Major gaming sites and journalists were recently able to explore Super Mario Odyssey thanks to a private event hosted by Nintendo. Given only 90 minutes and split between the Cap Kingdom, Luncheon Kingdom and Seaside Kingdom, news outlets have been able to provide new footage of things that haven’t been shown off in the past. While the Cap Kingdom footage has been restricted from being uploaded, there are all sorts of new transformations, Moons, enemies and areas to explore with the release of Luncheon Kingdom and Seaside Kingdom clips. That said, if you feel that you’ve already been spoiled enough due to Nintendo Directs or what we’ve already reported on here at Nintendo Wire, then I suggest stopping here — as well as avoiding any new video content about the game from IGN, Polygon, Gamespot, GameXplain and more.
Fans who want a taste of what’s to come, I’ll do my best to summarize this newer content. Ready to take a trip to Super Mario Odyssey?
CAP KINGDOM
The de facto tutorial world of Super Mario Odyssey, this is where Mario and Cappy will meet for the first time and it’s the place where players get test Cappy’s abilities. While no new footage was shown, Andre from GameXplain gave a rundown of this particular area within the first two and half minutes of the video. The only confirmed transformation we have is a frog that Mario can control. Luigi should be jealous here, as Frog Captured Mario can jump about three times as high as plain, old M-cap Mario.
This kingdom is mainly made for exploration, and it provides the opportunity for Mario and Cappy to forge a pact while traveling together to save Peach and Tiara. You’ll find that there will be some challenges along the journey as Mario and Cappy have to find a way to the next kingdom over. Bowser might have wreaked havoc on the Cap Kingdom, along with the hat-shaped airships in Bonneton.
LUNCHEON KINGDOM
Ah yes, the colorful, bright low-poly hipster graphic designed world of food. Oh, and it’s all surrounded by lava — can’t forget about that! While we’ve seen the Luncheon Kingdom prior to this new footage, it looks like there are still plenty of untouched territories left to explore and puzzles galore to solve in this kingdom while collecting Moons.
You’ll get a nice look at 2D side-scrolling areas that you can enter via warp pipes. And fans of Super Mario Sunshine will find that similar platforming puzzles without Cappy aren’t limited to just 2D, as they’re available in the 3D realm, too. There are even peeks at more transformations between the Mario + Cappy duo that we’ve never seen before.
I highly suggest not spoiling yourself on these — it will be much more fun to experience them all next month when you boot up Super Mario Odyssey on your Switch! Nevertheless, the footage is available to you now, so you have the option to check it all out.
SEASIDE KINGDOM
A week old in the realm of news, there’s a lot of Seaside Kingdom footage to explore. A kingdom of land and sea, this area is rich with content. Beware though, as there are snippets of the area’s boss via GameXplain. IGN and Polygon explore the depths of the ocean and solve quite a few puzzle and collect a few Moons, too.
While Mario can swim around, there’s a breathing “endurance” circle in place. There are ways to replenish this bar or avoid it entirely with a Cheep Cheep move. Coins of gold and purple aren’t the only things hiding below the ocean waters; Moons too are scattered about. Some are easy to spot, whereas others are hidden.
As for top side, somewhat similar to Super Mario Sunshine’s toxic, inky gunk, there’s lava covering certain parts of the land. Cleaning this up will be needed and those who miss F.L.U.D.D. will (kind of) get a second chance in Super Mario Odyssey. We get to see the citizens of this land, as well as the hats they wear. Sea snails by the sea shore in Seaside Kingdom are shelled and style with… berets? And I think it’s important to point out for all you Cappy/hat aficionados reading this: there “arrrrrrrr” some other nautical themed hats to be spotted, too.
Overall, the biggest takeaway from the new footage presented is how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has influenced Nintendo across various game development teams. Noted by IGN, and even mentioned in GameXplain’s overview video, exploration plays a big part in Super Mario Odyssey. The linear — from point A to point B to mini-boss C to point D and etc. — may still be present, but players are free to explore. There are coins to collect, currency to max out (so that Mario and the Odyssey can be decked out in souvenirs thanks to the Crazy Cap), power Moons galore beyond what’s needed to advance to the next kingdom, minigames to play and more.
Super Mario Odyssey contains the best bits from the Super Mario franchise and celebrates the idea of an immersive experience for the player. While yes, there’s a heated battle with Bowser that’ll place at the very end, there’s no timer for each kingdom or flag pole to hit before it’s “Game Over.” You can look in every nook and cranny there is to explore in the game, photograph it all along the way, and dress Mario in a crazy combination of outfits (or strip him down to his swim trunks/boxers and set things on fire).
For those who stuck around, how will you be playing Super Mario Odyssey? What are your plans as you dive into the next adventure as Mario?
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Written by Jennifer Burch
Illustrator, designer, writer and big Nintendo geek, you can find Jennifer with an N3DS within reach 24/7. As the oldest of three, she has survived many Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart sessions intact in addition to getting her brothers hooked on some really weird games. (Cubivore anyone?)
