Development/February 2002
Possibly the most mysterious of all internal builds of Super Mario Sunshine, this version of the game is the "missing link" between Spaceworld and the final release.
The HUD, albeit incomplete, has taken on it's new design, and yet at the same time, is compensating for the early assests, such as F.L.U.D.D.'s skinnier design from Spaceworld. Speaking of F.L.U.D.D., the X button prompt never shows up, so hover nozzle likely didn't exist yet. Mario doesn't seem to be able to talk to NPCs yet, and even though Shine Sprites finally make their grand debut, located on the HUD, they don't seem to exist in any stages. Also, even though Bianco Hills and Ricco Harbor are shown off, Super Mario Sunshine's flagship stage for marketing, Delfino Plaza, is completely missing in action, likely due to Dolpic Town getting the axe, and the stage currently undergoing major renovations.
Bianco Hills[edit | edit source]
Bianco Hills is utilizing an old layout of the village, and is considerably smaller than the final version. The giant lake is completely absent, there's no Hillside Cave, no Cliff Spring Cave, no gaint wall that cuts through the map, and no Gatekeeper. The textures and stage assests are also completely different, having Mediterranean-style buildings with plants growing in the windows, birdhouses for windmills, and grapevines growing abundantly on the square platforms littered throughout the town.
Screenshots[edit | edit source]
There's a lot to unpack here. Immediately next to Mario is the early goop, using an unused texture that was leftover in the final game. The starting area for the stage is vastly different, having a red brick wall dividing the landscape, and a very steep hill leading down into the village. The early buildings can be seen pretty well from here, and the birdhouses are perched upon large pyramid-shaped bases.
Mario is pursued by an early Piranhabon. These Piranhabons are identical to Petey Piranha's head in shape, have black lips and head petals, and almost appear to be rotting, as well as not being covered in goop. For the first time, a coin finally makes its appearance, but it seems to be a little on the small side.
Mario Braves the skies walking along a tightrope, which have now been implemented. The big windmill can be spotted behind Mario, and surprisingly is mostly complete by this point, with the only major difference being the wooden platforms on the sails, being more box-shaped, and looking somewhat like baskets.
Leftover Assests[edit | edit source]
Leftover in the files of the retail version of Super Mario Sunshine are four unused assests from this version of Bianco Hills. They all pertain to the pollution in the stage, and how it interacted with the environment.
Ricco Harbor[edit | edit source]
Ricco Harbor has gotten a much-needed facelift since Spaceworld, but is still vastly unfinished. However, unlike Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbor is actually using a variant of the final version's layout!
Screenshots[edit | edit source]
There's a lot of differences here. Firstly, Mario is climbing a grate that doesn't appear in the final game, and the crane next to him is completely different, having a solid blue arm instead of a gridded black one, and a solid red cargo lift instead of one with a wire mesh in the middle. The starting area is completely absent, with the large black freight ship taking its place. Ricco Tower is also missing, and the colorful crates that normally house Gooper Blooper replace it. Finally, the goop seen on the lower ledge is completely black with a faint green outline, even though a unique texture was created for it (see below).
Ricco Harbor is revealed to be very empty here, as there's almost nothing in the ocean to speak of. The grate Mario was climbing on before is shown to be quite long, extending most of the way across the harbor. Another solid cargo lift is seen, which should also have a mesh in the center, and goop can be seen floating out to sea, whereas it usually doesn't extend that far.
Gooper Blooper makes his first appearance, but is a very dark blue as opposed to white in the finished game. This area of the girders above the harbor does roughly exist in the final version, however, not only is there far less to stand on here, but Gooper Blooper never appears on the girders anywhere in the retail game. The Spaceworld "duck cloud" skybox can be seen very well here, but in contrast, neither Dolpic Town nor Delfino Plaza can be seen beyond the cliffside.
Leftover Assets[edit | edit source]
Similar to Bianco Hills, assets of the stage's pollution were left buried in the final game.
The height map model used for the pollution. The wall of buildings has a different shape from the final version, and the ledge on the right is much lower than it ended up. Also, the white peir at the left doesn't exist yet, and there's an unknown square at the bottom which can't be seen in any screenshots.