Super Mario Sunshine follows Mario as he arrives on Isle Delfino with his friends for some relaxation. However, upon arrival, they discover the island has been polluted and its energy source, the Shine Sprites, have disappeared. The culprit is blamed to be similar in appearance to Mario, so the portly plumber is forced to clean up the island. Mario is given an invention called FLUDD to help him clean up graffiti and mud and capture the real villain.
The gameplay of Super Mario Sunshine features a combination of action and puzzle solving, with numerous stages and multiple episodes to each stage, and plenty of hidden secrets and surprises. Players control Mario as he navigates through various levels, using FLUDD to clean up the island and solve puzzles to progress.