It’s been fifteen years since Super Mario Sunshine took the gaming world by storm and really gave the GameCube a solid start to its life. The game is remembered by many as a fun, light-hearted and classic entry in the Super Mario franchise and still stands as one of the greatest g🐻ames the GameCube had to offer. While the game is nearly two decades old at this point, it still holds up and some would argue is better than a lot of the more recent Mario games we’ve received. While we pretty much know all we can about the game at this point, there’s plenty that might’ve gone under the radar.

From trivia to hidden files, unused content and strange glitches, there’s plenty of information out there about Super Mario Sunshine that you probably never picked up on. For example; did you know that there’s a quick nod to Super Mario 64 at the beginning of the game? Or that Delfino Plaza changed greatly between the time it was first shown and the date of release? Or that there’s a quick nod to Luigi’s Mansion in the game as well? That’s not even what we’re covering on the list! There’s plenty to know about Super Mario Sunshine. So here are 1💛5 crazy things ﷽you had no idea about.

15 Isle Delfino

While most know it as the main setting for Super Mario Sunshine, Isle Delfino has quite a few interesting tidbits of information that some fans might not know about it. It really 💛only goes as far as being trivia b♛ut it’s interesting stuff nonetheless, especially for fans of the game.

In the Japanese Version of the game, the💦 island is known as Dolphic Island. But seeing as how both versions of the game use the English voice acting, the in-flight infomercial you hear at the beginning of the game still mentions Isle Delfino in the Japanese version.

Isle Delphino literally translates to Dolphin Island from Italian. This can be seen as a reference to the GameCube’s original name, ﷽Project Dolphin.

14 The Hidden Nozzle Box

One thing you’ll notice as we go further down this list is that there is plenty of hidden or unused content throughout the game. It’s only normal when you think about it, as not everything that’s thought up and worked on throughout the development cycle makes its way into the final product. In the years since its release, gamers have scoured through various corners of Sunshine in order to find all that they could. Inside one of the bell towers in Delfino Plaza, player𓂃s💯 can actually find a hidden rocket nozzle box. The box is otherwise inaccessible unless the player uses a cheat code and can only be seen by using camera glitches.

13 Hidden Dialogue

As previously mentioned, there are plenty of hidden and otherwi✨se unnoticed things you can find in the game. Though most of these are restricted to enemies, textures and items, there is one interesting bit of hidden dialogue you might not have noticed at first. Well, it’s not so much hidden as it is obscured. In the Japanese version of the game, after Shadow Mario disap🎃pears from Peach’s sight, you can hear Mario say something like "Looks like Mario's gonna have to find a job." You can then hear Toadsworth say something along the lines of "Are you starting a new career?" and the dialogue goes back to what it was before immediately after. Funny enough, it was removed from international versions despite it being in English.

12 Unused Sound File

Out of all the unused content found in Sunshine this one has to be the most minuscule and otherwise unremarkable of the bunch. In the game you can find a sound file of Mario saying “Ciao,” likely a reference to his Italian heritage. The file is only a few seconds long and doesn’t really have any context attached to it. However, we can assume that it was meant to play when the game started up. Honestly, it isn’t all that much of a find but it’s still cool to think that things this minuscule can get left out of games when you have so many other important things like textures, maps and mechanics that never☂ made the cut.

11 Human NPCs

The idea that any other human characters aside from Mario and Peach might’ve found their way into Super Mario Sunshine might 𝓀seem a little odd to those who’ve spent countless hours with the game. That’s because✨ we all know that Isle Delfino is inhabited by the strange yet lively Pianta – a sentient species that greatly resemble plant life, which is how they got their name. However, in the Space World 2001 trailer of Sunshine, you can see a human girl on screen. It’s a brief sighting but it caused some to speculate that Human NPCs might’ve been planned for the game alongside the Pianta, but were dropped sometime during development. We’ll never know exactly what that girl was doing in the trailer.

10 Kug

They’re not the most popular Mario enemy you can find, but Kug’s have a pretty interesting history. They’ve yet to make an official appearance in any real Super Mario title but were apparently intended to have been an enemy in Sunshine that didn’t make the cut. Kug’s greatly resemble Goombas in their appearance and going by the concept artwork that’s been made available, are pretty much identical save for some minor features. You can find it in the games files though it makes no actu𝄹al appearance in the game. While you can’t access it normally it can be found if you use a glitch in Pinna Park by angling the camera a certain way or using a cheat device – though all you see is the concept art and no actual 3D model.

9 Removed Content

Though it probably comes as no surprise nearly halfway through this list, Super Mario Sunshine had its fair share of unused and discarཧded contentment that fans have managed to find gradually over the years. We’ve covered some of it so far, but there’s plenty more out there. While some warrant their own entry, others are just too vague or too little is known about them to dedicate an entire entry to it. The game had around 20 total test maps that were divided into two categories. Along with this various secret stages seemed to have either been planned and not completed or removed from the game. There were 13 of these found within the game. There were also a few cut scenes that weren’t included.

8 The Unused Train System

One of the most interesting scrapped ideas for Sunshine has to be the train system that was discovered via unused text that hinted at some sort of transportation system. According to the text, Mario could a🌳pparently buy tickets and get them stamped which would potentially give him access to different parts of Isle Delfino. Some Japanese dialogue hinted at 15 possible stations which players could visit once they got the appropriate stamp. It lists Pinna Park as a location, which means that the train was either an underground system or Pinna Park started off at a different location than it was in the game. It also hints at possible unused areas called "Battleship Island," "In front of Flame Temple," and "Lighthouse 🎐Island."

7 Italian Island Names

If it wasn’t clear at this point in the list, there are a lot of references to Mario’s cultural heritage in Sunshine, mainly having to do with how most places and things are named. One of the most striking examples of this is how each location on the island contains an Italian word. ✱We’ve already covered Delfino Plaza, but there are so many others in the game as well. Bianco Hills translates to White Hills, Noki bay is actually Shell Bay, Sirena Beach is Siren Beach ect... It might’ve seemed natural as a kid to hear and read things that didn’t make sense, but now that we’re older, having the proper context makes it all the more enjoyable.

6 The Study

Did you know that there was actually a study conducted involving Super Mario Sunshine as one of its focal points? An American study found that playing the game actually made people more helpful in real life. Sunshine, along with another game (Chibi-Robo!), were assigned to players and those players were later asked to help others solve puzzles. Of 30 possible puzzles, 11 of which had to be solved, 10 were easy, 10 were hard and 10 were somewhere in between. The study found that those who played the previously🌜 mentioned games were more likely to help their partners by assigning them 🧸puzzles with easier difficulties, while those who played more violent games were more inclined to give their partners the harder puzzles.