If you were born in the 90s and had a Nintendo 64 like me chances are you played Super Mario 64. Super Mario Odyssey is essentially a spiritual successor to Mario 64 and easily is in the conversation for best game for the Nintendo Switch.
I had Super Mario Odyssey for years, but never started it for whatever reason. However, back in June I was playing the original Final Fantasy VII and my PS4 broke on me. After sending it in for repairs, I needed a game to play for around 3 days and didn’t want a huge commitment. Super Mario Odyssey filled that void perfectly as a quick and fun game that would occupy the short time period.
This is incredibly vague, but the best way to describe Super Mario Odyssey is that it’s fun. The fun factor of this game is the main drawing point. From platforming, to exploring new worlds, to grabbing the collectibles this is a great Mario game in every way and is so addicting.
Essentially in this game you have to collect Power Moons which function like Stars in previous games and these are used to power your ship known as the Odyssey. Some of these Power Moons are super simple, but some are incredibly challenging and frustrating and I have stepped on a fair share of Goombas in my time. The number of moons required to go to the next level are very small, but each world offers a huge variety of Power Moons to obtain. The game was so fun that I found myself staying in each world far longer than necessary in order to collect as many moons as I could find.
The new game mechanic in Super Mario Odyssey is that Mario has a new friend in his cap named…Cappy. Albeit a horrible name, Cappy offers an amazing game play mechanic offers a ton of variety. Essentially Mario can throw Cappy at certain enemies to “capture” them and it allows Mario to transform and use certain new abilities while in this form. This can include transforming into a Cheep Cheep to have unlimited breath underwater, a frog to reach seemingly unreachable places and a ton more. I don’t want to spoil any other transformations because this is one of my favorite experiences in this game because every time you encounter a new enemy your first inclination is to throw Cappy to see if you can transform. This offers incredible variety for each of the worlds so it is not just the same thing every time.
Speaking of the worlds, I love them in Super Mario Odyssey. These worlds aren’t even remotely similar and every new area is absolutely gorgeous. They have a dessert area, New Donk City which is very similar to Manhattan and my absolute favorite because I love to eat, a food-based world. These are all so unique and absolutely gorgeous. The colors pop and the game run smooth as hell at 60 frames per second. It really is in the conversation for best looking game on the Nintendo Switch.
This may be downside for a lot of people, but because of my huge backlog I actually appreciated this. The main game story is very short, it took me around 15 hours, but this was with me doing a lot of extra tasks that weren’t necessary, so you could probably beat it in 12 hours.
However, one good side is that if you truly want to fully complete this game there is a ton to do. As I mentioned above there are a ton of extra power moons in each world, but as soon as you beat the main story each world unlocks even more power moons that clock at over 900! This gives a ton of replay ability and if you want the full experience you will have enough to do for a long time.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the boss battles in Super Mario Odyssey. The bosses look great and are all different in some way. Now I will admit they are not challenging at all, but trying to figure out the mechanic to beat them was fun and that’s what this game boils down too, it’s fun.
You know what to expect from a Mario game. Princess gets kidnapped and you have to rescue her. This is always the “story”, its minimal at best. I grabbed this game knowing this, so needless to say if you are looking for an immersive story stay far away from this game.
My only real flaw for this game can possibly go back to my skill level, but sometimes Mario doesn’t jump the way I intend and it can be incredibly frustrating. This is most true on the really difficult levels that I’m spending hours on and I start getting stressed. If you don’t hold the analog the right away you can sometimes do a special jump and of course when it is intended it’s amazing, but gets really frustrating on those tight platform levels where my jumps need to be super precise.
PROS
- Fun factor
- Every world is different
- Incredible Visuals
- Innovative Cappy mechanic
- Spiritual Successor to Mario 64
- A lot more to do after finishing the story
- Amazing Boss Battles
- 60 fps
CONS
- Short
- No story
- Occasionally doesn’t jump the way I want him too
CONSENSUS
If you were a 90s kid that loved Super Mario 64 and you own a Nintendo Switch, I really think you will love this game. This is by far the best Mario game on the Nintendo Switch and is in the conversation for the best one in the series
RATING
10/10: MASTERPIECE
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