Nintendo has been just a wonderful year. In perfectly launched Nintendo console Switch (since March has sold more than 7 million consoles) and multiple hit games for her shares of Japanese companies are growing like a weed. The production of mobile games based on popular franchises also bring a good profit. But the main release in 2017, in addition to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, of course, is the game Super Mario Odyssey. Before the sale she managed to gather hundreds of prestigious awards at several exhibitions. From what game critics are in admiration? Let’s deal with it.
Game: Super Mario Odyssey
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Platformer
Release date: 27 Oct 2017
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Games of the famous plumber Mario, there is a huge number. This platformer game is on the cards, and sports simulators, and even a tactical role-playing game, one of which I told you not so long ago. Nintendo considers Mario his lucky mascot, so every new game with his participation is polished to such a state that to find fault with her is almost impossible. Mario projects consistently sold millions of copies. The secret of the popularity of these games is in the public love of the character, rooted in the 80-ies of the last century. Who does not remember the wonderful 8-bit game Super Mario Bros.?
Anyway, we must admit that in recent years the games about a plumber there has been some ideological stagnation. No, they were interesting and even wonderful, but the developers seemed afraid to depart from the usual pattern and try to bring into the game something completely new and fresh. That is why Nintendo decided on an unusual step: they have entrusted to lead the development of new games young game designer Kent Motokura. At the time this talented young man has created a character design for a series of Pikmin, and also had a hand in creating wonderful games Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World. Along with a team of other young enthusiasts, with incredible zeal began to work on an unusual game for Nintendo Switch, to appreciate the trust that showed him the manual.
The plot of Super Mario Odyssey uncomplicated, although in this case the complexity would be simply inappropriate. The villain Bowser once again kidnaps Princess Peach, wanting to marry her and Mario is defeated in the battle for the lady of his heart, and in the heat of battle, even deprived of the legendary red caps. The hero wakes up in a strange town, which is inhabited by intelligent hats. There he meets a cylinder named Cappie and finds out that Bowser kidnapped his sister to make her wedding tiara of Princess Peach. Together, our heroes decide to catch the villain and return the stuff that matters to them most.
And here begins the most interesting. Cappy – not just a hat, it’s magic. Not only is she able to change his appearance, taking a variety of forms (including traditional red cap with the letter “M”), to strike the enemies, serve as an interim platform for jumping, but also allows Mario to move into enemies and other intelligent beings. Simply throw cap in someone, and Mario will literally be transported into someone else’s mind, gaining full control over the monster, a man or anyone else. This gives players huge scope for experimentation. After all, every enemy in the game has a set of unique skills that the protagonist can use to their advantage.
For example, goombas, unlike Mario, doesn’t slip on the ice, frogs are able to jump to great heights, huge centipedes are able to move between the platforms, hanging far away from each other, hulking tanks shot out of a cannon and destroy the obstacles the main character, and familiar to fans of the franchise the character is Bullet bill flies over long distances. Using such simple at first glance, the mechanics of the game was transformed beyond recognition and gives you with nothing comparable sensations. Mario himself, however, is also no fool. His Arsenal includes an impressive number of new movements, various jumps, rolls, repulsion from walls and other amazing pirouettes that will help him during the adventure.
To catch up with Bowser, our heroes have to repair the old vehicle in the form of a giant cylinder, which is called “Odyssey” (actually, how did the name of the game). Initially, the vehicle is not capable of long flights, and Mario will have to look for the so-called “Loon energy” which serve to “the Odyssey” with a certain kind of fuel. The entire game world is broken into many kingdoms, each of which is unique in visual terms, inhabited by different indigenous people and even uses its own local currency, which in the store you can buy valuable items, additional of the moon, and all sorts of costumes and hats for the main character. To navigate between already visited the kingdoms at any time at will, so the world of Super Mario Odyssey can be called partially open.
Game locations are huge, wonderfully detailed and very different from each other both externally and in terms of level design. In the course of travel you happen to visit such places as Cascade, the Kingdom, which is home to the giant t-Rex (there is in this game and such!), Forest Kingdom inhabited by robots and nerds, the sand Kingdom, where you will explore the Egyptian pyramid Lake a Kingdom that would have to go down under the water, and even the city, his whole appearance resembling modern new York. This list can be very long, because I have named only a small part of what awaits you during your adventures. Each world is provided with a detailed map with points of fast travel, which rasplachivayutsya as research. The card also contains comments and clarification about the current Kingdom that are simply a pleasure to read in a spare moment.
The best part is that this game is not a platformer in the traditional sense of the word. The player will explore each new world, discovering many secrets, finding treasures, making new friends and completing quests for them, entertaining mini-games, and much, much more. Super Mario Odyssey almost every minute surprise you with something new, just making it impossible to get bored or tired of the repetition of the same elements sin than many modern games. It is difficult to imagine how much work was done by the developers, given the size of Super Mario Odyssey and the huge amount of content that the game is stuffed to the eyeballs. In some wonderful way the guys at Nintendo managed to find the perfect balance between platforming and exploration of the world.
Visually, the game looks great! I still find it hard to believe that so cool the picture shows a tiny Nintendo console Switch, more like a tablet with connected controllers. High resolution textures, a huge number of impressive special effects, great character animation and environments, just some unreal number of small details on the screen – it displays all the franchise games of Mario to a new level. This is not only the merit of Nintendo graphics engineers, but also artists, to create a truly living world that does not want to leave, even when the clock is already four o’clock in the morning.
And this music! Well-known fans of Mario tunes to the new treatment are so wonderful, I’m seriously considering to buy the official soundtrack on CD. And then I wanted to dance to the fiery rhythms coming from the speakers of the console. Sound in Super Mario Odyssey to match the great music. The sound is very rich, voluminous, wonderfully emphasizing the atmosphere of a time and, of course, unique to each individual game world. Thanks to the separate sounds you can tell which side you sneak up to the enemy, and even feel that somewhere hidden moon sparkle for your “Odyssey.”
Also, I am incredibly pleased with the presence in the game two difficulty levels. The first is the standard difficulty, which is recommended to pass the game to those who are familiar with the franchise. But the second is called “assistance Mode” and it will appeal to people who are not very friendly with video games, or small children. In this mode, the arrows tell you what direction you need to move on, if you suddenly get lost. Also this mode will not allow you to lose lives and gold coins, if you happen to inadvertently fall from the platform into the abyss. Magic bubble will immediately take you back to the place from which you fell. Very nice opportunity to save your nerves at some points of the game. And in any moment you can open the menu and check the video tutorials on the administration and each individual skill or the movement of Mario, which is also a very useful item.
From time to time Mario can squeeze through a pixelated green pipe and literally jump into the past. No, I’m serious! You have to be back in 8-bit childhood, when the gaming console had not yet made the coolest 3D graphics. Within these 2D levels you can collect a lot of treasures and even to find additional of the moon. Given the huge size of some locations, the developers decided to make our lives easier and offer more modes of transport. For example, a copy of the city of new York, Mario will be able to drive on a small scooter, and in the Desert Kingdom he will mount a racing beast Rycarya, though for this pleasure will have to pay 30 gold coins. Games bosses also made me very pleased. They “submitted” literally from three blows on the cap, but encounters with them are so fascinating that this simplicity you just don’t notice.
I thought for a long time, what can be attributed to the cons of the game. Just because their there is need to look under a magnifying glass, so everything is fine. The only thing that gave me mixed feelings – integration of the game motion-control. The developers recommend to play Super Mario Odyssey, removing Gascony from the console and taking them in his hands. For example, to throw his hat in the enemy, you can only shake the right controller in his direction. And such movements in the game a lot. Using strokes in one direction or another can throw Cappie almost anywhere. But in fact, this method of control personally, I liked not. Still, I’m a supporter of the traditional buttons, analog knobs and the d-pad D-Pad. And the game from time to time and forcibly makes you shake the controllers, even when they put on the console or the holder jononov. Another relative downside can count a strong contrast between, for example, realistic city and cartoon Mario. This will take some time to get used to, although maybe I’m overstating this point.
Pros:
- The perfect balance between platforming and exploration.
- Great graphics and animations.
- Each new world is better than the previous one.
- Wonderful level design.
- A huge amount of content and mini-games.
- The ability to move into different creatures.
- The game feels incredibly fresh.
- A rich set of movements and techniques Mario.
- “Assistance mode” for beginners and younger players.
- Very cool bosses.
- Wonderful music and sound engineering.
- The game is devoid of any bugs.
- Secrets and discoveries at every step.
- Photo mode and lots of fan service.
Cons:
- Some worlds contrast sharply with the style of Mario.
- Motion-control raises a number of questions.
What can I say, summing up the written above? Want to stand up and for half an hour enthusiastically applaud the developers of Nintendo! Super Mario Odyssey is the best thing that happened to Mario in recent years, and perhaps for the entire history of the franchise. The game is so magnificent in its diversity, originality, charm and visual immediacy that it just does not want to leave for a minute. And those tiny cons that I have found after long deliberation, seem to be just sucked from the finger, so when making the final assessment will not be counted. So what is commendable Super Mario Odyssey? I think you have already guessed that the game gets from me 10 out of 10. And no doubt, she is worthy of such evaluation like no other.
Review game Super Mario Odyssey
Sergey Grey