An impressive new Super Mario fan demo combines elements from Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy in a brand-new platforming adventure. Like many of Nintendo’s popular gaming franchises, Super Mario inspires plenty of fan-made remakes and tributes, including Mario-themed takes on existing titles like Plants Vs. Zombies, clever crossovers that place Metroid’s Samus Aran and Castlevania’s Simon Belmont in the Mushroom Kingdom, and even spin-offs for cult-favorite supporting characters like Waluigi.
These projects have continued throughout Mario’s modern 3D era, which has spawned some of the long-running franchise’s most beloved installments. Super Mario Sunshine was released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002 and saw Mario join forces with a robotic backpack named F.L.U.D.D. to clean up an island paradise and rescue Princess Peach from an evil doppelganger. A few years later, the original Super Mario Galaxy launched on the Wii and took Mario’s signature platforming to the stars in a new adventure that had players jumping across floating planetoids on a mission to save the universe from Bowser. Both these Super Mario installments featured interesting gameplay mechanics that put a new spin on Mario’s platforming formula, but now a fan has combined both to create what could be the ultimate Mario experience.
Super Mario fan and Twitter user SPG642 recently posted a trailer for Super Mario Starshine, a demo combining the gameplay elements of Super Mario Galaxy with the world of Super Mario Sunshine. In it, Mario can be seen blasting across the tropical Isle Delfino using Launch Stars, stomping on enemies to collect Star Bits, escaping a dungeon using his signature Spin Attack and platforming skills, and even utilizing power-ups like his Cloud form and Dash Yoshi from Super Mario Galaxy 2. It is also possible to play as Luigi, something that could only be done after collecting 120 Power Stars in the original Super Mario Galaxy and couldn’t at all in Sunshine.
Super Mario Starshine Demo Release Trailer! pic.twitter.com/3chcbtr0Hk
— SPG64 (@SPG642) June 25, 2022
While plenty of other Twitter users have expressed excitement and approval for Super Mario Starshine, others are wary that Nintendo will order the fan-made demo to be taken down if it gains too much attention. Several similar fan projects have been issued a cease-and-desist order over the past couple of years, including a 2D remake of Metroid Prime and a surprisingly violent Pokémon first-person shooter. Even earlier than that, an incredibly polished PC port of the classic Super Mario 64 was ordered to be taken down by Nintendo after it garnered widespread buzz due to being compatible with DirectX and featuring native 4K resolution and ultra-wide support.
As such, Super Mario Starshine might not last much longer before Nintendo orders it to be taken down like the Super Mario 64 remake before it, something that even SPG642 has even noted while discussing the recently released demo trailer. Despite this, Super Mario Starshine looks like an impressive tribute to two of Mario’s most popular games, skillfully capturing the laid-back setting of Super Mario Sunshine and the gravity-defying exploration of Super Mario Galaxy in a fan project that demonstrates how creative and driven the modding and fan development communities can be.