Hey, does anyone else really like the way Mario’s footsteps sound in Super Mario Sunshine? No? Just me?
There’s just something very satisfying about them, you know? I remember liking them when I was a kid, playing on a GameCube in front of a clonky square TV in our basement, but not knowing why. Specifically, I liked the way Mario’s footsteps sounded on the lovely white stone paths of Delfino Plaza, though it was also really enjoyable when he ran across other terrain, like the wooden blocks of the FLUDD-less levels, or the crunchy sand on one of Isle Delfino’s many beaches.
I couldn’t find any videos that focused on Mario’s footsteps specifically, but full playthroughs of course have the lovely click-clack of his brown work shoes on pavement in spades. Here, have a listen and tell me I’m wrong. The video below has a good, long example of lots of different terrain starting at 19:21, as he runs across Bianco Hill’s pavement, grass, some wooden platforms, and eventually the toy blocks of a FLUDD-less level.
I don’t know what it is, but I cannot think of a game since that has had such lovely audio for just…running! There’s a lot of great audio design in Sunshine across the board, though. I love the little mechanical whirrs that FLUDD makes when he shifts modes or goes into “rest” mode. All the different water sounds are great. And there’s nothing funnier than talking to a Pianta to here “Baackabaa maaahumbuh!”
It’s weird to look back and think that Super Mario Sunshine was probably my very first encounter with anything remotely like ASMR. I occasionally listen to such videos when I want to relax—I especially like cooking ASMR videos, and particularly the stuff from Cooking Tree, which is just the most gentle and satisfying baking channel you can imagine. But there remains to this day something about making Mario run around on the plaza stonework that soothes my soul. If you’ve had a stressful week, maybe give it a try yourself?
Have a lovely weekend full of blissful little Mario stomps!