what speedruns usually do. i've also always been terrible at this method and died several times attempting it in each playthrough lol
i never knew about most of the routes you showed off here, not even the intended method! i always thought that the first route that you showed going underneath the ceiling was the intended method
Lol, I never would have even thought about doing all those alternate methods as a kid, I just went under the village with the wire grates as intended. Though now that you showed there was two ways to do that I can't remember if I did it through the intended one.
One day if I ever replay this game I'll definitely experiment more with this mission.
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 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
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-
Dang. 20 years later and I'm still learning stuff about this game.
Was so confident the first underground path was the intentional route. Cool!
I had a dream u made a f zero gx video. Then woke up from my nap and saw u actually uploaded today… did i just will your content into existence?
Sunshine’s genuinely my favorite 3D Mario