Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) - Best selling 3D Mario game of all time (13.76m) | VR mode coming (p79)

Apologies, I thought I'd seen people mention it earlier in the thread with no issue so assumed it was okay - I was certainly aware of its existence before getting there and haven't read widely on the game beyond posts on here...

Given the game starts there, that it's practically synonymous with the franchise and the fact that I said basically nothing about it I don't think it's the crime of the century!

Yep just checked - 1 page back from my post it's mentioned in the clear, someone even quotes it without fuss.

Just spoiler post-game comments.

If I have to moderate yet another tedious argument about what constitutes a spoiler I swear to God I am going to hang myself in real life.

Back on topic please.

Just popped in to say:



Post game spoiler above!!

Nothing tedious or drawn out - just saying how seeing someone else post the same thing I did with no issue made me feel confident I could do it myself - which didn't seem unreasonable. Either way the last thing I want is to spoil anything of this utterly fantastic game for anyone so I shall be Captain Spoilerbox from here on out!

Cannot believe how over excited I got when I saw the N64 mario suit for sale, doubly so when I discovered it unlocked a recreation of the fountain area from the Mario 64 castle!

This image sums up the amount of fun I've been having in the Mushroom Kingdom

SPOILER:

Just finished the main story.

Mushroom Kingdom!

Mario 64 outfit oh my god!

Amazing game, easily beats out BotW for me.

Well looks like the gaf spirit is truly still alive at resetera, check out this gooseberry fool (ending spoilers)

Cuttooth wrote:Just finished the main story.

Mushroom Kingdom!

Mario 64 outfit oh my god!

Amazing game, easily beats out BotW for me.

That made my day when i saw it and the music! Just makes me want a switch remake of it even more.

Ad7 wrote:Well looks like the gaf spirit is truly still alive at resetera, check out this gooseberry fool (ending spoilers)

I got to the end credits of Mario Odyssey last night. Wonderful, delightful game. Really, really fantastic. However, as great as the game was, including the spectacular ending sequence, one story beat stuck out to me in a negative way at the end.

The entire game, Peach is playing the damsel in distress role. It's a lousy trope, but whatever, she's always been the McGuffin in Mario games, so I'm not going to take issue with the basic plot on its face. And the wedding twist this time is a pretty cute way of pulling it off, with Bowser traveling in order to assemble his wedding needs.

However, at the end, I took issue with the way Nintendo chose to portray Peach. After having calling for Mario to save her from Bowser the entire time, Peach actually pauses to seemingly contemplate who to choose when both Mario and Bowser pine for her affection by offering a rocket flower and a bouquet of piranha plants, respectively. Granted, I think it's good to give Peach the agency to actually choose her suitor, rather than to have her automatically end up with Mario just because he saved her. That's a positive message. What troubles me, though, is that she is not immediately repulsed by Bowser's attempts for affection. Bowser just kidnapped her and was going to force Peach to marry him. In no way should Peach even show the slightest bit of forgiveness under these circumstances.

Furthermore, there's no evidence of Stockholm Syndrome. Peach is repeatedly asking Mario to save her from Bowser the entire game, and she recoils from Bowser in every other instance. So any explanation to this end does not correlate with the evidence provided in game.

This story beat where Peach is shown to choose between Mario and Bowser momentarily comes across as commentary that women are irrational. Koizumi somewhat hinted at this arguably sexist perspective in an interview with Game Informer earlier this year:

I did find the ending a bit bizarre to be honest. Mario 64 is still the best 3d mario imo.

Ad7 wrote:Well looks like the gaf spirit is truly still alive at resetera, check out this gooseberry fool (ending spoilers)

I got to the end credits of Mario Odyssey last night. Wonderful, delightful game. Really, really fantastic. However, as great as the game was, including the spectacular ending sequence, one story beat stuck out to me in a negative way at the end.

The entire game, Peach is playing the damsel in distress role. It's a lousy trope, but whatever, she's always been the McGuffin in Mario games, so I'm not going to take issue with the basic plot on its face. And the wedding twist this time is a pretty cute way of pulling it off, with Bowser traveling in order to assemble his wedding needs.

However, at the end, I took issue with the way Nintendo chose to portray Peach. After having calling for Mario to save her from Bowser the entire time, Peach actually pauses to seemingly contemplate who to choose when both Mario and Bowser pine for her affection by offering a rocket flower and a bouquet of piranha plants, respectively. Granted, I think it's good to give Peach the agency to actually choose her suitor, rather than to have her automatically end up with Mario just because he saved her. That's a positive message. What troubles me, though, is that she is not immediately repulsed by Bowser's attempts for affection. Bowser just kidnapped her and was going to force Peach to marry him. In no way should Peach even show the slightest bit of forgiveness under these circumstances.

Furthermore, there's no evidence of Stockholm Syndrome. Peach is repeatedly asking Mario to save her from Bowser the entire game, and she recoils from Bowser in every other instance. So any explanation to this end does not correlate with the evidence provided in game.

This story beat where Peach is shown to choose between Mario and Bowser momentarily comes across as commentary that women are irrational. Koizumi somewhat hinted at this arguably sexist perspective in an interview with Game Informer earlier this year:

I didn't see your comment about resetera and initially thought this was your analysis of the ending

Most of these post game moons are really bad. I can see why they were cut from the main story

jiggles wrote:Most of these post game moons are really bad. I can see why they were cut from the main story

I think it's a clear split between the ones that are added in to the existing environment (they're often just sitting there, you just go around the map collecting them like an assassin's creed game), and the ones that are in new self-contained areas. Those have some of the best platforming in the game and are great bonus challenges

Yeah the ones sitting around are a bit lame and can be gathered quickly, but the new platforming bits are a welcome tough challenge in an easy game. Makes me wonder if they were in the core game and got cut to post game to help filthy casuals get to the end.

Just done Ruined Kingdom (fantastic tone-shift and boss-battle) and so reckon I'm nearing the end.

Still loving it, some of the captures (like the bouncing walrus thing in Snow Kingdom) make me laugh out loud from the sheer fun of their movement.

I'm completely sold on the 'Hot Mess' (as Oli from Eurogamer put it) of the variation and random-ness of its environments - constant surprise and novelty.

The one thing I didn't like initially was the lack of a dive-belly-flop-rollcurl back to run a la 64 and Sunshine. That combo was always my favourite due to its rhythm and constant forward momentum.

But then I discovered and mastered the hat-dive-bounce and now am careening around the environments like a loon. There's a couple of small details - the fact that the long-jump into edges seems to thud instead of grab more than not (less forgiving edge-grab than 64) and the slightly short window for the side/U-Turn jump - that have made me revise my instincts but overall I think this is the best controlling 3D-Mario. When combined with the seamless capturing its feels a joy to just piss about and move around.

Its like the sequel to Space Station Silicon Valley we never got, but with Mario's fluidity.

EDIT: Also unlike some I quite like the abundance of mini-moons, and am clearing each area to the best of my abilities before moving on each time - just for the sheer fun of fully unpicking each one. I think I'm on about 291 and am just about to go to Bowser's Kingdom, but from all these allusions to this Post-Game Content that everyone's going on about I suspect there's lots more to come.

(Yay!)

Going to head back to some previous kingdoms tonight for some post-game action - other than when going through pictures I don't think I've ever revisited a previous Kingdom yet in this - looking forward to what twists have been put in place!

Oh and this was a lovely bit from Mushroom Kingdom:

Jenuall wrote:Going to head back to some previous kingdoms tonight for some post-game action - other than when going through pictures I don't think I've ever revisited a previous Kingdom yet in this - looking forward to what twists have been put in place!

Oh and this was a lovely bit from Mushroom Kingdom:

twitter.com/RussellMcIver/status/927905131839995904

Quite how anyone who hasn't played Mario 64 is supposed to find that I don't know but it gave me such a buzz - "I wonder if this will work..."

Yep that was the first thing I did in there!

Ok finally got every moon I could get so far in Seaside Kingdom. 49/52 off the list hardest being the bloody volleyball one (top spot on friends list now though with a score of 208 )

Time to move on!

Gone through Wooded and Lake Kingdoms, up to around 160 moons. Still loving it.

Some of this post game content is brutal, but I am loving every minute of it!

Getting some real Super Mario World vibes from the end game - it's basically saying everything you just did was just training for this which is the real challenge!

Finished this last night. Thought the end-game was fan-fucking-tastic.

Was great to visit The Moon - was just thinking prior that the game was tight and super fun, but I would have liked something odd or weird or beautiful (see: Majora's Mask end-game, see the atmosphere of Dire Dire Docks etc) to give it a twist. Then it happened!

The last sequence was spectacular (and I exclaimed from joy when that Other new song kicked in - JRock?!) - in general I think the Boss Battles in this have been superb and thrilling.

I finished I think with 322, but now there's so much more to do and I'm so happy for more excuses to mess about in these worlds.

I'm not sure I quite agree with the reviews claiming this is Nintendo being cheekily, subtly innovative with the Mario formula - it's been 20-years since Mario 64 and the biggest twist is that they've just made the stars/moons more abundant for portable, bite-sized play. It gives makes the rhythm a constant series of mini-hits instead of the hard-earned undertakings of the older game, though I don't think it's worse for it.

And Cappy being 'genius' (see: Easy Allies review) is a bit much for a tried and tested gaming trope of transformation (as aforementioned, it reminds me of Space Station Silicon Valley amongst lots of lots of other games). But its execution and seamless fluidity, as well as the sheer rolly-polly-bouncy-squeezy joy of controlling these things is fantastic.

Comparing it directly to 64 just makes 64 seem even more of an incredible, forward-thinking achievement the first time round. Playing this made me reflect on all the things like ground-pound that were crucial to the clarity of this new frontier of 3D-platforming. I always thought playing 64 felt like the best Spiderman game never made for its momentum and grace, but this feels great too. Initially I missed Sunshine's more free-wheeling and loose platforming allowed by FLUDD but it ended up using a lot of that game's tricks in the end anyhow.

This game isn't a revolution but as a polished evolution of the 3D-Mario formula it's been a pure pleasure to play.

I guess the only thing I thought is that the music is great and effective but perhaps without some of the simple catchiness of older melodies that seared into your brain. See also: BotW. And there's nothing as surprising as the tranquil beauty of Dire Dire Docks' theme. But then again, nothing is as good as the Dire Dire Docks theme so that's a bit unfair.

I'm actually scared of playing more because with BotW (which I sunk about 140-odd hours into) I spend the first half thinking it was the best game ever, and then falling a little out of love with it and its excess. Partly circumstantial (as an earlier poster put it) probably, and partly because Skyward Sword I found so fantastic and I couldn't help but compare it later on when the charm of BotW waned.

But now I've been lazily lying on the couch, playing Odyssey with split controllers and gentle flicks of my wrist when needed and its (almost) like Skyward Sword's peerless gamefeel was never forgotten.

I think I'll get back to the Odyssey pretty soon.

(Tonight)