Super Mario Odyssey

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scotland
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby scotland » October 30th, 2017, 12:57 pm

Retro STrife wrote: And you could say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and normally I'd be fine with that - if not for that fact that nearly every other game series gets penalized for releasing "more of the same", even if there isn't anything to fix.


You are totally right. If it stays the same, its criticized. If it changes too much, its criticized. Its hard to win with sequels, yet once you have the brand awareness, you want to keep making sequels if you can because its even harder to sell a brand new game.

Voor wrote: Regarding Zelda, but brother is a huge fan of the series and he though BOTW was a "fantastic" game, but not really a good Zelda. That may make more sense to other Zelda fans....


This obviously happens with any long running series. To bring in new fans, things are changed which alienate older fans. I'm a Star Trek fan, and the franchise is basically unrecognizable to me from the old 1960s series. Yet, that's what Star Trek is now - basically, a Star Trek movie or tv show is whatever the franchise holders say it is. I get to say if I still want to be a fan, and if I think the modern installments are worthwhile anymore.

History though, doesn't belong to the franchise holders. BotW is a Zelda game because it is, but then again, so is Wand of Gamelon. A Zelda game is all of that.

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DrLitch
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby DrLitch » October 31st, 2017, 4:19 am

I have sunk a good 14 hours into this one. For my money, it could be the best 3D Mario game I have ever played. This is definitely the spiritual sequel to Mario 64 but with better graphics and music. One thing for sure, perhaps reviewers do not seem to be willing to point out that the adventure is a little short lived. I personally do not see much in the way of replayability regarding the large scale collectathon of some 400 moons. Once you collect 250, the game grants you additional levels/content. You get no special reward for collecting everything. Doing the bare minimum will be good enough for most. The other flaw with this game is that it is not a significant enough challenge. Mario games have never been designed to cater to the hardcore gamer but Odyssey I feel is too easy. I have not seen a game over screen in 14 hours play and the only "deaths" (robbing you of coins) are user error rather than been outsmarted by clever level design or outmatched by a tricky boss fight / enemy. Overall, I absolutely love this game. It is Nintendo at it's charming best. The bar for excellence is very high and Mario Odyssey jumps that bar but falls a hair short of being Game of the Year material for my money. A definite A, a questionable A+. My two cents on it. I look forward to the Critic's review of this one as well as reading further comments regarding how you folks are enjoying it.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 31st, 2017, 8:09 pm

Just got this today and I am thrilled with it. Just one surprise after another! The difficulty curve is just right and it auto-saves at just the right times. The level of polish is something you could only expect from Nintendo.

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scotland
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby scotland » November 1st, 2017, 2:07 pm

Nintendo estimates more than 2 million copies of Super Mario Galaxy have already sold - in just a few days. Considering they also estimate about 7.5 million Switch units have sold, that is amazing. Some of these may already be holiday sales, but even so, this is selling well to the Switch install base.

strat
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby strat » November 2nd, 2017, 1:55 am

Zelda is the one series that gets away with having no real innovation, to the point that you've been conditioned to see BOTW and think it's not a Zelda game.


*This may be a partial spoiler for those who haven't played BOTW yet*

BOTW is definitely a Zelda game. And it's one that had to be made. Skyward Sword was a hot mess of awesome moments buried in a tedious, linear structure. They were running out of ways to make the Link's Awakening formula compelling. And what BOTW does is fantastic. I haven't played a lot of open-world games, so I can't really compare it to Elder Scrolls or Witcher, but BOTW's overworld exploration is a piece of Nintendo-designed goodness. It hit me at some point that it's like a massive Mario 64 level. Every region and structure within is logically, hierarchically related and you can gaze in the distance at any point and actually go all the way there. So that in itself makes BOTW a major accomplishment.

However, it still loses a few things I really loved about Zelda. BOTW's main dungeons are impressive as gimmicky set pieces, but the fact they all share the same basic objective and graphical style is kind of unsatisfying (even if that in itself is a callback to Zelda 1). And it still feels like a loss to not win an item essential to completing the dungeon. That part of the series never got stale. In theory, it's interesting that the dungeons award special powers (instead of some macguffin that stays in your inventory and opens the final dungeon), but I never used them.

It's a minor quibble, because BOTW on the whole is a success. Still, the perfect Zelda game is a blend of equally compelling overworld and dungeons. LTTP and Link's Awakening might be the only games that got this balance right. BOTW is simply the first game where the overworld is more interesting than the dungeons (while Twilight Princess and Skyward had great dungeons and crap overworld).

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JustLikeHeaven
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby JustLikeHeaven » November 2nd, 2017, 9:16 am

Super Mario Odyssey is totally legit. If all you care about is fun, tight gameplay, a sense of wonder, and satisfying level design...yeah believe all the hype.

If you're a person who needs story, realistic graphics, voice acting, and things of that nature...this won't really register on the "wow" meter. It's essentially just another Mario game. However, it also happens to be completely unhinged with it's insane ideas. It's very Nintendo/Japanese and that makes it stand out quite a bit.

The game constantly has me guessing/anticipating what sort of weirdness I'll run into next. I can't stress how profoundly addictive and refreshing that is. There have been so many "WTF" moments followed by laughter that I've lost count.

Anyone complaining that some of the moons are too easy to find...well that's the most nitpicking BS I can think of inserting into a review. This is a game designed for families, which means very young children are going to be playing it. Some of the harder puzzles or platforming sections will make grown ups weep with their difficulty. The game is highly accessible, but there is plenty of stuff to give even the most seasoned gamer trouble. It strikes that perfect balance.

Also, I'm not some blathering Nintendo fanboy. I will gladly call them out when they screw up. I think Mario 64 has aged like a glass of milk in the desert sun, and Mario Galaxy was probably a little overrated. This is easily...EASILY the best Super Mario Game since the SNES days. It's a grand slam from Nintendo.

BanjoPickles
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby BanjoPickles » November 3rd, 2017, 12:18 am

200+ power moons in, and I'm going to have to give this an easy A+. It's charming, gorgeous, the levels are brilliantly designed, at no point has it felt like a slog, the music is stunning (this may be my new favorite score in the entire series!), the 2D segments are a blast, and (I haven't seen this mentioned in any of the reviews that I've read) the load times are practically nonexistent!

Unless you're simply not into Mario games, this is such an easy recommendation! This may be the first must have Switch exclusive!

newmodelarmy
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby newmodelarmy » November 3rd, 2017, 6:50 am

Is there any challenge to this game? I have read that it is impossible to get a "game over" screen. The one thing I love about Mario games (at least the NES era ones) is that there is a sense of challenge and accomplishment. However, it seems like this game is just about exploration and finding the seemingly countless moons (I think that is what they are called). Any comments?

DaHeckIzDat
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby DaHeckIzDat » November 3rd, 2017, 10:02 am

newmodelarmy wrote:Is there any challenge to this game? I have read that it is impossible to get a "game over" screen. The one thing I love about Mario games (at least the NES era ones) is that there is a sense of challenge and accomplishment. However, it seems like this game is just about exploration and finding the seemingly countless moons (I think that is what they are called). Any comments?


That's what's bugging me too. People go on about how Mario is a family game, and that makes it okay for it to be ridiculously easy, but they seem to forget that classic Mario titles were hard as freaking balls!

David
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Re: Super Mario Odyssey

Postby David » November 3rd, 2017, 10:07 am

newmodelarmy wrote:Is there any challenge to this game? I have read that it is impossible to get a "game over" screen. The one thing I love about Mario games (at least the NES era ones) is that there is a sense of challenge and accomplishment. However, it seems like this game is just about exploration and finding the seemingly countless moons (I think that is what they are called). Any comments?


I haven't finished yet (halfway through maybe?), but I think it's fair to say that if you wanted to do only the minimum amount of collecting required to finish, it would not be very challenging. However, many of the "optional" moons are hidden very well, and for me, the challenge has been more in finding them rather than the actual platforming. It's just a different type of game. I prefer the platforming focused 3D Mario games like Galaxy and 3D World to the sandbox type of Mario 64 and Sunshine, but Odyssey I feel is the best of this type for sure. Mario has never been about difficulty though. Other than the Japanese Mario 2, I don't find any of the Marios especially difficult, but that's not really why I play them. I play them for expertly crafted levels, perfect controls, and creativity that's not found in many/any other franchises. Odyssey is no exception to any of that.


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