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A new mod has just been released that lets you play Super Mario Sunshine with up to 10 players online.
Better Super Mario Sunshine Online, as the brand-new expansion is called, is the work of Daytendo 64, a member of the Super Mario Elements modding community (whose projects we've previously covered here), and targets a Windows setup using the Dolphin emulator.
Its development has been known about for a while, with its creator, Daytendo 64, having previously showcased the project earlier this month, but it has only just been released this past weekend, with the download hosted on the modding website GameBanana.
Something you may be aware of, if you happen to be up to date on the Mario Sunshine modding community, is that a Super Mario Sunshine Online mod already exists, which lets people play online together, which kind of begs the question: why did Daytendo 64 set out to make another?
This is something the developer has actually sought to answer before, in a video over on his channel, in which he stated the project emerged from his frustrations with that other mod.
"To keep the story short, SMSO is terrible about updates," Daytendo64 stated. "The last update, 2.2, was over two years ago. And to make matters worse, 3.0 had been announced nearly a year ago, and still nothing has come of it. That's the main issue. Other issues in-game people have had are issues with staying connected, stuff just not working properly, and a ton of bugs... And with updates being as slow as they are, we just all lost hope in it, so that's why I decided to create my own version of SMSO."
A release trailer for Better Super Mario Sunshine Online was published yesterday on YouTube, and already seems to be generating a lot of excitement online, with the initial footage showing some of the added game modes included within. This includes an online co-op version of the main story and an additional hide-and-seek mode.
In case you're wondering how the multiplayer story works, all collectables, including all shines and blue coins, are synced across players, with the story and plaza states also in sync. This also applies to those who are added later, hopefully ensuring a smooth experience for all involved.
As for the hide-and-seek mode, the seekers can either be host-selected or randomly assigned, with a timed grace period also available for everyone to locate a hiding spot, and the ability to randomly pick the next stage.
The mod also boasts "15 fully Custom Characters", with Sonic, Shadow, Mario, and Waluigi being some of the characters visible in the trailer, as well as "quality of life updates", with Super Mario Elements calling it "THE way to enjoy a Vacation with your Friends!"
If you want to give it a try and see whether it lives up to its name, you'll have to supply your own legal copies of the NTSC-U version of the game to play. Players are also encouraged to have access to RadminVPN (though port forwarding is also an option). Will you be checking it out? Let us know!