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We can now answer the above question! As it turns out, the gadget on Mario's back, is a water tank, used to spray H20 onto paint splotches that fall onto the ground as you play the game (turns out our tipster was right). However, while that clears up what it is, it doesn't really tell anything about why Mario would be doing such a thing to begin with.
From what I can tell, Mario Sunshine looks to be shaping up to be a truly great game. The visual style is similar to Mario 64, with the notable difference that the environments Mario finds himself in, are not Castles and immense green pastures, but rather city streets and tropical isles. How all of this ties into the storyline, however, remains to be seen. Has Mario turned his back on the Mushroom Kingdom, for a Tropical paradise?
This will be Mario's first game on the new GameCube, but not his first appearance, as he made a cameo in Luigi's Mansion (the Gamecube launch title). These are the known features of the game, at this time:
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City and Suburban environments.
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60 frames per second.
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Mario has an Emotion system, allowing you to tell when he's upset, happy, confused, etc.
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Water Tank is used to clean up the landscape.
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Levels three times as large as Mario 64.
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Sunshine Coins (?)
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Sunshine Meter (?)
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Possibility of Multiple Players (Princess?? Luigi??)
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New moves, like the Matrix-like wall jump.
While alot of the mainstream gaming press, has been very fast to say that the quality of the graphics looks "disappointing", or "lacking", I would like to say I am impressed with this game. And if every system was based strictly on graphics, XBox might win a few awards. The Mario games have always been about taking the player to new heights of gaming magic, and I believe Mario Sunshine will continue in this respect, even if the graphics are slightly diminished. It's also important to note, that this is merely a preview game, and the final product will be not be less than genius, if Mayamoto's previous track record is any indication. I remember people were similarly unimpressed with Mario 64, when the first pictures came out, but when it was released, it sold systems. These naysayers should take things like that into account, before openly bashing a game not even finished.
-NulShock
UPDATE: It's been revealed that the City level that appears in all of the released screenshots from Mario Sunshine, is simply the first level, and not, as some people have said, the entire game world.
UPDATE: Mayamoto has said that in Mario Sunshine, the Water Tank device can also latch onto wires and ropes, like a Mechanical Arm!! He also said, that the Water Tank device is NOT the only thing/item Mario will be able to strap onto his back!!
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