Playing as a penguin armed with a squirt gun, it is your job to platform your way through each of the tiny levels to collect three keys, unlock the stage-ending treasure chest, and defeat simple bad guys along the way. It is a very simple, very basic, highly approachable action platformer that is perfect for younger players, those looking for easy Achievements, or anyone who likes a fast paced sense of progression.
With one button to shoot and one button to attack, gameplay couldn’t be simpler. Each shot of the water gun reduces the amount in the tank but almost everything drops replenishing water icons so the player will rarely need to be conservate. Not that you’ll need to as the difficulty is pretty easy outside of an occasionally cheaply placed enemies and a couple boss fights. For example, I did run out of water during a boss fight and the game doesn’t give the player any water refilling options so I was forced to die and restart. A little annoying, sure, but still tolerable.
In addition to the charming sprite work and a soundtrack that is more epic than it needs to be, there are two things that I really like about Super Sunny Island. First, each stage only takes like 30 seconds complete, sometimes even faster if you push it. The bite sized stages provide just enough challenge to keep gameplay entertaining but the fast turnaround makes dying slightly inconvenient at most. Even finding all three keys is nearly impossible to miss. The sense of progression is great and wish more platformers took this approach.
The other reason why I like this game is that is gives the player access to all the levels in that world at once. Want to start on level 15 instead of level 1? Go right ahead. Not having to finish each stage in sequential order is respectful and thoughtful toward the player experience. If you are having trouble with a certain stage, no biggie, just play another stage and come back to it when ready. There is no needed to painfully grind until you get it right.
Super Sunny Island is loaded with mindless, stupid charm. See all those bagillions of collectable fruits that don’t do anything when you get them? You can collect them if you want. If not, who cares. Want to speedrun the game? Then turn on the timer in the options and set an imposed restriction on yourself, sure, why not? This is also one of the easiest games to earn all the Achievements. It doesn’t take much time or much work to unlock them all. In fact, you’ll unlock most of them through natural play in the first few minutes of gameplay.
I appreciate the uncomplicated and simple approach that is this cute action platformer. I mean, you are squirting Goomba rock monsters with a squirt gun (sometimes underwater!), as a freakin’ penguin that wears a hat and a scarf as layers of defense, and collecting fruit and keys all from the comfort of adorable visuals. A simple game shouldn’t be mistaken for one with poor quality.
Don’t Forget About: Kid Ball Adventure
Better Than: Dyna Bomb 2
Wait For It: New Super Mario Bros. 3
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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Rating
Our Rating - 6.5
6.5
Total Score
A very simple and approachable action platformer that is cute, playable by anyone, and loaded with super easy Achievements.