Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
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Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Director: Kenta Motokura
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Overview:
Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach yet again, this time with the intention of marrying her. With his new ally Cappy, Mario must follow the trail across different lands to save the Princess.
Gameplay:
I'm a longtime fan of the Mario series, but I've found myself skipping a lot of games lately. That's not to say that a lot of the recent games aren't perfectly acceptable gaming experiences, but they've been lacking in wow factor. Super Mario Galaxy was the last entry that really impressed by bringing something new to the table. I liked Super Mario 3-D World, for instance, but even more so than Super Mario Sunshine was following Super Mario 64, it felt more like an extension of what had already been done rather than blazing a new trail. However, when I saw some of the first promotional footage for this game, I knew we had something special and I would go so far as to say what Breath of the Wild did for the Zelda series, Super Mario Odyssey does for its franchise. I haven't been this bowled over by a Mario game since Galaxy, arguably since 64. The core platforming gameplay is going to be familiar to anyone who's been playing the 3D Mario games over the past 20 years, but the main feature of this game is Cappy's copy feature, which opens up a wide variety of new gameplay styles and expands the puzzle-solving aspect of the platforming. The final product impressively delivers on all the initial promise.
While Galaxy was very innovative for its time, being restricted to little bite-sized areas made it feel rather small despite the sprawling implications of the title. Here we have large maps with plenty to do and numerous mini-levels as well. Unlike the Power Stars and such of previous major entries, instead of a 120 limit, there are 880 Power Moons to collect across the worlds, so the tempo of collection is much faster. There are also purple coins you can collect to buy special items at the Crazy Cap shop (which has two parts: one for regular coins and the other level-specific one for purple coins). Costumes are mostly just for fun, but some Power Moons can only be acquired by wearing a particular costume.
I also need to make special mention of the 8-bit segments that are a great bit of fanservice for the folks who've been with Mario since the original Donkey Kong and/or Super Mario Bros.
Impressively, there's arguably more content after you beat Bowser, so the game has quite a bit of staying power if you really enjoy scouring the land for Power Moons. You definitely won't feel shortchanged.
Story/Characters:
This is a Mario game, so story and characterization don't factor in that much. Still, what we have works well enough and it's interesting seeing Pauline come back after all these years.
Graphics:
The game certainly provides a visual feast with its wide variety of stages. Some of the more photorealistic parts (like much of New Donk City) can feel incongruous, but the fact that they would even do areas like that is a credit to the boldness of the art design. There are also some nice environmental effects worth noting, such as the thick cloud cover in Bonneton.
Music/Sound:
The music feels right at home in the franchise, with series veterans Koji Kondo and Shiho Fujii contributing and some remixes of classic themes. There are also a few vocal tracks, which is new to the franchise as far as I know. "Jump Up, Super Star!" is used to rather good effect. In the aforementioned 8-bit segments, the music and sound effects change to match. The character's aren't fully voiced, keeping the limited voice clips we've become used to since 64.
Conclusion:
In some of the past console cycles, Nintendo didn't bring their killer apps right out of the gate, but between Breath of the Wild and this game, they've got the Switch off to a great start. If you're a Mario fan, there should be no doubt in your mind. This is a must-have. If you're new to the franchise, this is a heck of a way to get started, not only opening up new ground but also paying numerous homages to Mario's 38-year career. This truly is a masterpiece of gaming.
Rating:
Treasure It