Super Mario Odyssey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Super Mario Odyssey |
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Super Mario Odyssey icon featuring Mario and the anthropomorphic hat Cappy
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo EPD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Kenta Motokura |
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| Writer(s) | Hiroaki Hishinuma |
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| Series | Super Mario |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch |
| Release date(s) | October 27, 2017 |
| Genre(s) | Platform, action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Super Mario Odyssey is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2017. An entry in the Super Mario series, it follows Mario and Cappy, a sentient hat that allows Mario to control other characters and objects, as they journey across various worlds to save Princess Peach from his nemesis Bowser, who plans to forcibly marry her. In contrast to the linear gameplay of prior entries, the game returns to the primarily open-ended, 3D platform gameplay featured in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine.
The game was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division, and began development soon after the release of Super Mario 3D World in 2013. Various ideas were suggested during development, and to incorporate them all, the team decided to employ a sandbox-style of gameplay. Unlike previous installments such as New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3D World, which were aimed at a casual audience, the team designed Super Mario Odyssey to appeal to the series' core fans. The game also features a vocal theme song, "Jump Up, Super Star!", a first for the series.
Super Mario Odyssey received acclaim from critics who called it one of the best games in the series, with particular praise towards its inventiveness and originality. It also won numerous awards, including for game of the year. The game sold just shy of 19 million copies by September 2020, making it one of the best-selling Switch games.
Contents
Gameplay
Super Mario Odyssey is a platform game in which players control Mario as he travels across many different worlds, known as "Kingdoms" within the game, on the hat-shaped ship Odyssey, to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, who plans to forcibly marry her. The Kingdoms in the game return to the exploration-based level design featured in Super Mario 64. Each Kingdom has Mario searching for and clearing various objectives in order to obtain items known as Power Moons, which are the power sources of the Odyssey and grant access to new Kingdoms. Checkpoint flags littered throughout each Kingdom allow Mario to instantly warp to them once activated. Certain levels feature areas called "flat" zones, where Mario is placed in a 2D side-scrolling environment similar to his appearance in the original Super Mario Bros.
In addition to his existing moves, like triple-jumping and wall-jumping, Mario can throw his cap, the physical form of a hat spirit named Cappy, in multiple directions to attack enemies and use as a temporary platform. When the cap is thrown at certain objects, enemies, or non-playable characters, Mario is able to take possession of them, referred to as "capturing", allowing him to use unique abilities. For example, Mario can possess a Bullet Bill to fly across large gaps, a Tyrannosaurus to trample things, a bolt of electricity called a Spark Pylon to climb up electric wires, and a tank called a Sherm to fire at enemies and break blocks for passage. Some actions can be accelerated by using motion controls in the Joy-Con controllers, but the game is otherwise fully playable when the Joy-Con are attached to the Switch console. Throughout the game, Mario can pick up coins, including purple ones unique to each kingdom, to spend on items such as new hats and outfits, some of which are required for completing certain objectives. The game uses a health system similar to the Super Mario Galaxy games, although Mario has unlimited lives; the only penalty for dying is paying up to ten coins. The player can also collect items known as 'Life-Up Hearts' which grant three extra hit points. The game also features cooperative play, in which a second player takes control of Cappy and can attack enemies independently of Mario.
The game requires a minimum number of Power Moons to be collected from each Kingdom to move onto the next, though these may be obtained from any source, making major objectives largely optional. Once Bowser is defeated, each kingdom is repopulated with more Power Moons. Collecting enough Power Moons allows for additional outfits to be purchased and unlocks two bonus areas. One of these areas is a boss rush called Dark Side, with 250 Power Moons required to enter. The other is a level called Darker Side that combines many elements of the game, and requires 500 Power Moons to enter. In addition to this, there is also a level based on Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64 unlocked by beating the game. This level allows Mario to face harder versions of previously-defeated bosses and earn additional Power Moons by completing in-game achievements.
The game features a photo mode that allows players to use a free-moving camera to take and save screenshots, with additional options such as filters and stickers. Use of the Odyssey-themed Mario, Peach, and Bowser Amiibo figurines allow for special in-game abilities and unlocking special costumes which are otherwise unavailable until after the player completes the game and collects enough Power Moons. Other Amiibo can be scanned to provide hints to finding Power Moons.
A hide-and-seek minigame, called "Luigi's Balloon World", was released as part of an update on February 21, 2018. In it, players have 30 seconds to hide a balloon somewhere in a kingdom, which is then able to be played by others attempting to find it. A leaderboard system ranks the players who have found the most balloons. On April 25, 2019, the game was updated to be compatible with the Nintendo Labo virtual reality kit. In this mode, Mario must complete challenges in a number of Kingdoms to recruit musicians and give them instruments by completing tasks related to musical notes.
Plot
Bowser and the Broodals, a family of anthropomorphic rabbits serving as his wedding planners, kidnap Princess Peach from the Mushroom Kingdom and take her aboard Bowser's airship, intent on forcibly marrying her. Mario attempts to rescue her but is thrown off the ship by Bowser's hat and falls into the neighboring Cap Kingdom. With Mario gone, Bowser stomps on Mario's cap and lets it drift into the ship's rear propellers, shredding it to pieces.
A piece of the hat is grabbed by Cappy, one of the Cap Kingdom's sentient hat-like creatures called Bonneters; he explains to Mario that Bowser also kidnapped his sister Tiara to be used as Peach's wedding tiara. Cappy joins Mario and takes the shape of Mario's cap, providing him with the ability to throw his cap and temporarily capture other creatures and objects and utilize their abilities. They travel to the nearby Cascade Kingdom, recover an airship called the Odyssey, and begin pursuing Bowser.
Mario and Cappy explore the various kingdoms to collect Power Moons to fuel the Odyssey and battle the Broodals, who steal items including a dress, a cake, and a bouquet from each kingdom to set up Bowser's wedding. Eventually, they catch up to Bowser in his own kingdom and defeat the Broodals in their Mecha-Broodal for good. However, Bowser subsequently departs for his wedding on the Moon.
Mario and Cappy fly the Odyssey to the Moon's surface and confront Bowser inside a Moon Kingdom cathedral. The two sides battle in a cavern, which Mario wins. He frees Peach and Tiara, but the cavern begins to collapse. Mario captures an unconscious Bowser and escapes to the surface with Peach and Tiara. After Peach thanks Mario for his help, Bowser regains consciousness and decides to properly propose to Peach, causing Mario to do the same in haste. Overwhelmed, Peach turns down their proposals. Peach, Cappy and Tiara board the Odyssey. The rivals are both broken until Peach tells Mario that it's time to go home. Mario boards the ship just in time, leaving Bowser stranded in the Moon Kingdom.
In the epilogue, Mario returns to the Mushroom Kingdom, where he discovers Peach has packed her bags and decided to take a vacation to all the kingdoms Mario and Cappy visited, this time out of her own free will.
Awards
| Year | Awards | Category | Result | Ref |
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| 2017 | IGN's Best of E3 | Best Platformer | Won | was released |
| Best Nintendo Switch Game | Won | |||
| Game of Show | Won | |||
| Game Critics Awards | Best Action/Adventure Game | Won | ||
| Best Console Game | Won | |||
| Best of Show | Won | |||
| Destructoid's Best of E3 | Best of Show | Won |
Images for kids
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Longtime Nintendo designer Yoshiaki Koizumi served as the lead producer of the game
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Koji Kondo, the series' sound director, wrote a number of musical tracks for the game.
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See also
In Spanish: Super Mario Odyssey para niños
