Super Mario Odyssey Review
’m Caelan Markstrom and this USF’s Movie Moment. Today we are going to “switch” things up and talk about the newest Mario game in the franchise, Super Mario Odyssey. Now, I’m going to rate this game based on the story, replay ability, how good the levels and level concepts are, how they executed ideas, and how it holds up to the previous games of Mario 64, Sunshine and Galaxy 1 and 2. The grading system will be keep the game in its case, keep it in a game holder, keep it out of case, keep the game in a drawer, or sell it altogether. With that out of the way, let’s jump right in.
First, let me say Super Mario Odyssey is a fantastic game. It takes inspiration from Super Mario 64 and Sunshine and puts a twist of its own on it. Let’s talk about the story. Without spoiling too much of the game, the story is you’re usual Mario story, princess gets kidnapped, save the princess. But, Bowser has a reason for kidnapping Peach this time around. It’s been rumored for years that Bowser wants to marry Peach and now it’s been confirmed. Bowser goes through all sorts of worlds stealing everything that’s needed for a wedding like a cake, bouquet of flowers, etc. This is where I would say Mario Odyssey lacks the most in. The main story mode was very quick and not very hard to play. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily but it would’ve been nice if it was, say, a few hours longer. I will say that the final boss is the coolest final boss battle since Mario 64’s finale. Definitely an instant classic.
Most Mario games get praised for their levels and Super Mario Odyssey delivers this in spades. Some levels include the Wooded Kingdom, the Seaside Kingdom, and my personal favorite, the Metro Kingdom, which is a level based on New York City. How cool is that? Collectibles are everywhere. Odyssey has two kinds of collectibles: the power moons which are the main collectibles and there are purple coins that are level specific. With these coins, you can buy different costumes for Mario to wear. Now to show you how many collectibles there are in this game, I did some math. Each if the previous Mario games had about 120 each with Galaxy 2 having 242 with green stars. Combined, there are about 602 (more or less) stars. Mario Odyssey has close to one thousand power moons. Not to mention each levels purple where each has either 50 or 100 purple coins. Just let that sink in.
Now, I’ve been leaving out a very key detail about Mario Odyssey and that is Cappy, the sentient hat on Mario’s head. He gives Mario a huge range of different skills and moves. You can even make him an extra platform where if you fall of a ledge, you might be able to save yourself. But, even if you do fall, you lose no lives. Each time you die, you just lose 10 coins. And coins are plentiful in each world. It’s very forgiving in that manner.
Mario Odyssey is a breath of fresh air. It brought back the openness of levels from sunshine and 64 and moved the series forward in the right direction. There’s so much more to be said about this game but the bottom line is: if you own a Nintendo Switch, you’re missing out on one of the best Mario games out there. It is easily my favorite Super Mario game of all time. With that said, I would definitely keep this game in the case. With USF’s movie moment, I’m Caelan Markstrom
