Super Mario Sunshine joins Switch 2 GameCube Classics Aug. 13

Super Mario Sunshine joins the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube Classics collection on Switch 2 on August 13, 2026. Playing it requires the console and a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, which costs $50 per year. The release is an emulated GameCube original with upscaled visuals and built-in save states, though it appears in a 4:3 window with borders because it never had a 16:9 option.

Sunshine had not been generally available on a modern Nintendo system since Super Mario 3D All-Stars left the eShop on March 31, 2021. That 2020 collection had a six-month print run and never returned, though it had offered the game’s first full 16:9 presentation at 1080p docked on the original Switch. The GameCube Classics collection exists only on Switch 2, so original Switch owners need a second-hand copy of All-Stars to play the game.

GameRant said on Aug. 5, 2026, that subscribers get suspend points, button remapping for each game, a CRT screen mode, region selection, and online and local multiplayer through GameChat. Nintendo will add Virtual Boy titles D-Hopper and Zero Racers to the same Expansion Pack tier on August 4, 2026.

The addition means players can now play every home console 3D Mario game on Switch 2, while Super Mario 3D Land remains exclusive to the 3DS handheld. Super Mario Sunshine launched in 2002 for the Nintendo GameCube and became the third best-selling GameCube game of all time. Initial reviews included IGN’s 9.4, Game Informer’s 9.75, and perfect marks from Nintendo Power. The game carries a split reputation because of wonkier physics and controls, an early 2000s camera, difficulty spikes, and the Pachinko minigame.

Nintendo Life’s plot description has Mario falsely accused of vandalizing Delfino Island with graffiti, then recovering the sun’s power, called “Shine,” using a back-mounted water pump to defeat enemies and fly. Sunshine introduced Bowser Jr., Petey Piranha, Piantas, Cataquacks, and Toadsworth, all of whom later appeared in other games and the Super Mario movies.

AOL reports the GameCube Classics lineup remains sparse, with only a handful of games available at the moment. Titles already added include Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Soul Calibur 2, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, while Pokémon Colosseum remains missing and could arrive before the end of the year or slip into 2027.

KitGuru reports Sunshine was originally confirmed for Nintendo Switch Online well over a year before its August 13, 2026, addition, making it one of the slowest first-wave GameCube additions. Nintendo has nearly completed the initial GameCube lineup announced last year. The Switch 2 handheld console’s price is going up by $50 in the US effective Sept. 1.

Yoshiaki Koizumi directed Super Mario Sunshine in 2002 alongside Kenta Usui, under producers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Koizumi told Wired in December 2007 that Super Mario Galaxy could not exist without the lessons from Sunshine. He said Sunshine’s multi-path design evolved into Galaxy’s zone system, that Galaxy’s spherical worlds fixed Sunshine’s camera issues, and that Galaxy’s spin continues the spray concept of FLUDD, Mario’s back-mounted water pump.

“You really can’t have Galaxy without all of the things we learned from Sunshine,” Koizumi said. Miyamoto publicly described Sunshine as a detour or tropical spin-off with a water gun bolted on, a reading Koizumi does not share.

Koizumi’s design term hakoniwa—a miniature garden or landscape in a box that shows different things depending on where you stand—links Sunshine and Galaxy. He built Isle Delfino on that principle in 2002 to feel more believable than Super Mario 64’s floating dioramas. Speaking at a 2007 Montreal Games Summit, Koizumi said 3D action design comes down to depth perception, players getting lost, and motion sickness.

FLUDD let Mario hose down enemies without judging distance, a solution Galaxy continued with its spin using the Wii Remote. Koizumi argued Sunshine and Ocarina of Time made controls too complex by handing camera control to the player, potentially splitting the audience and discouraging some players from 3D games.

Polygon’s Oct. 27, 2026, reassessment calls Sunshine the most experimental Mario game by a mile, pointing to water-controlled slot machines and a rollercoaster boss fight. The outlet frames it as the true predecessor to Super Mario Bros. Wonder because both games surprise players with unpredictable effects.

Polygon says the tropical island setting aesthetically unites every location, with a soundtrack filled with ukulele and steel drums. Ricco Harbor and Gelato Beach fit that island theme. The outlet also imagines every Mario level as part of a specific place, an approach later explored in Bowser’s Fury on Switch, unlike the kingdom-trotting structure of Super Mario Odyssey.

Polygon places Sunshine in a GameCube lineage with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, titles the author says set the stage for Bananza. The author recalls buying a pre-ordered copy at the GameStop in Natick Mall on launch day in summer 2002 amid rave reviews.

Contemporary reviews were broadly enthusiastic, but complaints clustered around the camera, Yoshi, FLUDD gimmicks, voice acting, and difficulty spikes like the Pachinko machine. GameRant says these criticisms are generally earned looking back.