Like many, there were two games in particular that inspired me to buy a Nintendo Switch, BotW and Odyssey. While most would choose BotW as the best of the bunch, Odyssey absolutely took the top spot for me. The game is simply a joy to play. It features without a doubt the best traversal in any Mario game as it's not long before your flip-flopping through the levels as our favourite mustachioed hero of old. The levels are gorgeous and packed with stuff to do and things to discover. The capture mechanic results in some interesting gameplay styles and challenges, and while some captures were more fun than others, I think it was a great addition to the Mario formula. Still, running around as Mario with his newly acquired Cappy-moves remains my favourite thing to do. Also, the costumes are fantastic.
I cannot say it's my all time favourite Mario-game, however. I still prefer the more linear design of the (excellent) Galaxy-games. Some of the more mundane moons got a bit old after a while too, and they started to lose their value after the upteenth standard groundpound-moon. This also stopped me from going for full completion (although I got quite far). And while the T-rex capture was a great marketing tool, I even found the manhole cover more exciting due to the terribly sluggish control of the former. But hey, maybe that's why they're extinct.
All in all: excellent game and among the best on the Switch. (Also: first post. Love the show!)
Super Mario Odyssey
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Toon Scottoon
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Re: 449: Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey if nothing else celebrates the title character's maximalist nature. After all this pixelated polymath has made coin as a mascot, platformer, race car driver, painter, plumber, hand to hand combat expert, hospitality worker, sports star, space explorer, healthcare professional and so much more over the years and Odyssey asks players to help the rotund renaissance man wear most of these hats and more.
Despite all this content I only have one real criticism of the game, which is that the Broodles just outright suck. I dislike their look, their lifestyle, and their matrimonial aesthetic. I get that the Koopa Kids aren't really a part of the 3-D continuity, but if Bowser needs some capos for his gang he should look elsewhere than these bushy-tailed moon rats.
Of course Mario Odyssey is so sprawling the Broodles made up just a fraction of the game, Each new world offered plenty of charm and challenge. Per usual the music in this game was a treat, and the visuals, particularly the gag of plopping the googly eyed Cappy and Mario's signature soup strainer on a litany of characters never got old for me. But to my mind the two standouts of this game were anytime I discovered one of the 2-D pixel sections and that first finale to the game when you make your escape as Bowser.
The 2D puzzle platforming sections just had an awesome look to them. The coins glowed so bright, the sprites looked so sharp, and the way that they worked a little bit like the 2D mechanic in Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, one of my favorite Zelda games, really brought me a lot of joy.
As for the Bowser run, what can I say, HD rumble just makes it feel good to smash things to rocking guitars and a catchy pop song. And that's the thing about Mario. It not only does a lot, it does a lot right.
Three Word Review:
Hero in headware
Despite all this content I only have one real criticism of the game, which is that the Broodles just outright suck. I dislike their look, their lifestyle, and their matrimonial aesthetic. I get that the Koopa Kids aren't really a part of the 3-D continuity, but if Bowser needs some capos for his gang he should look elsewhere than these bushy-tailed moon rats.
Of course Mario Odyssey is so sprawling the Broodles made up just a fraction of the game, Each new world offered plenty of charm and challenge. Per usual the music in this game was a treat, and the visuals, particularly the gag of plopping the googly eyed Cappy and Mario's signature soup strainer on a litany of characters never got old for me. But to my mind the two standouts of this game were anytime I discovered one of the 2-D pixel sections and that first finale to the game when you make your escape as Bowser.
The 2D puzzle platforming sections just had an awesome look to them. The coins glowed so bright, the sprites looked so sharp, and the way that they worked a little bit like the 2D mechanic in Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, one of my favorite Zelda games, really brought me a lot of joy.
As for the Bowser run, what can I say, HD rumble just makes it feel good to smash things to rocking guitars and a catchy pop song. And that's the thing about Mario. It not only does a lot, it does a lot right.
Three Word Review:
Hero in headware
Re: 449: Super Mario Odyssey
I'm sure lots of people have talked about the perfect controls and the beautiful different worlds so I won't say too much except to say: I absolutely loved it.
There is something interesting I want to note though, the game has a LOT of moons to collect.
Now, at first I thought this was too many moons (almost 900 when all is said and done), setting down my first playthrough somewhere around 500, feeling totally sated on Mario Odyssey content.
But then a year or two passed, and something in me said "I quite fancy a bit of 3D mario fun... Well wouldn't you know it, I have 380 or so moons in Mario Odyssey that I've yet to collect!" Thus began my odyssey (pardon the pun) to compete the game to 100%. I spent another dozen or so hours sweeping through all the worlds, methodically searching for well hidden moons, asking for hints from talkatoo, and completing devilishly tricky puzzles and challenges that had proven too hard for me on my first run through.
So the game had a second wind for me which was almost as enjoyable as the first. It felt almost like an in-built set of DLC for the game. I ended up getting every single moon and purple coin, and feeling pretty smug about it, too. (After getting all the moons, the Odyssey's balloon sail turns solid gold, so it's hard not to feel proud of oneself at this point).
I think the most difficult by far was probably the volleyball moon where you have to get 100 bounces. That and the skipping rope one had me struggling for nights on end.
There is something interesting I want to note though, the game has a LOT of moons to collect.
Now, at first I thought this was too many moons (almost 900 when all is said and done), setting down my first playthrough somewhere around 500, feeling totally sated on Mario Odyssey content.
But then a year or two passed, and something in me said "I quite fancy a bit of 3D mario fun... Well wouldn't you know it, I have 380 or so moons in Mario Odyssey that I've yet to collect!" Thus began my odyssey (pardon the pun) to compete the game to 100%. I spent another dozen or so hours sweeping through all the worlds, methodically searching for well hidden moons, asking for hints from talkatoo, and completing devilishly tricky puzzles and challenges that had proven too hard for me on my first run through.
So the game had a second wind for me which was almost as enjoyable as the first. It felt almost like an in-built set of DLC for the game. I ended up getting every single moon and purple coin, and feeling pretty smug about it, too. (After getting all the moons, the Odyssey's balloon sail turns solid gold, so it's hard not to feel proud of oneself at this point).
I think the most difficult by far was probably the volleyball moon where you have to get 100 bounces. That and the skipping rope one had me struggling for nights on end.
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Mr Ixolite
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Re: 449: Super Mario Odyssey
With the exception of the Galaxy games, I’ve never been that invested in Mario platformers. The craft is undeniable, but theres a sort of curated sameyness to them that puts me at a distance – the same enemies, locales, structure and scenario, the same personality-free Mario.
Happily, I found Odyssey to be a breath of fresh air. Theres’ plenty of nods to the old iconography, but also plenty of new locales, enemies and challenges. You’re still chasing down Bowser, but structuring the game around the chaos left in the wake of his wedding preparations give things just enough amusing context. I even liked the much detested Broodals due to being both “A New Thing in a Mario game”, and tying the themes of hats, weddings and moons neatly together. Even old Mario felt more interesting due to the opportunity to play-dress up; My Mario was in shades and a sunshine shirt as soon as possible, an accomplished platforming veteran keeping it chill and saving the day at his leisure…exactly my own approach.
I played the game over three “laps” spanning half a year, with breaks in between: the first progressing casually, picking up as many moons as I fancied. The next going through the postgame, collecting moons until I couldn’t readily find any more, or the challenges’ pushback became annoying. And one last lap, using talkatoos, hint toads, and eventually a guide to mop up every last collectible moon in the game. This was the domain of the most obtuse challenges, the ones only accessible by motion controls, of jump rope and volleyball.
I’m glad I did it this way; not just because it took me to the very end, but because Odyssey is such an incredibly dense game that combing through its sandboxes for moons can make them feel tiny and repetitive. The challenges are almost all fun, and very diverse, but by the end I was yearning a bit for the more elaborate platforming levels found in the Galaxy games. Maybe I had just tired of micro-challenges taking place in sterile voids.
But as I capped off the game with the tough-as-nails final level and got a slightly melancholy Cappy reminiscing about how far we had come, I couldn’t help but agree. Mario Odyssey was a comfort game, one I consistently booted up to complete a few micro-challenges each day, and it was sad to have it come to an end. I’ll most likely never make this trek again, but it was fun while it lasted.
I guess I could spend my time farming thousands of coins to get the very last purchasable moons, but I really, really don’t wanna do that.
3 word review:
MARIOWARE MEGA MINIGAMES
Happily, I found Odyssey to be a breath of fresh air. Theres’ plenty of nods to the old iconography, but also plenty of new locales, enemies and challenges. You’re still chasing down Bowser, but structuring the game around the chaos left in the wake of his wedding preparations give things just enough amusing context. I even liked the much detested Broodals due to being both “A New Thing in a Mario game”, and tying the themes of hats, weddings and moons neatly together. Even old Mario felt more interesting due to the opportunity to play-dress up; My Mario was in shades and a sunshine shirt as soon as possible, an accomplished platforming veteran keeping it chill and saving the day at his leisure…exactly my own approach.
I played the game over three “laps” spanning half a year, with breaks in between: the first progressing casually, picking up as many moons as I fancied. The next going through the postgame, collecting moons until I couldn’t readily find any more, or the challenges’ pushback became annoying. And one last lap, using talkatoos, hint toads, and eventually a guide to mop up every last collectible moon in the game. This was the domain of the most obtuse challenges, the ones only accessible by motion controls, of jump rope and volleyball.
I’m glad I did it this way; not just because it took me to the very end, but because Odyssey is such an incredibly dense game that combing through its sandboxes for moons can make them feel tiny and repetitive. The challenges are almost all fun, and very diverse, but by the end I was yearning a bit for the more elaborate platforming levels found in the Galaxy games. Maybe I had just tired of micro-challenges taking place in sterile voids.
But as I capped off the game with the tough-as-nails final level and got a slightly melancholy Cappy reminiscing about how far we had come, I couldn’t help but agree. Mario Odyssey was a comfort game, one I consistently booted up to complete a few micro-challenges each day, and it was sad to have it come to an end. I’ll most likely never make this trek again, but it was fun while it lasted.
I guess I could spend my time farming thousands of coins to get the very last purchasable moons, but I really, really don’t wanna do that.
3 word review:
MARIOWARE MEGA MINIGAMES
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KarlDaFrog
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey
Just wanted to come back and say that after a couple of years, I've picked up Super Mario Odyssey again as a cool down game after playing Signalis. With more of the trickier Moons unlocked in the post game, I'm enjoying it a lot more as a platformer. Perhaps there's a touch of nostalgia in there now as well. I officially soften my criticism.