Despite its lack of polish in some areas (looking at you, pachinko machine), Super Mario Sunshine's seamless blending of platforming and worldbuilding is unmatched in the industry. Most platformers will go for a variety of abstract levels that make no sense together, but Sunshine manages to have variety while keeping every level within the constraints of a tropical resort theme. The only exceptions to this are the abstract stages where you lose your helpful water pack FLUDD, but even these are contextualized through portals in the levels and they offer a satisfying challenge. Super Mario Sunshine is Nintendo at its most strange and delightful.