Those who played the 2002 GameCube classic Super Mario Sunshine may have noticed that on several levels, including Gelato Beach, Noki Bay, and Pinna Park, there existed a strange form of lettering on several signs and buildings that resemble spirals and squiggles. It would be easy to assume that this was simply a bit of gibberish on the part of the designers meant to resemble actual writing without having any actual meaning, and this was believed to be the case for over 20 years since the game’s release. However, on February 1, 2024, Youtuber 2CPhoenix released a video wherein he was able to show that each of the symbols corresponds with letters of the romantic alphabet and that most of the signs that utilize them have translatable messages and words. You can find a link to the original video here.
2CPhoenix has dubbed this lettering system “Dolphic.” He started by noticing that the brochure that acts as an in-game map refers to the pirate ship ride as “Viking” and that the sign above the ride had the same number of characters. After further investigation, he eventually realized that a set of symbols carved into the lip of a ledge in Noki Bay contained a complete alphabet. He was able to utilize this alphabet to translate all of the dolphic messages in the game including; the flags flying above Noki Bay which spell out “Mare Villiage” (Mare is what Nokis are called in the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine) and a sign above a cabana in Gelato Beach which translates as “Gelato Bar.” Not everything contains a message, as a sign in Gelato Beach seems to contain random letters, and most of the glyphs in Noki Bay are standalone.
It is incredible to think that such an old game that has been played by so many people can still contain undiscovered secrets. This discovery showcases both the attention to detail that Mario Sunshine’s creators put into the game as well as the dedication of the fans who play it.
