With Switch 2 and presumably a new 3D Mario on the horizon, it's time for me to admit Super Mario Odyssey always felt a little weird
With Switch 2 and presumably a new 3D Mario on the horizon, it's time for me to admit Super Mario Odyssey always felt a little weird
On the part about Cappy tricks, not sure why the author forgot all 3D Mario games have always included more or less complex move tricks/combos.
Mario 64 already had triple jump, wall kicks, diving/sliding, long jumps, side jumps...
Super Mario Sunshine added a lot of complex moves with FLUDD, and even a limited way to make your own platforms. Odyssey just does it a lot better IMO. I kinda hated Sunshine Yoshi.
And it's not like the more complex combos are required to finish the game. Occasionally you need one for 100% completion, but most of the time they're just cool tricks to pull off to reach a place faster, or just grab a few coins.
I liked it. It’s like every kid can finish the game, but there are things that are only doable by pros.
Kirby did this since like forever and it is perfect. No difficulty slide or damage sponges, just deeper understanding of mechanics.
I wish more games did this.
Mario games were always kind of tech demos for Nintendo innovation and the innovation is kind of boring now
In the 90s it was graphical fidelity and gameplay mechanics, smb1-3 on the nes, smw on snes, m64 were serious contenders for “oh my god this shit is crazy and plays like a dream”.
Sunshine is around where the graphical fidelity started to lag but the physics were still nice.
Then they started to innovate in other ways and galaxy brought in motion controls which were well done (arguably) and the (by then) distantly lagging graphics were almost a feature
But odyssey showed that doesn’t work anymore. Everyone has motion controls now, even phones, and they’re often just annoying. The switches innovation isn’t something that really applies directly to gameplay itself, so ultimately odyssey stays just a standard game, with solid graphics thanks to great design but noticeable slowdown in several areas because it’s running on an outdated tegra tablet, and the same old platformer gameplay because there’s nothing new to do with it.
They did have some cool level design that helped it feel fresh and interesting at times but it ultimately felt like it had similar problems to sunshine: not a bad game, but not an experience the way mario 64, mario world, or mario 3 was. Maybe I’m just too old
Back in his day, he was the king of Mario and he was the cool kid at school and all the girls sat with him at lunch.
“I’m old, and I’m not happy!” - Angry Old Man, SNL
Mario Odyssey seemed weird to me when I started playing. Not the controls or the difficulty curve, the look and feel. The juxtaposition of Mario and all the related Nintendo characters and objects with a super realistic depiction of an alternate Earth made me wonder where this idea came from.
But the more I’ve played it, the more natural it feels, as strange as that is. The controls are so precise and reliable. There are parts that frustrate me, but if I work at them I eventually overcome whatever obstacle it was. Now I find myself just thinking about it fondly and wanted to jump back in and redo parts I enjoyed.
It’s on the same level as Wonder for me. Wonder for being the best example of traditional and contemporary Mario, and Odyssey for throwing all the rules out the window and still feeling like a Mario game.
Maybe Abe Simpson should get a pro controller.
It was an adjustment but it was so worth it. I felt the same way about SM RPG, Mario 64, and Sunshine.
That's what the author feels is weird. That they find the game a bit too tricky compared to what they are used to. That and it feels new and strange.
Grandpa Simpson
That’s funny to read. I remember loving Odyssey because I never felt too punished for not having amazing video game dexterity. I felt like I had a ton of objectives that went up in difficulty in a very linear way and eventually got 100% on everything.
Even the very very last section, with a string of bosses that I found pretty damn near impossible, was surmountable. As someone with no interest in HP-sponge boss games, it was the part that I felt was the most frustrating. But enough rounds and I got better/lucky and finished that section.
What’s also funny about “articles” like this is that the author, like most of us, has probably spent hours as a kid trying to beat one level. Usually nowadays I feel bored after less than an hour of repeating and failing the same objective. I have way less time and patience for hard games. So I do sympathize a little. Bloodborne’s an intriguing game but I’m not going to torture myself over it.
Fucking git gud. It's Mario. Not a hard game.
I enjoyed the hell out of Odyssey, in large part because it has these kinds of combos and such. Nintendo did a great job of making a game that anyone can play and beat, but yet still offers some challenge for the folks who want to reach for 100% completion.