GIF Gallery of All the Revealed ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ Capture Transformations
The latest E3 trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch revealed a new way for Mario to transform. Unlike previous games, Mario no longer simply puts on a suit after grabbing a power-up item. He now gains complete possession of his enemies by throwing Cappy, a sentient version of his trademark red cap, at other creatures and objects. When Mario “captures” a creature and inhabits its body, he also temporarily inherits its special abilities.
For instance, Mario can throw his cap at a frog to capture it. Whomever he inhabits dons his famous red hat and mustache. Although we don’t know yet what this transformation does, it’s easy to assume that it will function similarly to the old Frog Mario power-up from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Here is a gallery of every revealed capture transformation so far:
Starting off, Mario can now take control of one of the most well-known series minions, the limbless Goomba. Unfortunately, beyond stacking on other Goombas and leading them, this transformation doesn’t seem very useful… yet. Perhaps the game will surprise us and finally give Goomba his time in the limelight.
On the opposite end of the enemy threat spectrum, Hammer Bros. are some of the most difficult enemies to face. Their erratic attack patterns of bouncing around and throwing bunches of hammers are tough to dodge. Odyssey gives us the chance to control a variation of the Hammer Bro who wears a chef’s hat and throws frying pans. Certainly, he must be cooking something good for his master, the evil Bowser.
Mario can also capture the fireball throwing Fire Bro. He appears to function similarly to Fire Mario, with the added fun of bouncing all over the place.
Moving from fire to water, we can see Mario inhabiting a Cheep Cheep. While it’s obvious that his swimming abilities are top-notch, it’s less clear what advantages, if any, a fish would have over a frog.
In some cases, Mario needs to perform a special action to possess an enemy. For example, poisonous Piranha Plants will eat your cap if you throw it at it. By kicking a rock into the Piranha Plant’s mouth, you can then capture it.
The trailer revealed Mario coming out of a Chain Chomp after another Chomp charges up and crashes into him.
In one of the more interesting enemy transformations, Mario can become a Bullet Bill, with the ability to cross large gaps and blow up walls.
A new, fascinating enemy is the Uproot, a vegetable-like creature who uses its roots to propel itself upward. Capturing it yields Mario the same fun powers.
In addition to enemies, Mario can also capture inanimate objects. Although it’s odd that he can inhabit things without souls, it leads to some interesting gameplay abilities. For example, the rocket transformation can soar you up to new areas.
Another possible form of transportation is the inhabitable taxi cab. Driving around the metropolitan New Donk City as a car will no doubt be a unique experience. I wonder if there will be any challenges related to transporting the city’s residents, a la Sega’s Crazy Taxi.
The integration of movement mechanics and the capture ability continues to be strong, seen here as Mario moves across a wire as a ball of electricity.
Similarly, Mario can blast off as a fire creature, most likely a Podobo enemy. Between having electricity and fire transformations, I hope Mario can also learn to control water and wind in the full game.
Although these traffic pylons seem boring to possess, they actually catapult Mario into the air, making travel more exciting. There are also other pylons on the sides of buildings.
Mario can capture this pair of binoculars shaped like a robot. He can extend his neck upwards, which presumably allows him to scope the area from high vantage points.
Shown off extensively during Nintendo’s Treehouse Live segment during E3, this Moai statue, lovingly called Moe-Eye, has special sunglasses that let Mario see platforms that are otherwise invisible. I’m reminded of the Lens of Truth from The Legend of Zelda games.
Yes, Mario can possess a tree and do all those awesome things that trees do…like, you know, bounce around.
Equally weird, for a completely different reason, Mario can inhabit the body of a regular human. I’m sure this blows the possessed man’s mind as much as it does mine.
In what appears to be a boss battle, Mario can capture a gigantic enemy’s fist and punch him with it. I imagine we’ll be getting more wholly unique transformations for other boss battles.
In another major battle shown off during the Treehouse Live presentation, you can maneuver a tank around and shoot portions of a mechanical Wiggler. This is probably the closest thing we’ll get to a sequel of Nintendo’s Wii U title Tank! Tank! Tank!
And finally, the transformation I’m most looking for is the one that the trailer started with. Mario can capture a Tyrannosaurus Rex of all things! I can only imagine what kind of epic gameplay this T-Rex’s powers will bring.
This caps off the transformations revealed thus far through Nintendo’s own trailers and gameplay footage. What are you most excited to capture in Super Mario Odyssey? What else would you like to see Mario inhabit?
Source: Super Mario Odyssey E3 Trailer
Alex Mateo is a lifelong gamer and a huge Nintendo fan. You can find his articles here and his gaming videos here.
