IGNcube was recently treated to 30 or so seconds of new Mario Sunshine footage during an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata. The brief look at the upcoming platformer showed off interactive 3D levels and an overall brighter visual style. Site editor-in-chief Matt Casamassina offers his impressions. Check it out!

Matt Casamassina
Well, I've seen the new Mario Sunshine footage that Miyamoto and Iwata have been wheeling around the world -- and what's the verdict? To be honest, I'm not sure.

Mario Sunshine looks like Super Mario 64. Not Super Mario 64 with bigger levels or better textures -- just Super Mario 64. Okay, Super Mario 64 in high-resolution mode. And strangest of all, at some points during the video the game even slowed down.

So what the hell is going on? While it's true that Mario Sunshine won't win any awards for visuals in its current form, the truth is that there's quite a lot Miyamoto is keeping secret. With that, it's clear that the game is going to deliver a totally dynamic, frantic platforming experience -- a world, according to Miyamoto, brimming with life.

The worlds morph. As Mario jumps around, the land actually begins to quake and sections of the earth split open, raise, drop, and what have you. So Mario can be on a low piece of land one second and at the top of a great hill the next. This, so far, is the most intriguing aspect of the game I've witnessed.

The metallic water drops and splashes all over the place. Mario can swim in the goodness and it slows him down. He has to spray it with his water gadget for whatever reason. Miyamoto wasn't talking. Mario can climb high wires and balance on them. He can cling to doors and gates that swing open. He can run, jump, flip and do all of that jazz.

But so far there are no big secrets. It looks like a heck of a lot of fun and in the end probably will be the most enjoyable game in a long while. But the screenshots you've seen are indeed what's running in motion; it's not the prettiest GameCube title. Now, when if only I could play it...

Source: IGN Cube