Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Super Mario Odyssey Was Everything I Wanted

 Reviews, Video games  11 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 152017
 

From the moment Super Mario Odyssey was announced, I wanted it. I wanted it the moment people caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a Mario 3D platformer in the Switch announcement.

For that matter, I waited through the entire Wii U’s life cycle for a Mario game more in the style of 64/Sunshine/Galaxy, so I’ve been hoping for this game for a long time.

And Super Mario Odyssey did everything I wanted it to do.

This is the sort of 3D platforming I loved in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine (and Super Mario Galaxy to a lesser extent). I did miss the sort of hub world Sunshine had, but Odyssey made up for it by giving a lot of worlds almost their own mini-hub areas.

At first I felt like the lack of a hub world made it feel less unified, but once I thought about it, I realized that the worlds in Super Mario Odyssey actually feel more fleshed out and significant than the worlds from the previous games, at least to me. I like this style, and while I still would love a central hub, I want to see more Mario worlds like these in the future.

(And it’s hardly a story-driven game, but it had some entertaining NPCs and I especially enjoyed seeing visitors from one kingdom in another.)

I also loved searching all over each kingdom to collect all the purple coins and using my coins to buy new costumes and decorations for the Odyssey. And of course, it was fun to find Power Moon after Power Moon. There are so many Power Moons!

I wish there were a few more of the “story” Moons with a specific objective, but overall it worked well. A few people have compared Super Mario Odyssey to Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie in terms of exploration and getting Moons, and I like that comparison.

Click for Super Mario Odyssey post-game spoiler
The Mushroom Kingdom was also incredible. All the little shout-outs to Super Mario 64 were fantastic!

Oh, and Super Mario Odyssey also has one of my favorite incarnations of Bowser’s Castle so far.

Really, there’s only one thing about Super Mario Odyssey that disappointed me…

Click for Super Mario Odyssey kingdom spoiler
Why isn’t the Ruined Kingdom a full-fledged kingdom to explore?

When I saw that place, I went crazy because it was clearly the best Kingdom ever but then it turned out to be one of those tiny worlds just for a boss fight. I would absolutely buy DLC that expanded the Ruined Kingdom.

Oddly enough, capturing things didn’t feel as central to the gameplay as I imagined from the early trailers. It was entertaining, but it felt like just one small tool in a game mainly about exploring, collecting, and completing challenges.

And a game like that is exactly what I wanted from the next 3D Mario game! All in all, Super Mario Odyssey was everything I wanted it to be. Have you played it yet? What did you think?

First Impressions of Super Mario Odyssey

 Video games  16 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Oct 272017
 

Super Mario Odyssey is here!

I’d hoped to finish Persona 5 before starting Super Mario Odyssey. That didn’t happen, so I set Persona 5 aside to see if Super Mario Odyssey is the 3D Mario game I’ve been dreaming of.

(Don’t worry, I still intend to play more Persona soon and finish it.)

First of all, I’m just delighted to have this style of Mario game back again. Super Mario 64 was one of my childhood games, Super Mario Sunshine was fantastic, I enjoyed Super Mario Galaxy despite it not having quite the same sort of world structure… and I waited all through the Wii U’s life for the next one. Super Mario 3D World, while fun, just wasn’t the same.

But here, I already feel that sense of exploration and fun. The basic controls are familiar, and using Cappy felt natural right away. I’m still getting used to some parts (and seeing which motion control actions can be done without motion controls), but it generally feels good.

It’s also beautiful! I spent a while in the first area (tutorial area) just looking around and enjoying its weird, oddly Nightmare-Before-Christmas-esque atmosphere.

And of course, the other worlds have a completely different aesthetic.

I haven’t played very much yet–after I got my first Power Moon I decided it was time to get work done, starting with this blog post–but I already love it and I’m excited to play more.

Are you playing Super Mario Odyssey? What do you think of it so far?

Super Mario Odyssey Looks Fantastic

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 122017
 

From the moment I saw Super Mario Odyssey, I wanted it.

It’s the main reason I bought a Nintendo Switch, because I hope to play Super Mario Odyssey at launch.

I waited through the Wii U’s entire life cycle for a game in this style. While Super Mario 3D World was fun, it didn’t have the same style as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and even Super Mario Galaxy (which itself was somewhat different). I kept waiting for one of those Mario games to be announced.

So when a 64/Sunshine-style Mario game was announced for the Nintendo Switch, I was ecstatic even before we got to see Mario’s new ability to “capture” enemies, which looks like it as tons of potential.

Super Mario Odyssey might not have a traditional hub area after all, as you use your ship to travel between worlds, but it looks like there will be plenty of places to explore and secrets to discover. We’ll be collecting Power Moons this time around, but you won’t be sent back to the start once you find one. It sounds like it’s really emphasizing exploration.

Six worlds, or Kingdoms, have been shown so far:

  • Metro Kingdom, which includes the realistic New Donk City first shown
  • Tostarena, the icy desert area
  • Wooded Kingdom, an area with forests and mountains
  • Luncheon Kingdom, the bizarre food world with sentient forks
  • Cascade Kingdom, the place where the dinosaurs live
  • Cap Kingdom, a mysterious world that might have some connection to the Odyssey

Nintendo also said there are more Kingdoms that haven’t been announced yet. These places all look expansive and unique, and I can’t wait to explore them.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has been tweeting about some of Mario’s new moves, like the Spin Throw…

…spinning Cappy in place…

and the Homing Cap Throw.

Meanwhile, the official Super Mario Odyssey Japanese account shared footage of Mario capturing a Lava Bubble (or Podoboo), which lets him safely travel through hot water and lava.

Everything I see from Super Mario Odyssey makes me more excited about the game. Are you looking forward to it?