So Nintendo just revealed quite a few new details on Super Mario Odyssey--and you know
what that means, it’s time to power-up the ol analysis machine to see what secrets it
can find.
But be warned: this is not our typical full-length analysis because the game would probably be
out by the time I finished.
So instead, we’re going to do it in parts--for right now, we’re only covering the 5 biggest
overall details overall that you might have missed, including a pretty in-depth breakdown
of the World Map.
And then after this, we’ll follow-up with individual analyses for each of the kingdoms.
Comprende?
Alright, let’s get started..
So Nintendo finally revealed how the World Map works in Super Mario Odyssey--although
it’s taking the “World” portion of that phrase pretty literally, being a view of the
entire globe.
And it provides a few interesting details.
For one, we can see a line that extends from a nearby landmass to the one the Odyssey is
currently on, before extending again to a third nearby, suggesting that you might unlock
the levels in a linear order.
And we may actually know the order for the first 3 since we’re pretty sure we can identify
those landmasses--and perhaps quite a few more.
So first up, it seems that your adventure will begin in the Cap Kingdom--you know, since
the entire landmass is shaped like a hat itself.
And this makes sense given the cutscenes we’ve seen of Mario meeting Cappy in the Cap Kingdom,
which is exactly where Cappy first takes on the identify of Mario’s now-destroyed hat.
But obviously, we’ve never seen the Cap Kingdom before Super Mario Odyssey--so what’s
Mario even doing there in the first place?
Well, if we go back to the initial reveal trailer, Mario is seen trying to rescue Peach
before being seeming knocked off the airship.
Could this be the scene from the start of the game, with mario plummeting back to the
earth in the Cap Kingdom?
Don’t forget, Bowser even stomps Mario’s cap while aboard the same ship--which might
explain how it ended up in the sad state it did when Cappy’s seen holding it.
And of course, we already know the reason that Cappy joins Mario in order to try and
save his own sister Tiara, who was kidnapped along with Peach.
And by the way, we can see a rundown ship in the background that looks suspiciously
similar to the Odyssey--complete with sail.
Perhaps mario & Cappy’s first task is to restore it to operational condition?
Anyways, back to the World Map.
So after the Cap Kingdom, the travel-line leading from it connects to another kingdom
nearby--this one shaped like a fossil--you know, like the ones from the Cascade Kingdom,
seemingly suggesting that’s the 2nd world you’ll be visiting.
And from there, the travel-line extends to a 3rd Kingdom, presumably being the Sand Kingdom,
based on all the sand--with the forested one bordering it likely being the Wooded Kingdom,
which appears to be shaped like a Pine tree--all of this so far, by the way, s backed up by
an official map that came out some time ago--we can just see it in much more detail now
And based on that map, we know that the Metro Kingdom and Luncheon Kingdom’s are on the
opposite side of the globe, which are probably the landmasses we can just barely see when
the camera’s zooming in.
Now those 5 regions are the only ones the map explicitly labeled, but we’re pretty
sure we can pinpoint a few more.
For one, if we freeze it here, we can see some islands--and based on the purple water
surrounding them, we’re pretty sure these are the same “tropical islands” that the
narrator talks about here, in this otherwise unnamed kingdom.
Now as you might recall, a pictire of an amiibo for Super Mario Odyssey was recently released
that seemed to leak 3 previously unknown Kingdoms, one of which was the Lake Kingdom--could this
be that kingdom?
It would make sense given that we can see landmasses in the background of the scenes
here, seemingly confirming this as a giant lake.
Next up, if we freeze it here and zoom in, we can see a Mushroom-shaped landmass--which
is almost certainly the Mushroom Kingdom, which was the 2nd of 3 kingdoms leaked on
the amiibo box.
And we wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the game’s true starting point, at least
from a story perspective, before Mario meets up with Bowser on the airship and presumably
gets knocked off to the Cap Kingdom.
Okay, so so far, we’ve placed every Kingdom Nintendo’s officially shown off, except
for two.
The Snow Kingdom, which was the 3rd Kingdom leaked via the amiibo box, and the Seaside
Kingdom.
Well for the Snow Kingdom, we’d guess it would take place near either of the poles,
perhaps in this cold looking region above the Sand Kingdom?
Or perhaps somewhere down here?
And there does seem to be another landmass down here, near what appears to be a bunch
of shallow water--could this possibly be the Seaside Kingdom?
Finally, you may have noticed Bowser’s Airship hovering over the Sand Kingdom, and from our
playtime with the game, we already know there are story details involving his presence there.
So this might also suggest, like the levels, that the story details unfold in a linear
fashion, with Bowser’s Airship moving level to level and you uncover them.
So that covers it for all 10 Kingdoms we know about for sure.
But we’re pretty damn confident there’s at least 1 more--being that moon right there.
After all, as you might recall from our previous analysis, there is a ton of moon imagery and
connections in this game--we’ll be shocked if you don’t end up there at some point,
especially with how prominent it is--and the fact that, you know, you’re literally collecting
moons throughout the game.
And on that note, let’s launch into a speed round of the 4 other biggest things you might
have missed.
And first up: Moons--as in, the collectibles.
Nintendo had previously said there would be 30-50 moons per level.
But hold up--if we check out this scene, we can see the game lists every Moon for each
world.
And in the Sand Kingdom here, the list not only scrolls beyond 50, but the counter in
the top right states there are 69 moons total.
Whoa.
That’s a lot of Moons.
Next up are Mario’s costumes.
Now the announcer himself said some of these are based on Mario’s past adventures.
Of course, there’s the Construction Outfit based on Mario Maker and possibly Wrecking
Crew, the safari outfit from Mario’s Picross, and then Dr. Mario, who needs no further explanation.
Bu t then a couple more you may not realize--like how Chef Mario isn’t technically a new costume--but
something Mario first wore in the Game & Watch Gallery game, Chef.
And although we don’t see Mario wearing it, the visor in the store here might be a
reference to the artwork used for Famicom Golf
And then there’s this one, with Mario wearing a beret and a painter’s apron--which you
might think is a reference to Mario Paint on Super Nintendo.
But it’s actually a reference to its sequel, Mario Artist, which was only ever released
on the Nintendo 64 DD in Japan.
Oh and hey, while we’re on this scene, did you notice the cool New Donk City grafitti
in the background?
Did you do that Mario?!
You’re not above the law man!
But more importantly, the red shirted blonde there is actually a direct callback to the
same woman featured in the original artwork for the arcade version of Donkey Kong...as
in, Pauline.
Yeah, she looks just a bit different these days!
And it makes that recently revealed classic Donkey Kong scene all the more fitting.
And speaking of Pauline, a scene in the Wooded Kingdom reveals a girl Goomba wearing her
exact hat.
Where did she get that from?!
Is it the same hat, or just a similar version?
And that Goomba seems to be falling in love with the Mario-hatted Goomba here--is she
just a big fan of mustached Goombas?
Or could this be a hint that there might be a similar romance between Mario and Pauline?
And how would Peach feel about that?!
Or to top off this crazy line of questions I never thought I’d ask, what if that’s
Pauline possessing a Goomba?!
Okay, let’s be real--we see other characters wearing similar hats elsewhere so it’s probably
not that.
However, the narrator does “something neat may happen if you find all the Moons” as
this very scene is on-screen, so there’s certainly something going on here.
And with that, those are the biggest details we wanted to point out about Super Mario Odyssey
so far!
But like I said earlier, we’re not done yet, as we’ll be back with a closer look
at each of the new Kingdoms later on.
So thanks for watching--and hey, if you liked this video, make sure to click that Subscribe
button for lots lots more from us on Super Mario Odyssey and everything Nintendo as well.