I remembered when Nintendo announced the Switch on October 20th, 2016 and released that first look trailer; I was sitting at a mechanic shop getting my brakes changed and waiting for a friend to pick me up since it would be a whole day affair. Frantically refreshing Twitter and saw that Nintendo posted a link to their video. I instantly clicked on it and began watching with mouth agape as Nintendo's future hardware was shown along with glimpses of future titles such as Skyrim and NBA 2k. But, there was almost five frames from that video that I kept rewinding and watching again; those five frames was a 3D Mario game. I could not get enough of those seconds of Mario walking around a desert, it was a blissful dream come true of having an original 3D Mario game that I could play at any time. Announcement after announcement for Super Mario Odyssey has left me with more questions than answers but none the less still intrigued on what a future Mario title would be in this day and age of micro transactions and open world fatigue. Would Nintendo stay true to their 3D platforming purity that they begun with Super Mario 64 or lean towards the trend that other games have done before it?
Super Mario Odyssey begins with Mario fighting off Bowser from kidnapping Princess Peach. After learning of King Koopa's intention of arranging a marriage with the princess, Mario gets thrown off Bowser's airship and lands in the 1700's British-like area called Cap Kingdom where hats are controlled by ghostly beings. Mario wakes up to a floating hat called Cappy who informs him that Bowser also kidnapped his sister, Tiara, to be used for their forced marriage; Cappy then notices Mario's shredded hat and turns into the italian plumber's signature cap as they team up to save their loved ones from the clutches of King Koopa. Mario and Cappy's adventure spreads throughout fifteen levels each with a span of thirty to sixty "power moons" (similar to the classic "power star") that powers a high tech air balloon called The Odyssey. This helps transport Mario and Cappy level-to-level to stop Bowser from stealing an item that the level is known for such as: a cake, a wedding dress, and a ring. The story is enough of a narrative drive for me to continue playing to see the full story instead of staying in one level and trying to collect all the power moons (even though not all the power moons can be collected until post game). It is still fun and interesting with plenty of challenges to come back to even after credits have rolled. In the twenty hours of my playthrough, I finished the story 10 hours into my play through and that is with me actively collecting all the power moons that were possible for the first few levels before I began moving at a faster pace to trigger the next narrative piece of the story. Essentially, the hours are expanded past the story and the majority of your time will be spent collecting power moons and exploring the world more so after the story than during it. But, the world is interesting beyond the setting that it doesn't leave you with a sense of boredom but more with a sense of adventure.
The gameplay in Super Mario Odyssey is still the bread and butter of the 3D Mario games that Nintendo has been giving us for decades. All of the jumps are there and the platforming is still challenging without it becoming an unfair, controller throwing fiasco. Nintendo is also known for innovating from title to title and Cappy is the perfect way to shake up the known gameplay formula by giving it a new twist; which in Super Mario Odyssey is taking control of certain characters to accomplish objectives and collect power moons with the help of your new sidekick. The abilities you use with Cappy is pretty simple: you can knock out enemies by throwing him or you can take control of certain characters to use their special traits (such as a frog for jumping high and a dinosaur for destroying giant rocks). Using Cappy is simple, straightforward, and just downright fun; I've never felt tiresome of his capture ability, every trait that came with the captured character felt new and refreshing in terms of how I played the game while also keeping it to the player's interpretation of how they should complete certain challenges. Using the captured characters to complete challenges never felt too long or exhausting to the number of times these challenges pop up mixed with good, old fashion, Mario platforming. The only real complaint I have about the gameplay, is the motion controls; after two consoles focusing on motion controls, they are still uncooperative and foreign with the way the controls are structured when using the two joy con control scheme. Holding two joy cons with the straps around my wrists was a uncomfortable experience and just doesn't play as well even though its considered the 'optimal' way to play Super Mario Odyssey; throwing Cappy with a toss like motion is a fun gimmick for the first hour but after that becomes annoying, even with the freedom of tossing your sidekick wherever and however you like. I would rather play handheld or with the controller peripheral where it is more of a standard controller style that I am more comfortable with.
Super Mario Odyssey is of the utmost perfection, everything from the music to the platforming, to the story itself has been a joyous ride from beginning to end. The long wait from those first few frames to now has been a joyous payoff that has me grinning every time I boot up the game, just collecting power moons gives me a sense of excitement and triumph when I add one more moon to my collection that I have not experienced this generation of consoles. Every moment in the game has been an absolute treat, surprises around every corner unlike any other Mario game I have ever played before this that every Switch owner must experience.