Super Mario Odyssey Review
Played on: Switch
Developer: Nintendo
Time played: ~15 hours
Mario is the best selling video game franchise in history, and for good reason. In it’s 30+ years of existence it’s released an amazing number of classics, 2 of which are on my Top 10 Favorite Video Games of All Time list. A new Mario game is a big deal not just because it’s so popular that even my parents know about it, but because they have conditioned us to expect such greatness as seen in Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Galaxy. Because of that everybody knew Super Mario Odyssey would be a 10 out of 10 when it launched, including myself. However, tweaks to the formula aimed at today’s modern audience left me feeling like Nintendo missed some of the marks that made Mario great in the first place.
Bowser is at it again with his Princess Peach kidnapping antics, but this time he’s taken an additional prisoner. Tiara, a tiara shaped ghost from the Cap Kingdom, was also abducted by Bowser with the intention of using her in a forced marriage to Princess Peach. Instead of just invoking the wrath of Mario, Bowser has also drawn attention from Cappy, Tiara’s older brother. Mario and Cappy team up to take down Bowser and his minions as they attempt to plan an epic wedding, and you now have the standard 5 minutes of story needed to propel you through the game.
Cappy brings a completely new dynamic to the Mario equation. He is Mario’s projectile weapon and he can be thrown to collect items, extend his jumping distance, and attack enemies. But more importantly if Cappy is thrown at an enemy not already wearing a hat, he will sit atop the enemy’s head and allow Mario to possess it. While controlling an enemy you gain their powers, which opens up a wide variety of new options for Mario.
This is by far Nintendo’s best addition to Mario. The first time I turned into a T-rex and ran through the stage crushing enemies felt pretty magical. You can also possess a Bullet Bill to fly through walls, a Cheep Cheep to swim and make water levels bearable, and many other creative enemies that I won’t spoil for you. With almost two dozen capturable foes it means you have a ton of new abilities with which to experiment and help you solve puzzles. It is a mechanic that has not gotten old after 15+ hours.
To progress through the game you must collect moons to power your airship named Odyssey. The moons are scattered throughout the level much how stars were in previous games. However, unlike previous games there are a ridiculous number of moons to collect. There are over 900 in the entire game, although you only need about 150 to beat it. Not all moons are available at once though, as a good chunk of them don’t appear until after you’ve seen the ending credits. This essentially breaks up Super Mario Odyssey into 2 very different experiences.
The first is one where you can’t take 2 steps without tripping over a moon. They are jam-packed into levels and it’s immediately obvious how to collect them. Reaching a high point, destroying a glowing object, and discovering a mildly hidden area are 3 objectives you’ll become very accustomed to as they make up a good chunk of the moons available to you at this point. After butt stomping a glowing spot on the ground to reveal a moon for the dozenth time, it made me think that Nintendo had succumbed to the trend of showering the player with meaningless rewards to make them feel like they are always progressing.
There were so many easy moons available that all I had to do was walk around for 30 minutes and I’d have the required amount to move to the next level. It felt like moons found me instead of the other way around, and it was this feeling that made me realize I wasn’t having that much fun. After each play session I returned to the game more out of obligation than I did a longing desire to play. Nintendo has some of the best designers in the world, so why was I able to tune out and routinely collect moons the first half of each level? Where was the Nintendo magic from Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64?
The magic appears in small bursts at this stage in the game. After pushing through the mundane moons that begin each level, they start to reveal themselves and show their true nature. Challenges become more creative, peaks require more dexterity to climb, and secret areas require a deliberate attempt to leave the beaten path. The later levels do a better job of introducing you to the action quicker, but eventually you exhaust the level and must move on to the next, where you run into another pedestrian start.
Then you hit the second experience, which appears after the credits roll. You can return to each level but this time they are different. Not only does a metal box explode that places 10–20 new moons in the level, but the levels themselves are imbued with new life as characters from other worlds have come to visit. Levels that once felt empty and lifeless are now bustling and energetic. Plus, those 10–20 moons are damn good and make up the most interesting challenges in the game. Why Nintendo felt the need to hide it’s best content behind beating the 10–15 hour game I will never know, but it seems like a mistake. If I had put the controller down after seeing the credits, as I often do with games, I would have never gotten to know the real Super Mario Odyssey.
Collecting moons isn’t the only thing to do in the game. Each level has 50 or 100 purple coins to collect, and unlike the moons there’s no slow start. These coins have been hidden with a lot of effort, so collecting all of them truly feels like an accomplishment. I had more fun tracking down purple coins than I did most moons, and it’s because they take you to all ends of the level and feel like they were placed with care and thought.
Super Mario Odyssey takes you to many destinations including the desert, the forest, the beach, and a volcano. Despite most levels appearing deceivingly small, there’s lots to unpack as there are many nooks and crannies to get lost in. Some of the levels that really stood out to me are the Luncheon Kingdom, a level composed of various food items and lava, the Metro Kingdom, a real-world city with real humans in it, and a few other late game kingdoms I won’t spoil for you that are packed with nostalgia and surprises. Within each stage there are appropriately themed characters to interact with and give life to the level, but there are so few that they don’t add much to the experience.
Boss battles are hit and miss. Bowser’s minions, the Broodals, provide straightforward and uninteresting encounters each time they intervene, which consist of finding different ways to jump on their head 3 times. However, boss battles with monsters in the world are usually a treat as the jump-on-head-3-times formula no longer applies, and often times you must use one of Mario’s new powers to fell the beast.
Lastly, as someone who couldn’t care less about costumes in games, there’s something about Mario’s many outfits that are just a delight. There are a ton to collect and it’s really fun to see Mario in unexpected outfits. It’s especially nice to know that Mario does in fact have nipples. Outside of the general silliness they provide it just felt right to wear a snorkel during water levels and the sombrero in the Sand Kingdom.
I would expect games like Destiny, Hearthstone, and Diablo to rely on a constant dopamine drip of rewards to keep you incentivized to play, but not Mario. Mario is supposed to be inherently fun, and Super Mario Odyssey really is inherently fun. There is a lot going for it like the creativity Cappy provides, great level design, and Mario charm. However, Nintendo shields you from that fun in the first half of the game with a bombardment of trivial moons, and you’re forced to push through in order to get the true Mario experience. It’s a decision that ultimately makes a very fun game less fun, and I hope it’s one they don’t make again. Removing 200 moons in this game might make it a 10/10, but with the mandatory filler content it unfortunately knocks the experience down a peg. But make no mistake — you will like playing Mario. You just might not love it.
+ Gameplay variety from Cappy’s powers
+ Great level design
- Easy and meaningless moons diminish the experience
