Review for Super Mario Odyssey. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 27/10/2017
It is now more or less a given that the main chapters of the Super Mario series come out once for each generation of consoles. With Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine the series of 3D titles was kicked off, using those exceptional consoles that were Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Gamecube, while on Wii and Wii U we reached the absolute pinnacle of the beauty of a platform with the Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are still unattainable (the only exception, on Wii, to the rule of the single Mario chapter per generation), only to discover with Super Mario 3D World that the genre still had a lot to offer. Four years after the last chapter, the highly anticipated arrives on Nintendo Switch Super Mario Odyssey, presented at E3 two years ago and on everyone's lips ever since. We don't have to wait any longer: on October 27, the new mustache adventure will be available in stores and on Nintendo eShop.
We've fleshed out the game for you to give you our impression, if you haven't decided to buy yet. Small spoiler? A masterpiece.
A slightly forced marriage
Super Mario Odyssey begins, as usual, with our nemesis Bowser intent on kidnapping Princess Peach. This time the king of the Koopas seems to have every intention of marrying Peach to put an end to his feud with Mario and that is why, fully dressed, he escapes on his flying ship together with a future bride Peach, also defeating the hated hero in red falling into the void, while the blades of the airship tear his hat to symbolize his complete defeat. Still alive, Mario will awaken in the disturbing Kingdom of the Hats, a mysterious, dark place where hats shaped ghosts live.
Our hero will have no trouble making friends Cappy, one of the ghosts residing in the city: he will reveal to our hero his intent to chase Bowser who has also kidnapped his sister Tiara. Apparently, in fact, Bowser is touring the various worlds in order to obtain the best "ingredients" for the most beautiful and luxurious wedding ever, such as the best food, the best wedding dress, the best cake and so on. Cappy will then team up with Mario to become his new hat, and together they go to retrieve the spaceship Odyssey, which can only be repaired and enhanced by finding the hidden Energy Moons in all worlds.
A game that captures you
The heart of Super Mario Odyssey remains the one we know well in all Mario games: a platform full of pitfalls in which our mustachioed hero can be juggled by jumping and using special maneuvers, such as rolling, making a triple jump, or even diving forward in half. air. The main novelty that we will find is the presence of Cappy, an inseparable companion who can be launched to destroy elements of the environment, to collect coins, or to perform a Cap-ture. The latter is the fulcrum of everything Super Mario Odyssey: with the Cap-ture in fact Mario can take possession of any enemy or creature present in the game (not even dinosaurs are exempt!), so as to use his special abilities and continue in the game or solve puzzles that otherwise simple Mario does not could never overwhelm.
Capture has no time limits, and will give us access to dozens of new abilities, the limit of which lies only in the number of creatures present in the game. Taking possession of a Goomba will allow us to walk on ice without slipping or to create a Goomba tower by jumping on our fellow creatures to reach places too high, Capturing a Bullet Bill will make us fly around the map destroying blocks that obstruct us. , while taking control of a Flame will give us the ability to swim in lava without taking damage. Each enemy has powers that may appear basic, but which are the key to solving puzzles far more complex than what we might think in the short distance. For example, a Fiammetto cannot survive on land, but what would happen if we jumped on fire enemies to use them as a "base" to cross even areas without lava?
The Moon will bring you Luck
While previous Mario games were based on single levels, fairly linear, to be overcome to obtain the current energy source (such as Stars or Suns Keepers), this time to get the Energy Moons we will be able to explore the available worlds as if we were in an open-world, a natural evolution of the series already tested in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The division into levels no longer exists, and each world, very large, is completely explorable in search of Moons hidden everywhere. To be able to travel aboard the Odyssey to the next world it will usually be sufficient to continue in the main storyline which includes a couple of puzzles until you get to the boss on duty who alone will provide us with 3 Moons: once you have obtained the Moons to fuel the ship space we can decide whether to continue our adventure or whether to stay in the present world for a more detailed exploration.
The search for the Moons is not limited to just discovering where they are hidden, but it is a real challenge aimed at solving puzzles, mini-games, finding secret doors that lead to entire platform levels, or even pipes that will transform us our mustachioed friend. in an 8-bit version ready to challenge an adorable portion of the world in two dimensions. Land Moons present in each stage are dozens, and even after having explored them all by finishing the game you will most likely find yourself having found less than half, and if all this were not enough, there is also an epochal post-game, made up of new Moons available in previous worlds as well as whole new worlds to explore that will be available only after the defeat of the final Boss.
Of course Mario intends to face these challenges by dressing in fashion, which is why in every World we will find a clothing store (sometimes also important to solve some puzzles) that will allow us to change clothes. In each shop we will find clothing items that can be purchased with the usual gold coins, but also some that can only be purchased with special purple coins different from world to world and which act as the second collectible of the game in addition to the Moons.
In fact, completing a world at 100% requires not only finding all the Moons, but also all the special coins of that area, with which we can buy both clothes, stickers or accessories with which to decorate the exterior and interior of the Odyssey ship. .
Style to Sell
As it is all too obvious to think, Super Mario Odyssey's technical quality is the best we've ever seen in any title in the series. Mario and Cappy are great fun to watch and control thanks to excellent models and animations for them and for every creature they will Capture, all observable in 1080p playing on TV and in 720p playing in portable mode, at 60 FPS granite in any situation. . The worlds are all colorful, sparkling, and with a style of their own that we really appreciated: if in the past Super Mario the worlds were based solely on their simple element (the world of water, ice, lava, Bowser's castle , etc.), on Super Mario Odyssey they also have their own identity.
The world of water will take us to an underwater realm, made up of corals and areas enclosed in bubbles with oxygen, where the best seamstresses are proud of their ability to create wedding dresses. The world of ice is covered by a storm, but in the bowels of the earth dwells a people of Yetis passionate about rolling races on the snow. Bowser's Castle is incredibly stately, thanks to its Feudal Japan style, while the Kingdom of Lava is actually inhabited by living Italian forks very proud of their value as chefs using the volcano as a fire to cook with. Every single world, the quantity of which exceeds a dozen, has its own history, its own people, and a strong personality that explodes in this Super Mario Odyssey more than ever.
Of course the audio sector is no exception: the soundtrack features tracks taken from many old games, focusing on nostalgia, but above all new pieces suitable for every world, very catchy and that we will inevitably end up humming after a few minutes, not to mention Jump Up Superstar, the song of Pauline in New Donk City on which Nintendo has focused a lot, to the point of creating a real music video. Longevity is the best ever in a Super Mario game: you can hurry up and reach the end of the game in a few hours if you just stick to the main storyline, but the search for all the Moons and Coins and wanting to complete the 100% title provides for a number of hours that easily exceed forty. The difficulty is perfectly tuned for both newbies and veterans: puzzles and story bosses are extremely simple and offer very little challenge, but looking for the puzzles for secondary Moons or going to challenge the Bosses in post-game we will find a real challenge.
The bosses in particular are well characterized, starting from Broodals, Bowser's henchmen rabbits who are planning his wedding, up to the many minor Bosses. Amiibo also play their part: using one randomly will allow us to get a clue about the position of one of the Moons in 5 minutes, using a Mario Amiibo will guarantee us a few seconds of invincibility, one of Peach will give us some extra life points, while Bowser's very useful Amiibo will give you the location of some Collectible Coins. Hard not to mention however, the impossibility of getting to Game Over: lives no longer exist and dying will simply make us lose 10 gold coins. Excellent solution to avoid wasting time due to an outdated mechanics (especially thanks to the possibility of teleporting on the map of the worlds in the various checkpoints visited), but balanced by the constraint of having to start over each time from a previous point that will not allow us to overcome easily the most difficult areas.
Super Mario Odyssey is probably the best Mario game ever released so far (although Galaxy is still unattainable for the time in which it was proposed). The concept of platforming evolves naturally from levels to open-world, each world is sparkling, colorful, and with a strong identity, the bosses are varied and full of personality, and the challenge offered is long and well balanced. Mario got all dressed up for this occasion, and we can't help but bow and let him pass on the red carpet. His Majesty Super Mario Odyssey is here.
► Super Mario Odyssey is an Adventure-Action-Platform game developed and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 27/10/2017
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