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Super Mario Odyssey's New Kingdoms And Details
Today's Nintendo Direct showcased Super Mario Odyssey as one of the four big games the show focused on. It is not hard to see why, as the tentpole Winter release for the Switch looks more and more amazing with every showing.
In addition to New Donk City, Sand Kingdom, Luncheon Kingdom, Wooded Kingdom, and the ghostly Cap Kingdom, and the verdant Cascade Kingdom features (very featherless) dinosaurs that have already been shown, several new Kingdoms were shown for Mario to traverse. The Snow Kingdom is a winter wonderland, and the Seaside Kingdom might be the most beautiful water level that has ever been in a Mario game. The video then teased some still unrevealed kingdoms, like a lush jungle drenched in the orange glow of sunset.
The game, much like most 3D Mario games before it, is about marking off objectives by collecting items for accomplishing them. In Super Mario Odyssey, these items are moons, which can be found at the end of missions or just incredibly well-hidden within the game world. The moons gate your ability to travel to other worlds for the first time, so Mario has to collect a certain number to get his Odyssey ship moving along. To mitigate frustration from being just a few moons short, there are multiple layers of hint systems for players to engage with if they feel they need it. At the basic level, Mario can talk to a parrot named Talkatoo for vague hints about where Moons are and, at the most extreme level, players can tap certain kinds of Amiibo to be shown on the map where a Moon is hiding. The trailer promised "something neat" for finding all the moons, but the 3D Mario games have run the gamut on completion rewards from a Hawaiian shirt to extra worlds, so it is hard to guess what Odyssey might be offering there.
Moon collecting is not Mario's only way to pass the time. In addition to his normal duties, Mario can also engage in minigames throughout the worlds, including RC Car racing, jump rope marathons, and free-running races. The most notable aspect of these minigames is the introduction of online leaderboards to judge your scores and times and against your friends, or even the world.
It has been known since E3 that the Crazy Cap sells new costumes for Mario to use, such as his mariachi and football outfits. We found out today that the shop also sells customization options for the Odyssey, like decals for the outside and knick-knacks for the inside, as well.
The game also features a photo mode where you can pause the game, zoom in on objects, apply filters, and more. It even supports cropping and rotation, specifically to help you make the smartphone wallpaper of your dreams. The photo mode looks like it does a fantastic job of showcasing the care that went into the game's various animations.
The three Mario Odyssey amiibo, made up of Mario, Bowser, and Peach in their wedding outfits, will be released on the same day. The video mentioned the game also supports "all other amiibo," but did not clarify that specifically. Hopefully Mario Odyssey will follow in Super Mario Maker's footsteps and just support everything as a costume.
Finally, Nintendo also announced that Super Mario Odyssey will be featured in a Switch hardware bundle this holiday. The bundle contains the Switch, Mario Odyssey, two red joycons, and a Mario Odyssey carrying case so you can take the game to rooftop parties.
Super Mario Odyssey is scheduled to release October 27.
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