REVIEW: Super Mario Odyssey - Top 10 Things You Need To Know

Power Moon’s are Super Mario Odyssey’s equivalent of Stars from previous 3D Mario Titles, so as you can probably guess, you need to collect a certain number of them in order to advance to the next Kingdom. Of course that shouldn’t be too hard as every single world is crawling with them. Some can be as easy as finding plain sight secrets, similar to the Korok Seeds in Breath of the Wild. While others require Mario to traverse various obstacles courses to reach one … or two. The number of moons varies in each of the 16 Kingdoms and they can house anywhere from around 20 to 80 Moons. So if you’re planning on going for 100% completion … GOOOOOOD LUCK!

While the game does encourage exploration, some Power Moons are more significant than others. NPC’s and the way the level is structured will often convince the player to head to certain locations, sometimes to fight a boss, or collect 3 moons in a “Multi-Moon”. Completing these tasks will often change the theme of the whole Kingdom. For example; when you first arrive in the New York inspired New Donk City, it’s being overrun with Tanks and a mechanical centipede, Defeating them will clear the city, allowing for Mario to find members of a band to start a festival, which as you guessed changes the theme again to a festive celebration.

Obviously Mario’s standout ability in Odyssey is his new ally: Cappy, who takes the form of Mario’s Hat. By throwing Cappy at some enemies, Mario can take control of them to make use of their unique abilities. For example; Goomba’s have rugged feet that prevent them from slipping on ice, Cheep Cheep’s allow Mario to swim easier, Capturing a Tank turns the game into a Third Person Shooter, and Woodpeckers can stick their beaks into wooden walls to fling themselves alongside buildings. The variety of on offer here is fantastic with new enemies being introduced well into the final world of the game, keeping the pacing fresh all the way through.

When people think of Mario, his red cap and blue overalls immediately come to mind. In addition to his iconic outfit, “Super Mario Odyssey” grants the him access to a wide wardrobe of hats and suits, many of which pay homage to previous Nintendo games. There’s the explorer hat from “Mario's Picross,” the sombrero from the Gameboy port of “Qix,” the chef’s hat from “Yoshi’s Cookie,” and the golf hat from “NES Open Tournament Golf.” Costumes can also be used to gain access to certain areas in the game, and there’s some bonus outfits you can even unlock with certain Amiibo figures.

In an amazing throwback to Mario’s original adventure on the NES, travelling through pixelated pipes in the game will transport Mario to 8-bit stages that use assets from the original Super Mario Bros. Not only is Mario’s movement and physics faithfully recreated in these areas, but the stage’s music also gets it’s own 8-Bit remix. Furthermore most special outfits that Mario can wear can be seen in 8-bit format as well, showing of the game’s nice attention to detail.

In a lot of “Mario” games, extra lives are so easy to come by that they practically grow on trees. Perhaps that’s fitting since mushrooms can literally grow on trees, but we digress. “Super Mario Odyssey” cuts the “game over” screen out of the equation entirely, instead giving the player unlimited lives and multiple checkpoints they can fast travel between. That’s not to say the game is a total cakewalk. Mario loses 10 coins when he dies, which really isn’t a big deal since how abundant gold coins are. However there are some rather challenging sections that will test even the most skilled 3D Platformer fans.

While you can play through the entire game with the Joy-Con’s attached or with a Pro Controller, the game strongly encourages playing the game with the Joy-Con’s detached. The Reason for this is because some of Cappy’s more advanced moves such as a spin attack or vertical slice can only be performed with certain gestures. While they aren’t required to complete the game, performing them in Handheld mode can be rather awkward since you’re essentially shaking the whole unit.

If you and your buddies have raced through every track in “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and blasted through every stage in “Splatoon 2,” you’re probably looking for another multiplayer game on the Switch. Luckily, “Super Mario Odyssey” comes complete with a co-op mode akin to “Super Mario Galaxy.” Naturally, one player will step into Mario’s shoes while the other assumes control of Cappy. Once the sentient hat takes flight, it can perform attacks, collect items, and adjust the camera. While it’s nowhere near as in-depth as the earlier mentioned titles, it does offer anyone else watching the game the chance to get more involved.

As fun and creative as Mario Odyssey is, there are a few issues with it. The Boss fights are particularly underwhelming, as they have very predictable patterns and only take 3 hits to beat. Furthermore some bosses make repeat appearance, with only slightly updated attacks. This has been the traditional format with Mario Games in the past, but it’s an aspect that’s long overdue for an overhaul. Also while the camera certainly works well about 98% of the time, you can get caught in a rare instance where it swings to an angle that’s not ideal.

The short answer is … Yes Absolutely. While the Main Game will only take you about 8-10 hours to complete, the vast amount of Post Game content, and hidden unlockable extras will keep you coming back for weeks if not months. In fact one could even argue that the real game starts after you defeat Bowser considering how many moons there are left over. Admittedly it doesn’t quite reach the standards of Breath of the Wild, (Though to be fair that game did set the bar pretty damn high) but there’s enough here to please both casual and hardcore fans alike.