As announced a few weeks back, there are no lives in Super Mario Odyssey. Instead, every time Mario dies he merely loses a few coins and respawns back in the level shortly afterwards. It’s an interesting system, and one that’s sort of a halfway house between the traditional Mario games and the Wario Land series.
However, the announcement also raised a few questions too.
Most notably… What happens if you don’t have any money? Is there actually a game over screen in Super Mario Odyssey?
Well as it turns out, no there isn’t. As YouTuber Mister Awesome found out, you merely respawn in the kingdom no worse for wear. Here’s a video if you want to see it for yourself:
So yeah, hope that answers everyone’s questions about the mechanic. You don’t see a game over screen or lose progress, you merely respawn back in the level if you die with no money.
There really are no long-term consequences for failure in this game.
Back in August 2017, it was announced that Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was going to be getting a season pass, with this pass letting players get two DLC packs that’d be released later that year. One of them would be in Autumn, with new solo challenges and co-op maps, whereas the other would be in 2018 with ‘unexpected story content’.
All pretty standard stuff for a game like this, except for two things:
- We had no idea what was in said DLC packs
- Nor any information about their actual release dates
So, while we knew that DLC was coming, we didn’t really know anything too concrete about it.
Until now. Because just a few days ago, Ubisoft released the first DLC pack for the game! Titled the ‘Ultra Challenge Pack’, this pack contains some extremely difficult levels for the very best Mario + Rabbids fans. Like the ones shown in the following trailer:
So, if you’re a fan of the original game and want more of it, it’s definitely something to try out. It’s certainly more of a challenge than the original game was.
As for the second DLC pack?
Well, no official release date has been announced for that one. However, receipts for the game (and many media reports) indicate it’s coming on January 16th 2018. What’s more, that’s likely all but confirmed now, given how the first pack’s release date was first seen on the same receipts before being proven correct by the surprise launch.
This means that any Mario + Rabbids fans bored of the first DLC (or just wanting the more substantial one) won’t be waiting long for it. Good news all round then. Especially given how it puts the game’s DLC release cycle on par with Zelda Breath of the Wild.
But what do you think about it all? Are you likely to try out the new Mario + Rabbids DLC now it’s been released?
Or are you waiting for the second, likely more substantial DLC pack instead?
Post your thoughts in the comments or on social media today!
Ever since the days of the NES, Nintendo has always maintained an image as the ‘family friendly’ console maker. Created in part due to their efforts to censor video games for the NES and SNES to avoid sexual or religious content, this image has continued to plague Nintendo throughout every generation since, with its affects being one of the reasons the N64 and GameCube struggled against the PlayStation and Xbox.
And unfortunately for Nintendo, this image seemingly resisted all attempts to change it since. They released more adult orientated games in the late GameCube era, with titles like Eternal Darkness aiming to appeal to older games.
It didn’t work.
They tried to work with third party developers to bring more adult games to their systems, like Bayonetta 2, ZombiU and Watch Dogs.
That didn’t work either. Despite their efforts, the idea of Nintendo as the ‘kiddy’ option stuck. As a result, their reputation was hurt more and more throughout the SNES, N64 and GameCube era.
But it seems the company may be making another push to shake things up here.
Why? Because according to an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, it seems Nintendo is actively working to get more adult orientated third-party games heading to their systems!
What’s more, this isn’t just a few partnerships either. Oh no, they’re actually approaching developers about bringing more adult orientated games to the Switch too. For example, while Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu thought Gal*Gun 2 might be too ‘risky’ for the system, Nintendo’s actually shown an active interest in bringing it over.
And they’re not the only ones. Nope, quite a few developers have said Nintendo is encouraging them to release their more risqué or violent games on the Switch now too. Indeed, as one executive said, Nintendo doesn’t just tolerate such games any more. Instead, they actively encourage them.
Which is a very interesting change of heart for the company. Remember, Nintendo originally censored Mortal Kombat. They tried to bury Bad Fur Day, pulling their publishing deal outside the US.
And in the bad old days… They even argued against violent games to a government committee.
They’re a company which used to be all about the family friendly side of things.
But now they’ve changed their mind. Why?
Well, it’s all entirely logical really. Remember, violent games aren’t a tiny minority of the market any more. Instead, they’re a huge part of it, with popular M rated titles like the GTA series and Call of Duty series selling many millions of copies apiece.
M rated games are the mainstream now.
Which in turn means the whole ‘think of the children’ attitude towards gaming has become completely irrelevant. Nintendo’s previous adherence to the idea didn’t help them. It acted like an anchor around the company’s neck.
And so they’ve changed their plans to accomodate. Or in a nutshell, realised that different games are for different audiences. The gritty World War 2 military FPS and the cutesey Kirby platformer can both co-exist on the same system, and don’t affect each other’s popularity or reputation in the slightest.
They’ve also remembered the Switch has a parental controls app too. That’s important because it means parents can choose what their kids are allowed to play themselves. Cause at the end of the day, that’s really what matters here. A company or government shouldn’t choose what’s appropriate. Families and individuals should.
So congrats Nintendo. You’ve finally joined the 21st century, and realised that encouraging games for all audiences is a good thing.
Let’s hope it pays off for the Nintendo Switch!
Source:
Nintendo Embraces Games with Rougher Edge for New Console (Wall Street Journal)
Back when Breath of the Wild was in development, there were a few people asking about a female Link. Or at least, the possibility of playing as a female character in general.
Now, this obviously didn’t happen in the actual game. There, not only can Link not be customised in any (real) way, but no other characters like Zelda are unlockable either. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s disappointed a few people none the less.
However, it seems these folks may finally have just the mod for them! Why? Because an all new project in development does exactly what it says on the tin. It replaces Link with Zelda.
Here’s a video showing this mod in action:
As you can obviously see, it’s pretty early in its development. Indeed, it’s so in fact that we don’t actually get to see Zelda do much of anything in the video. Just walk forward in a straight line, as proof the mod has been inserted into the game.
But hey, just because it’s in the early stages doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. It’s got the perfect model for Zelda (the one used in the cutscenes in the game itself), and it’s been implemented in a way that looks absolutely perfect so far.
So, if you’re interested in playing Breath of the Wild with Zelda as a main character, check it out. It may not be official (or released yet), but it’ll be a neat option for anyone wanting to play the game with someone new none the less.
Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of footage for Super Mario Odyssey released. It’s been shown at E3 and Gamescom. It’s gotten live updates on social media for weeks.
Hell, even the Nintendo World Championships featured it prominently this year! It must be one of Nintendo’s most heavily advertised games ever.
But now there’s even more footage to add to all that! Yep, thanks to Nintendo Co Ltd advertising the game in Japan, we’ve now got tons more footage of the game, complete with clips of all new levels and bosses! Here it is, courtesy of GameXplain on YouTube:
As you can tell, it starts off pretty damn strong. Indeed, out of all the ads included in this video, the first one seems to have the newest content of the lot. Like for example, this clip of Mario jumping over all the people in New Donk City:
Why’s he doing this? Well, maybe it’s something to do with the situation at 18 seconds in. Where Mario is stuck fleeing from a T Rex (yes, in the middle of New Donk City) via a scooter:
It’s very Jurassic Park like, I’ll say that much.
That said, the T Rex and New Donk City crowds aren’t the only new thing shown here. Nope, another interesting addition is this nifty aviator outfit that Mario’s wearing in the Forgotten Isle area. It’s interesting because just a few scenes back, the T Rex was wearing very similar goggles. Huh, wonder why Mario and a dinosaur have such similar tastes in fashion:
Eh, maybe it’s because the hats aren’t all they seem here. Indeed, look at the one top of this Banzai Bill a few seconds later. Doesn’t it look awfully familiar to you?
Yep, it’s Bowser’s hat. The one he’s shown wearing in the intro cutscene on the airship.
And that makes us wonder something. Is Bowser also possessing enemies to take down Mario, via his own version of Cappy? The cutscenes certainly support that interpretation, especially with how Bowser throws his hat in the intro. If true, it’d mean that this Banzai Bill chase (and perhaps the T Rex in the city) are actually Bowser trying to attack Mario, not random unlikely coincidences.
Still, enough with the cap theories for a minute. What else does this video show us?
Well, it shows us that Banzai Bills can be possessed by Mario for one thing. Unlike normal Bullet Bills, capturing these ones lets you smash through blocks with ease:
Pretty useful to be honest. Especially if the designers were nice enough to place enemies on top of said blocks, just so they could be sent hurtling to their doom.
Another interesting enemy that gets captured here is shown a few seconds later. Namely, the Foo from the New Super Mario Bros games:
It works about as you’d expect it to (you can blow enemies and objects around), but it’s a neat choice of monster to have in a game like this none the less. Forget Mario being at the mercy of wind generators; now you can make the enemies suffer instead. A very nice bit of payback for all those tricky platforming sections wind physics have ruined in the past…
Which is also the case with how the Capture mechanic is implemented in the Madame Broodal battle. Here you take control of the Gold Chain Chomp she attacks you with, then use your powers to blast it back in her face:
It’s a neat way to fight a boss like this, and another example of a boss battle heavily built around the Capture mechanic.
And that brings us to the last trailer shown in the video. You’ve got Dorrie’s first ever appearance underwater (it never went under in Mario 64 or the Mario Party titles):
A nice glimpse at a hotel like area in the Seaside Kingdom:
As well as perhaps Mario’s most nightmarish situation yet. Watch out Mario! That T Rex is literally right behind you!
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