Both games are superb, but I've never owned or completed (as in 100%) Super Mario Sunshine. I've been dying to, though, but the only person I know who has it and could lend it to me is a jerk and I don't have the money to be spending on video games at the moment. The FLUDD-less levels in Sunshine were just fantastic, as well as the hub world and the music, etc.

Galaxy on the other hand is the longer game, and anyone who thinks it's devoid of any difficulty obviously didn't complete it twice. Its hub world, while slightly barren, was still pretty charming, plus as Feenie said it had some nice eye-candy in the form of Rosalina. Of course it goes without saying that Galaxy also has superb music, and a less finicky camera. I can't wait to play Galaxy 2...

@Corbie: If you're not going to play Sunshine anymore, how about passing it on to someone who's been dying to give it another play-through for a while? I'd give it a good home...

Both games are spectacular, with Galaxy edging out Sunshine because...well...it's Super Mario Galaxy!

Super Mario Sunshine gives you more to do, and has more openness and exploration to its levels, and the gameplay gives you more options. IMO, Super Mario Galaxy is by far the lesser game.

1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Super Mario 64
3. Super Mario Sunshine
4. Super Mario 64 DS

Super Mario Galaxy is by far my most favorite 3D Mario game. I love the gameplay, music, and the unique graphic style. I also really like the other Mario games I listed, but they just don't compare to Galaxy.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks really impressive that it might be even better then it’s predecessor, but we'll have to see that when I receive my preorder from Gamestop.

Both are great, but Galaxy is absolutely fantastic. I like Sunshine, but it just feels defferent and not like a Mario game. I like FLUDD, but I perfer Mario without it. And, the levels were pretty repetitive, pretty much all being island themes. But as I said, I love them both.

Hoping that Galaxy 2 can out-do them both! I'm currently convinced that it can be, but I guess I'll just have to wait...

Galaxy. But 64 is better than all of them. Sunshine is really good though.

Sunshine all day, every day. Galaxy is a masterpiece, don't get me wrong--I just think Sunshine is...MORE of a masterpiece.

I havent... tough ive got it all with Mario.
But I dont think we can say Luigi levels makes Galaxy harder because its not part of the ´main game´
Ofcourse difficulty can make a game or not, what makes Contra and Megaman so appealing? what makes many many modern games so boring?
The right thing to do is to dose the Challange and the Accomplishment.
The main problem i have with Sunshine are Bugs that makes things difficult not by challange. Like at the final level when we have to cross the lava in a Boat. The mechanics are so awlful that you must have Luck to go trough. The same for some Hotel levels. And the boss with dirty tooth = the camera can go wild in that one

It's as much a part of the main game as any unlockable hard mode is part of the main game. It's optional, yes, but when people complain about the game not being difficult enough for them, it's kind of silly that they aren't utilizing it.

I don't think he was talking about purple coin challenges about Luigi, I think he was referring to the level "Luigi's Purple coins" in Toy Time Galaxy:

We cant say a game is hard just because the levels 200 / 220 are. you can say the game have some hard levels (after you complete it)

I thought the purple coin thing was easy, I beat it on a 3rd try. At first I thought that I had to get ALL the coins, but then I realized there was like double of what I had to get.

This video above is 3D gaming Perfection ;D

Wiil there be an Super Mario Sunshine 2

cuz there Mario 64 Ds
and Super Mario Galaxy.2

What where you expecting from a game set on an island? A farmland?

The "Luigi levels" aren't just levels 200 - 220. You play the entire game again as Luigi, whose reduced traction causes a significant increase in difficulty...especially in the race levels, and on-rails purple coins levels.

But, again, it's not really fair to say the game isn't hard enough when there IS an optional harder mode that you choose not to explore. To each his own, but surely you have to see why that's not much of a complaint.

What makes Megaman and Contra so appealing are their simple and fun gameplay mechanics, not their difficulty. All that does is make the game seem longer to make up for the content.
Have you ever played the first Lost Winds? I don't think anyone could say that was a hard game, unless you couldn't figure out some of the puzzles. That didn't get rid of any of its charm though. The reason why you say so many modern games aren't fun isn't because of the difficulty, it's because they aren't fun to play. Many gamers actually complain about a game being too challenging, because it gets rid of any sense of progression due to not being able to beat anything within the game.
You've got to keep in mind, many people that played the first Galaxy couldn't even get past the first level. Not everyone is a seasoned gamer.

Super Mario Sunshine is the only Mario game I don't have or never really played. I remember renting it back in the GCN days, but it just never did it for me for some reason. I'm surpised, because it looks fantastic based on the several YouTube videos I've seen. I love the beautiful tropical island and huge expanded open worlds, it looks enormous in scale. It would be great if NIntendo released it as a 'New Play Control' game, since the Wii Remote would be superior when aiming the Fludd

Because I did not like the choices they made with all the characters. I did not like having to hunt down a cap or leave a level to go to one of their rooms for a specific character just so I can get to a certain area or use a power-up. It was just very annoying to me. The original N64 version did not do that, so it’s a better game because of it.

Sure, SM64DS has better graphics, more levels, and more stars to collect, but those reasons alone doesn’t help make it any better than the original.