E3 has come and gone boy was it one of the biggest,
especially for Nintendo. More to the point a lot of Super Mario Odyssey the
newest Mario adventure coming out for the Nintendo Switch was revealed. I only
really got to cover the trailer and a few other things during my E3 coverage
but quite a lot of gameplay was shown off as well which is what I’m going to be
diving into today. A lot of the gameplay was revealed during E3 as well as some
people getting to play timed demos on the E3 demo floor and at certain other
events. While I’m extremely jealous of the fact I have not had the chance to
have hands on with this game (This would have also made writing this blog
easier, oh well.) I’m going to be diving in and discussing what I’ve observed
from as much Gameplay I can find. So in the words of the plumber man himself,
lets-a-go!
When this game was first announced it was said to be an 3D
adventure Mario game in spirit of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine but I
never realized how open world Nintendo was making this game until E3. Super
Mario Odyssey takes the feel of 64 and Sunshine and takes it into a new
Odyssey. It appears Super Mario Odyssey will have multiple worlds with many
levels and activities in each one. So instead of all the levels technically being
inside of Peach’s Castle or Isle Delfino Mario will be traveling the world to
many different locations to collect Moon Pieces, which seem to be this game’s
Power Stars or Shines. These moons are found by completing platforming levels
or quests for others in New Donk City, one of the worlds shown off during E3
and the Gameplay demos. This game might be a 3D adventure Mario similar to 64
and Sunshine but its Moon Pieces aren’t limited to specific level selections,
no more jumping through paintings or graffiti this game is all about adventure
and looking through every nook and cranny to find these Moon Pieces. You will
be traveling to each world by the means of the Odyssey which is a giant Top Hat
transportation device, because why not? Regardless I absolutely love how much
more open world this game appears compared to Sunshine and 64 with each world
being an open Sandbox with goodies around every corner and exploration waiting
to happen.
Each world Mario travels too also have its own form of
currency aside from the Golden Coins Mario Games are so famous for having. Why
is that you say? Well prepared to be mind blown. In Super Mario Odyssey the
coins are no longer just a score and collection system but you will actually be
able to utilize these coins to purchase items! I’m not just on about usual
power-up items either. No each world has its own currency with 100 coins (The
return of the 100 coins? Sign me up for nostalgia.) planted in each world among
it’s levels. This special currency will allow you to buy outfits to wear. Ever
wanted to dress Mario up in a dress suit with top hat? Then this is the game
for you. Each world will have it’s own unique clothing line. It appears these
aren’t just for looks either these outfits will unlock special levels and events
within each world. I also noticed something else really awesome about these
outfits, some of them are actually based on outfits Mario has worn in past
spin-off titles, such as his patriotic red, white and blue golfer outfit and
the Super Mario Maker builder outfit which also serves as a throwback to
Wrecking Crew. One last thing about the coins, instead of losing lives when you
lose in a level you actually lose coins. Not sure whether it’s possible to get
a game over once you run out of coins but it appears 1-Ups are no more.
Mario’s mechanics from 64 and Sunshine such as the Wall Jump
and Long Jump all make their return to Super Mario Odyssey but it appears a few
new tricks are coming as well. First up Mario can now roll! Yeah eat your heart
out Link and Sonic because Mario has a sweet new rolling mechanic that you can
use to, well roll around. Most importantly this game adds a brand new mechanic
and it actually revolves around Mario’s hat. Every 3D Mario game has had some
sort of unique ability in each of it’s games. 64 had the power up caps,
Sunshine had F.L.U.D.D. and his nozzles, Galaxy had the Luma Spin ability and
3D Land/World brought back some power ups from Mario’s 2D days into 3D such as
the Tanooki Suit. (Oh yeah and Cat Suits.) This time round Mario’s special
ability comes from his hat, which ends up being possessed by a hat ghost named
Cappy. Using Cappy you can fling your hat forward similar to the Boomerang Bro
power up to attack enemies, grab items and… Possess enemies? Okay it’s not
actually possessing as Nintendo has stressed but it allows Mario (Or is it just
the cap?) to control certain objects, enemies, creatures and even a human being
in New Donk City. While this is one of the most bizarre additions to Mario to
this day there’s so much that can be done with this ability I can’t wait to see
more of it in action. To add a Mario touch the item or object you control has a
little Mario mustache along with the cap, which is adorable to say the least.
Anyway this seems to be the center mechanic of the game.
I don't think I've ever seen Bowser look this snappy.
Now while 3D Adventure Mario games don’t have the most expansive
stories in the world Mario games usually have a fun story behind them and I
personally loved the stories in Mario games up until now, especially Galaxy 1
and Galaxy 2. Super Mario Odyssey’s story is similar to all previous Mario
stories in the fact that Princess Peach is kidnapped once again by Bowser, only
this time instead of locking her away in his castle it seems Bowser is actually
arranging a marriage between him and the Mushroom Princess. It’s no hidden fact
that the King Koopa has some hard feelings for the Princess which has served as
a primary reasoning behind his kidnappings. Bowser has actually attempted a
forced marriage before in an old but favorite Nintendo Power comic. To help his
plan succeed Bowser has hired an ACTUAL wedding planning firm, I kid you not,
to help. Problem for Mario is this firm, who call themselves The Broodals are
super fighting ninja rabbits. Yeah the Rabbids aren’t the only rabbits Mario
will be facing this year.
I’ve talked about the overall gameplay, mechanics and
stories but I’ve not dived too much into the worlds that were shown off. First
off we have the Metro Kingdom. Metro Kingdom’s primary location is New Donk
City which is home to some really realistic humans for some reason. Yeah I’m
not sure why the humans are really realistic compared to the Mario series’
usual art style. Humans were actually going to be present in Super Mario
Sunshine but were taken out so maybe this is a leftover idea. New Donk City
like the name might give away is based on New York City and is called “The City
That Never Leaps.”. Now during the initial reveal and the E3 trailer I noticed
a huge amount of Donkey Kong references in this city, even the name itself. Streets
are named after Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country characters such as Dixie
Street, K. Rool Avenue and even a Cranky Avenue. The biggest Donkey Kong
reference actually comes in form of a character who seems to be playing a
significant role in the game, Pauline.
Yes Nintendo is bringing back Pauline to
a main series Mario game after all these years. For those not aware Pauline is
Mario’s former girlfriend and damsel in distress from the original Arcade
Donkey Kong games. She also made an appearance In the Mario VS Donkey Kong
games for the DS and 3DS. It’s crazy to see Nintendo bring back a character
like her and flesh her out even to the point of making her the MAYOR of New
Donk City! According to NPCs around the city Pauline as well as Mario played a
key role I restoring New Donk City after it underwent a massive disaster that
damaged it. This made me really think and the first thing to come to my mind is
this little theory, is this the original city and setting from Donkey Kong?
That would be insane if it ends up being true and sort of bring the Mario lore
(Trust me there is a lore.) full circle. In New Donk City Mario wall jumps
around the buildings to perform quests and help Pauline builds up a band for a
concert. Speaking of that apparently Pauline has a tremendous voice and you
know that song from the E3 trailer “1-UP Girl”? Yeah Pauline is singing that,
which is pretty cool. Finally another part of New Donk City I want to point out
is the fact that Mario can ride a Moped similar to the Moped from Mario Kart,
which is crazy. I wonder why the residents put up with a crazy mustache man
running around. There seems to be a lot to do in this city, adding more to this
game’s exploration feel. Seems like Nintendo is more interested in making
exploring, sandbox like games lately huh? I’m definitely not complaining.
Bosses appear in this game too including this Mecha-Wiggle
which seems to be an enemy In New Donk City. You have to take control of a tank
to defeat it and it kind of gives me Super Mario Galaxy feels mixed with Star
Fox and Bayonetta, for some reason.
Other kingdoms announced was the Sand Kingdom, which seems
to have been attacked by a freeze ray as there’s ice everywhere. The residents
are these Hispanic skeleton like guys who definitely look inspired by the Day
of the Dead. There’s a certain point in one of the levels from this world in
which Mario goes inside of a pipe only to turn into classic Mario from the
original NES Super Mario Brothers. This happens a few times in this desert which
is an incredibly awesome throwback while still being a part of the actual
gameplay. The Broodals serve as bosses too with the female Broodal, Harriet being
Sand Kingdom’s boss showcased during the Nintendo E3 Treehouse and damn is she
insane, with an insane laugh to boot. Other than the boss there seems to be a
lot to explore in this desert region as per tradition with deserts a lot is
hidden. To make travel easier you can ride on this cool Sphinx guy dubbed the
Jaxi, though it seems he’s hard to control at least he’s fast.
Another kingdom by the name of Wooded Kingdom was revealed
during the E3 Treehouse. While at first glance it seems to be one big jungle
this place has some high tech integrated into it and the residents are actually
these cool, but apparently anxiety-ridden robots. Seems some swimming mechanics
are prominent here though I hope they aren’t as difficult as a certain Super
Mario Galaxy. I have to point out that it seems coins do not refill your health
in this game unlike previous installments nor do they fill up you breathing
limit, that could become quite difficult in certain situations. They revealed
that you can actually take control of enemies such as a Fire Bro during this as
well, which is pretty sweet who wouldn’t want to be a Fire Bro or Hammer Bro? The annoyed
becomes the annoyer!
There are some other kingdoms floating around that have been
announced such as the colorful Luncheon (A new Eevee evolution?!) Kingdom, the
Cascade Kingdom and the Cap Kingdom in which I assume Cappy is from. Not much
has been revealed about these yet and we haven’t seen them in action.
All in all this game looks like an incredible sandbox open
world adventure taking the gameplay style of Super Mario 64 and super charging
it into a brand new Odyssey, a Super Mario Odyssey. To make it even better this game is absolutely stunning graphic wise. There seems to be so much
to this game that I still haven’t yet discussed every nook and cranny. It would
be incredible to get hands on of this game to show you guys before the game is
released but who knows what will happen between now and the October 27th
release. I’ll be discussing more about this game even more as we head towards
the release date so stay tuned!
To watch some gameplay check out these links below!
Nintendo's E3 Coverage:
GameXplain's "Super Mario Odyssey - Full Tour of New Donk City's Streets & Inspecting the Brochure (Direct Feed)":
RichAlvarez (The awesome man and crew behind Stupid Mario Brothers.)'s "
Super Mario Odyssey - 10 Minutes of Gameplay! - E3 2017 (Nintendo)"
Kotaku's "Super Mario Odyssey gameplay (edited, with commentary)"
Nintendo World Report's "Super Mario Odyssey Super Mario Maker (DIRECT FEED)"
There are a load more gameplay videos floating around Youtube but these are the guys I went to for this blog.
Before I go I have a FREE knitting pattern to share, per
tradition. I don’t believe I’ve shared this pattern with you guys yet but I’ve
had this sitting in my Ravelry library for a while now. This is the “Goomba Hat”
by Pam Fear.
Yeah it’s actually a Goomba, but in beanie form. Perfect for
the upcoming Christmas and winter season too! This would make a wonderful
Christmas present to wear while you’re playing Super Mario Odyssey. This is a
colorworks pattern with specific colors so unless you’re knitting Goombella
from Paper Mario you’ll want to find colors similar to this in Worsted weight. Really
all you need is a typical brown, white and black. This is actually more of a
knitting chart then a knitting pattern, the beanie is completely standard
vanilla while the Goomba face is knitted while using this colorworks chart
included on the pattern. Not to point faults in an old pattern but apparently
the mouth is done using a piece of string, though you could easily just knit
using black yarn one row under the teeth and it would still look right.
Anyway you can find this pattern by going to Pam’s Blog: https://fadecrazy.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/goomba-hat-pattern-well-sort-of/ .
With that said I’m heading out be sure to check out the new
short film I uploaded yesterday featuring my trip to an ever growing, local
Sunflower field.
This was ZAK Entertainment, See You on Monday!
Mario's all effects earn him his princess, perhaps.The adventure to get her was a worthy experience. Informative piece, thanks for sharing.
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