Super Mario Sunshine is now available in Nintendo Switch Online’s GameCube library, Video Games Chronicle reports. Nintendo announced last month that the 3D platformer was coming to the service in August, and it is now playable on Switch 2 through the Nintendo Classics GameCube app.
Sunshine was the second 3D platformer to star Mario, following Super Mario 64. It sends him to Isle Delfino, where a holiday is interrupted by Shadow Mario, a villain vandalising the island with graffiti. Mario is convicted for the mess and sets out to find who Shadow Mario really is, using the F.L.U.D.D. water-spraying device to clean up the paint along the way.
A divisive Mario with a 92 Metacritic score
VGC describes Sunshine as the most divisive of Mario’s 3D platformers, with criticism aimed over the years at the camera, F.L.U.D.D., the Yoshi powers and the design of some levels. It was widely praised at the time of release, and its Metacritic score, which includes legacy reviews from publications of the era, stands at 92.
An HD version of the game shipped as part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation on Switch in 2020, but that release was time-limited and was delisted seven months later. Switch Online is now the cheapest way for Switch 2 owners to play it.
Ten GameCube games on Switch 2
The addition brings the GameCube library on Switch Online to ten titles:
- Chibi-Robo!
- F-Zero GX
- Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- Luigi's Mansion
- Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Soulcalibur II
- Super Mario Strikers
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Wario World
Nintendo has previously announced that Pokémon Colosseum is coming to the library as well, but has not yet confirmed a release date.
GameCube games are available to Switch 2 owners subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. NES, SNES, Game Boy and Game Boy Color games sit within the standard Switch Online subscription, which costs £3.49/€3.99/$3.99 for one month, £6.99/€7.99/$7.99 for three months and £17.99/€19.99/$19.99 for twelve months.
