Topic: Super Mario Odyssey

@Banjos_Backpack I like the hint art but your right it does slow everything down but I liked it as a chilled end game activity. Some of them were really hard I can see why people would get frustrated but I've enjoyed them all including the latest.

Also off topic that's an awesome user name you have there. A fellow fan of the bird and the bear??

@Banjos_Backpack I have many great memories of the Banjo Kazooie series on N64 and GBA and even enjoyed Nuts and Bolts. Truly excellent games. I loved pretty much everything Rare did on Nintendo hardware Perfect Dark, GoldenEye, Jet Force Gemini, Donkey Kong, Blast Corps all of them classics but Banjo is still there best work I feel.

I was a bit dubious of replaying these classics on Xbox One thinking they could never feel right off of the N64 but they all look and play fantastically still with some great unlockable content.

I really love how Mario Oddysey brings the collectathon genre back to modern audiences and shows the genre can still work in the modern day. I haven't played Yooka Laylee yet as I'm waiting for the physical Switch release but hoping it will be awesome!!

@Banjos_Backpack for the improved controls I'd say Jet Force Gemini on Xbox One has the advantage over the N64 original but I'm playing at the moment on N64 because, despite living the game, I've never actually finished it. Blast Corps well it was a pretty random idea at the time going for a car, HGV, mech puzzler action racer but... it just kinda works. Its a nice game to fire up on a dark Sunday evening, embracing its quirkiness and just chilling with.

I could agree more about how well they have aged. The improvements made for the rerelease really make it shine but that original solid design and look laid the foundations. Everything just flows flawlessly Rare nailed game design with Banjo Kazooie. I really love Banjo Tooie as well but the simple approach of the original the great characters the music I honestly would love to have seen what Rare would have done with the series on GameCube prior to the Microsoft buy out.

Mario Odyssey is a game that will be remembered for years to come. So much of what makes games like Banjo, Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine so great is there and improved. I have seen and done most of what the game has to offer and like you I don't want it to end!! Fingers crossed for substantial dlc in the near future.

@Banjos_Backpack if you do pick up an Xbox One Rare Replay would be a great purchase. Rares older titles might lack that special something of there N64 glory days but some of them are still great little games and it also features the greatly underrated Grabbed by the Ghoulies. I enjoyed Banjo Tooie but its a more complex game but sometimes that's what's needed. I think Banjo is a great series because in its first titles it was able to appeal to both sides. I agree with what your saying about Nuts and Bolts it had the outer layers of a Banjo game but when you really got down to it it lacked the Banjo spark.

I know what you mean about fluidity I mean everything just... works and it's so satisfying I know it's a really strange comparison but it reminds me of the old Tony Hawk Pro Skater games where your essentially just stringing together some moves but in the moment it feels awesome. I really hope they can make some substantial dlc. I feel it won't detract from work on a successor as I think most of ground work was done in the main game and the dlc would only need a smaller less experienced team with some supervision. Let them take there time and try some new ideas but keep the Odyssey framework.

I read your Yooka Laylee review (good job) I still feel the urge to play it but wonder if my enjoyment of the genre will be enough to see me through. Think you were spot on about there next game being more refined.

@Snaplocket Sunshine HD is a must for Switch.

@ReaderRagfish that truck. Even having put so many hours into it over the years I still can't master it. I'd say every time I have to use it my success is more luck than skill.

Topic hi-jack alert!

...

Please wake me up if you address Odyssey again.

I'll readily acknowledge that I am branching off into an entirely random and potentially incredulous topic, but boy, do I despise Bound Bowl racing. I've only managed to score 100% completion in this game once. I'm working towards doing it again, but I doubt I'll be able to muster the strength to strain through Bound Bowl racing in the Snow Kingdom once again. Rrrgghh... If I remember correctly, it is a real shame that there was no difficulty upscale for the RC race course. That's actually fun and fair

The pattern has been broken, doesn't seem to be hint art this time so maybe that's on a 3 or 4 week schedule now.

EDIT: Looked closer and there were already 2 cases of 3 week gaps between hint arts before.

Zombie Outfit and new Snapshot filters are now present.

Santa Outfit and 8-bit Mario Cap out now. This leaves Hint Art 20 as the last known content remaining.

I don't think we'll get DLC for SMO, I think a SMO 2 is being made instead.

Yep, I 100% agree. I'm hoping the overcrowded 2019 slate will mean it comes in 2020 and therefore gets a significant amount of time and resource put into the development. It'll be a sequel in name, but a far superior game in every way.

The Switch news article for the Santa Outfit and 8-bit Mario Cap says "Look forward to more updates in the future" so at the very least, that's a confirmation stuff is happening with Odyssey this year. What that is we'll just have to wait and see.

It took me a little while to get into this, but this last week I've been playing it to death. Love it to bits.

https://postimg.cc/5H9dPSM2

Love odyssey, making a let's play of it.

So this weekend I finally played the vr bit. Well you really need the headset for that (wich I don't have). Without it its terrible, as expected.

Well I've finished the main campaign for the game already. Took me less than a week of playing a few hours here and there. I think it partly went by so quickly because I was enjoying it so much and eager to keep seeing more, but at the same time I'm kinda disappointed by how short it feels and how few worlds there are.

I know in terms of time spent playing, it's pretty much the same length as every 3D mario game. But I think the smaller number of levels makes it feel smaller to me. It certainly feels a lot smaller than the Galaxy games. Either way, it's definitely the 2nd best Nintendo game I've played in recent years, after Breath of the Wild of course. Really doesn't come close to the Galaxy games for me though. Here's my general positives and negatives:

Positives
-Controls are near-perfect as always in 3D mario.
-The best graphics on the system (I have no idea how they got the Metro Kingdom running at 60fps)
-Some brilliantly creative game mechanics. I loved the bulbs with extendable legs, the 2D sections, the zip mechanic and the guys who live in a bubble of water and shoot jets to move around.
-Some of the best level design they've ever done, in terms of both aesthetics and gameplay/exploration. The Metro Kingdom, the Seaside Kingdom and the Cascade Kingdom, were my favourites (only done a small bit of the mushroom kingdom)

Negatives
-Too short, needed about 3 more worlds to feel complete. Too much padding by overabundance of collectibles.
-The bosses were quite poor compared to other 3D mario games. No way near as creative as the Galaxy bosses.
-Story felt even more generic and less meaningful than usual. Really feels like they could do a bit more to make it feel important, whilst still keeping it a predominantly gameplay focused experience.
-Feels like it didn't really live up to the media hype. This got the same metacritic score as Breath of the Wild. It really isn't on that same level for me at all.

All that said, I'm thoroughly anticipating a sequel (or preferably Galaxy 3).

@Dezzy now the main game begins.