The long-awaited sequel to SM64 is simply incredible. Mario's debut on the GameCube is far superior to Luigi's Mansion, in practically every respect. The graphics are bright and colorful, it's much, MUCH harder, and it's a great deal longer. Truly, Mario is the only man who can successfully leap from console to console and continue to entertain and surprise us.
Basically, our hero plumber is off to a tropical island for a vacation with Princess Peach, when a shadowy Mario look-alike appears and paints the whole paradise in goop. The real Mario is blamed and is sentenced to clean up the mess the imposter made. He does this with the aid of FLUDD, which is a water pack he wears on his back, not completely unlike Luigi's vaccuum. FLUDD comes with four different nozzles, each of which serves a different purpose. The Squirt Nozzle is good for basic attacks (nearly all baddies are vulnerable to water), the Hover Nozzle allows you to hover in the air a short while, the Turbo Nozzle cranks up your speed (swimming with it is a blast!), and the Rocket Nozzle launches you into the stratosphere. Cleaning up was never this much fun!
Perhaps the best thing about this game is Yoshi. Yes, you finally get to ride Yoshi in a 3-D game! He comes in a variety of cheerful colors and makes all the adorable noises you'd expect him to. He squirts juice too, and it affects enemies differently compared to Mario's water. Yoshi has to eat fruit in order to keep his juice meter full, but there's usually plenty around, so you don't have to worry about him running out. It's harder to keep him out of the water, though, and Yoshi for some reason dissolves if he gets wet (time was you could take your Yoshi anywhere!). It's a funny sight to see, but very annoying if you have to go back to get him so you can get that next Shine Sprite.
Overall, this is probably my favorite Mario game yet. It looks and plays beautifully and it's FUN! Like SM64, it can get a little long and horribly frustrating at times, but it's just too great to put down most of the time. Poor Mario...I wonder if he'll ever get that vacation he deserves?