YMMV / Super Mario Sunshine: A Sprite of Light

• Even Better Sequel: Largely considered to be this by fans of The Power of the Stars due to more in-depth story telling, better characterization, being slower paced, and the introduction of Aqua.
• Fanon Welding: According to her bio on mariobroultimate's profile page, Aqua is officially friends with Alex from nintendoscript15’s stories, and Celia from StarlitDuck's Super Koopalings series.
• Jerkass Woobie: Sure, Bowser Jr. did terrible things to Isle Delfino, got innocent people in jail, and is a Bad Boss towards his underlings. But he's still just a kid, and all this happened because his own father lied to him. Needless to say, it's hard not to feel sorry for him when he is moping about the whole thing, and later finding out he never had a mother in the first place.
• It Was His Sled: Bowser Jr. is Shadow Mario. Wow! Didn't see that coming! In its defense, the other three shadow duplicates being three of the Koopalings were a welcome surprise.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Bowser Jr. crossed this when he decided that the best way to vent his frustration over his father's lie was to flood Delfino Plaza, thus harming hundreds of people in the process. While his anger was understandable, that doesn't excuse him hurting people for shits and giggles.
  • Bowser was shown in a flashback to have assassinated the Toadstool sisters' parents King George and Queen Rosemary.
• Narm: The protagonists keep referring to their doppelgängers as "fakers". Lampshaded in the bonus blooper chapter when Shadow the Hedgehog suddenly appears and sues the director for using his famous dialogue.
• Unexpected Character:
  • It was a pretty big shock when Shadow Mario's lackeys turned out to be Ludwig, Wendy, and Iggy. Three of the Koopalings. Funnily enough, none of the other Koopalings appear in this story, nor are they even mentioned.
  • No one could've predicted that Wario and Waluigi would show up in the third mission of Pinna Park.
  • Along with that, in the bonus blooper chapter, Shadow the Hedgehog suddenly appears and sues the director for using his famous dialogue.
• The Woobie: Aqua of course. She had to witness her parents get murdered by the king of the koopas, suffered depression for two years, had her vacation ruined by impostors that got her into juvenile hall, and was forced to clean up an entire island. Thank Grambi Mario and FLUDD were there to bring her happiness back.