6 super important questions about Super Mario Sunshine

Why is there not a long jump?

Mario’s long-jump, from what I gather, is a feature that people cherish deeply. Too deeply, I’d argue, considering the slide-then-jump feature in Sunshine seems to work just fine as a means of speed-running.

But alas, this isn’t about me; there is obviously some merit to this. In the beloved classic Super Mario 64, the long jump is iconic. Not just for speed-running purposes, but for its utility as well. It’s even present in Super Mario Galaxy, which makes its absence from Sunshine all the more confounding.

But you know what? I’ve changed my mind again! The long-jump is good, yes, but it isn’t as clean as many of you scoundrels make it out to be. The slide-jump is faster and the long jump has a brief awkwardness that kills your momentum once you land. Is the long-jump perhaps more effective in terms of completing platforming challenges? Probably, yes. But Sunshine has, you know, the water-jetpack attached to you at (nearly) all times, so why is this such a big deal?