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Monday 9 October, 2006
I'm up to 45 shines and feeling very good about some of the more difficult ones!
I was able to get most of the last ten shines in a new area that I had unlocked a while back even though I hadn't realized it. This is actually a bit of a blemish on the games design..
More than a few sessions ago there appeared a column of colored light. I knew that it was important (because the camera focuses on that area when you load up) and I had tried a lot of different things to see how I would get to that area including jumping, stomping, etc.
So I "cheated" and went online to see what was going on. It turns out I was supposed to stand in the light, look up and then stare at the sun... like I was going to figure that out by myself. In fact, even knowing that I had to do that, I had to spend a little time before I realized WHERE you had to look in order for the new area to load up.
Once I "figured" it out, I remembered that the same idea was present in Mario 64 DS which I finished playing not too long ago. I think I figured that one out by myself...but it was definitely different because I remember there was a voice that said something like "up here", hinting at the fact that you had to look up.
This actually got me thinking about what it means for a game to homage another. A lot of people talk about how there is little innovation, sequelitis, etc. so I was wondering how do you distinguish something that was ripped off versus something that is an homage? Is the column of light in Mario Sunshine an homage to the similar shaft of light in Mario 64?
I don't think I have an answer yet, but it's definitely food for thought.
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