"Mario: Odyssey" review: A well-deserved perfect score

Despite this, Mario's legacy has continued since the original Super Mario Bros. in 1985, with each successive sequel being a hit, making it one of the most prestigious evergreen franchises in gaming history.

Released on October 27, 2017, the latest game in the Mario series, Super Mario Odyssey, lost out to The Legend of Zelda at TGA2017: Breath of the Wild did not win the best action/adventure game of the year, but the excellent word-of-mouth among players, perfect reviews from IGN, Gamespot and other gaming media, and the impressive sales of more than 2 million copies worldwide in the first three days of release, are enough to prove the success of Super Mario Odyssey.

(Super Mario Odyssey sells well)

(Full marks from many media)

In this article, I will try to analyze the question "Why Super Mario Odyssey is so fun" from a few key points.

Interesting level design

Level design is at the heart of every Mario classic and every action game on any platform.

The level design in Odyssey is a great success of the previous games, retaining the classic organs of the series while adding many new designs.

Classic trap - hidden trap. Originally there was nothing on the head, and I thought I could jump to the other side smoothly, but when you jump, you will hit the hidden trap and fall into the bottomless abyss. The player has to explore another path through the game.)

(The two-dimensional levels in the three-dimensional world, the painting style changes, and even BGM switches to the eight-bit machine style in real time, paying tribute to the classic at the same time, the design sense and challenge of these levels themselves are no less than any other levels.)

One of the best levels I've ever seen in the game. In front of you is a wall with a lot of destructible parts, and the goal is to get to the top of the wall. Players need to attach themselves to the tank, knock out parts of the wall with shells, thus creating their own level, then leave the tank and "beat" this simple level from the player himself. I have to admire the designer's imagination.

Players use intelligence and manipulation to navigate through these cleverly conceived levels and derive a constant stream of pleasure from the process, something that has never changed since Mario's birth. This game is to this tradition, the art of level design to the extreme.

This time, the hat is the real deal

In addition to the core gameplay of Mario through the ages, players will inevitably use the new skill of "hat possession" when completing the level or exploring freely. Mario and his new partner, Cappy, can possess other creatures and non-living beings that appear in many levels, thereby manipulating the object and allowing the use of special abilities that help navigate the level. Although compared to the previous Mario series, there are some changes in the composition, but this hat possession mechanism can be said to greatly expand the gameplay of platform action games.

(Partial possession effects and abilities)

While this isn't the first time Nintendo has designed similar gameplay in a game (Cappy Star, another Nintendo action franchise with a long history, has made swallowing enemies to gain their powers a central part of its gameplay throughout the series), what does it matter? The hat possession system is so much fun. Each of the dozens of possession has its own unique mode of operation, how to understand the operation of each possession, the rules of action, the use of restrictions, etc., will be the key to clearance.

(Possession System Action Guide)

In the two-player mode, the hat even becomes the operational role of the second player, and the two people working together can more easily perform the more difficult skills of the single-player mode, which provides a new possibility for the clearance way.

(Two players perform the hat jump with Mario and the hat respectively)

Looking at the hat system and the overall level design, I can't think of a game like Super Mario Odyssey that blends the two as seamlessly as it does, with the chemistry that makes the progression so varied and fun.

The art of collecting and hiding things

It seems to have become common practice in the industry to hide small eggs in the game that are not easy to find, to surprise players who find them intentionally or accidentally. But Mario Odyssey has made "exploring the world + finding the hidden moon" one of the core elements of the entire work.

In addition to the collection of gold coins from previous games in the series, the main collectibles in this game are the "Moon of Power", which is distributed in various countries, and the exclusive currency that can be used to purchase distinctive clothing and souvenirs from each country. However, it is not easy for players to find and get their hands on these collectibles. Game designers often hide the moon in an obscure corner of the world for the player to explore, or use the moon as a reward at the bottom of some small level hidden around the world.

For those players who have already completed all the elements collected in one week, the second week after completing the game seems to be the real start. More hidden elements waiting to be collected, hidden areas that require a certain number of moons to unlock, and truly difficult levels that take two weeks to complete will be worth continuing their unfinished adventure.

(Collect the moon)

(The captain's room with nothing and the captain's room with all the collection)

However, hiding something is not so that the player can't find it, but so that the player can eventually find it through fun experimentation and exploration. On that note, Super Mario: Odyssey has a lot of places where the player can freely explore multiple worlds, and these dissonances often end up leading the player to a hidden level or a secret location where the moon is hidden. The player just needs to observe the game world to find these problems. All that remains is to follow your curiosity. It is because of "hiding" that there can be "exploring", and there can be surprises everywhere in the world of Super Mario Odyssey.

(Lures players into inadvertently following a colorful butterfly perched on a cliff, allowing them to watch the sunset over the coast of the lost country)

Why are there gold coins here? Why don't you break the box outside and see what's inside?)

(As expected! A moon was waiting for us at the end of the passage.

(There must be something under this quicksand vortex.)

Smooth, natural, diversified movements and excellent operation feel

In addition to the new hat system, the traditional "jump" of the Mario series has become more natural in this game. In addition to the basic jumps, Mario has a variety of jumps to choose from. Long jump, back flip, step on the ground, etc., there are many jumping actions that have been designed as early as Mario 64, such as triple jump, kick wall jump, etc., which are very smooth in this game. In addition, replacing the traditional "turtle shell jump" "air step hat jump" has also become the difficulty of this operation, so that those master players can have the opportunity to show their skills.

In addition to jumping, choosing the officially recommended dual Joy-Con among the three ways NS handles are used can also make a variety of changes to the basic action of losing a hat. Tracking cap, body spin cap, etc., can be realized through Joy-Con's motion-sensing function. However, if you play Mario on the bus or subway, it may not be convenient to use dual-hold Joy-Con, and have to connect the controller and the screen to play together, so that to achieve similar motion-sensing functions only connected to the screen weighing about 400 grams.

(Official recommended dual-hold Joy-Con operation mode)

But don't worry, the vast majority of levels and collections can be completed without relying on these advanced operations, so whether you can master advanced operations or conditional dual-hold gamepads will not have much impact on the player's overall game experience.

The only fly in the face in terms of control is that the automatic viewing Angle movement in some levels causes Mario to swerve slightly and inexplicably when the player pushes the controller in the same direction, which can be quite fatal for some levels with narrow cliff edges.

A pleasant adventure with no Game over

Gameover has been an important part of the game since the birth of video games. It ensures that players must use their own fine, steady control and clever thinking to get through the game level, rather than relying on mindless trial and error to complete the level, which is a regrettable waste of the developer's carefully designed level.

(Gameover from Mario's early games)

Odyssey does away with this. The cost of each "failure" is only 10 gold, the amount of money that can be earned by a random flick of the hat, and the amount of effort that has been put in since the last checkpoint (but all collectibles remain and do not disappear because the player makes a mistake).

It seems that Nintendo is trying to make mistakes and failures in the game less frustrating, to ensure that the adventure is smooth, fun, and enjoyable in general, especially for players who often make mistakes in the game. Kenta Motokura, one of Odyssey's producers, was quoted as saying in response to this question: "Living systems are not an absolutely necessary element for Odyssey because the emphasis is on exploration. We also think that life systems can affect the experience of some players. Experienced players are less likely to Gameover, while novice players are more likely to Gameover."

On the other hand, I think that the cancellation of Gameover was an opportunity for game developers to design bolder and more challenging levels. When players don't have to worry too much about the consequences of their mistakes, developers don't have to worry too much about their players. "Since players aren't too upset about losing, why not try to make it harder for them?" I believe that many of the interesting but very demanding levels in Odyssey are due to this. In fact, being "difficult" for Mario players who are keen on challenges is actually desirable.

Help Mode - Hand Cripples and action game newbies are good friends

Action games have always been extremely unfriendly to players who can't handle it, and the hand-holders will inevitably get stuck in some places and gradually lose patience under the avalanche of mistakes. At the same time, a variety of well-designed mechanisms and possession systems also make players without keen insight into the game, in the face of some levels can be at a loss. Odyssey's help mode can be said to provide some necessary but not excessive help for both types of players.

When the Help mode is enabled, the player will only lose 1 HP when falling into the abyss or poison Spring, and return to the position before the fall; The HP limit is doubled, and you can rest in place for a few seconds to gradually recover your HP; The world will visually present the easiest and least complicated of the paths to navigate, giving direction to players who are lost in Mario's world.

It's worth mentioning that using Help mode doesn't make Mario jump higher or farther, it just increases the level guidance and fault tolerance. So players who turn on Help mode still need to do the same thing to get through. Nintendo has struck a near-perfect balance between protecting the experience and keeping the game difficult and fun.

(Help mode)

Conclusion

It's not for nothing that Super Mario Odyssey appeals to all players of all ages, tastes, and preferences. The joy of playing Mario is the pure and essential joy of playing the game, not the kind that comes from sensory stimulation or numerical stimulation. That, I think, is the real appeal of Mario. Full marks are well deserved.