Mario Odyssey doubles down on that feeling of exploration. If the player wants to go back to the tip-top of that Tall, Tall Mountain again, they need to jump back into the painting and climb all the way up. Once a Star is found, however, Mario jumps back through the painting and into Peach's Castle again. There is often the urge to keep going, keep exploring. As fun as it is to explore, sometimes it can be frustrating to make it deep into a level and have to abruptly stop when one of the Stars are located. In Mario 64, players are limited to one single star at a time (other than a few exceptions like snagging the 8 red coins in a Bowser level). Meanwhile, it is a wonderful surprise to find out that there is an entire underground forest underneath Steam Gardens in Mario Odyssey. In Mario 64, it was an absolute delight to find out that there is an entire pyramid to explore from the inside that is just as big as the level itself in Shifting Sand Land. Just like it was remarkable to be plopped down in Bob-omb Battlefield and blast onto a floating island, climb to the top of the mountain to defeat Big Bob-omb, or unchain Chain Chomp for Stars, Mario Odyssey allows freedom of exploration in a level like Fossil Falls, where players can jump onto hidden floating isles, defeat Madame Broode on top of the mountain, and capture a Chain Chomp to burst open a wall for Moons. RELATED: Super Mario 64 Changes Iconic Meme Voice Line for 3D All-Stars Darn near perfect gameplay and freedom is part of the reason Odyssey reviewed so exceptionally. From a gameplay perspective, Mario Odyssey provides the same feeling of freedom and expression of exploration that Mario 64 provided. Obviously, things like camera functionality, platforming gameplay, and feel (expected in a Nintendo game in 2020) are there as a big step-up from Mario 64, but those betterments are more on a technical perspective. There is so much about Mario Odyssey that feels like Mario 64, but improved on. This is very similar to Super Mario Galaxy, for example, which is one of the other titles inside of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. The 2D Mario games, like Super Mario World, are filled with puzzles and secrets, but the end goal is usually to simply go from point A to point B. While games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World are supreme titles, they are in some ways more of an evolution of the 2D Mario games, with the gameplay having a more obstacle course focus and feel than anything. Things like clunky controls for precision platforming and a pretty lousy camera can bog down the experience in 2020, but the foundation was laid for what a 3D Mario game could be.
The game could have been updated for the times in various ways, which is part of the complaints in the otherwise stellar Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. Perhaps a perfect video game in 1996 when it launched, Super Mario 64 certainly has its quirks today. RELATED: Super Mario 3D All-Stars Tops UK Sales Charts
But now that the Switch is home to Mario 64 and Mario Odyssey, it is more clear than ever that Odyssey is a perfect extension and evolution on the Mario 3D formula that Mario 64 started. There's little denying the pure fun in the package, and based on the love and nostalgia of the iconic Nintendo 64 game, many may run to play Super Mario 64 before anything else.
Super Mario 64 is one of the three games in Super Mario 3D All-Stars on the Nintendo Switch, a collection of classic Mario titles put together as a celebration for Super Mario's 35th anniversary. The game was a blueprint for what 3D platformers would be moving forward, and in fact, it set the table for 3D games in general in many ways. Playing Super Mario 64 on the Switch is a dream come true for many, and it also is a reminder of how another Switch 3D Mario game is arguably as good, that being Super Mario Odyssey. Super Mario 64 was a strong launch game with the Nintendo 64 and brought the plumpy plumber into 3D in ways that very few even imagined.
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