Super Mario Eclipse is a free fan-made modification of Super Mario Sunshine, not a standalone Nintendo game. Released on August 27, 2024, it expands the GameCube platformer with a new story, worlds, playable characters, movement options, challenges, and revised Shine objectives. That scale is why it can feel like a full 3D Mario adventure—but playing it still requires the underlying Sunshine game data.
Why Eclipse feels like a full game
Eclipse builds on Super Mario Sunshine rather than creating an independent game. Its scope goes well beyond a small cosmetic tweak: a new story and worlds sit alongside changed objectives, new movement mechanics, remixed boss fights, music, and hand-animated cutscenes. The project description also promises a completion reward.
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Time Extension reported that development took four years and identified JoshuaMK02 and Tempo as project leads. Those are the outlet’s leadership attributions; the source repository uses different wording when it asks for credit for source code and assets.
Characters and activities
Time Extension reports that Mario, Luigi, and Il Piantissimo are playable. Among the activities it names are races against La Nokissia, a basketball minigame, and a timed pizza-delivery mission, giving the mod more variety than a straightforward set of platforming stages.
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- Discover (or rediscover) three of Mario’s most memorable adventures all in one package—available on the Nintendo Switch system
- Take these three adventures on the go with the Nintendo Switch system’s handheld or tabletop mode
- Jump into paintings to collect Power Stars and save Princess Peach in the Super Mario 64 game
- Spray away paint-like goop with the help of your water-spouting friend, FLUDD, in the Super Mario Sunshine game
- Travel from planet to planet and power up Rosalina’s Comet Observatory in the Super Mario Galaxy game—motion controls and a two-player Co-Star mode included
Shines and the project’s feature count
The project description quoted by Time Extension says Eclipse alters “120 returning shines” for open-world play. That number is a claim from the project’s promotional description, not an independently audited count. The same description lists three playable characters, new movement mechanics, an improved engine, new and remixed boss fights, an original soundtrack, and hand-animated story cutscenes.
What it is—and what it is not
It is a fan-made Sunshine modification. It is not an official Nintendo release or a standalone PC game. Project promotional copy described it as a “revisit to Delfino”; an earlier Nintendo Life article in 2021 characterized it as “part beta restoration”, “part enhancement”, and “part original mod.” That older description is historical positioning, not a current audit of the released version’s features.
Rank #2
- Does not come with original case or manuals; game cartridge only
- Discover (or rediscover) three of Mario’s most memorable adventures all in one package—available on the Nintendo Switch system
- Take these three adventures on the go with the Nintendo Switch system’s handheld or tabletop mode
- Jump into paintings to collect Power Stars and save Princess Peach in the Super Mario 64 game
- Spray away paint-like goop with the help of your water-spouting friend, FLUDD, in the Super Mario Sunshine game
The practical distinction matters: Eclipse changes and expands a game that already exists, so the mod does not replace the need for Super Mario Sunshine game data. Time Extension reported the patch as free, but that does not mean the underlying Nintendo game is included.
How to play Super Mario Eclipse
Time Extension reported that Eclipse can be played with Dolphin Emulator or on Nintendo GameCube, Wii, and Wii U hardware. The experimental Eclipse Recompiled project is a separate effort, not a playable native PC port: its maintainers say it cannot yet reach menus or gameplay, and direct users to Dolphin as the practical way to play.
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Rank #3
- Back of box is in Spanish, but games are all fully playable in English
- Includes Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy
- All 3 games are playable in English, Germany, French, and Japanese
| Route | What you need to know |
|---|---|
| Dolphin Emulator | Reported as a way to play Eclipse. The experimental Recompiled project’s maintainers call Dolphin the practical option today. You still need the appropriate game data. |
| GameCube, Wii, or Wii U | Time Extension reported these Nintendo systems as hardware options for playing the mod. The source does not provide a controlled comparison of performance or image quality. |
| Eclipse Recompiled | Not currently playable according to its maintainers: it cannot reach menus or gameplay. Its repository includes no game, ROM, ISO, or Nintendo assets and requests a legally obtained Super Mario Eclipse 1.1.0 image. |
The patch is distinct from Nintendo’s game data. The Recompiled repository explicitly says users must provide a legally obtained image and that the repository contains no game files. The consulted sources do not establish a legal conclusion for every copying or patching situation, so this article does not offer one.
What the source repository says about credits
The public project repository describes itself as the home of Eclipse’s source code and says that code compiles into the Kuribo module that drives the mod. It names Visual Studio 2022 as a requirement. For use of source code, it requests credit to JoshuaMK, CyrusLoS, and Eclipse Team; for source assets, it requests credit to Eclipse Team. Those repository credit requests should not be conflated with Time Extension’s separate report naming JoshuaMK02 and Tempo as project leads.
Rank #4
- 3 Games, 1 Star-Studded Collection!
- Discover three of Marios grandest 3D adventures with Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Nintendo Switch!
- Includes Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy
- Optimised for Nintendo Switch with updated HD graphics, Joy-Con controls, as well as a music player featuring the epic soundtracks from all three games!
Bottom line
Super Mario Eclipse is a substantial, free fan-made expansion of Super Mario Sunshine, with new content and a broad mix of activities. Calling it a full fan-made 3D Mario game captures its ambition, but not its technical or official status: it remains a mod dependent on Sunshine, rather than a separate Nintendo game.
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