Dark Super Mario Sunshine Expansion Adds Playable Shadow Mario
Super Mario Sunshine fans still have a soft spot for this classic addition to the Super Mario game franchise. Sure, it might not be the best platformer (Super Mario 64 takes the crown for that one), but Super Mario Sunshine has gained a lot of new fans thanks to its inclusion in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection bundle for Nintendo Switch.
Now, one genius team of modders has gone above and beyond to build their own DLC expansion for the game, called Super Mario Eclipse. Gamers have the chance to play as the red-eyed baddie himself, Shadow Mario. From what's been revealed so far, this looks like one of the most ambitious mods out there.
What Is The New Super Mario Sunshine Mod?
Super Mario Eclipse, is a new mod for the 2002 3D platform action-adventure game Super Mario Sunshine. After first announcing the ambitious project in July, 2020 on YouTube, Level Select released a demo launch trailer revealing a number of extra features.
According to Level Select, this includes: "Dozens upon dozens of new missions, fully custom worlds, challenging secret courses, and an interconnected Isle Delfino to boot". The Modders, also said the mod will have an "all-new expanded story, crazy new gimmicks, exciting new moves and abilities, and references to your favourite GameCube era Mario Games".
Players have the chance to play as Mario's faithful plumber brother Luigi, or as Super Mario Sunshine's antagonist, Shadow Mario. However, this evil-eyed spectre is, actually, Bowser Jr. in disguise. According to the trailer, players will be able to use super-jumping abilities and a magic paintbrush to help them through their adventure across Isle Delfino, which the new story will mainly focus on.
Where Can I Download Super Mario Eclipse?
Click to enlargeSuper Mario Eclipse demo is available to download from GameBanana. While the original Sunshine was released for GameCube, one YouTuber who streamed their playthrough of the new mod recommended playing through Dolphin Emulator rather than Wii or GameCube.
There have been a couple of hiccups, however. Currently, the EU version of Super Mario Eclipse is unavailable and there have been some bugs, particularly with the Shine Sprites. The mod is also not console compatible, but will be very soon.
If you're more of a Super Mario 64 fan, then there are a plethora of mods out there you can explore to spice up your Goombas. One dedicated modder combined the worlds of Super Mario 64 and Minecraft. Or, you prefer your playthrough shaken not stirred, you could bring the world of Mario to GoldenEye 007.
You've got to hand it to the fantastic team behind Super Mario Eclipse, this is one brilliant mod. Even though there may still be some things to fix, anyone would agree that these Modders have definitely earned their fair share of Shine Sprites.
