It’s been a month since Super Mario Maker 2 came out, and I’ve spent quite a lot of time building courses. Personally, the Game Style that is my favorite is Super Mario 3D World, as it offers the most unique and enjoyable experience for me. From the Koopa Troopa Car to Cat Mario , Super Mario Maker 2 undeniably has some unique parts to choose from. After a month of playing though, I’m really starting to want another Game Style. There are a few that could really work in Super Mario Maker 2, but one game stands out to me, Super Mario Odyssey.
Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey was released on October 27th, 2017, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. The game was developed and published by Nintendo. Super Mario Odyssey shied away from the linear gameplay of previous titles, and went back to the roots of the series following Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine with a sandbox style of gameplay. The game received many awards and universal acclaim. Super Mario Odyssey sold incredibly well, selling 14.44 Million units as of March 2019.
Cappy
After seeing how well Nintendo managed to implement Super Mario 3D World into the game, I really would love to see them do it with Super Mario Odyssey. Super Mario Odyssey is an incredible game that offers a uniqueness that no other Mario game does. The game introduced everyone to Cappy, Mario’s main ally in Super Mario Odyssey. In Super Mario Odyssey, Cappy has a wide range of abilities, from being thrown to even being used to capture enemies! Cappy can be thrown a wide variety of ways, which all can help benefit you when trying to defeat an enemy or obstacle. Let’s go over the main ways you can throw Cappy.
- Straight throw – Basically you toss Cappy directly in front of you, the most simple throw
- Circular throw – Here Mario tosses Cappy in a circle and he spins in a circle 6 times, gradually expanding the radius.
- Upwards throw – This is a straight throw but directly upwards.
- Homing throw – Here Mario can throw Cappy and control him for a short bit after, it does extend his range while using.
So where does all of this come into play in Super Mario Maker 2? The possibilities are endless. You can have jump off of Cappy to reach places that Mario couldn’t without him, which would add a whole new level to gameplay. Also, when the player is Small Mario (no power ups, one hit kills you), Mario could be without Cappy. Only getting a Super Mushroom would grant the player Cappy. These features with Cappy would allow for very challenging platforming sections in levels, and would give players much more creativity to make their courses unique. But that’s just the basics of Cappy. Next, let’s take a dive into enemies.
Enemies
EnemiesSuper Mario Odyssey has a wide variety of enemies. There are a ton of them in the game, and almost all of them are unique. Yes, you have your Goombas and Hammer Bros, but you also have Sherms(Tanks) and a T-Rex! All of the enemies kind of have their own theme tied to the Kingdom you are in too, which could add an interesting twist when picking a Course Theme. There are so many enemies who would make a perfect fit in Super Mario Maker 2, so I’ll list the ones I think have the most potential in no particular order. I will focus on the enemies that are exclusive to Super Mario Odyssey.
- Magmato – The Magmato is from the Luncheon Kingdom, the food and chef based Kingdom inside Super Mario Odyssey. The Magmato is basically an angry tomato, that will roll towards the player until it touches them. The player can either jump on the Magmato or hit it with Cappy to defeat it. When it is defeated, the Magmato melts into a puddle of Magma, which is very dangerous unless you have captured a Lava Bubble. This could add for some very interesting platforming. You could be running up or down a slope with a Magmato behind you, or have a Magmato turn into a puddle on a blinking block.
- Tropical Wiggler – The Tropical Wiggler is from the Lost Kingdom, the Kingdom where Mario gets deserted about midway through Super Mario Odyssey. The Tropical Wiggler is a stretching enemy, who will stretch their spike covered body then shrink once at a destination. The Tropical Wiggler’s head has a flower on it, and it is the only part of their body that doesn’t have a spike on it. Each other piece of their body has one sharp spike on it. They can go in any direction in Super Mario Odyssey, but with Super Mario Maker 2 being 2.5D, they would only go left or right. You could have a couple Tropical Wigglers going across a flat platform that you have to get across to beat the level. This would add some difficulty to the level unless the player had Cappy, which the creator has control over.
- Sherms – The Sherms are primarily from the Wooded Kingdom, the forest Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey. They also show up in the Metro Kingdom, or New Donk City, the metropolitan city Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. Sherms are tanks that will shoot projectiles at the player. The projectile travels in a straight line from where the Sherm shoots it, it is not a homing projectile. I could see you hiding the Sherm but having an opening for it to shoot, which could make it difficult to avoid the projectiles being shot.
- Uproot – The Uproot are from the Wooded Kingdom, the forest Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey. The Uproot is a plant that can stretch its legs to a great height. It has a pot over its head, but that can be knocked off by jumping on it or throwing Cappy at it. THe Uproot could be an extremely cool and unique enemy with it being able to reach great heights. For example, you could have platforms in a similar fashion to Donkey Kong, and they could climb up at it at ease putting pressure on the player.
- Stairface Ogre – The Stairface Ogre is from Bowser’s Kingdom, Bowser’s area in Super Mario Odyssey. Stairface Ogres are based on mythical creatures called Oni. They are creatures that have a stair shaped block, and they smash said block into the ground in front of them when a player is near them. The way to defeat them is to do a ground pound on their head before they bring the block back up. They could be very cool for putting pressure on the player. You could have the player trapped between two enemies with the space slowly shrinking, which would mean they have to hurry and defeat the Stairface Ogre before it squashes them.
These are just a few of the enemies that could be implemented into Super Mario Maker 2. Where it gets really unique, however, is when you add the Capture mechanic into the mix.
Capturing
Now for the most unique mechanic in Super Mario Odyssey – Capturing. This would give Super Mario Odyssey hands down the most unique Super Mario Maker 2 Game Style. For those who do not know, you can Capture your enemies in Super Mario Odyssey, which allows you to take control of them and use their abilities. There are a few enemies whose capture mechanics work better than others, so I’ll go into depth about them below.
- Pokio – This is definitely one of the most unique enemies in Super Mario Odyssey. The Pokio is a bird, and it pokes using its beak. When Mario captures it, it gives the player the ability to stab the beak into a wall and propel themselves in any direction desired.
- Uproot – The Uproot is a very unique vine like enemy from Super Mario Odyssey. It can stretch its vine like legs to reach great heights, which could be implemented in a very unique way in Super Mario Maker 2.
Also, all the enemies mentioned above such as the Sherms would work as well. The Capture mechanic would obviously work great with veteran enemies, like Goombas and Hammer Bros.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Super Mario Odyssey would be a fantastic addition as a Game Style in Super Mario Maker 2. There is so much potential with Odyssey as a Game Style, and this could add a whole other level to the game. If it were to get added to the game, it would definitely stand out above the rest. I could go on and on about the enemies and which ones should be added, but I won’t hold you for too long. Hopefully Super Mario Odyssey becomes a Game Style in Mario Maker 2 in the future!
