Super Mario Odyssey is Spectacular

A grand adventure

~Mild spoilers ahead~

Super Mario Galaxy is a must-play Wii title

I was seven years old when Super Mario Galaxy came out. That game captivated me like no game I’d played before. I have one distinct memory associated with it: a retirement party. The details of that night elude me, but generally it went like this: One of my grandparents was retiring, and a surprise dinner was thrown at a local restaurant. Being seven years old, and surrounded by a much older group of guests, the night dragged on. At last we left the party, and returned home hours past bedtime. Yet, I was able to convince my parents to give me a few minutes with my brand new Mario game: just enough to finish off the Good Egg Galaxy. The reason I share this anecdote is that Super Mario Galaxy was such a special game to me. I loved it, and no matter the time of day, I just had to play it. The level design was fantastic, the music was orchestral and sweeping, and Mario controlled like a dream. Above all, Super Mario Galaxy was damn fun.

Co-op is the saving grace of Super Mario 3D world

Since then, the industry has shifted towards darker, more mature fare. Even Nintendo began to lose their creative edge as the Wii U failed to make substantial waves. There were exceptions, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was fantastically unique, and Splatoon quickly became one of my favorite games of all time. Still, the Wii U's big 3D Mario, Super Mario 3D World, should have been a cornucopia of pure fun, but ended up feeling uninspired, saved only by its co-op. Missed opportunities like these caused me to shift away from Nintendo by the end of 2015. Before long, there was a shiny new PS4 under my TV. I had fun, but I just didn’t connect with the experiences on that console. Yes, Uncharted is one of my favorite series in all of gaming, and Destiny had me hooked for many months, but I longed for the creativity that used to be the lifeblood of the industry.

Breath of the Wild is such an expansive game, to this day
I still play it

Then, the Switch burst onto the scene and began to turn back the clocks. Breath of the Wild kicked things off by exemplifying all the qualities I’d been missing. Since launch, I’ve had a lot of fun, fresh experiences from the deluge of Indie games on the console, and a few first and second party titles have captured that magic too. Still, as I've said before, Nintendo was still in that rut of fun, polished games that just couldn't capture the prior magic. I’d been waiting for that big, bold Nintendo experience that proved that Breath of the Wild wasn’t simply an anomaly, and Nintendo was really back. Well, having played Odyssey, I can safely say that it is.

Through Cappy's abilities, Mario can reach great heights

I haven’t been this hooked on a game in a long time. All I’ve wanted to do these past few days is play Odyssey, and for the most part I have. Usually, I’ll play a game for an hour or two then take a break. Not with Odyssey. Every free moment I’ve had since launch has been sunk into this game. I woke up half an hour early on Friday, and a piece of my mind said to roll over and go to sleep. But the majority of my mind said that my pre-load was ready. After school, I played it with my friend in the computer lab. Then, once I got home, I put in easily four hours before going to bed. It exemplifies everything I loved about old Nintendo, and everything they’ve been struggling to get back with the Switch. It’s creative, grand, and fun to control. Simply running and jumping around is a blast because of Mario’s vast array of moves. This already improved moveset is augmented by Cappy, Mario’s new companion. His presence opens up even more movement options for Mario. That extra jump and hang-time allow for many more shortcuts than even Galaxy's spin jump opened up.

This particular fight in Seaside Kingdom was awesome

However, Cappy’s greatest contribution comes in the form of the capture mechanic.I’ll be honest, pre-launch I was quite skeptical of this gameplay system. Capturing enemies seemed too intrusive, and I worried that constantly switching gameplay styles would dilute the core experience. However, in execution, being able to constantly switch play styles is a lot of fun and contributes to the great sense of variety within Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo did a very nice job of making sure that each capturable enemy brings something new to the table, and truly accomplishes something that Mario cannot. The Wigglers on Forgotten Isle and the Gushens in the Seaside Kingdom are two particular standouts. There is also an incredibly fun capture sequence in the Snow Kingdom, but I don't want to spoil that quite yet. The captured enemies are also used quite effectively in several of Odyssey’s boss fights. While the capture fight in the Wooded Kingdom is a bit lackluster, all the others so far have been a blast. Commandeering a Gushens to dodge seashells and take down Mollusque-Lanceur, a big angry octopus, has been a highlight of Odyssey for me. Similarly, Luncheon Kingdom ends with with an awesome, albeit easy, capture fight high atop a volcano. However, there is another type of boss fight, and that is against the Broodels. Acting essentially as a replacement for the Koopalings, these big rabbits muck around the kingdoms and stir up trouble for Mario. Yet, all my fights against them so far have been very basic, predictable, and not very hard to beat. Gameplay-wise, this has been the only pitfall that Odyssey has at this point.

It is incredibly easy to figure out the Broodel's patterns and
take them down

On the other hand, in contrast to the Broodels, the Kingdoms themselves are very well designed and a blast to explore. In the latest “3D” Mario title, Super Mario 3D World, and the 2D series, it is easy to predict the sights that Mario will visit. There is always a plains world, a water world, an ice world, and so on. Super Mario Odyssey turns that pattern on its head. There are wholly new Kingdoms such as the Metro Kingdom and the Luncheon Kingdom, which feature level themes never before explored in Mario games. The lead up to Bowser's Kingdom and the locale itself is particularly stunning, but should certainly be experienced first-hand, so you'll have to get to it yourself. Other more traditional locales like the Wooded and Snow Kingdoms riff on their themes and add unique elements, a post-industrial sprawl and an underground village respectively. This keeps gameplay fun and fresh. The visual diversity is only one half of the equation, as the sheer volume of secrets are really what hold Odyssey together.

2D sections like these bolster the exploration and allow
for awesome 2D/3D puzzles

Similar to the design philosophy in Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey hides secrets, in the form of Moons, all over the place to keep up a steady sense of progression. Odyssey continually rewards smart exploration and creative thinking. For example, in the Sand Kingdom, off to the side of Toastarina Town is a patch of quicksand. I accidentally fell into it, and got sucked down the hole at the bottom. I expected to die, but instead fell into a cave that housed a secret level. Moments like these are spread throughout Odyssey and usually result in collecting a moon. Yet, I’m of two minds when it comes to the Moon system itself. On the one hand, I find it very satisfying to collect the moons. The objectives are always varied and can be hidden quite deviously. Even when I think I’ve combed an area clean of moons, there are always a few more to uncover. It would have been easy for this deluge of moons to become monotonous, but thankfully they aren’t. On the other hand, this abundance of moons takes a toll on the “story” moons, the missions that progress the adventure forward. Most of the time, these objectives are no more complex than some of the hidden moons in the Kingdom, and end up being unimpressive because of that. Furthermore, this cornucopia of moons takes some of the weight out of find them; collecting a shine or star always felt like an achievement because more work had to be put into them. In Odyssey, collecting a moon feels like ticking a checkbox. Still rewarding, but less so. A simple solution to this would be to treat the moons scattered around the Kingdoms like heart pieces in The Legend of Zelda. Once four are collected, they assemble into a single moon. This would alleviate the issues that I stated above, without lowering the collectible count as a whole.

The Odyssey serves as a collection room as well as a
dressing room for Mario's various costumes

Moons aren’t the only collectible in the game though, as purple coins are scattered throughout the Kingdoms. When enough have been accumulated, they can be spent to get new costumes and souvenirs for the airship. Dressing Mario in differently themed costumes is incredibly novel, and one of my favorite additions to Odyssey. For the most part, they don’t have any effect on gameplay, but a couple of them are needed to get into exclusive clubs. The souvenirs are also neat, but also completely superfluous. I enjoy decorating the airship, but I wish that I could freely place the objects inside. To that effect, I would’ve hoped the Odyssey (the titular airship in Super Mario Odyssey) could act more akin to Starship Mario, the hub from Galaxy 2. I loved gathering more crewmates and playing minigames on the ship. Here in Odyssey, there essentially isn’t a hub world. It isn’t a real flaw, but more of a nitpick from a longtime Mario fan.

I can't wait to hop back into Odyssey and kick Bowser's
ass once and for all 

With that in mind, I think it is too early to decide where Odyssey falls in my rankings. I define “true” 3D Mario as being Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy 1. As of now, I like Odyssey much more than Sunshine, and a bit more than 64. But after that, I’m not sure. With my personal favorite being Galaxy, I think I’ll have to let Odyssey stew for a bit before hammering out my personal number one. With that in mind, I really cannot understate just how refreshing Odyssey is. It does have some problems, as I’ve stated above. However, the game is just so much fun that the pros unquestionably outweigh the cons. Games like this don’t come along too often. There is no need to rush through the game, because unless you like JRPGs, there isn’t too much more in terms of first-party Nintendo software on Switch for the rest of the year. Let Odyssey simmer, and soak up all of its creativity. This is truly a masterclass game, and I cannot wait to play more. Actually, I think I’ll go do that right now.