Mario explores a journey beyond the Mushroom Kingdom
By Mario Orozco
Super Mario has been a staple of the gaming world for decades, with over 200 games spanning across a multitude of genres. This week’s edition of Mar’s Gaming Garage will focus on Super Mario Odyssey (SMO), a 3D exploration game following Mario as he journeys through lands outside of the Mushroom Kingdom. SMO was recommended to me by a forestry major, and as we share the same name, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review a Super Mario game.
SMO is vastly different from the traditional 2D-style Super Mario games that the franchise has become known for. While the main plot follows the usual trope of fighting bad guys and saving Princess Peach, the customization, gameplay, and world design set this game apart from others within the franchise.
Customization is something that Super Mario games have been missing throughout the years. SMO changes this trend by introducing 40 outfits that can be mixed and matched to give Mario a fresh new feel. Whether you want to play as a Samurai or run around in your boxers, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Mismatching Mario’s clothing was a lot of fun, and I created tons of chaotic outfits throughout my playthrough.
Super Mario games tend to follow a similar gameplay style with differences mainly lying in the powerups. However, this formula is completely thrown out the window for SMO. Instead, much of the gameplay involves using Cappy, Mario’s sentient hat, to progress through the levels. Cappy allows for Mario to do things that wouldn’t be possible otherwise, you can bounce on him to cross long gaps and use him to control enemies. Being able to control Goombas, Chain Chomps, Bullet Bills and even Dinosaurs was a fun, creative way to progress through levels and keep them engaging.
The world design in SMO is another area where the game excels. The game has a total of 18 unique kingdoms that you can explore, each having their own boss fights to round off the worlds. The kingdoms in SMO are diverse and help keep the game from feeling repetitive. There is a lot of contrast between the different kingdoms. It was fun getting to see Mario in different environments from what I’m used to. Exploring a kingdom that is essentially New York City in nothing but boxers and a hat was a fun experience.
I want to give an honorable mention to the bosses in SMO. Similar to the kingdoms, there was also a lot of contrast in the different boss fights. Going from fighting a goofy looking bird to a dark and intimidating dragon kept me on my toes and made the game interesting.
There aren’t very many things I dislike about SMO. However there is one issue: to progress to a new kingdom, the game requires you to collect a certain amount of moons that are scattered around the worlds. This wouldn’t normally be something I dislike, other Super Mario Games have hidden star coins, and I think finding those are fun. The difference is those star coins aren’t required for progression. This paired with the absurd 880 unique moons throughout the kingdoms can make parts of the game feel tedious to play through.
Despite this, SMO is still an amazing game and a creative take on the Super Mario formula. It took me a total of 17 hours and 3 minutes to complete, and I rate the game a 4.5 out of 5. If you are a fan of the franchise and enjoy open-world sandbox style gameplay, then I recommend Super Mario Odyssey to you.
If you have any games you would like me to review, you can email marsgaminggarage@gmail.com.
Mario Orozco is a writer and assistant social media editor for The Lumberjack. He transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt in 2022 and his favorite game of all time is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
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