This is a lot of game to have made in a month, ya'll clearly understood the assignment. For transparency I have not finished it, but I did get the glide, geyser, light, 1/2 pearls, 5 costumes and 2 meal tickets. I spent much longer playing this game than I typically would for jam submissions, but since your save system works I may return to finish it. Your character feels great to control, she seemingly has Mario's full 3D move set even though I didn't find certain mechanics until later on than I would have liked. You've got nice squash and stretch, excellent animations, and little details like the air bubbles and the hair floating up really bring this character to life. I liked the school section where you could buy upgrades, the transformation sequence when starting the level, and the monster whale thing that chases you is a lot of fun. I purposefully stayed in the level with it just so see how far I could get.
I'm going to provide a lot more critical feedback than I typically would for a jam because I think ya'll are ready for it. This is a really great entry that just needs some bolts tightened.
You've made a lot of game here, but I don't think most players are going to see much of it. I spent about a half hour trying to Super Mario my way around the city before I found any of the other zones in the game. I felt very struck and frustrated that I could see areas I couldn't get to, before learning that attack a wall gives you height and then I was able to progress. The first boat that I got into was the one that lead to the dark level. I had tried to get into the boat that leads you to the area where you get glide, but it was so tough to jump into that I gave up and went elsewhere. I think if you lower the boat leading to the glide down to where you can just walk off the dock into it that'll help a bit, but I think this game could still use more guidance for the player. At least teaching them what moves they have. I spent so long trying to get places without the glide or geyser and I almost gave up a couple times, but continued because the game did have so much polish in other areas.
I really like the character feels for the most part, but I'm very mixed on the slow ramp up to speed she has when running from a standstill. I don't think it feels very good, but it also helps sell that she's underwater so I'm mixed on it. I think this game could have really used a sprint function to help get around a little quicker, especially in the school. I wish the bubble platforms regenerated faster as well. The glide is also really easy to cancel out of and just fall, and sometimes falling forces you to redo quite a bit of work. The jump leading up to where you get the light is particularly punishing not only because the spikes can kill you, but if you miss and land near the base of the lighthouse you have to run all the way back around because you get checkpointed at the bottom. I got soft locked on the boat asking for the pearl because I couldn't reach any more of the level, and falling did no damage. Thankfully your save system worked.
When I got the pearl and saw it was 1/2 I honestly felt discouraged because I had no idea where the other could be. I just wanted to open the door on the boat. I went back to the glide area thinking there was something there, and when I got to the part where you need to kill 6 of the shield enemies I died and gave up. Those enemies are really tough to take down without taking damage, and I never found any way to heal if it exists besides rare heart drops from enemies. I also wish more areas used that grind mechanic near the spawn point! I think I saw some rails high up above where you get the glide, but I never got there.
This is a really great showing for a month of work, it just needs some playtesting and tuning. Thankfully ya'll are getting some feedback now. I look forward to seeing what ya'll make next!