The versatility of Mario's new pal Cappy adds a great deal of additional utility, and this is really where Odyssey comes into its own and becomes more than just another good by-the-numbers Mario title. Mario still has a lot of the familiar moves from previous outings intact, but it's the ones that he gains in Odyssey that really help to tip the scales. That's instantly a pathway to a great game - but then Odyssey goes beyond in smart and sometimes surprising ways.

Mario controls as tightly as he has in all his 3D outings, following the same template that allowed Super Mario 64 to define third-person 3D character movement.

Some things are just sort of a given in 3D Mario by now, but many of those things are still vital to Odyssey's success. This is by far and away the most free-form, open-ended Mario game yet - and it's all the more impressive for it. One of the early lines in Super Mario Odyssey's vocal theme song is 'it's freedom like you never knew' - and while as a lyric for a game theme it's a little on the nose it's also completely accurate to Odyssey. You would ultimately need to collect a certain number of Moons (or comets?) to enter Bowser's Castle and finish the game, but whether you find them all in one zone or a few from every zone would be totally up to you.Odyssey is the best Mario game in many, many years - and while it returns to the N64-style formula, its triumphs are firmly its own. Instead of moving from World to World linearly, suppose you could explore any number of biomes throughout the Mushroom Kingdom in any order. An open-world Mario could work much the same way. There's really no incentive to collect the other 756 Moons beyond the simple pleasure of discovery. In Super Mario Odyssey, you need to collect 124 of the 880 Power Moons to finish the game. And like Breath of the Wild, completion could be self-motivated by the player. Using a Breath of the Wild-esque approach, an open-world Mario game would establish the geography of the Mushroom Kingdom in a way that would be extraordinarily gratifying for lifelong Mario fans. Related: Mario Kart Fan Becomes First Person To Land Rainbow Road Ultra Shortcut (5 Years After It Was Discovered) As you continue to explore the Mushroom Kingdom you'll discover all of the famous world and locations from throughout Super Mario history, such as Rose Town from Super Mario RPG, Freezeflame Volcano from New Super Mario Bros., and yes, Yoshi's Island. Beyond Toad Town lies the Forest of Illusion from Super Mario World. Here comes the pitch: imagine a sprawling Mushroom Kingdom with Peach's Castle at the center and a full-scale Toad Town below it.

Beyond the world in super mario odyssey