Is Super Mario Odyssey the Best Mario Game Ever?

     Super Mario Odyssey is out and holy goomba on a stick is it is awesome. This time Mario has to step out of the Mushroom Kingdom and brave a whole new world as he sets sail to rescue Princess Peach, again. It's no doubt that Odyssey is a great game with a ton of creativity in the many worlds Mario has to look for Power Moons in, new mechanics that spices up old traditional 3D Mario gameplay, and tons of stuff to explore in the many kingdoms, including secrets and easter eggs. With a ton of stuff to do and how great Odyssey looks and plays, you have to wonder is it the best Mario game ever?

     It is no doubt that Odyssey is modeled after past 3D Mario titles. Odyssey is the first open world Mario Game since Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. The first Mario 3D title, Super Mario 64 is set the standard for ever 3D Mario game as its influence is not only calling back to the Mushroom Kingdom but to its exploration and gameplay as Mario is in these huge worlds looking for Power Moons which are the stars in the game, literally in the Mushroom Kingdom. While Mario 64 is the blueprint, Super Mario Sunshine is the biggest contributor to Odyssey's development.
       The goal in Odyssey's development seems to be to take things that were in both 64 and Sunshine and take it to newer heights like a P-Wing. Like Sunshine you do get traditional gameplay mixed in with a ton of puzzles elements, but Odessey takes thing and flip it on its head. The puzzles and puzzlier and funnier. What's also is on its head is Cappy which seems to be a huge step up than what FLUDD was in Sunshine. With Cappy, Mario is able to do all sorts of things from attacking enemies, using him to jump further, and possess enemies.

     If possessing enemies isn't enough then there are a ton of easter eggs and secrets in the game. Easter eggs and references isn't anything new to Mario games, especially the recent ones. Odyssey is however chock full of throwbacks to send you into a nostalgia coma for months. From almost everything in the Mushroom Kingdom (including Yoshi's house from Super Mario World) to Metro Kingdom referencing Mario's Jumpman days in Donkey Kong.
    Odyssey has up the ante in term of content and gameplay than its predecessors but is it a much better game than both? It's hard to make a definitive judgement as each Mario game have its charm. Odyssey is technically the better game, but it doesn't have the feel to it 64 exploring the castle grounds and the character that Sunshine had venturing Isle Defino. It is good that Odyssey does take things up a notch compared to 64 and Sunshine and it's great that it does those things without ruining classing 3D Mario gameplay.

What are your thoughts?

Does the Nintendo Switch Need More Exclusives?

     Last week we got a bit more information about the upcoming console for Nintendo, The Switch. We also got to see a ton of games that are coming out around launch. We finally got an insight of the new Mario game, we saw some huge surprises like Skyrim, Ultra Street Fighter II, I Am Setsuna, and Sonic Mania are going to be playable on it, and we saw more of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is never a bad thing.
     While we do have an abundance of games coming out, few of them are exclusive to the console. About 14 out of the 65 confirmed titles announced. Not even the biggest title they have at launch, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is not exclusive to the Switch as there will be a Wii U version as well. This might worry some Nintendo fans or people in general that either may want to buy the switch and may not be completely sold on it because there are not so many games that are just for the console. You want something that will absolutely get to to buy the console, instead of just buying a copy for the game for the PS4 or Xbox One. But does it really need more exclusives?
     Already it has a ton of good games and a solid lineup of launch titles. It is a big improvement from the Wii U which while it also didn't have that many exclusives, it also didn't have a impressive lineup of games that didn't get people to be sold on the Wii U and in turn didn't help sell the console. Personally, I feel that with the games the has Switch not only at launch, but until the Christmas season right now is impressive enough that it doesn't matter if they don't have as many exclusives. To me it has already have me considering buying it and maybe others too based on hearing what they're offering right now.
     Let's also remember that more titles will be announced later on this year. Just making sure that we are not in a game drought, like the Wii U may be the plan this year and more exclusive titles may be the plan for the next or following years. Despite it not having as many exclusives people are excited as pre-orders have already sold out at Gamespot. We'll see how everything turns out in the future or if whether exclusives are critical when it comes out in March. 3