Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is a platforming game for the Nintendo Switch released on October 27, 2017. It is the eighteenth title in the Super Mario series and the sixth 3D Mario title on a home console after Super Mario 3D World. The game has sandbox-like elements and revolves around Mario exploring Earth-based settings, similar to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, with his new partner Cappy. Unique to this game, Mario is able to throw Cappy onto certain enemies and objects, allowing Mario to take control of them. Mario can also dress in different costumes, several being based of previous games.

The game allows for two-player co-op, allowing a second character to use a single Joy-Con to control Cappy independently from Mario. The game also has online functionality, which allows players to compare their times/scores in certain events. In addition, amiibo can be used to unlock certain costumes early, as well as obtain free hints towards the locations of Power Moons and regional coins.

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 punches the ground as Mario jumps backwards. Bowser jumps at Mario and shoots fire at him which misses. Bowser then throws his hat at Mario which misses while knocking Mario's cap of his head, and then turns around hitting Mario, sending him flying. Bowser then takes his airship towards the skies, as he prepares a forced marriage to Peach. He leaves Mario's cap adrift into the ship's back propellers, shredding it in the process. A piece is obtained by Cappy, who eventually finds Mario in Bonneton, located in the Cap Kingdom.

Afterwards, Cappy pokes Mario. Mario wakes up, surprising Cappy, and catches up with him after he flees. The Cappy reveals himself, 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 the Mario 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, named Topper, Mario and Cappy use a Spark pylon to travel to Fossil Falls of the Cascade Kingdom, where they find the airship, named the Odyssey, which uses Power Moons as energy to travel. Soon after, Mario and Cappy find and defeat Madame Broode, the boss of the Broodals, and her Chain Chomp. Using the power of the Multi Moon obtained from Madame Broode, the Odyssey is ready for sail, and Mario and Cappy use it to chase after Bowser and the Broodals.

Mario and Cappy travel though several kingdoms. After going through Tostarena of the Sand Kingdom, Lake Lamode of the Lake Kingdom, and the Steam Gardens of the Wooded Kingdom, they encounter and defeat Bowser in the Nimbus Arena of the Cloud Kingdom. Bowser then shoots at the Odyssey, causing it to crash and land in the Forgotten Isle of the Lost Kingdom.

After Mario rescues Cappy from a Klepto and collects more Power Moons to restore the Odyssey, they travel through New Donk City of the Metro Kingdom, Shiveria of the Snow Kingdom, Bubblaine of the Seaside Kingdom, and Mount Volbono of the Luncheon Kingdom. They then attempt to enter Bowser's Castle in Bowser's Kingdom; however, they are encountered by Bowser before they get there. Instead of fighting Mario and Cappy, Bowser orders the Ruined Dragon to attack the Odyssey. This causes the ship to fall to Crumbleden of the Ruined Kingdom, where Mario and Cappy directly fight and defeat the Ruined Dragon. After restoring the Odyssey again, they finally go to Bowser's Castle 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 they recover another Multi Moon. They then head off to Honeylune Ridge of the Moon Kingdom to stop the marriage between Bowser and Peach. They interrupt the wedding as Bowser is attempting to put the Binding Band that was previously stolen from Tostarena on Peach. Bowser then stomps the floor, revealing a trap door under Mario and Cappy. Cappy grabs Mario by the fingers and tries to pull him out of the trap door, but his hands slip, causing him to drop Mario and fall into it himself. 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 Rocket Flower and Bowser offering a Soirée Bouquet. However, Peach rejects them both and leaves with Cappy and Tiara. Mario and Bowser get upset, but Peach then calls from the Odyssey, saying, "Let's go home!" As the ship takes off, Mario and Bowser run after it. While Mario successfully jumps on it, he stomps on Bowser, leaving Bowser stuck on the moon.

The Odyssey later lands in the Mushroom Kingdom near Peach's Castle, 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 Rabbit Ridge of the dark side of the moon and Culmina Crater of the darker side of the moon in the process. Meanwhile, Peach and Tiara travel the kingdoms on Peach's "own terms," while finding Power Moons themselves.

Gameplay
Super Mario Odyssey returns to the explorative sandbox-like gameplay seen in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, where Mario explores various areas in order to collect Power Moons to power the Odyssey airship to fly from kingdom to kingdom. There is no central hub world, as the Odyssey is rather used to move from one location to the others. Mario maintains his moveset from previous 3D titles, including the Triple Jump, Long Jump, Side Somersault, Backwards Somersault, Roll, Ground Pound, Ground Pound Jump, Spin Jump, and the returning Dive. 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 for a long range attack, he can use Cappy as an extra platform to bypass obstacles, use Cappy in conjunction with his dive move to cross large distances, and can also "capture" certain objects and enemies to take control of them, replacing the traditional power-up system seen in the previous Super Mario games since Super Mario Galaxy. There are 52 capturable targets in total.

The game also features a co-op mode. During this mode the second player as Cappy automatically hovers over the first player's head until they press the button where they gain independent movement, where they act as an animate Cap Throw. When the second player is hovering over the first player's head they can move the stick on their Joy-Con to move Cappy three hundred sixty degrees. When the second player is hovering over the first player's head the first player can still perform all actions with Cappy as in normal gameplay, however they cannot perform these actions when the second player is not hovering above them. If the second player while being independent from the first player presses the button again they will automatically travel back to the first player's head until they press the  button again. The camera follows the first player in this mode, and due to this the second player can only fly a certain distance away from the first player until they are stopped by an invisible wall. When the first player walks a certain distance away from the second player the second player will be pushed towards the first player.

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 and Game Overs) in the game making this the only 3D Mario game not to feature them, as Mario instead loses ten Coins upon dying. 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 to buy items for the Odyssey and costumes. amiibo support includes Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a new character called Uncle amiibo, which unlocks more costumes, including ones based on Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and Diddy Kong. ; others reveal Power Moon locations on the map, though the latter four amiibo also do that before unlocking the costumes. This is also the case for the new "wedding" variants of the former three amiibo.

The game features a "Snapshot Mode", where players can suspend the game with and take screenshots. 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, Game Boy, or SNES-styled color scheme.

Super Mario Odyssey is playable in 13 languages: English, European French, Canadian French, German, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean.

Balloon World


Balloon World is a minigame similar to that was added to Super Mario Odyssey in a free update released on February 21, 2018. In order to play, Mario must find Luigi in a kingdom and talk to him to begin. Mario is given a balloon that he can hide in spots around the kingdom for other players to find. Mario can also find balloons that other players around the world have already hidden. There is a time limit for placing and finding the balloons.

Birds

 * Top hat-wearing Little Birds (Cap Kingdom)
 * Red birds resembling s (Cascade Kingdom)
 * Green-and-yellow birds resembling s (Sand Kingdom)
 * Pink birds with scaled wings (Lake Kingdom)
 * Blue birds resembling s (Wooded Kingdom)
 * White doves (Cloud Kingdom)
 * Pigeons (Metro Kingdom)
 * Seagulls (Seaside Kingdom)
 * Penguins (Snow Kingdom)
 * Birds resembling dollops of whipped cream (Luncheon Kingdom)
 * Brown birds resembling s (Bowser's Kingdom)
 * Small UFO-like beings that resemble Torkdrift (Moon Kingdom)
 * Little Birds (Mushroom Kingdom)

Others

 * Insects
 * Giant dragonflies (Cascade Kingdom, Bowser's Kingdom)
 * Butterflies that resemble s (Wooded Kingdom)
 * Monotone butterflies that come one of four different colors: blue, green, pink or purple (Lost Kingdom)
 * Giant multi-colored butterflies (Lost Kingdom)
 * Butterflies that resemble s (Mushroom Kingdom)
 * Lizards (Sand Kingdom)
 * Hawks (Sand Kingdom)
 * Chipmunks (Wooded Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom)
 * Pink crabs (Lake Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom)
 * Rats (Metro Kingdom, Mushroom Kingdom)
 * Yellow crabs (Seaside Kingdom)
 * Bats (Ruined Kingdom)
 * Fishes
 * Salmon (Wooded Kingdom)
 * Multi-colored lake fishes (Lake Kingdom)
 * Goldfish (Seaside Kingdom)
 * Koi (Bowser's Kingdom)

Enemies
Certain enemies will wear different gear depending on the area they are found in. Enemies whose use is mandatory to advance, such as capturable enemies, respawn shortly after getting defeated or after being captured. De-capturing an enemy leaves it in a short dizzy state, which offers the player another chance to capture it before it disappears and respawns at the place it was first encountered.

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 ). 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.

Music
A unique aspect of this title is a vocal main theme, "Jump Up, Super Star!", 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 with lyrics, called "Break Free (Lead the Way)", and has a version with Japanese lyrics as well.

On December 21, 2017, Nintendo announced an original soundtrack album for the game, which was released in Japan on February 28, 2018. The album contains four discs with 136 tracks in total, as well as two stickers and a booklet containing concept art of Pauline and comments from the staff. Additionally, the Super Mario Odyssey Sound Selection containing 12 tracks was released worldwide on the iTunes Store on December 22, 2017.

On the weekend of September 15-16 2018 the Super Mario Orchestra Concert took place, where music from Super Mario Odyssey was played as well as tracks from other games such as Yoshi's Story and Super Mario 64.

Nintendo Switch bundle
A Super Mario Odyssey themed Nintendo Switch bundle was available on launch day (with the exception of South Korea, which was released on April 26, 2018).



Starter pack
A starter pack for Super Mario Odyssey with a strategy guide was released on September 28, 2018 in North America.

Updates
Note that in order to play online, players must have downloaded the most recent software update.

Ver. 1.0.1
An update was released on October 27, 2017. The following changes were made:
 * Several fixes have been made to enhance the user’s experience.

Ver. 1.1.0
An update was released on November 30, 2017. The following change was made:
 * Added Korean-language support.

Ver. 1.2.0
An update was released on February 21, 2018. The following changes were made:
 * After completing the game a new mini-game “Balloon World” will now be playable.
 * Talk to Luigi in any of the kingdoms to start playing.
 * After completing the game, a number of special outfits will be added to the shop.
 * A number of new filters have been added to Snapshot Mode.
 * Jump-Rope Challenge has been adjusted so that there will be a speed change after reaching 110 jumps.
 * World Rankings and Friend Rankings have been reset for Jump-Rope Challenge.
 * Best records will not be reset.
 * Fixed a number of issues to improve the gameplay experience.

Talkatoo Camera Lock
If the player performs a Cap Throw at Talkatoo and talks to him at the same time, the camera will lock into place. Additionally, if the player performs a somersault and quickly turns the camera to face Talkatoo, he will be standing in midair. This glitch can be used to cheat the Jump-Rope Challenge in the Metro Kingdom and get a maximum score of 99,999 jumps. The player can return to regular ground by shaking their controller or pressing and can end the glitch completely by entering into another area such as the Crazy Cap shop or by speaking to someone else. If the player performs this glitch and performs a Cap Throw at a scarecrow, the screen will move the position as it normally would and freeze there instead. If the player performs this glitch and captures a pair of Binoculars]] or a spark pylon, the screen will not move and inside the Binoculars the vision is that of what is usually inside a pair of Binoculars.

As of the February 21, 2018 update, this glitch has been patched, with the worldwide and friends rankings for the Jump-Rope Challenge having been reset.

Dog Jumping in Air
If the player bounces off of the dog when it is in midair, the dog will remain in midair for a while before jumping again. Consecutively repeating this glitch allows the player to gain immense jump height as long as they keep performing Cap Throws in between to maintain their height. This glitch can be performed in any kingdom the dog appears in.

Take Letters Anywhere
In New Donk City's park, if the player captures the letters in the Metro Kingdom and lines them up so at least one is on the boundary of the park and the "M" is facing towards the Odyssey, they can use a Motor Scooter to push said M into the other letter. By doing this, they will be able to capture the letter and take it out of bounds, letting them bring it anywhere they want in the city. This then has various effects throughout the level.

Notable mistakes and errors

 * The game's Prima guide erroneously leaves out the "Stack Up Above the Wall" Power Moon.

Pre-release and unused content
The pre-release boxart of the game featured Mario in the Sand Kingdom wearing a sombrero and poncho. The final box art was changed to him being in the Lake Kingdom due to supposed criticisms about the appearance of a "Mexican Mario" on the box art and being described as a negative stereotype of the Mexican people.

During the E3 playthrough of this game, certain items had different names. Multi Moons were originally called "Grand Moons," and the Binding Band was simply referred to as the "Wedding Ring." The regional coins of the Sand and Metro Kingdoms were called "Pyramid Coins" and "City Coins" respectively, but are not used in the final game. Additionally, the mission Showdown on the Inverted Pyramid was named "Inverted Pyramid Showdown."

During the Nintendo Switch Presentation trailer, Cappy was not shown with eyes. Similarly, during the Switch Presentation and E3 trailers, Peach's tiara is shown as a regular tiara rather than Tiara herself. Both were most likely done to avoid revealing the characters too soon. Also during the Switch Presentation trailer, the electronic billboard for Steam Gardens found in New Donk City showed that the location was originally named "Kogwald."

There were also minor details that were changed, such as the hat on the door of the Odyssey being much smaller, and the Metro Kingdom's Power Moons being more bronze than brown. Several of the quotes uttered by NPCs are different than in the final game, such as the RC Car driver in New Donk City originally saying, "Is there a better way to spend free time? Nope." before it was changed to, "How are my kids so good at this?" The HUD during the E3 demo did not feature the instructions to press to view the map and  for the menu, or the compass underneath the Health Meter. When there is only one hit point left, the Health Meter flashes differently than in the final game. When the player acquired a Life-Up Heart, the extra health meter was colored green alongside the first one instead of light blue.

In New Donk City, there are signs present in certain areas that are not in the final game, and the Mayor Pauline Commemorative Park has a rocket ship taking the player to a bonus area. In the final game, the player must first find a hidden room inside a building, reach the pipe at the end, and they will be taken to a hidden area with said rocket. The rooftop pool beside the top of city hall was significantly deeper in the E3 demo, with the water level being just over Mario's head; in the final game, the water level approximately reaches Mario's neck. It is likely that this change was due to the original water level leaving Mario susceptible to drowning, as demonstrated in a YouTube video uploaded by gaming news site Polygon during E3. Additionally, an unused sprite of an 8-bit Metro Kingdom regional coin exists in the game's files, but was left unused in the final game due to the minimal presence of 8-bit sections in that kingdom.

Critical reception
Super Mario Odyssey has received widespread critical 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". Andrew Webster of The Verge called the game "A weird, wild world bursting with ideas" praising how the game was always surprising saying "Because each world is so different from the last, I found myself constantly discovering things I didn’t expect or hadn’t seen before" Peter Brown of Gamespot praised the game for its variety of platforming challenges and puzzles and how "The opportunities introduced by possessing others isn't just an easy source of laughs, but also works hand in hand with Odyssey's ever-present challenges.", while criticizing how some of Cappy's action require motion controls. He gave the game a 10/10. Dave Their of Forbes praised how unique the game was saying "Super Mario Odyssey is a wide-open challenge that never stops changing, even dozens of hours in." while heavily criticizing the game's motion controls. He gave the game a 9.5/10. The game currently averages 97% on review aggregate site Metacritic (based on 67 reviews), and 97.42% on GameRankings (based on 58 reviews), making it the third-highest rated game on the website.

Awards and acknowledgements
Super Mario Odyssey was nominated for six awards at The Game Awards 2017, winning one, in the following categories:


 * "Game of the Year" (Nominated). Lost to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
 * "Best Game Direction" (Nominated). Lost to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
 * "Best Score/Music" (Nominated). Lost to .
 * "Best Audio Design" (Nominated). Lost to .
 * "Best Action/Adventure Game" (Nominated). Lost to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
 * "Best Family Game" (Won). Other nominees were Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Sales
By December 31, 2017, Super Mario Odyssey had sold 9.07 million copies worldwide. By March 31, 2018, it reached 10.41 million copies, making it the best-selling game for the Nintendo Switch. As of January 31, 2019 it reached 13.76 million copies, although Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 15.02 million copies worldwide, lowering Super Mario Odyssey to the second best-selling first-party game for the Nintendo Switch.

Producers

 * Yoshiaki Koizumi
 * Koichi Hayashida

Director

 * Kenta Motokura

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 is a throwback to Mario's early origins. 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 "Jump Up, Super Star!", as well as during the ending cutscene variation of "Break Free (Lead the Way)". 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 in "Jump Up, Super Star". 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. The Classic Cap and Classic Suit outfit is based on Mario's classic outfit in Donkey Kong.
 * Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi: Pauline being the lead singer in The Super Mario Players band was potentially derived from her role in one of the modes for the canceled Family Computer game.
 * Super Mario Bros.: Several parts of the game allow Mario to walk within walls from a 2D perspective, uses sprites and sound effects from this game, as well as altering the stage music to an 8-bit variation. An arrangement of the overworld theme from this game plays in the New Donk City Auditorium. The castle theme 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. A replica of Super Mario Bros. can be played at New Donk City where Mario traverses through World 1-1. The 1-Up jingle can be heard in two separate parts when one pauses and unpauses the game.
 * Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course: Mario's Stars and Stripes outfit originates from this game.
 * Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally: The Mechanic Suit and Mechanic Cap outfit originates from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario holds and throws vegetables found in the Luncheon Kingdom the same way as he does in this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: The music that plays in the slots minigame room and the Picture Match areas 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. The final boss and its battle theme from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser. Jizo Statues in Bowser's Kingdom resemble the original design of Statue Mario.
 * : The Sombrero and Poncho originate from the Game Boy version of this game.
 * Super Mario Land: A notable species is the Moe-Eyes, with glasses similar to the Moai statues and enemies found in the Easton Kingdom in this game.
 * Dr. Mario: Mario's Doctor Outfit originates from this game.
 * Super Mario World: A piano arrangement 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. An arrangement of the music that plays in this game during the bonus areas plays in some of the challenge areas. The final boss and its battle theme from this game plays when Mario captures Bowser. Yoshi's House is set up in the same way as it is in this game (with a fireplace and three trees acting as shelter), with the notice even starting with the words "Hello! Sorry I'm not home, but I've gone to". This reference was kept in the German and Spanish localizations but not the French.
 * NES Open Tournament Golf: Mario's Stars and Stripes outfit is iconically used in this game.
 * Mario Paint: Mario's Painter's outfit, Black Tuxedo and Conductor outfit from this game's artwork appears.
 * Super Mario Kart: A cover of the music that plays in the Mario Circuit courses from this game plays during the RC Car Challenge in New Donk City.
 * Super Mario All-Stars: Mario's black top hat 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.
 * Mario Party 2: Peach's Explorer outfit, and to a lesser extent Mario's outfit, bears some resemblance to their outfits in Mystery Land of that 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 caps as power-ups. The number on Mario's football jersey and baseball uniform 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 similar to 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. The scene of Mario fighting Bowser in this game and the music that plays when fighting Bowser plays when Mario captures Bowser, and can also be heard during a part of "Break Free (Lead the Way)". Mario can perform this game's variation of the Spin Jump when he jumps off one of the red, bouncy flowers found in-game. The backyard in Peach's castle from this game returns, and it and the castle proper are set to an arrangement of the location's original music cue, "Inside the Castle Walls." The jingle that plays when the player has triggered an event returns. The map that Hint Toad consults is a map of Bob-omb Battlefield. Torkdrift is also a notable Spindrift. There is also promotional art of Mario swinging Bowser by the tail, a reference to the method of defeating Bowser in this game. Finally, the post-credits ending screen reuses Mario's dialogue line "Thank you so much for-a playing my 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 slide 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 . When Mario stands in smoke or the poison spit out by Poison Piranha Plants, he gets covered in soot or the poison, resembling him being covered in goop from this game. Through an update released on February 21, 2018, Mario can receive the outfit and sunglasses like he got from the Sunglasses vendor.
 * Super Mario Galaxy / Super Mario Galaxy 2: 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 sound clip of Mario when he touches lava is reused from these games. The currency in the Moon Kingdom resembles Star Bits and is described as such. Rosalina has a sprite of her doing a spinning jump found on a vegetable on the Dark Side of the Moon and in a wall on the Darker Side of the Moon. The jingle that plays when the Odyssey is restored is reused from 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 selects the right options, the player 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. Bowser attacks by stomping to creating fire rings and swinging his tail, similar to this game. The regional coins of the Lost Kingdom look similar to how the Super Leaves look in this game. Statue Mario's design appears when controlling the Jizo Statues.
 * Mario Kart 7: Some of Lakitu's voice clips are reused 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. When the Broodals are defeated together, the fireworks of their faces explodes in the sky, similar to how Bowser turns into a firework of his face when he is defeated in the final battle. The bonus areas in Dark Side are harder or alternate versions of previously visited bonus areas similar to the levels in World Mushroom and World Flower from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Mario's Mechanic Outfit features some logos of sponsors appearing in the game, including Bowser Oil.
 * 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. When encountering Captain Toad in the Lost Kingdom, he mentions he was dropped by a giant bird, but a different bird than usual.
 * 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. An arrangement of the Super Mario Bros.-style airship theme plays during cutscenes with Bowser (where his airship flies away). The sprite for Bowser in the 2D sections is the same as the sprite used when Bowser is seen when Mario collects a Big Mushroom in this game.

References in other games

 * Super Mario Run: An event was held in this game featuring Super Mario Odyssey-themed statues for the Kingdom Builder mode.
 * Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: The Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS versions of this game include stages inspired by several kingdoms, such as Uptown, Downtown being based on the Metro Kingdom.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Aesthetically, Mario's Cap has been replaced by Cappy. One of Mario's new taunts will have him spin Cappy around, which references Mario's Cap Throw action, as well as the Spin Throw. Cappy's eyes are also visible during the Super Jump Punch. Additionally, the coins randomly produced from Mario's Super Jump Punch have been redesigned to the regional coins from the Metro Kingdom, which also reuse the same sound effect when they are collected in Super Mario Odyssey. One of Mario's new costumes is his Wedding tux costume. Finally, New Donk City Hall appears as a new stage, where Pauline and The Super Mario Players will be visible in the background. Touching all the Super Mario Players members, including Pauline, will have them sing "Jump Up, Super Star!", the game's main theme song. Cappy and Pauline also appears as spirits.

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. According to the ESRB, this is because of the following content contained in the game: the ways the enemies are defeated, the capture of a cartoony military tank (the enemy Sherm) to fire large cannonballs at Mechawiggler and the large explosion that occurs upon the defeat of the latter, the various punches landed at Bowser during his fights, and the pink liquid trails that Cookatiel spits out towards Mario during its boss fight.
 * Although prior Mario media have featured Bowser trying to initiate a forced marriage with Princess Peach, such as the anime Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?" and the Super Mario Adventures comic, Odyssey is the first time such a plot line occurred in one of the games and second to have Bowser and Peach marry, with Super Paper Mario being the first, but with Count Bleck planning it instead.