Super Mario Sunshine/Version Differences

This is a sub-page of Super Mario Sunshine.

To do: More differences can be found from this webpage, along with a few videos: http://pastebin.com/KFr2jG07 Document the Japanese Rev 1 version Find more differences between the GameCube versions and the Super Mario 3D All-Stars version. Add photos of 3D All Stars changes.

Note: The Korean version is just the North American version with a different revision number in the header.

Intro

Japanese	International

At the beginning of the intro cutscene, SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE and Nintendo Presents were switched in international versions.

Title Screen

Japanese	American	European

The Japanese title screen has "Super Mario Sunshine" written in both English and Japanese. The North American title screen has a bigger logo than the Japanese or European versions. To accommodate this, the "PRESS START" text was also somewhat awkwardly moved to fit on-screen. The European title screen keeps the title screen layout the same as the Japanese version, but the logo re-positioned the tree to be on the left side rather than on the right. The reason that the layout was changed back may have been due to longer phrasing used in French ("Appuyez sur..."), thus the logo was simply redesigned to fit the layout better.

Options Menu

Japanese	American	European

The Japanese version doesn't have the option to turn off subtitles, likely because all of the voice acting is in English. The options menu in the American version was shuffled around a bit in order to make the new option fit, while the European version also adds the language options, and the "Control Stick" icon was added.

Audio/Music

To do: Videos are needed for some of these.

Missing/Glitchy Audio

• The Japanese version is lacking the short jingle that plays when the Delfino Airstrip returns to its normal state after defeating the boss.
• When racing Il Piantissimo in international versions, a unique music theme plays. In the Japanese version, the level theme still plays.
• A small voice clip of Mario saying "Whew!" when exiting a Rainbow M is absent in the Japanese version.
• When Mario's air depletes in the international versions, there is a trumpet-like chime that plays each time he loses a wedge of health. In the Japanese version, only the sound of the normal life meter depleting is used.
• In the Japanese version, if Mario has lost health and there is a cutscene, then when the HUD reappears, the sound of the life meter depleting is used even though no additional health was obviously lost. The international versions have the life meter reappearing in silence.
• When a Nozzle box respawns in the Japanese version, it uses the same sound effect as a wooden barrel respawing. In the international versions, the Nozzle boxes have a unique sound effect when they respawn.
• There are some audio delays in the Japanese version (such as when Shadow Mario appears in Delfino Plaza) that were fixed in the international versions.
• Normally, there's a short jingle when a Shine Sprite appears, but in the Japanese version the music sometimes won't play when a Shine Sprite appears and won't come back until you restart your console. This glitch can also cause longer load times and sometimes, collecting a Shine Sprite will crash the game. This was fixed in the international versions.

Japanese	International

• The timing for the sound for when Mario gets shot from the cannon to get to Pinna Park (the same sound for when Mario gets thrown by a Pianta) is different. In the Japanese version, the sound is played when Mario goes inside the cannon (before Mario even gets shot from it), but the international versions correctly have the sound played when Mario gets shot from the cannon.
• The Japanese and Amercian versions, F.L.U.D.D.'s "Mario!" voice clip when giving advice has multiple variations for different situations. In the European version, F.L.U.D.D. only uses one variation for all pieces of advice.

Distorted Scream

Japanese	International

In the Japanese version, if you load a save file where Isle Delfino is flooded, Mario will fall down to the flooded Isle Delfino with a distorted scream. This glitch was fixed in the international versions.

Mario's Conversation

During the arrival cutscene, Mario and Toadsworth are seen speaking in the background while Peach is in focus. As Peach spots Shadow Mario, the Japanese version has low-volume dialogue between them. In a bit of self-referential humor, Mario states "Looks like Mario's gonna have to find a job.", to which Toadsworth asks "Trying to start a new career?" right before his line about the Princess' well-being. This banter is not subtitled, and it was mysteriously removed from international versions in spite of it being in clear English.

An additional line removed from the international versions, with Mario saying something like "It looks like a giant pool of paint.", can be heard earlier in the same cutscene, in the shot right before the Toads' lines.

The Prosecutor

Japanese	International

In the international versions of the court cutscene, the prosecutor and the judge use "Isle Delfino" consistently. In the Japanese video, while the judge continues using "Isle Delfino", the prosecutor uses an alternate take where he instead creates a third variant of the island's name: "Delfino Isle".

During this take, the prosecutor's voice actor also misreads all instances of "shine" as "shrine", resulting in terms like "Shrine Sprites" and "Shrine Gate", among other mispronunciations.

F.L.U.D.D. Stolen

Japanese	International

The sound when F.L.U.D.D. is snatched from Mario is much louder in the international versions. Additionally a whoosh sound was added when Shadow Mario passes by and the sound at the end was changed to a different pitch.

Level Select

Japanese	International

Japanese	International

Japanese	International

Several level names were changed for the English-speaking audience. Note that Mare is the name for Noki, and Monte is the name for Pianta (although the water bottles, which spell out "Monte Drink", were left unlocalized). Additionally, stories are called episodes and "My score" was reduced to "Score" in the international releases.

Isle Delfino

Japanese	International

In the international versions, the island is always referred to as "Isle Delfino" while the name is less consistent in the Japanese version, where it is referred to as Dolphic Island by the introductory video.

As seen in the Japanese video above, the name "Dolphic Island" (a translation of ドルピックとう, the in-game Japanese name) is shown during the intro. The speaker (which uses the same English voice acting) still refers to it as "Isle Delfino", even when "Dolphic Island" is shown in the top-left corner.

On a related note, Hotel Delfino was always named Delfino, even in the Japanese version. A poster inside the hotel that reads "Dolpic" was left unlocalized in the other releases.

Map Screen

Upper Text

Japanese	International

Lower Text

Japanese	International

The small text on the map screen was changed for the international versions to read a little more naturally. Also, the lettering is thicker.

Jump Off of Yoshi

The way Mario jumps off of Yoshi differs between the Japanese and the international versions. In the Japanese version, he jumps off directly above Yoshi and in the international versions, he jumps off rather behind him. This change was most probably done in order to fix a glitch that allows you to clip through ceilings when jumping off of Yoshi, but it also introduced the "infinite flutter" glitch that allows you to flutter consecutively by jumping off and using a ground-pound immediately.

Level Preview Video

Japanese	International

The video that plays in the graffiti portal to Bianco Hills was re-rendered for the international releases. If you look closely at the left side of the windmill in the Japanese version, there is seemingly a large red block that may have been part of an earlier layout of the level which may be the reason for the redo. The camera also now makes a much wider circle around the windmill than in the Japanese version. Note that they didn't bother to fix the noticeable jump in the positions of the clouds and windmill when the video loops. Also worth noting is that the video shows the Sand Bird Tower in Gelato Beach with columns around the walkway, which were removed in the final version of the actual level.

Signboard Text

Japanese	International

In the international versions, signboards show some unreadable symbols. The Japanese version displays English text, but it is actually just a mangled example sentence taken from a dictionary. The text seems to read (missing text in brackets):

This isn't gonna [hurt a bit.]
Just a little stick.
Ready? 1...2...3.
There you [go.] All do[ne].

Fountain Fruits

Pairs of fruit were added to the water fountains in Delfino Plaza in the international versions, likely to make feeding Yoshi more convenient. Pineapples were put in the fountain by the Bianco Hills entrance, and papayas were put in the fountain by the Noki Bay entrance.

Japanese	International

Japanese	International

Exclusive Shine Spawns

Japanese	International

If the player collects 99 coins on the main plaza, and then one more coin on the secret level "Red Coin Field", the game will freeze in the Japanese version; this happens because there is no spawn point for the 100-coin Shine Sprite in this level. Despite the absence of Yellow coins in this level, Pokeys release some coins when they're sprayed into a wall. A spawn point for the Shine Sprite was added in the international versions, and counts as the 100-coin Shine for Delfino Plaza.

Sirena Beach's 3rd Episode is also missing its 100-coin Shine Sprite spawn on the beach in the Japanese version. Even though it's impossible to collect 100 coins out on the beach in Episode 3, the spawn was added back in the international versions.

Too Bad!

Japanese	English

When Mario loses a life in the Japanese version, the text says "Miss!" In the English version, it says "Too bad!" instead.

(Source: http://themushroomkingdom.net/sms_j-e.shtml)

Shine!

Japanese	English

The text that appears when Mario collects a Shine Sprite says "Shine get!" in the Japanese version. In the English version, the "get" was removed to fix the awkward grammar.

(Source: http://themushroomkingdom.net/sms_j-e.shtml)

Buttons in Text

The button characters used for when the game explains how to use an in-game function are slightly different between versions. In the Japanese version some of the buttons take on a square-shape, while in the international versions the buttons were redone to look more like the actual buttons on the controller so that the images can be seen better.

Japanese	International

Fruit HUD

When Yoshi runs out of juice before disappearing, the text "Hungry" appears in the Japanese version. In the international versions, it's "Fruit".

Japanese	International

Softlock in the Italian Language

There's a rather simple softlock exclusive to the Italian language setting (which exists in the normal European version and Super Mario 3D All-Stars).

During Gelato Beach's eighth episode, The Watermelon Festival, by reading the first sign straight ahead the game will show two dialogue boxes instead of one; the second being an unintended empty one probably added during translation. The second dialogue box can't be closed, causing the game to softlock.

Stage Changes

The European version changed a couple of stages as well:

• The ferris wheel in Episode 5 of Pinna Park moves slower.
• The windmill in Bianco Hills moves slower.

Other Changes

• In the Japanese version, every time Delfino Plaza loads it loads roughly half a second faster than the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, when Shine Sprites appear after defeating Shadow Mario in one of the levels, they do not spin as they fall, but they do in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, spraying the Klambers with water does not stun them, but they do get stunned with water in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, you only get 11 frames of air damage while underwater. This was changed to 50 frames in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, if you throw a fruit as you land you can make the fruit float in mid-air.
• The international versions have a glitch called the Fruit Storage Glitch. By dismounting Yoshi while Yoshi is in the process of eating a fruit, the fruit will stay in mid-air. This allows you to eat the fruit at any point in the level.
• In the Japanese version, the test map of the game "test11" is not present.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars Changes

To do: At least some of the cutscenes aren't upscaled, but rather re-rendered from scratch. For example, the Delfino Plaza statue cutscene having a sleeping Player Mario in the background, lighting differences, and a slightly different facial animation for Cutscene Mario. Also notable are the timing differences present in the Mecha-Bowser cutscene. Document these changes and more.

General

• All of the prerendered cutscenes have been upscaled, along with some in-game textures.
• The game now plays in widescreen.
• The Dolby splash screen has been removed.

Title Screen

Japanese (GameCube)	American (GameCube)	European (GameCube)
Japanese (Switch)	American English (Switch)	European languages (Switch)

The title screen's "PRESS START!" message has been replaced by "PRESS A". The American English title screen has changed the most, having the text being arranged like other language versions. The American English version still uses the shrinking "PRESS" text, though.

Options Menu

Japanese (GameCube)	American (GameCube)
European (GameCube)	Switch

The options menu lacks the sound option due to the Switch having one in its settings. Like the European version, the GameCube controller isn't present. However, its exclusion from this version is because the Switch version is compatible with certain controllers, and ironically, none of them were the GameCube controller until an update.

Textures

Level Preview Video

International (GameCube)	Switch

As a result of the higher-resolution textures, you can see the Sand Bird Tower pillars more clearly. In addition, you can see that in Ricco Harbor, the Pinna Park Ferris wheel is orange as seen in pre-release media and the unused cloud layer is present.

Buttons in Text

International (GameCube)	Switch
	160px

The button textures have been changed once again, to match the new layout for Switch controllers.

Audio/Video

F.L.U.D.D.'s Introduction

International (GameCube)	Switch

In the tutorial cutscene where F.L.U.D.D. introduces itself to Mario, its dialogue has been choppily edited to remove implications of the original's control scheme, which results in F.L.U.D.D. calling each button "the button", and the control stick "the stick". The new control scheme, however, is shown in the subtitles.

Other

• The sound effect that plays when a race starts has been replaced with a 1 kHz tone, similar to a common censor beep. This is as a result of a DSP bug in Hagi, the emulator Nintendo created and used to run Sunshine in Super Mario 3D All-Stars. This was fixed in the Version 1.1.0 update.

International (GameCube)	Switch

• Prior to version 1.1.0., using the turbo nozzle underwater did not function correctly with the new 16:9 resolution resulting in the screen graphics getting messed up.

Text

• The text that shows up while a file is being saved no longer mentions the memory card due to the Switch obviously not using them.

Revisional Differences

Version 1.0.0

Initial release. (Cartridge Release)

Version 1.1.0

• Adds native GameCube controller support, replicating the control scheme from the original 2002 release. Previously, the controller simply functioned identically to the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller when used.
• Incorporates the option to use inverted camera controls.
• Using the Turbo Nozzle underwater no longer corrupts the edges of the game's 16:9 display.
• The debug cubes seen in secret levels are no longer visible, better reflecting the original release.
• The sound effect that plays when a race starts now plays back properly.