#SwitchAnticipatedTitle: Super Mario Odyssey

We are working on doing a run down of our most anticipated Switch titles as we barrel towards the March 3rd release date. I just secured my own preorder this morning, and am getting really excited for what will be coming out throughout the rest of 2017. First thing this morning, I don’t want to look at the obvious choice – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – but rather, another game that will be a mega hit, Super Mario Odyssey.

Nintendo is heading back to a time that we haven’t seen since Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo GameCube. We are getting an open world, Sandbox style Mario game once again; this title, however, does appear to be drastically different than the previous two open world Mario games: the just mentioned Sunshine, and Super Mario 64.

In both Sunshine and Super Mario 64, the main hub world was – more or less – an open world experience. In Sunshine you marched around a beautiful tropical island, while in 64 you explored the ins and outs of Peach’s Castle. Both games, however, had the game worlds completely separate from hub world, and were entered by jumping into paintings, walls, and portals. This system worked really well at the time, as open world games were not as prevalent as they are now. With new technology – bigger and better systems with more power – Nintendo can finally realize a truly open world experience.

I want to argue that we won’t actually get a true sandbox game, and that we will still be moving between very large and detailed worlds by way of pipes, warps, or whatever else. The trailer shown off during the Nintendo Switch presentation last night shows areas that are WAY to varied to be just sitting directly next to each other. We saw a rendition of an urban city, a western expanse, and even some weird, fruity island. It all looked great – those graphics, it is crazy! – and I’m sure it will play great, but will it truly be an open world experience.

Regardless, Super Mario Odyssey is one of our most anticipated games of 2017. Also, whats up with Mario getting to throw his hat and use it as a platform. And what will that new characters name be? Stay tuned!