Voxxyn - for the second time this topic, someone had read my mind.
Even though I extended the idea somewhat, as I feel that's it's a sentiment that's come to affect the whole of last-generation Nintendo's output, I was primarily thinking of Super Mario Sunshine when I wrote that.
I too have been increasingly taken aback by the size and force of the backlash against Sunshine over the past few years. With the exception of GameSpot's 8.0, the review scores accrued by the game on its release were great, bordering on stellar, but its reputation just slid and slid since then, so you get to the stage where today it's considered the black sheep, the flop, the failure. What rankles most, as you say, is the hypocrisy shown by a lot of reveiwers, reviewers who praised the game to rafters when it came out, but now seem afraid to stand by what they said back then for fear of going against "the tide".
Neverthless, despite everything I've said, I have to concede that of all of the games in the core Mario series, Sunshine is by far the most problematic, and it's difficult to say why. Since the tide started to turn against it, people have been trying to pin down reasons to explain the ill will; that it was too much of a departure from the core Mario gameplay concept, that the water-pack mechanic was fiddly or unsatisfying, that the setting was uninspired. I don't agree with any of that; sure, Isle Delfino wsan't the most inspired creation (the Piantas and Nokis were really dull designs), and the concept was very different, but whilst I was playing the game through, I was utterly enthralled. It was one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences in recent times, and I can remember marvelling aloud at how the game kept throwing up new and fresh ideas.
However, actually finishing the game had a strange negative effect on it - the whole thing started to feel strangely dead. I think that the too-easy last boss might have contributed to a feeling of being underwhelmed, but I think the key problem that everyone overlooks was the clumsy, clumsy blue coin collection dynamic. Because they're hidden so thoroughly at times, finding them is always going to be the last thing the player does, and therefore the last thing you remember about playing it, and I think that did more damage to my perception of the game than anyone could realise, because finding them was such a frustrating, illogical and obtuse chore.
Frequently, you have no idea where the coin might be, because it's placed so arbitrarily, so you have no choice but to traipse aimlessly around each level, scrutinising each and every pixel in mind-numbing systematic fashion, which completely and permanently destroys any sense of magic or excitement the environments might once have held and clouding your judgement of an otherwise excellent game. When appraising Sunshine, I try to look past that and remember the good - clearly though, not everyone is prepared to, meaning that, just like with Wind Waker and its comparable end-game Triforce hunting sequence, Nintendo sold short the legacy of what should have been one its flagship games with one lazy, stupid bit of design. And I think that's a real tragedy.
*ahem*
BACK TO TOPIC!!!
(100 geek points if you get that reference...)