Breaking Down Bianco Hills | A Super Mario Sunshine Deep Dive

[@TheAbetherigg]

This is probably one of the best Sunshine reflections I've ever seen. I genuinely don't know why this hasn't gotten more traction, because this is such a unique look at the game design of this game that I had never knew some of the stuff you covered!

[@andrewjustandrew]

KZbin is a cruel mistress, determined to suck the life out of creators before they take off.

[@matthewkresconko6196]

I've watched these three times over!

[@warioland523]

This game is extremely underrated. Yeah it is flawed in some areas but I'm always willing to look past the glitches and enjoy the game for what it is.

[@thebeigesheep6132]

Because attention span

[@squawk-box]

it's such a small thing but i absolutely love the decision to show off every possible 100 coin shine spawn location, especially the weird and obscure ones.

[@ShyGuyXXL]

My theory about the sun missing in the second Petey mission is that they removed it on purpose so that players would be less likely to be blinded by the sun when they are trying to aim the Spoinks at the flying Petey in first person view. I guess they thought no one would notice. I certainly didn't. Let's just pretend it was covered up by a cloud.

[@2CPhoenix]

Oh hey that’s a pretty compelling theory!

[@guruguruguruguruguru]

It's missing in the mission after that though (24:15)

[@Rozzachu]

A fun detail during the first Petey cutscene is that the roof of the windmill cracks underneath both Petey and Mario, implying they are both extremely heavy

[@SECONDQUEST]

Mario got that dump

[@robertoXCX]

​@@SECONDQUESThe ain't got the dump, he got the pump

[@katswarrior]

They're honestly probably about the same weight, not even considering the roof thing. Plant matter (that isn't wood) ain't all that dense! So being triple Mario's size, being bulbous, and having Tons of Teeth edges Petey towards a normal human weight (no actual math, just estimation)

[@bugjams]

Remember, we're talking about the guy who can ground-pound through _solid brick._ Of course he's heavier than he looks.

[@cataquackwarlord5389]

Actually, I feel that Sunshine has very diverse biomes, at least in the specialization of the biomes. Many games just have generic biomes themed on generalizations: water land, ice land, etc. Here, we see multiple environments and towns on a single island, yet each feels distinct from the others. Bianco Hills is a good example; it's one of the most vivid and unique "World 1: Grassy Hills" settings I've seen in a game.

[@theofilgueiras9583]

Just bcs it tackles many beach locals doesn’t mean it doesn’t have diverse theming within those locals I always get frustrated when some people say this game is all beach/water levels

[@CardCollectorMoth]

8:56 This is joke has no business being this memorable. I only played through Sunshine twice and this scene has still lived rent-free in my head for 20 years.

[@barneybetsington7501]

It's literally not even a joke. ????

[@lilwartank1]

I have played sunshine for probably over 15 years now. I have not once ever even thought of looking behind you after you spawn into this level My mind is blown

[@cyclingsafely]

This guy is so good with dialogue! I love game breakdown.

[@Chrismas95]

Love how you highlight what the NPCs say each mission. Everyone glosses over them (myself included)! I wanted to throw some other Bianco oddities in: -In Bianco 1 & 2, the windmill's reflection is not only missing the vines on it but it also shows a Piranhabon spawner. Also, FLUDD's nozzles (as well as Mario's sunglasses) don't reflect in the water. -Holding the control stick perpendicular to a wire while standing on it will make Mario repeat his "Whoa" voicelines repeatedly which is funny. -I was hoping you'd show off Rocket Storage for the fun of it, but an interesting thing is you can do it but standing on a rope and having a Wind Spirit hit you. Also as an aside, Noki Bay is the only area you can't see from anywhere else even with Rocket Storage (unless you count the cliff surrounding it). But what I find interesting is you can't see Pianta Village from Bianco either!

[@WackoMcGoose]

...I did some flyarounds on the Noclip website, and you're right, nowhere on any other stage is Noki Bay visible (nor can Noki Bay see any _other_ "main" area, it's entirely isolated). The only location in the entire game that's visible from literally everywhere else is, unsurprisingly, Corona Mountain.

[@silver6380]

The rope/wind spirit method of rocket storage was actually the first discovered, long ago. Anywhere single-rocket storage came quite a while later, and infinite rocket storage was only found around 2015.

[@Progamer1013]

So not only is this the most informative, fun, and hilarious guide to Sunshine I have ever seen 32:30 Man drops a JoshJepson reference like nothing. Bless

[@Berrueco760]

Came here to acknowledge this, such an obscure reference now.

[@Highzen]

I do like how the family gets used to mario

[@GBDupree]

and get better at throwing! All that practice on you really pays off. I like that they have a hard to reach blue coin dangling on top of a hill nearby so every level they throw you closer to it until you can finally reach it! Of course by then the rocket nozzle is available...

[@ladysophie3340]

Great video series! I love Sunshine's interconnected areas. One detail you missed is that the Pianta you rescue on top of the tower during episode 5 actually explains where that Petey came from. He says "Boy, I looked up and saw this dirty thing fly in from the port!" I've always found that comment interesting because it implies Shadow Mario created that Petey while he was messing around in Ricco Harbor. A hint at Mario's next destination!

[@RiseAgainst845]

Of the countless hours I've sunk into this game as a kid, I never once noticed the Plurps. This is one of the few moments I've been surprised and had to do a double-take when watching SMS content haha

[@eXPERIENCE-iNNOCENCE]

19:26 "And how am I gonna react when I see this, a GREAT BIG THREATENING BUTTON" -Doctor Who

[@HardcoreRicky]

This is simply an incredible cover- for something to encapsulate the entire phenomenon of raw youthhood nostalgia is nothing short of extraordinarily special. Please keep going; your channel is a gem amongst gravel.

[@finchvink]

Love your focus on the Piantas. Always found them amusing, especially considering they had their own little story arcs going on in each level! Hope to see more videos like these about the game!

[@mario64remix]

Oh wow I never noticed Mario doesn't take falling damage without FLUDD. :O 15:08, an obscure piece of trivia is that on the Mario Sunshine demo disk level select, the secret level playable is referred to as (spoiler alert) Junior's Playing Room. So it's supposed to represent like a toddler's toy box. I think toy box level would be a good alternative to (not so) secret level!

[@AllegedlyHuman]

Used to play this game with my sister and a friend when we were small. I didn't do well with action-heavy stuff, but what I *did* have was endless patience, so I basically played support. Took care of the 100 coin shines, and I always made sure we were stocked up on lives, usually hovering in the 99 lives cap. Man, those were the days

[@healthyminds9279]

Finally, somebody puts deep attention to detail into the Sunshine world! A rarity to say the least.

[@Cyndillquil]

Don’t think we wouldn’t notice the Josh Jepson reference with the blusters.

[@ScubaShark8857]

Damn. Taking out that Strollin’ Stu spawner was truly a tragic decision.

[@iConnerW]

This series is so fantastic! I love Mario Sunshine a ton, but I’m still learning so many new things! Plus, the Xenoblade and Hat in Time music, and the “it’s not supposed to go at an angle” reference, it feels like this series was meant for me! 😂

[@fennecegg8118]

16:08 I've actually always kind of liked this game's game over tune funny enough. I really love how they basically extended the normal death tune along with adding the more sad sounding 1-1 motif

[@strawberrylemonadelioness]

Super Mario Sunshine is my favorite Mario game of all time and I'm honestly leaning a ton about it from these videos!

[@Toshigun1337]

21:59 “they’ll get bored and stop existing” I felt that 🥲

[@Artix3000]

20:57 I'm gonna blow your mind, the cyclos are not invincible. If you go into aiming mode and spray water at them, they'll fizzle out and disappear. 30:57 You can mess up the camera on any shine get by jumping into it and pressing the over the shoulder camera button as you're in midair falling towards the shine.

[@Quate32]

Dude. You have a serious talent for this. I *hate* video essays but I *love* the way you make these. Your writing is great, your editing is great, your voice is great, and you're very very thorough. Fascinating and fun. Thank you!!

[@radiozradioz2419]

I love how you alluded to Yoshi but kept him a secret until later. It's like discovering things in order while playing the game, really great detail

[@lucianosgonzalez3561]

I was today-years-old when I learned that fludd-less Mario does not take fall damage.

[@vgmarkis]

Watched all your Sunshine videos over the past couple days and you've been killing it. Looking forward to your Noki Bay and Pianta Village ones and hoping you do more of these types of videos for games like Odyssey in the future : D

[@awildcommenter7240]

One of the hidden things is that the flooded delfino plaza is actually a beta map

[@HyruleHeroHan]

3:40 Ah yes, the blue coins from Super Mario Sunshine, as horrifying as: Wall of Flesh - Terraria Mother - The Binding of Isaac: Repentance and the other four who I don’t recognize.

[@Dwurban64]

I had no clue about the 100 Coin shine being collectible during the Petey boss fight, that blew my mind. I'm glad you mentioned you'd be calling out any other instance where the shine is collectible in an otherwise unusual location because it's something I'd really love to see more of. For that matter, I'd love to see more of this whole breakdown, it's very interesting so far!

[@nathanslaton8846]

32:46 oh my gosh the josh jepson reference just sent me over the edge 😂 an already incredible video good work sir

[@rob40480]

Here I am enjoying this incredible video from this incredible content creator, and all of the sudden: 6:55 ... slandered for being an invert camera user! (It is insane that there's apparently no option to toggle in the GC release) Seriously though, this is amazing. I'm so glad that translation video went viral so I could find the rest of your amazing content.

[@MydnyteRaven]

As usual you knocked it out of the park with this one!

[@dancommadirty]

You are mind blowingly talented, looking forward to the rest of this series. Subscribed!

[@matthewcosmi9393]

It surprising on the countless videos I watch on Mario sunshine, I still learn something new

[@cleaver1835]

1:56 perfectly summarizes me trying to see anything further than 2 feet from me

[@aneonfoxtribute]

I did not know that the characters in this game had ongoing stories throughout the level. That's great.

[@linkganonslayer000]

That lake by the high cliffside is very eerie. I used to try to reach the platform, but to no avail and discovered the death trap the hard way

[@matthewlandon85]

This series has been fantastic to listen to at work lately. Thank you

[@asteroidrules]

The "super whirl jump" is also doable with every FLUDD nozzle. Mario makes a different noise depending on the direction he's being spun in.

[@eepyJay]

Been absolutely adoring your sunshine videos, and as a fan of Sly Cooper I can't wait to get started on those too. Thank you so much for your work on these videos, absolutely excellent stuff ❤❤

[@ChrisBradel]

I randomly happened across these videos and now that I'm a few in, it's probably my new favorite KZbin series. I was shocked to look and see it wasn't a huge mainstream success with how high quality it is. Keep up the awesome work, man. I'm excited to keep watching these!!

[@CallMeNoa]

I'm really glad you pointed out how other levels are visible in the background on Sunshine's levels. It's one of my favorite little touches in the game.

[@Fledyew01]

This is much more fun and interesting to watch/listen to than a let’s play

[@heartsofhearts]

*He's back!!!!!!* 🤩

[@diggitfireball1]

this is the exact kind of video series i wish existed when i was a kid -- a thorough deep dive appreciating every nook and cranny each level has to offer. It's exactly how i used to play after beating everything, just roaming around looking for any cool secrets or details that help make the world feel more alive

[@unmeltabledjdkrnrjdjsnd9317]

I fucking love this series. I'm so glad I discovered it

[@veraxiana9993]

Wow i'm super glad you're doing this series, i never had a gamecube nor di any of my friends so i missed this game but it looks exceedingly more interesting to me after each episode

[@ericjames833]

This series is the most comprehensive and enjoyable sunshine series I've ever seen. Feeling joyous like how i did watching chuggaaconroy back in the day.

[@halami2149]

I just have to say that I really appreciate the super in-depth look at every single possible detail. Recently, I started doing that in games I play as much as I can, but you’re taking it to the next level that I couldn’t even imagine. I especially like seeing what the NPCs have to say, since they’re usually just skipped over. Thank you for making this, and I look forward to seeing the rest!

[@omicron3012]

This is such a good breakdown of the level. Mario Sunshine's levels have a special place in my heart. Unlike Mario 64 and Galaxy style levels which look either like a tech demo or an incoherent flotilla of platforms, Sunshine levels have so much life in them, they genuinely look like real life locations you could find on a tropical island resort. The memorable landmarks, the other locations visible from afar, the characters who live their lives, the organic level design which blends the platforms into the scenery almost seamlessly... As a kid, I used to spend hours just messing around in levels like Gelato beach or Pinna park, interacting with the NPCs, doing FLUDDless parkour challenges or simply enjoying the level's atmosphere... This game doesn't get nearly enough credit for its amazing level design.

[@KyleKatarn145]

I've played this game since it first came out... this is the first time I've ever seen the super spin tightrope jump. Man...

[@MiguelMartinez-mz8df]

The quality of the analysis, the asmr level of your voice and the nostalgia is having me hooked up to your videos. But the best thing is the beautiful alliteration at 0:44 with "Painty counterpart is causing problems and plainly possesses a partial partnership with the proto piranhas' popping up place after place".

[@sonnytapman]

22:31 Thankfully, they’ve found time since then to play sports together. God bless these goofy dorks.

[@shoolima7131]

playing that clip of Mrs. Hurr Gyarr throwing mario over "it's also such a welcoming environment..." was elite lol

[@Itsuchi2]

Bro I’m a game dev and LOVE your series so far! Just wanted to point out that at 20:56 you said these guys are invincible. They’re not. You kill them by spraying them with water haha. Can either pause while they’re circling and spray them with squirt nozzle, or do a well timed jump and kill them with hover nozzle. :)

[@susejtsirhc4202]

2:33 When I was younger I always called them puffins, and I successfully gaslit myself into thinking that was the real name until this video. I'm not as bad as my friend though. He refers to one of the flood enemies from halo as 'fluffinutters.'

[@onlycoIlect]

Just found your channel, and I'm so glad I did! I remember exploring and pondering the world of this game so much as a kid, it's always so wonderful to discover someone doing the same now and even more in-depth! I have also always believed that Isle Delfino is a uniquely rich and detailed world amongst the realms of 3D Mario, carrying an overarching personality through its different areas not to dissimilarly to a vacation location many of us have been to in our time. It just begs to be seen and noticed!

[@MeinCouch123]

Awesome videos man! And I seriously cannot believe there was text in that circle the entire time. It seriously just looked like embossed lines and whatnot, never even occurred to me

[@ViviSectia]

The control stick being inverted use to be normal. It's originally from flight sims but even after that, in a lot of early 3d games, they made it pretty obvious that you were controlling the character's head.

[@andreworders7305]

16:14 thanks for running it in with the clown nose game

[@RahhmiPoofs]

this is a pretty brilliant series.. hoping you'll do more games I like. You have a really interesting style with this.

[@fizzy1550]

I take pride in the fact I found all the blue coins all by myself :D Being legally blind, this was the only game I ever 100% completed without a WT, as when I had slightly better sight, it was super cool, easy, and colorful :D Now I can't do it for crap, lol!

[@chanimalice3874]

Love the subtle Dr Who reference

[@Toshigun1337]

32:41 I LOVE that JoshJepson reference!! 🤣🤣

[@AngelTuccyPR]

your editing always impresses the socks off of me!

[@Offline219]

I seriously don't know why this video doesn't have 100k at the very least. This is well made.

[@davidmeyer4506]

31:00 you can do that with basically any shine. Just backflip into a shine, get into Y mode while still in the air and rotate camera.

[@toasterovenly]

Loved the vid! A detail that I think was overlooked: for one of the blue coins, you say it is floating in mid air and you should use the rocket nozzle to collect it. I'm pretty sure the intended collection method is to stand on the wood platform of the windmill and spray the windmill to make the platform rotate until you can grab the blue coin.

[@Rubbly]

Holy 121 attempts, this is some super high effort stuff!!! Just found this channel from the language breakdown, really quality vids!!

[@edsknife]

I've always heard FLUDD's shotgun blast be called a "spam spray".

[@gregggreenwell]

It's really impressive how in-depth you went

[@AlexTheChaosFox1996]

Fun fact about the strollin stus in the first level of Bianco hills: if you ground pound a bunch at once, you can get a free 1-up

[@Tenebro-bj5iu]

Quick correction for 10:15 Monte is Hill in italian, which makes sense since the area is called Bianco Hill Mountain would be Montagna

[@MegaMacX]

Since there was no real way to search the net for guides on the blue coins for me at the time i played it, i have to say that yes, i found all 240 of them on my own. Took me like months to do so, but in the process i saw so many neat details in the worlds of super mario sunshine. was a good time.

[@linkganonslayer000]

Thinking about the exact origin of the lakeside cave's pollutant made it a real mystery, like what exact source in the cave created the goop and many more questions

[@yagamerboichucc6120]

I used to watch a channel by the name of particular mushroom who had this way of going super in depth of into super mario sunshine levels, and i loved his content but unfortunately he stopped posting years ago. So its to my shock when i see someone making content on par with his videos and ive been binging all of your sunshine videos! I was surprised when i saw your subscriber count cus i had assumed you were well over 100k with the quality of your uploads. Ill just say it now though, im a massive fan of this kind of content and im proud ot be a subscriber! I hope i see you get big on here!

[@fernando98322]

Three different ways to tackle the second Petey fight. And that's why Sunshine is so goooooood man. As a kid, I did it the Rocket Nuzzle way. Actually I thought you needed to do a Rocket stomp to Petey too for some reason! My preferred way of getting Blue Coins is just get them in the way when they're convenient, like all the ones in the Village makes most sense to get during Episode 4! To be fair, I have a good tracking memory so I can keep up with all 240 Blue Coins in a single playthrough because I'm insane like that about this game. Final tip to new players? You don't need to stay at a single level until you fully clear it! Go do something else, trust me, you'll enjoy your first time through Sunshine more like that.

[@ChasetopherSpeedruns]

The technique is called the “spam spray”, at least in speedrunning circles :)

[@SaltedNeos]

I mean, the blue coins relocating is an issue exclusive to Bianco Hills. Which is also the same world where all 30 are in episode 8 anyways. (Blues are actually my favourtie aspect of SMS)

[@warioland523]

The phantoms are called Wind Spirits. They are invincible usually unless you have a Yoshi. They can be defeated by eating them.

[@devonm042690]

The first word that Pianta on the brochure is saying looks like 'Visit'. Also I'm pretty sure the third line says 'Big Windmill will'.

[@Melon-ef4pi]

thank you so much for the it’s not supposed to go at an angle reference that was awesome

[@JHTC]

Game breakdown is so good. All the blue coins in chapter 8.

[@TanukiTracks]

Loving your videos so far! gonna go back and see your Sly 2 vids too later, but I thought I'd stop by and add that those Cyclo enemies actually can be beaten, just hitting them with water makes them vanish. Granted, they instantly respawn and they're kinda hard to hit, so I can see why you wouldn't bother XD

[@thelegendofzelda3459]

I wish more Mario games would have the same sense of properly exploring a location that Sunshine does. The whole "seperate worlds" thing was always a bit annoying to me, even when it's implied that Mario is traveling between regions/continents. It's so much more fun to explore a location that is so obviously part of a greater whole like Isle Delfino, especially once the lore and worldbuilding come into play. Edit: The first word of the brochure picture is "Visit". Too lazy to squint and make out the rest, sorry!

[@TheMadMadman]

5:55 That technique is called the MEGASQUIRT. I'm fucking serious.

[@Substitute102]

I like the alliteration :P It's very fun! Anyways o7 Hey everyone! Here's how to cheese the first boss fight/not get attacked; see that tightrope right behind it? You can navigate Mario over there, make him face the pirahna with (if I'm remembering correctly) a little flick of the control stick, and then just attack; the pirahna heads won't be able to reach you! You also won't end up on the wrong side of the slope, 'cause the game just teleports you over without a care. Also, I've never seen the big water bottles before...does anyone feel the impulse to drink 'em--? What I've always done, even though it doesn't minimize effort at all, is defeat the first boss...then completely ignore the shine sprite and just run up the path as if I'm already in the second episode-- I.../think/ the bridge is trickier to navigate/even less complete on ep 1? But still perfectly doable EDIT: Me 🤝2CPhoenix, the Turbo Nozzle

[@fizzy1550]

If you destroy the piranha bons by squirting them, they'll explode water in a huge radius :D

[@tinalarsen1585]

This channel is gonna get big

[@VenusFeuerFalle]

The ghusty Wind enemies are actually NOT indestructable. If you spray water on them, they vanish

[@user-kd7he5jw9l]

Fantastic deep-dive of Bianco Hills! It's wonderful to see all of the small, easily over-looked aspects of this game, like the small stories for each world, the game design philosophy, seeing the dialogue+substories, and even the attention to detail with 100 Shine spawns. Actually visiting Petey across the island was a great visual to satisfy curiosity. Rocket strats Petey 2 was great and I will now be adapting it into my playstyle. I also watched your Noki Alphabet video and was thoroughly impressed. Just wanted to make a quick correction and drop a small design theory. Cyclos (or Blusters as you called them) aren't necessarily invincible. You can spray them to disable them temporarily. As for my theory, I very often hear the critique that the levels aren't very diverse in terms of biome. Which, while they are all beachy or tropical, I feel really misses the clever aspect of them. I believe all of the Mario Sunshine courses are meant to be beachy/tropical takes on typical mario levels. - Delfino is the hub world like Peach's Castle. - Bianco is obviously the grass/plains world, or "World 1". - Ricco is the underground, since it's one of the only other levels Mario can use the manholes, you literally go into the sewers for Blooper Surfing Safari, and there's lots of pipe/grating theming. - Gelato is the desert, hence the emphasis on sand with the Sand Bird. It also plays with the idea of sand, like the sand sculptures (one of which being a pyramid). The blue sky, creamy sand, and palm trees all communicate that effect. - Pinna is the least obvious, but I think it's meant to be "World 3", or basically the levels with pulleys/auto-scrolling platforms/wheel platforms, which are realized through the mechanical, but colorful and playful amusement park rides. - Sirena is Ghost House, characterized as a Haunted Hotel in a reference to the Shining (the mantas also being a reference to this). Its focus on room-to-room traversal through doors and diving through illusory paintings hearkens back to Big Boo's Haunt. - Noki is the water world. It's the only course you directly go underwater for (three times). - Pianta is the Sky world. It's the only level where the endless pit can swallow you, it also has tall mushroom platforms like Sky levels do. - Corona is clearly the Lava/Bowser World. Wanted to end this with a little fun challenge. Some collision on the windmill wheel is solid, and you can wall-kick up between the wheel and the mill. It's a speedrunner strat and super fun to pull off.

[@2CPhoenix]

I’ve been thinking about this and I really like it. I would have brought it up in the break down already if I hadn’t gotten snagged up on both ricco harbor and noki bay seeming to be the water levels, but I really like your argument that Ricco is underground. For my part, I figure that if Serena is the ghost houses, then Pinna Park is the castles/fortresses, which tend to be very mechanical and/or have a large focus on enemies.

[@user-kd7he5jw9l]

@@2CPhoenix Thanks! I think you're right with Pinna Park. The ferris wheel's backside is made of brick, and has a lot of physics obstacles that would appear in a castle. You even fight a Bowser there!

[@davidmeyer4506]

32:38 if you are on the rope with the wind around you, charge the rocket a few times without actually getting off the rope. Just stand on it and shoot the rocket. Then let yourself get hit by the wind and whoa, enjoy the view

[@ComposerKuandohan]

I’m not sure if you want to highlight where 1-ups are or not because in the grand scheme of things they’re not super important. But the bells at the top of the spinning wheel that you mentioned give you 4 coins if you spray it, if you spray the bells only you’ll get a 1-up!

[@cameronsmith7425]

You can actually stun the wind creatures with water making them disappear for a second.

[@Johny9405]

iirc blusters are not invincible. if you spray them with water they dissipate but only when they are circling you

[@timothye.2902]

22:20 You say that Mario and Petey have the exact same animation in the cutscene, but actually, they're mirrored there too. Mario and Petey are facing the opposite direction in the cutscene, so when Petey looks right, Mario looks left, but they're both looking toward the left side of the screen (audience's view).