Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is a platforming game for the Nintendo Switch released on October 27, 2017. It is the sixteenth title in the Super Mario series, the seventh original 3D Mario title, the eighth 3D Mario title overall, and the sixth 3D Mario title on a home console after Super Mario 3D World. The game revolves around Mario exploring unknown open world-like settings, similar to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. These settings have been stated to bear resemblances to locations in the real world.

A Super Mario Odyssey themed Nintendo Switch bundle was available on launch day. The American and European versions contained the console, red Joy-Con, and a download code for the game. The American version also includes an Odyssey-themed carrying case. The Oceanian version of the bundle includes the console, red Joy-Con, and a physical copy of the game.

Story
Beginning "in the skies above Peach's Castle", Mario and Bowser are seen fighting one another on Bowser's airship, with Princess Peach on board as well. Bowser ultimately defeats Mario when he uses his top hat to attack, sending Mario flying to parts unknown. Bowser then takes his airship towards the skies, as he prepares a forced marriage to Peach. He leaves Mario's hat (which had been knocked off of Mario's head during his final attack) to adrift into the ship's back propellers, shredding it in the process. A piece is obtained by a hat-shaped ghost, who eventually finds Mario in his homeland of Bonneton, located in the Cap Kingdom.

After Mario wakes up and catches up with the ghost, the ghost reveals himself as Cappy, and explains to Mario that Bowser had not only attacked the kingdom, destroying its airship armada, but had also kidnapped Tiara, Cappy's sister, using her as Peach's wedding headdress. Mario and Cappy team up to stop Bowser's plans and save both Peach and Tiara, and using the piece he collected, Cappy transforms into Mario's Cap, allowing Mario to use Cappy's abilities. Cappy also informs Mario that they may be able to find a usable airship in the next kingdom, accessible from the Top Hat Tower. However, upon reaching the top, Mario is encountered by the Broodals, who were hired by Bowser as his wedding planners. After defeating one of the Broodals, Topper, Mario and Cappy use a power line to travel towards the Cascade Kingdom, where they find the airship, named the Odyssey, which uses Power Moons as energy to travel. With the Odyssey ready for sail, Mario and Cappy use it to chase after Bowser and the Broodals.

Mario and Cappy, through the power of the Power Moons, traverse many kingdoms in their adventure (fighting the Broodals and obtaining Multi Moons while doing so). After going through the Cascade, Sand, Lake, and Wooded kingdoms, they encounter and defeat Bowser in the Cloud Kingdom. Bowser then shoots at the Odyssey, causing it to crash and land in the Lost Kingdom.

After collecting more Power Moons to restore the Odyssey, Mario and Cappy then venture through the Metro, Snow, Seaside, and Luncheon kingdoms. They then attempt to enter Bowser's Kingdom, however, they are encountered by the Koopa King before they get there. Instead of fighting Mario and Cappy directly, Bowser causes the Odyssey to crash again, this time sending it to the Ruined Kingdom, where Mario and Cappy fight the Ruined Dragon. After the dragon's defeat, they obtain a Multi Moon. After again restoring the Odyssey, they finally go to Bowser's Kingdom and find Bowser with Peach. Bowser reveals that he plans to hold his wedding on the moon, and leaves Mario and Cappy to fight the Broodals in the RoboBrood.

Mario and Cappy destroy the RoboBrood, sending the Broodals flying as the heroic duo recover another Multi Moon. They then head off to the Moon Kingdom to stop the marriage between Bowser and Peach. They interrupt the wedding as Bowser is attempting to put an over-sized ring on Peach. Bowser then stomps the floor, revealing a trap door under Mario and Cappy, which they fall into. Bowser jumps in after them and engages them in battle, but is defeated. Mario, Cappy, Peach, and Tiara are reunited, but soon discover that the area they are in is collapsing. Mario uses Cappy to capture Bowser and escape, with all of them eventually returning to the moon. Mario and Bowser then simultaneously propose to marry Peach, with Mario offering a white flower and Bowser offering a bouquet of Piranha Plants. However, Peach rejects them both and returns to the Odyssey with Cappy and Tiara. As the ship takes off, Mario and Bowser run after it. While Mario successfully jumps on it, he stomps on Bowser, leaving the Koopa King stranded on the moon.

The Odyssey later lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, where Cappy says that he enjoyed the adventure and wishes to continue traveling with Mario to collect more Power Moons. They do so, going through the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as the dark and darker sides of the moon in the process. Meanwhile, Peach and Tiara travel the kingdoms on Peach's "own terms", while finding Power Moons themselves.

Gameplay
Unlike recent 3D titles such as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, which were more focused on platforming, Super Mario Odyssey will return to the explorative open-world gameplay seen in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, where Mario will explore various areas in order to collect Power Moons. Mario will maintain his moveset from previous 3D titles, including the Long Jump, Roll, Ground Pound, Spin Jump, the Triple Jump and the Dive, the last of which hasn't appeared since Super Mario Sunshine. In addition, a new character called Cappy allies with Mario, and takes possession of his cap. Mario can throw Cappy as if he were a boomerang, and it can also "capture" certain objects and enemies to take control of them. There are 52 capturable targets in total.

Mario's life meter also returns with three health, similar to Super Mario Galaxy. Additionally, there are no lives (and by extension, 1-Up Mushrooms) in the game making this the only 3D Mario game not to feature them, as Mario instead loses ten Coins upon dying. Due to there being no lives, Game Overs are impossible get, even if the player has no Coins remaining. There is also a new amiibo line based on Super Mario Odyssey, with a formal Mario, Princess Peach, and Bowser, which unlock more costumes. Other lines are also compatible, revealing a Power Moon location on the map. A new character named Uncle amiibo allows for the ability for some amiibo to unlock costumes, including Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and Diddy Kong.

Unlike Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and the Galaxy games, the game will not have a central hub world. Mario will use the Odyssey airship to fly from kingdom to kingdom.

Co-op mode is also confirmed, with player one controlling Mario and player two controlling Cappy.

The coins that Mario collects serve as currency. There are 2 types of coins - global yellow coins, which can be found and used in any kingdom, and purple regional coins, which are different in every kingdom, and can only be used in the kingdom they were found in. Mario can spend his coins at the Crazy Cap stores.

The game features a "Snapshot Mode", where players can pause the game and take pictures using the Nintendo Switch's button. Players are also able to alter the shot by zooming in and out, tilting the camera for a vertical shot, or apply one of several filters, ranging from blurring the surroundings, adding a sepia tone, changing the camera to a fish-eye lens, or applying an NES-styled color scheme.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Cappy

Supporting cast

 * Princess Peach
 * Tiara, Cappy's sister
 * The Toad Brigade
 * Captain Toad
 * Hint Toad
 * Banktoad
 * Yellow Toad
 * Mailtoad
 * Toadette
 * Pauline, serving as the mayor of New Donk City
 * Jaxi, a jaguar-like statue found in the Sand Kingdom that comes to life when ridden
 * Glydon, a recurring flying lizard creature that allows Mario to glide (found in the Sand Kingdom, Wooded Kingdom, Seaside Kingdom and Lost Kingdom)
 * Yoshi (found in the Mushroom Kingdom and in the Dark Side's secret areas)
 * Talkatoo, a hint-dispensing parrot
 * Uncle amiibo, a device used for connecting amiibo
 * Goombette, a pink female Goomba wearing a red hat similar to Pauline's, who can only be interacted with while capturing a Goomba. If she sees Mario himself, she disappears in fear.

Non-playable characters

 * Local residents
 * Bonneters, Hat-wearing ghost creatures that are similar to Cappy and Tiara (found primarily in Bonneton and Fossil Falls )
 * Tostarenans, skeletal townsfolk overwhelmed by ice in their region (found primarily in Tostarena)
 * Lochladies, mermaid-like creatures (found primarily in Lake Lamode)
 * Steam Gardeners, robotic teapots that water the flowers in their region (found primarily in Steam Gardens)
 * New Donkers (found primarily in New Donk City)
 * Shiverians, round, bouncy seal pup-like creatures wearing winter attire (found primarily in Shiveria)
 * Bubblainians, snail creatures (found primarily in Bubblaine)
 * Volbonans, fork-like beings in chef attire (found primarily in Mount Volbono)
 * Toads (found primarily in Peach's Castle)
 * Koopa Troopas
 * A quartet of travelling Koopa Troopas wearing caps that race Mario.
 * Fishin' Lakitus (found in the Sand and Lake Kingdoms)
 * Frogs (found in the Cap Kingdom, Moon Kingdom and on the Darker Side)
 * Rabbits
 * Dorries
 * Purple and yellow Dorries serving as Crazy Cap shops in the Seaside Kingdom
 * Blue Dorrie (found in the Mushroom Kingdom and the Lake Kingdom)
 * Sphinxes, omniscient statues that block certain pathways until a riddle is answered
 * Poochy
 * Birds exclusive to each region
 * s (found in the Metro Kingdom)
 * Green birds with yellow underbellies resembing s (found in the Sand Kingdom)
 * Little Birds (found in the Wooded Kingdom)
 * Blue birds resembling s (found in the Wooded Kingdom)
 * Red birds resembling s (found in the Cascade Kingdom)
 * White birds wearing top hats (found in the Cap Kingdom)
 * Penguins (found in the Snow Kingdom)
 * Sheep wearing sombreros (found in the Sand Kingdom) and the Mushroom Kingdom.
 * Dog (found in the Sand Kingdom, Seaside Kingdom and Moon Kingdom)

Enemies
Certain enemies will wear different gear depending on the area they are found in.

Bosses

 * The Broodals
 * Topper (found in the Cap Kingdom, Bowser's Kingdom, and Dark Side )
 * Hariet (found in the Sand Kingdom, Bowser's Kingdom, and Dark Side)
 * Spewart (found in the Wooded Kingdom, Luncheon Kingdom, and Dark Side)
 * Rango (found in the Lake Kingdom, Snow Kingdom, and Dark Side)
 * Madame Broode and Chain Chompikins (found in the Cascade Kingdom and Moon Kingdom)
 * RoboBrood (found in Bowser's Kingdom and Dark Side)
 * Mechawiggler (found in the Metro Kingdom)
 * Knucklotec (found in the Sand Kingdom)
 * Torkdrift, a UFO boss (found in the Wooded Kingdom)
 * Brigadier Mollosque-Lanceur III, a well-dressed, giant, purple octopus that attacks by spitting spiked balls (found in the Seaside Kingdom)
 * Cookatiel, a pink bird in chef attire (found in the Luncheon Kingdom)
 * Ruined Dragon, a giant dragon found in the Ruined Kingdom. It brings down the Odyssey to said kingdom when Mario initially attempts to enter Bowser's Kingdom. It attacks Mario with lightning.
 * Astro-Lanceur
 * Bowser (fought in both the Cloud Kingdom and the Moon Kingdom)

Obstacles

 * Boulder-like low-poly bell peppers (found in the Luncheon Kingdom)
 * Spiked Ball-like shells (found in the Seaside Kingdom)
 * Floating Mine-like shells (found in the Seaside Kingdom)
 * Oil Drums (found in their original arcade appearance in a 2D segment)
 * Spike Bars (found in the Seaside Kingdom)

Captures

 * Frog
 * Spark Pylon
 * Paragoomba
 * Chain Chomp
 * Big Chain Chomp
 * Chain Chompikins
 * T-Rex
 * Binoculars
 * Bullet Bill
 * Moe-Eye
 * Cactus
 * Goomba
 * Knucklotec’s Fist
 * Mini Rocket
 * Glydon
 * Lakitu
 * Zipper
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Puzzle Part (Lake Kingdom)
 * Poison Piranha Plant
 * Uproot
 * Fire Bro
 * Sherm
 * Coin Coffer
 * Tree
 * Boulder
 * Pitcure Match Part (Goomba)
 * Tropical Wiggler
 * Pole
 * Manhole
 * Taxi
 * RC Car
 * Ty-foo
 * Shiverian racer
 * Cheep Cheep (Snow Kingdom)
 * Gushen
 * Lava Bubble
 * Volbonan
 * Hammer Bro
 * Meat
 * Fire Piranha Plant
 * Pokio
 * Jizo
 * Bowser Statue
 * Parabones
 * Banzai Bill
 * Chargin’ Chuck
 * Bowser
 * MARIO Letters
 * Puzzle Part (Metro Kingdom)
 * Picture Match Part (Mario)
 * Yoshi

Kingdoms
There are seventeen named locations that Mario can explore, most of which are in what are known as "kingdoms". Each location has a specific theme, some being similar to themes seen in previous Super Mario titles, others being original themes. Some locations are based on a real-world location (e.g. Metro Kingdom's main area, New Donk City, is based on "New York City"). Bowser is after various items in some of these locations, which all tie to his preparations for his wedding.

Background
When asked about "coming home" to the Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine style of gameplay, Shigeru Miyamoto explained that when he was developing Super Mario 64 with Yoshiaki Koizumi, they realized that the title would be more directed towards the "core gamer", rather than the casual, pick-up-and-go gamer. After Super Mario Sunshine, their focus re-shifted to more accessible, casual gamers, hence encouraging them to make Super Mario Galaxy with more progression-oriented gameplay corridors.

Then in recent years, we made Super Mario 3D World and even though that's a 3D game, it's a little more accessible to everybody. [...] So when we thought about making a Mario for Switch, we wanted to make it [...] something a little bit more on the core side, that people who like action games can really get into.

As Super Mario Odyssey was developed alongside the Switch hardware, Yoshiaki Koizumi encouraged the game's developers to share their requirements and suggestions with the hardware development team. This directly led to the inclusion of the two motion-sensitive controllers and the HD rumble feature on the Nintendo Switch hardware, which became a prominent part of Super Mario Odyssey gameplay.

Early ideas and prototypes
Development for Super Mario Odyssey began right after Super Mario 3D World was released in late 2013. Miyamoto sought more senior developers and staff teams who had been involved in past 3D Mario titles, in order to really "go back to the roots" of Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. As a result, Yoshiaki Koizumi was made the game's producer, and Super Mario 3D World director Kenta Motokura again took on the role of director. Miyamoto remained with a consultative role throughout development, and although he contributed a lot of feedback, he was also very accepting of the development team's ideas. Motokura revealed that early stages of development involved creating a "huge" amount of gameplay prototypes with numerous ideas, and the capture ability was one of them.

[The capture ability] was just one of the ideas that came up, but we worked on it for two or three days, and it just instantly turned into something that was really fun, and we decided [that it should be] the center of this game.

Many of the other different prototype ideas were still included, providing for the diversity in game mechanics throughout the game's stages, known as "kingdoms". These "fully realized worlds" were said to have been inspired by the Japanese hakoniwa box gardens, that bring rich landscapes to life in a miniaturized form. The size of these worlds were often adjusted to ensure that the player can regularly discover an engaging action to perform. This was also intended to allow handheld players to still accomplish a Power Moon mission, even if they have only a few minutes to play.

Design decisions
Super Mario Odyssey ' s theme is highly focused on "surprises" and "travel", and the developers incorporated many of their travel experiences around the world. For instance, elements of the Sand Kingdom was derived from Kenta Motokura's experiences during a trip to Mexico, and the Luncheon Kingdom's food aesthetics was inspired by Italy and other European countries.

The developers recognized that when traveling to foreign countries, something that really has an impact is the different currencies. Therefore, they wanted to have Mario collect and use different Regional Coins in each kingdom. Since the player travels outside of the Mushroom Kingdom, the diverse art-style between all the different kingdoms aimed to recreate the feelings of surprise and discovery when visiting foreign lands. It was also noted that a lot of time was spent in getting the right balance between familiar Mario concepts, and completely new ones.

An example was the realistic T-Rex that is able to be captured by Mario. The developers looked back for inspiration from familiar Super Mario World elements in Dinosaur Land, although they wanted to use a design that was "unseen" in a Mario game. Familiar gameplay elements include the "8-bit" side-scrolling areas of the kingdoms, reminiscent to Super Mario Bros. in which progress is more "confined" and "precise". This was intended to be an engaging contrast to the 3D sandbox environments.

The developers knew that they wanted to have a city environment in the game that would resonate with players. As Donkey Kong-inspired elements in the city came about, Pauline's presence in the series inspired the team to have her be the mayor of New Donk City. Some character development for Pauline was required in her transition from a damsel in distress to a major character, and it was decided that she would have an interest in jazz. This led to the composition of the game's theme song shown in the E3 2017 trailer, titled "Jump Up, Super Star!", which was made to give the game energy and help get the audience excited.

To develop the game's camera system, the team looked at previous 3D Mario games. Miyamoto discussed how the 3D camera in Super Mario 64 worked very well, as it had the joystick as well as the C buttons to adjust the automatic camera. Super Mario Sunshine had the C stick in order to control the camera freely, although they received feedback that the camera control was "a little bit difficult". With later 3D titles such as Super Mario Galaxy, the minimal control of the camera also attracted some negative feedback. Miyamoto added that it's "very difficult to find the right balance". With Super Mario Odyssey, we made sure that the camera controls are really really smooth and easy to use, and the Switch controllers can really serve to that. [We] really made a sandbox-style game that's really easy and feels good to control.

Vocal Theme: Jump Up, Super Star!


A unique aspect of this title is a vocal main theme, sung by Pauline (interpreted by Kate Higgins, credited as Kate Davis). The song is big-band jazz style, and details an adventure across the worlds from this game, with Pauline referring to herself as Mario's "1-Up Girl". It was released worldwide on October 20, 2017 on the, while the short version is downloadable for free until January 2018. The song's lyrics are also printed inside both the Western and Japanese packaging on the paper part of the cover.

Super Mario Odyssey's ending also features another song sung by Pauline, called Honeylune Ridge: Escape, and has a version with Japanese lyrics as well.

Critical reception
Super Mario Odyssey has received universal acclaim. Prior to its release, EDGE Magazine gave Super Mario Odyssey a perfect score of 10, praising the game for "taking big risks with an established formula and having them all pay off handsomely". Ryan McCaffery of IGN had a similar view, also giving the game a perfect score of 10. Despite criticizing the camera controls, McCaffery was ultimately very impressed with the game, saying that it "is a brilliant adventure and love letter to the series that made Nintendo a household name". Phillip Kollar and Allegra Frank of Polygon also praised the game, scoring it 9.5 out of 10. While Allegra somewhat criticized the boss battles, the two reviewers ended with "Super Mario Odyssey is almost certain to be counted among the best games in Nintendo's star series". The game currently averages 97% on review aggregate site Metacritic (based on 67 reviews), and 98.46% on GameRankings (based on 34 reviews), making it the highest rated game on the website.

References to other games

 * Game & Watch series: The silhouette of a hat-wearing Mr. Game & Watch appears on minigame icons.
 * Donkey Kong: The location New Donk City looks to be a throwback to Mario's early origins as Jumpman. There are steel girders that resemble the ones seen in this game, and the taxi cabs have license plates reading "1981-ND", referencing the year Mario and Donkey Kong made their debut. The name New Donk City is also a reference to Donkey Kong himself. Pauline can also be found here, who originated from this game. The melody from the 25m theme can be heard halfway through the vocal theme song. The bassist can also be heard playing the 25m theme when Mario first finds him. Also, the sound effect played when Mario jumps over a barrel in the game can be heard at the end of the aforementioned riff. During the New Donk City festival, if the player does not talk with Pauline, she'll at one point dance by thrusting her hips back and forth, mirroring her sprite animation from the original Arcade game. In an 8-bit segment using sprites from this game in New Donk City, Mario must dodge barrels while climbing girders. Oil Drums also appear, along with Coins spelling out "DK". Pauline's original design (then known as Lady), as well as Donkey Kong's original design, also makes a brief cameo as a graffiti art on a building. Pauline's purple sunhat in her standard attire may be a reference to the Pauline's lost items from the game. In addition, the lost items were twice referenced in the side mission "Personal Request for the Mayor", one in regards to selecting a parasol, a hat, and a purse regarding her treasured items, while the other is hunting down Pauline's gift, with all options being the aforementioned items. In addition, in the same sidequest, one of her questions mentions what had happened in her past involved being abducted by a giant ape, referring to the plot of Donkey Kong. Mario's Classic Cap and Classic Suit costume is based on his classic outfit in Donkey Kong.
 * Super Mario Bros.: Several parts of the game allow Mario to walk within walls from a 2D perspective, uses sprites and sound effects from that game, as well as altering the stage music to an 8-bit variation. A remix of the overworld theme from this game plays in the New Donk City Auditorium. Final Boss music from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser. With its sunglasses on, Moe-Eye sometimes hums the first few notes of the overworld theme as well as the ending theme from this game while walking around.
 * Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course: Mario's Stars and Stripes outfit originates from this game.
 * Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally: One of Mario's outfits originates from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: The music that plays in the slots minigame room is an arrangement of the minigame music from this game. The sound effect that plays when using a Rocket Flower is the sound effect that plays when the P Meter is full in this game. Final Boss music from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser. The regional coins in the Lost Kingdom resemble Super Leaves.
 * : The Sombrero and Poncho originate from the Game Boy version of this game.
 * Super Mario Land: Mario traverses through several kingdoms, similarly to how he explores the four kingdoms of Sarasaland. Several enemies of the Sand Kingdom resemble enemies from this game. One notable enemy is the Moe-Eye, with glasses similar to the Moai statues found in the Easton Kingdom.
 * Dr. Mario: Mario's Doctor Outfit originates from this game.
 * Super Mario World: A piano remix of this game's overworld and underwater themes can be heard on radios in New Donk City. When controlled by Mario, Moe-Eye sometimes hums the game's ending theme while walking around with its sunglasses on. Sprites of Fuzzies from this game are used when Fuzzies appear in 8-bit segments. A remix of the music that plays in this game during the bonus areas plays in some of the challenge areas. Final Boss music from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser.
 * NES Open Tournament Golf: Mario's Stars and Stripes outfit is iconically used in this game.
 * Mario Paint: Mario's Painter's outfit from this game's artwork appears.
 * Super Mario Kart: A cover of Mario Circuit's music from this game is used in the RC Car Challenge in New Donk City.
 * Super Mario All-Stars: Mario's magician outfit originates from this game.
 * Yoshi's Cookie: One of Mario's Chef Outfit originates from the NES version of this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country series: In addition to New Donk City being named after Donkey Kong, characters' names from this series appear as street signs such as Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Tiny Kong, Cranky Kong, Candy Kong, Rambi the Rhino, Expresso the Ostrich, Squawks the Parrot, and King K. Rool. Diddy Kong is also the basis of an outfit and cap Mario can wear.
 * Mario's Picross: The Explorer Hat and Explorer Outfit originate from this game.
 * Super Mario 64: Super Mario Odyssey is considered a spiritual successor to both this game and Super Mario Sunshine. The structure of the kingdoms carry over what was established in this game, such as the lack of a time limit and having areas change each time the player visits them, based on what the player has previously completed. This game also first introduced utilizing variations of Mario's Cap as power-ups. The number on Mario's football jersey is "64". There is a minigame involving foot racing Koopa Troopas, much like with Koopa the Quick. Mario can jump into some paintings in specific kingdoms to get to other kingdoms. Mario's idle animation is similar to this game, in which he falls asleep and begins to mutter about various pastas. The jingle that plays when collecting a non-plot-specific Power Moon is a remix of the "Course Clear" jingle from this game, though the original jingle plays when collecting a Power Star in the Mushroom Kingdom. There is an outfit and cap, aptly named "Mario 64 Suit" and "Mario 64 Cap" respectively, that when both are equipped, will change Mario's clothes and face to the polygon-like texture used in this game. Another outfit and cap, called "Metal Mario Suit" and "Metal Mario Cap" respectively, changes Mario into his metal form in this game. Yoshi can be found on the rooftop of Peach's Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom just like in this game. Final Boss music from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser. Mario can perform this game’s variation of the Spin Jump when he jumps off one of the red, bouncy flowers found in-game.
 * Mario Party 2: The cowboy outfit closely resembles the one Mario uses in the Mario Party 2 board, Western Land. Similarly, in the post-game, Peach when she's encountered at the Cascade Kingdom, Wooded Kingdom, and Lost Kingdom wears similar outfits to the one she wore for the Mystery Land board from the same game.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: Super Mario Odyssey is the first 3D main series game since Super Mario Sunshine to feature open sandbox-style levels. Additionally, Mario can once again sidle while grabbing on a ledge. Mario retains this game’s version of the Spin Jump move as well. Some areas feature platforming challenges without the aid of Cappy, similarly to some of the secret courses in this game requiring completion without the aid of F.L.U.D.D. The Gushen enemy capture grants Mario abilities very similar to F.L.U.D.D's various nozzles, including the ability to clean burning goop in the Seaside Kingdom, being propelled forward upon the surface of a body of water, and providing a method of defeating Mollusque-Lanceur which is very similar to how numerous bosses in Sunshine are defeated (dousing in water by hovering from above). Isle Delfino, the main setting of this game, is visually referenced on the world atlas present on an Japanese billboard advertisement for Super Mario Odyssey.
 * Super Mario Galaxy series: The animation of Mario and Cappy getting a Multi Moon is similar to Mario getting a Grand Star in these games. The low health buzzer sound also plays when Mario is low on health. Ground-Pound Switches also reappear. Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade together with the Toad Brigade theme, appears in the game. The Life-Up Heart functions exactly like the Life Mushroom from these games. Mario's idle animation of falling asleep is similar to these games. The regional coins for the Mushroom Kingdom are Purple Coins. The sound clip of Mario when he touches lava is reused from these games. The currency in the Moon Mingdom resembles Star Bits. Rosalina has a sprite of her doing a spinning jump found in a wall on the Darkest Side of the Moon. . The jingle that plays when the Odyssey is restored is a remix of the jingle that plays when Mario collects a new power-up in these games. A few of Yoshi's sound clips are reused from Super Mario Galaxy 2 as well as being able to find him in eggs. With its sunglasses on, Moe-Eye sometimes hums Gusty Garden Galaxy's music from this game. Also, there is a musical Easter Egg in the Pause Menu, where it plays one of few different notes. If one combines them right, they will hear the Comet Observatory theme from this game.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: The Tail Tree appears in the Mushroom Kingdom. The invincibility theme, when tapping any Mario amiibo, is taken from this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: Gold Mario appears as an unlockable outfit.
 * Super Mario 3D World: Some of the elements and sound effects are reused in this game. Cat Mario's Costume Mario sprite from Super Mario Maker can be seen in walls of the kingdoms, on the side of one of the skyscrapers in New Donk City, a building in Tostarena, and a pillar in the Mt. Volbono region; and Cat Peach's sprite can be seen behind the right black-colored wall in the New Donk City Auditorium and on the base of the lighthouse in the Seaside Kingdom. Captain Toad retains his design from this game.
 * Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: The Jaxi maze in Tostarena uses the same arrangement of the Super Mario Bros. underground theme from this game. Toadette returns and retains her outfit from this game.
 * Super Mario Maker: The Builder Helmet and Builder Outfit originate from this game. Sprites of Cat Mario and Cat Peach can be found in hidden areas of most of the kingdoms. Koopa Shells retain their spinning animation from this game's Super Mario Bros. style. A remix of the Super Mario Bros.-style airship theme plays from this game in the intro cutscene.

Trivia

 * Super Mario Odyssey is the first ever Mario series title to receive a B rating by the in Japan. All other titles released prior have been rated at A. Similarly, Super Mario Odyssey is the first Super Mario series title to receive "Everyone 10+" by  in North America. All other titles released prior have been rated E.
 * This is the first 3D Mario game where Luigi doesn't make a physical appearance since Super Mario Sunshine.
 * Although Isle Delfino appeared on a world map prior to Super Mario Odyssey's release, it doesn't appear in the final game.