Topic: Game vs. Game

3D Land. While Sunshine should be praised for taking the series in a new direction, it didn't always, y'know, work. 3D Land elevated itself above the NSMB games (lack of co-op multiplayer aside) pretty quickly to avoid being stale for a few reasons.

1. While Galaxy, especially 2, had similarities to this, this did genuinely feel like a 2D Mario that just happened to be a 3D platformer. It basically took extreme unoriginality and combined it to make something semi-unique. It's quite odd like that.
2. It is the only game I know of where the 3D is not only really good, but actually matters. 3D is irrelevent to gaming and this team is the only people proving otherwise. Something about the weird camera angles somehow let the 3D be used to actually help you get through the game easier. Beyond that, it just is the best 3D on the system in general. No other 3D looks as good as it does here.
3. The music is awesome. Not since the first Paper Mario have people not named Koji Kondo accurately replicated music that sounds like Koji Kondo.
4. Secret Worlds.

3d Land. Sunshine's camera stunk, FLUDD was just abysmal, and Mario couldn't jump well at all. 3d Land had the tanuki suit, and wasn't completely broken, despite a lack of creativity in the levels.

Sunshine- though I agree with @Happy about the camera being kinda crappy, I definitely enjoyed the game more than 3D Land. The sense of exploration Sunshine had was something I really liked, and, although I'm sure a lot of people would disagree, I think FLUDD was a fine and unique tool. 3D Land was nothing much different from previous games in the Mario franchise, and, although it had some secret areas, Sunshine had better ones as well as them being harder to get access to.

Sunshine. 3D Land was so easy that I finished it in no time. The special worlds were almost the same as the main worlds, and It overall felt empty to me. Sunshine, on the other hand, had an amazing setting, a cool new game mechanic (FLUDD), and even had levels without FLUDD to test player's basic platforming skills. One level in Pianta Village has FLUDD taken from you and the level covered in lava, so you had to be pretty inventive and observant, utilizing above and underground, to gain entry and retrieve FLUDD. Sunshine also had some funny characters, and plenty of red and blue coins to collect.

Super Mario Sunshine: 3
Super Mario 3D Land: 2

3D Land>Taking a red hot poker to the eye>Super Mario Sunshine.

Ahhh.....I got to lash out against Super Mario Sunshine. Today was a good day.

Super Mario Sunshine, though.. I'm not a big fan of any of them. But Sunshine felt fresh, 3D Land felt like a Super Mario Galaxy without the gravitation.

Super Mario Sunshine: 4
Super Mario 3D Land: 3

Super Mario Sunshine
I think the main reason why I don't enjoy 3D Land as much is that the worlds had no theme and it didn't feel as cohesive as some of the other titles. Basically, the game has no soul even though it is still a blast and has some fun levels. The secret worlds did help lengthen the game but they felt more like "remixes" than new stages. I love the atmosphere in Sunshine and Isle Delfino is a great hub. Despite what others think, I enjoy FLUUD and its uniqueness.

I haven't played Sunshine >.< So I can't really give a good answer

This is a tough choice because I like both games, but I'm going to go with Super Mario 3D Land for all the reasons kkslider mentioned. I would also add that the level worlds, while perhaps not really cohesive in their themes, do allow a sense of pick-up-and-play gameplay that fits into the whole 2D and 3D hybrid.

This isn't to say that Super Mario Sunshine is a bad game, though, because the tropical setting and the secret levels without F.L.U.D.D were a treat. But Super Mario 3D Land feels like an underrated gem compared to other Mario games.

Super Mario 3D Land. It's an easy game but it was more fun than Sunshine, in my opinion. I liked that the 3D actually mattered when playing that game.

Super Mario Sunshine. It actually felt brand new and wasn't boring right off the bat.

3D Land was about as exciting as a hole in the head.

Super Mario 3D Land. I love how the game is sort of like a 2D Mario that plays like a 3D Mario. As for Sunshine, it's probably me least favorite Mario. I don't dislike it, but the camera and controls can really frustrating sometimes.

I'm going with 3D Land. While Sunshine is a good game, I simply prefer the not-broken camera of 3D Land.

Oh God this is a difficult decision to make. I like both games quite a bit, but neither were really stand out Mario games for me and I'm not sure which to vote for.

But...

Flips coin (Mario 3D Land for heads, Mario Sunshine tails)

Turns out to be heads

Right, I vote Super Mario 3D Land. If I had to defend my decision, it'd be that Mario 3D Land feels more like a Mario game and is more of an actual platformer than Sunshine. For one thing, it has far more familiar enemies and characters in, and for another it actually has a lot of bottomless pits outside of secret areas (think about it, outside of secret areas the only levels in Sunshine with a bottomless pit or two are Pianta Village and Corona Mountain).

The bosses in both generally just sucked.

Sunshine. I just liked it more. Maybe it was because it actually did things that were different, maybe it was because it was open, maybe because I actually found it mildly challenging, while I found everything in 3D Land to be very easy (even the later game stuff. I beat the super secret level and everything else in about 18 hours). Neither of them are among my favorite Mario games, but I enjoyed both.

Super mario 3D land,like a sir

How could you ask me to choose, you monster?
_sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine: 8
Supe Mario 3D Land: 9

I had a feeling this would be a closer one.