‘Super Mario Odyssey’ Release Date Announced, New Gameplay Trailer Revealed

Nintendo announced at E3 2017 that “Super Mario Odyssey” will be made available to the Switch console on Oct. 27. As part of the announcement, Nintendo released a brand new trailer for the game showing off its brand new gameplay.

“Super Mario Odyssey” appears to be a spiritual successor to “Super Mario 64,” which came out for the Nintendo 64 back in 1996. “Super Mario Odyssey” features the same sandbox-style gaming elements, but Mario is able to travel through different worlds that are way beyond the realm of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Nintendo first showed off the “Super Mario Odyssey” earlier this year, but didn’t give out much details on actual gameplay. At E3 2017, the Japanese gaming firm not only announced its Oct. 27 release date, but also showed off the unique and inventive new gameplay mechanics of “Super Mario Odyssey.”

We’ve already seen that Mario will be accompanied by his new sentient hat called Cappy, but with the new gameplay trailer, Nintendo revealed that Cappy is actual a vital new tool to play the game as well. Cappy can be thrown at other characters and objects in order for Mario to transform into them.

The new trailer shows that Cappy can be thrown at almost everything within the game. The trailer even shows Mario transforming into a T. Rex, which players will be able to control in the game.

This new core mechanic for “Super Mario Odyssey” replaces Mario’s traditional power ups that’s been a staple in the franchise. This is a way to keep “Super Mario” fresh, by giving players a more unique and inventive of playing Mario.

With the Nintendo Switch, players will also be able to throw Mario’s hat by simulating the tossing gesture with the JoyCon controllers. However, the motion controls seem to be still imprecise, according to The Verge.

Aside from transforming into other characters or objects, Cappy can also be thrown to break down walls and collect coins. Players can also swing the hat to damage nearby enemies. Mario’s hat can also be used for navigating through hurdles within the game. Players can hold down on the throw button and Cappy can hover in the air for a few seconds so Mario can hop on it.

“We started the project by taking Super Mario’s theme of surprise and simply riffing on that to come up with things that were purely fun,” director Kenta Motokura said, according to Kotaku. “The result of that was, the team just came up with a seemingly endless stream of fun prototypes. We wanted to use all of them, and so we thought sandbox spaces would be the best way to play all of those fun ideas.”

All throughout the game, players will also have to collect Power Moons, this is “Super Mario Odyssey’s” version of Stars and Shines. Power Moons are required in order to progress through the game’s different worlds.

Although collecting Power Moons is required in “Super Mario Odyssey,” the game won’t force players to collect specific one in order to make progress. “The game is designed so you can explore and play without interruption. And no matter which Power Moons you collect, you’ll still be able to advance the story,” Motokura said.