Super Mario Odyssey

[Happenstance]

The recommendation when you start the game to use the joy cons drives me nuts now. Feels like it hangs there forever!

[Aneres11]

After this arrived for me yesterday, I ended up playing for a bit and then having to come off it and didn't get another chance to go back on. Already getting withdrawal symptoms from it. 

[Blade]

I've just looked in Options menu and motion controls can be turned off completely. I'm unsure if this then maps the motion control movements to buttons though.

[Hero-of-Time]

5 minutes ago, Blade said:

I've just looked in Options menu and motion controls can be turned off completely. I'm unsure if this then maps the motion control movements to buttons though.

Speaking of the options menu...

Spoiler

Did you watch Mario's expressions before going into the menu? The way he strokes/taps his chin is hilarious.  

Edited October 26, 2017 by Hero-of-Time

[Happenstance]

5 minutes ago, Blade said:

I've just looked in Options menu and motion controls can be turned off completely. I'm unsure if this then maps the motion control movements to buttons though.

Yeah I saw that as well, I just assumed it meant motion aiming.

[Agent Gibbs]

Amazon shipped this last night.....via Royal Fail, who lost Breath of the wild, the last game I ordered from them, I really hope this doesn't happen again!

[Ronnie]

@Hero-of-Time since you're farthest in the game, I was curious about the difficulty. That's my main worry in that everything looks quite easy, does the challenge ramp up? Likewise are there a decent amount of pure platforming challenges? @Blade happy to hear your thoughts too of course, or anyone else who has the game.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Ronnie

[Hero-of-Time]

8 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

@Hero-of-Time since you're farthest in the game, I was curious about the difficulty. That's my main worry in that everything looks quite easy, does the challenge ramp up? Likewise are there a decent amount of pure platforming challenges? @Blade happy to hear your thoughts too of course, or anyone else who has the game.

The difficulty hasn't been an issue at all. Apart from one section in the 3rd world everything has been pretty easy. This doesn't mean the game is bad by any means. It's so much fun to play, plus, we all know that the real challenge in the Mario games comes from the post game stages. 

I think the challenge comes in a different form in this game, in that it's not about making difficult jump after difficult jump, but more about working out how to get to places. For example, you may see a Moon from a mile away or see one on the map but some of them do take so figuring out when trying to reach them or make them appear. The beauty is that if you can't figure it out then there's a dozen more you can attempt to find.

The platforming feels absolutely fantastic and most of the time it is simply about Mario running and jumping to your destination. The times where you have to use certain abilities that are gained from taking over an enemy still present some good platforming, it's just that a lot of the time it comes in a different form and a few new mechanics have to be mastered.

I was thinking about it last night and I think Odyssey shares a lot more in common with the Banjo series than it does with previous Mario titles. 

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by Hero-of-Time

[Hero-of-Time]

The reviews a starting to pour in.

• IGN 10/10
• GiantBomb 5/5
• Gamespot 10/10
• Eurogamer- Essential
• NintendoLife 10/10
• Videogamer 10/10
• Trusted  Reviews 5/5
• Polygon 9.5/10

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by Hero-of-Time

[Happenstance]

5 stars from Giant Bomb

https://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/super-mario-odyssey-review/1900-774/

[Ashley]

3 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The reviews a starting to pour in.

• IGN 10/10
• GiantBomb 5/5
• Gamespot 10/10
• Eurogamer- Essential
• NintendoLife 10/10
• Videogamer 10/10
• Trusted  Reviews 5/5
• Polygon 9.5/10

 

 

@Kaepora_Gaebora has reviewed it for the site, which you can of course read here: http://n-europe.com/reviews/super-mario-odyssey

[Hero-of-Time]

Good review, @Kaepora_Gaebora.  Although I do disagree with most of your cons of the game, at least from what i've played. Granted, I haven't finished it and you have, so I won't get into it until I have at least seen the credits roll. Still, I appreciate your opinion of the game and the time and effort and you spent doing the review. 

[MindFreak]

I gave the game a 4/5 rating. Why? Well, to say the least, the game is a joy to play, pure and simple. It's so good for the most part, it's gorgeous to look at and the soundtrack is amazing. 

 

What I disliked, though, is that it's so easy it's almost boring to progress. Moons are everywhere and you quickly gather what you need to progress. Only the curiousity for what comes next is a driving force in that regard. Furthermore, it lacks platforming elements. They are almost completely gone and replaced with captures for the most part. This is a bit sad as platforming is what makes a Mario-game for me.

 

There are also too many moons. It's not fun to look for a spot in the ground. And it's so hard to find them all because of this, or it's tedious and trivial.

My last concern is that it doesn't feel a whole lot like Mario. There are only a few classic Mario-items in the game. That's a shame.

 

Otherwise, the game is really good to play. I spent about 11 hours to reach the credits and still have a lot of moons to find. There is a bonus to find them all. 

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

5 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Good review, @Kaepora_Gaebora.  Although I do disagree with most of your cons of the game, at least from what i've played. Granted, I haven't finished it and you have, so I won't get into it until I have at least seen the credits roll. Still, I appreciate your opinion of the game and the time and effort and you spent doing the review. 

Thank you

Seeing the other reviews I thought I might be on my own a little; still, I stand by what I said, it is a great game! (Or brilliant as an 8/10 technically is on N-E...)

[Glen-i]

7 minutes ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

Thank you

Seeing the other reviews I thought I might be on my own a little; still, I stand by what I said, it is a great game! (Or brilliant as an 8/10 technically is on N-E...)

It sounds like you have the same issues that I've been slightly concerned with ever since I saw the direction this is going. And that's BOTW. Being open for the sake of being big.

[nekunando]

I started watching the GameXplain review but had to stop after about a minute..

I need to experience this all by myself

 

[Hero-of-Time]

17 minutes ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

Thank you

Seeing the other reviews I thought I might be on my own a little; still, I stand by what I said, it is a great game! (Or brilliant as an 8/10 technically is on N-E...)

As you should. You gave the game exactly what you thought it deserved, just as MindFreak has. People have different expectations for games and it didn't meet yours. I have more respect for people who give their true thoughts when reviewing a game, over those who simply score a game based on it's name and what the masses are giving it.

Edited October 26, 2017 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

[nekunando]

14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

As you should. You gave the game exactly what you thought it deserved, just as MindFreak has. People have different expectations for games and it didn't meet yours. I have more respect for people who give their true thoughts when reviewing a game, over those who simply score a game based on it's name and what the masses are giving it.

We've known of the score for a few days and I basically said the same thing

Too many games are scored far too generously these days and within a few years, sometimes even months, the consensus seems to change!

@Kaepora_Gaebora scored it as he saw it, something I would always encourage.

[Ronnie]

Metacritic at 97 and Opencritic at 98!

[Blade]

37 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

I gave the game a 4/5 rating. Why? Well, to say the least, the game is a joy to play, pure and simple. It's so good for the most part, it's gorgeous to look at and the soundtrack is amazing. 

 

What I disliked, though, is that it's so easy it's almost boring to progress. Moons are everywhere and you quickly gather what you need to progress. Only the curiousity for what comes next is a driving force in that regard. Furthermore, it lacks platforming elements. They are almost completely gone and replaced with captures for the most part. This is a bit sad as platforming is what makes a Mario-game for me.

 

There are also too many moons. It's not fun to look for a spot in the ground. And it's so hard to find them all because of this, or it's tedious and trivial.

My last concern is that it doesn't feel a whole lot like Mario. There are only a few classic Mario-items in the game. That's a shame.

 

Otherwise, the game is really good to play. I spent about 11 hours to reach the credits and still have a lot of moons to find. There is a bonus to find them all. 

Its funny, opinions. The negative aspects that you have stated above is what I love about the game. 

[Blade]

I enjoyed your review @Kaepora_Gaebora but I completely disagree with the cons that you have mentioned.

Its a clear 10/10 for me.

[MindFreak]

Haha, yeah. Opinions are terrible, they get in the way of so many friendships. But it's not as bad as it might sound from my post. I still want to gather all moons and I wouldn't want to do that if it were awful.

 

I have almost completed Sand Kingdom now. The last few moons are a mystery to me, though.

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

17 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Missing the N-EUROPE 8/10, unless I can't see it...

@Blade I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! In fact I'm glad most who have started it already are enjoying it so much too

I think it'd be great to collate as many forum members thoughts on the game as possible and maybe have a roundtable type review on the site, see how many people thought different to me, either better or worse!

Edited October 26, 2017 by Kaepora_Gaebora

[Grazza]

There is probably more pressure to score a new Mario 10/10 than any other game series (certainly Nintendo series).  Until very recently it was almost completely untainted.  You never know, some of those reviewers might be thinking "I wish we had guts like N-Europe!  I thought it was 7/10 really."

 

My copy of Odyssey hasn't arrived yet - I might love it, I might dislike it or I might agree with the 8/10.  But one thing's for sure - you do have to judge the game from beginning to credits.  I started out thinking Breath of the Wild was 10/10 (and it is that amazing), but as an overall game?  No, I didn't think it had the gameplay hook for that.