Mission

A mission, also known as an episode in Super Mario Sunshine, is a scenario or instance that takes place in various levels in many of the 3D games in the Super Mario series. Missions often change the placement of objects in the level they apply to, and lead the player toward a certain Power Star, Shine Sprite, or Power Moon in the level. In most of their appearances, missions can be selected from a dedicated menu that appears upon entering a level.

History

Super Mario series

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS

Missions first appear in Super Mario 64. There are six missions in each of the game's fifteen main courses, which can be selected from when Mario enters one of the courses. Uncompleted missions are represented by translucent blue Power Stars, while completed ones are represented by regular Power Stars. Mario can only select the first mission in each course when he enters it. Individual missions only rarely contain differences in level design in this game, mostly limited to the appearance of mission-relevant characters or bosses, such as the Big Bob-omb only appearing when Big Bob-omb on the Summit is selected in Bob-omb Battlefield, though there are occasionally more subtle differences as well, such as there being three iron balls rolling around in a ditch in Bob-omb Battlefield during Footrace with Koopa the Quick as opposed to two in every other mission. Since the level design changes little between missions, Power Stars belonging to missions other than the one selected can be obtained the majority of the time. Collecting a Power Star from a later mission causes that mission and only that mission to become unlocked prematurely, though selecting it does not actually alter the level design to match the mission unless the earlier one has been completed.

In Super Mario 64's remake, Super Mario 64 DS, missions function largely the same, though there are now seven in each main course instead of six. While Power Stars from other missions can still be obtained the majority of the time, there are a slightly greater number of level design changes between missions than in the Nintendo 64 version — for example, the new Silver Stars only appear when the missions they are relevant to is selected.

Super Mario Sunshine

In Super Mario Sunshine, there are eight proper episodes in each of the seven main levels, which can be selected from upon entering a level. Each mission is represented by a translucent blue Shine Sprite if it has not completed, and a golden one if it has been completed. Like in Super Mario 64, episodes are unlocked in order starting with the first. Compared to Super Mario 64, however, there are far more level design changes between episodes, with the placement of enemies, coins, terrain features, interactive objects, friendly characters, goop, and even trees regularly varying from one episode to the next. Friendly characters also typically have different dialogue between episodes, usually forming an ongoing narrative that plays out through the episodes of each level. Due to the greater variance between episodes, it is usually impossible to obtain episode-based Shine Sprites other than the one that pertains to the selected episode. There are several exceptions to this, however, most notably the case of being able to complete Episode 2 of Bianco Hills (Down with Petey Piranha!) while Episode 1 (Road to the Big Windmill) is selected. Unlike in Super Mario 64, this unlocks the episode numbered after the one that was collected out of order, allowing further episodes to be played out of order. It is also possible to collect the Shine Sprites from Bianco Hills' Episode 3 The Hillside Cave Secret and Episode 6 The Secret of the Dirty Lake in later episodes, though this does not allow the player to skip anything. The Shine Sprite for Episode 8 of Gelato Beach (The Watermelon Festival) can also be collected early in any of the other episodes through a glitch, as it is always visible inside a glass tank in the Surf Cabana. If this is done, all intervening episodes between the one in which the Shine Sprite was collected and The Watermelon Festival are also unlocked, and can be selected from then on.

Completing the seventh episode of each main level is mandatory to finish the game, as doing so unlocks the entrance to Corona Mountain in Delfino Plaza. Each of these seventh episodes involves chasing Shadow Mario through the level and defeating him.

The Super Mario Sunshine Player's Guide also refers to the two hidden Shine Sprites in each level as being collected as part of ninth and tenth episodes of their respective levels. However, these episodes are not selectable from the episode selection menu even after being completed, instead being displayed in the margin of the menu next to text reading "???".