I finally scratched off the biggest item from my "list" (now down to 13 pages long after a VERY good September/October of game hunting on Craigslist/OfferUp/Facebook) and picked up a Nintendo Switch. I got Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Psikyo's Gunbird 2 to fill out my library to start, and finished up Super Mario Odyssey after a week or so of playing (just the story, not collecting all of the moons). Now, back for the second day in a row, I'll review Mario's newest outing.
The game follows in the direct lineage of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine ostensibly, with gameplay revolving around Mario exploring large levels and collecting shiny items (Power Moons in this game) in order to unlock new levels in which to collect more shiny items until you finally unlock the final level, in which you show down with Bowser to rescue Princess Peach. Yawn.
NO! While the basic mechanics of the game follow a similar path to its two predecessors, it innovates on the structure in creative ways to make an entirely new experience in the Mario 3-dimensional universe. The first, and most significant change in structure is that Super Mario Odyssey mostly does away with what I'll call the "instanced" version of Mario, in which he is in a level to collect one shiny item, and once he completes it, he has to start all over again with a different item in mind. In Super Mario Odyssey, moons are far more plentiful and naturally occurring (there are 999 in the game!), and your path to getting them all is completely up to you. Upon finding one, you merely continue to explore the level you're on from the spot at which you found the last one, and simply have to find new nooks and crannies of each level to gather enough Moons to power your ship enough to reach a new level (I also love that there's an actual purpose put to collecting the moons, rather than simply slapping a number on a door and collecting them to hit the number).
The second change is Mario's biggest innovation in control, his new hat, Cappy. Cappy is a creepy devil which is capable of allowing Mario to occupy the body of other characters and utilize their powers to reach Moons which would be impossible to collect without their assistance. For example, Mario can now become a mustachioed T-Rex, destroying everything in his path, or a tank capable of shooting enemies and destroying obstacles. Cappy unlocks a whole new suite of abilities that open up the world of Mario to control schemes and possibilities that never existed before, spreading open the world vertically, horizontally, and underwater in ways that are very creative. Each new creature you find to possess is delightful in its own way, and some creatures even have a use in conquering boss battles, making it essential that you master all of the small intricacies of using their powers. Cappy is easily the high point of the game for me, and makes this a Mario experience unlike any you've experienced in the past.
The graphics are beyond excellent. It continues the basic look and feel of Mario games to date, but adds a polish to them that's only really matched by Mario Kart 8. Of course, adding polish to a racing game is really easy (just look at how gorgeous early racers like F-Zero and Gran Turismo look even today), so matching that level of polish across 10+ enormous levels is staggering.
The music is also excellent, with a ton of great tracks fitting for each level. They also have different variations of the tracks for the different versions of the stage, with one version playing while the city is darkened, and another for after you turn the lights on, for example. They also have little 8-bit sections in each level that turn the theme of the level into an 8-bit version, which absolutely delighted little ol' TRO.
Speaking of the 8-bit sections, Super Mario Odyssey has a ton of homages to where Mario has been, even while he joyfully leaps into the future. The 8-bit sections are extremely fun, but also at times work in some new variations on the 2D platformer, with stages that wrap around 3D walls and changing levels of gravity that spin Mario upside down. Another great example is the level based on Super Mario Sunshine, which has a creature in it that approximates the F.L.U.D.D. machine (albeit with much better controls. There are also tons of different costumes documenting Nintendo's history, allowing Mario to dress up like Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Diddy Kong, and the builder outfit from Super Mario Maker.
It's difficult to find something to complain about this game. It really is the first console game that has had me completely immersed long after I usually tire of a game since Super Mario Maker, but may even have captivated me as much as Mass Effect. I know I have 8 games yet to finish to hit my 50 game goal by the end of the year, but I just don't care. I'm having a tremendous amount of fun exploring the worlds and trying to unlock as many moons as I can, and I'm not going to let my need to clear out games rob me of the pure joy of playing a truly excellent video game. If I had one complaint, it's that some of the controls are walled off behind motion controls, which always irritates me. I'm fine with including motion controls, but I just wish there would be some way for me to do the same with a traditional control scheme. But again, I'm splitting hairs here. Super Mario Odyssey is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, and is up there in the pantheon of perfect 10 Mario games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. It's a must play, for everyone. 10/10
Up next I take a whirl through Psikyo's Gunbird 2, a Switch game that's right up my alley! No teaser, so I'll just put a picture below.
-TRO
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