Of the three games included in the just-released Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario Sunshine is perhaps the one with the most opaque controls. More specifically, at certain points in this 3D platformer players may find that they have not yet received instruction on how to perform moves that they need in order to advance. Indeed, this is a phenomenon that can occur with the Ground Pound in Super Mario Sunshine, and this guide is here to alleviate any confusion about this move.
To put things simply, players that are using Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller can execute a Ground Pound in Super Mario Sunshine by simply pressing ZL when in the air. Notably, this is the same button that fans can use to center their cameras and perform sidesteps, and the "in the air" portion of the instruction is what differentiates the Ground Pound from these other moves.
That said, things become quite complicated for those players that are trying to perform a Ground Pound on a GameCube controller that they have connected to their Switch with an adapter. That is because while GameCube controllers have two shoulder buttons on the right side, they have only one on the left, and it has the same functionality as L on a Joy-Con or Pro Controller. This means that there is simply no equivalent to ZL on a GameCube controller, and it is thus not possible to use one to Ground Pound.
As such, players that are currently using a GameCube controller to play Super Mario Sunshine on Switch will need to turn to Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller when they have to perform a Ground Pound. While temporarily swapping controllers during gameplay may not be extremely convenient, some players may find it preferable to switching to one of those other controllers in full, especially if they have opted to use a GameCube controller after experiencing Joy-Con drift.
For those players that may be curious about how to perform moves beyond the Ground Pound in Super Mario Sunshine, it is worth mentioning that all of the relevant inputs can be seen in the Controls and Actions tabs of the menu. However, the diagrams that appear in these areas are again geared toward fans that are using Joy-Cons or Pro Controllers, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars players with GameCube controllers may need to do a bit of experimenting before they fully understand the control scheme.
Super Mario Sunshine is now available as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.