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LTTP: Mario Odyssey is the worst 3D Mario

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
I partly agree. I like Odyssey quite a lot, it's a great addition to the franchise, but it's still nowhere near the heights of Galaxy 1, which is still the uncontested king of 3D Mario.

3D World is also better than Odyssey.

- the ending is bad, Peach doesn't seem appreciative at all, didn't respect my time

lol, but at least you get you see her different vacationing outfits when you find her in the post-game. That's worth something.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
When every level can be expressed as a Peach outfit, that's pretty innovative.

h6sf3gtmu3141.jpg
 

Luc2010

Member
I agree Mario Odyssey isn't that great. I believe 3D World is the best 3D game. Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are up there, but don't think it can beat it.

Super Mario Wii U
3D World
New Super Mario Wii/DS
Galaxy 1
Galaxy 2
3d Land

The old ones are good, but I don't care to list them. Mario 64 was good back in the day, but now I think the mechanics, graphics, etc. Are just too old for me to care.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I doubt many kids ever actually beat Sunshine.
I beat that when I was 10 y/o. :messenger_grinning_sweat:

Only parts I remember being really hard where the final stage at the volcano, and some of those sections where Bad Mario would took away your water thing.
 

Markio128

Member
I wasn’t a massive fan of the Galaxy games tbh, but I thought Odyssey was a decent effort. For me personally, Mario 64 is the greatest 3D platformer of all time. It is full to the brim with genius level design, genuine mystery and awe and choc-full of variety.

Super Mario World is my 2nd favourite Mario game, then maybe Odyssey.
 
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I partly agree. I like Odyssey quite a lot, it's a great addition to the franchise, but it's still nowhere near the heights of Galaxy 1, which is still the uncontested king of 3D Mario.

3D World is also better than Odyssey.



lol, but at least you get you see her different vacationing outfits when you find her in the post-game. That's worth something.

personally I can’t agree. Galaxy 1 was one of the worst games in the franchise. Galaxy 2 though? Fixed every issue I had with the first game. Freakin’ brilliant.

Odyssey is an amazing game, but it is certainly overrated. Still a 10/10 experience like almost every Mario game (personally I would rate Galaxy around an 8 to 8.5/10), but some folks here act like Odyssey is a genuinely bad game and all I can do is laugh at that idiotic take.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
personally I can’t agree. Galaxy 1 was one of the worst games in the franchise. Galaxy 2 though? Fixed every issue I had with the first game. Freakin’ brilliant.

Odyssey is an amazing game, but it is certainly overrated. Still a 10/10 experience like almost every Mario game (personally I would rate Galaxy around an 8 to 8.5/10), but some folks here act like Odyssey is a genuinely bad game and all I can do is laugh at that idiotic take.

We are exactly opposite. I adore Galaxy 1 and found it to be the perfection of 3D Mario, with a sentimental tone and theme of childhood which perfeclty captures the franchise and regrounds it in a lovely way.

I regret playing Galaxy 2. It felt like an enormous step backwards, a glorified level-pack without any kind of real progression or even basic hub world, just a lot of disconnected levels. Sort of like a DLC for the previous game but missing the entire point of it.
 

BlackTron

Member
personally I can’t agree. Galaxy 1 was one of the worst games in the franchise. Galaxy 2 though? Fixed every issue I had with the first game. Freakin’ brilliant.

For some reason I fell off Galaxy and never actually finished it. Yet for some reason Galaxy 2 went straight into my veins. Every time I even think of finally replaying and finishing 1, I just play 2 instead...
 

Astral Dog

Member
This is pretty crazy but i actually kind of agree, i prefer the design of other 3D Marios to Odyssey,its Moon collecting is overdone and not as fun.

Galaxy 2, Mario 3D World and Mario 64(DS) are my favorites.

Of course, Odyssey is still a great game, all things considered 3D Mario is an amazing series
 
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We are exactly opposite. I adore Galaxy 1 and found it to be the perfection of 3D Mario, with a sentimental tone and theme of childhood which perfeclty captures the franchise and regrounds it in a lovely way.

I regret playing Galaxy 2. It felt like an enormous step backwards, a glorified level-pack without any kind of real progression or even basic hub world, just a lot of disconnected levels. Sort of like a DLC for the previous game but missing the entire point of it.

That is why I like it. I thought the Hub World of Galaxy was awful. Unlike Delfino Plaza and Princess Peach’s castle, it wasn’t fun to explore. It slowed down the pace of the game tremendously, and the levels themselves were overly simple and easy. Yes, Galaxy 2 basically is a truncated version of the first game’s story - but it puts the focus on what Mario games should focus on: The level design and gameplay. The levels were leagues better and often far more challenging than anything in the previous game. The new additions, like Yoshi’s, offered unique level gimmicks that fleshed out the style of galaxy to near perfection.

For some reason I fell off Galaxy and never actually finished it. Yet for some reason Galaxy 2 went straight into my veins. Every time I even think of finally replaying and finishing 1, I just play 2 instead...

I think its just how quickly it gets you into what you want to do in a mario game: playing the levels.
 

kevm3

Member
Haven't played Galaxy 2, but I find Galaxy 1 to be probably the best of the Mario games I've played if you don't include Yoshi's Island. Then I'll go with Super Mario 3d world. My taste in Mario games is a little different than the rest as I actually like Super Mario 2 (aka Doki Doki Panic) more than Super Mario 3.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
That is why I like it. I thought the Hub World of Galaxy was awful. Unlike Delfino Plaza and Princess Peach’s castle, it wasn’t fun to explore. It slowed down the pace of the game tremendously, and the levels themselves were overly simple and easy. Yes, Galaxy 2 basically is a truncated version of the first game’s story - but it puts the focus on what Mario games should focus on: The level design and gameplay. The levels were leagues better and often far more challenging than anything in the previous game. The new additions, like Yoshi’s, offered unique level gimmicks that fleshed out the style of galaxy to near perfection.
Disagree -- the hub wasn't a barrier in Galaxy 1 at all, since it was very quick to get across it.

But the hub's developing narrative was beautiful. The sense of a real adventure is unparalleled in the franchise, from the first quiet moments when you run around a small planetoid chasing the rabbit, to seeing bits of Rosalina's past unfold as the ship comes to life. Mario's head-ship in G2, on the other hand, was so stagnant it felt like a placeholder that they forgot to populate. It never changed or developed at all, it was just this weird extra thing before the level select.

The mix between journeying far into unknown space, seeing strange planets along the way, seeking to find the Princess but also slowly revealing Rosalina's story about the loss of childhood... it's like a meta-game for everything Mario. It's absolutley lovely, and of course the brilliant Koizumi was responsible--sadly Miyamoto pushed him back for the sequel.

I also found the level design to be greatly superior in the first game. It balanced the 2 pillars of 3D Mario much better, which are (1) free exploration and (2) goal-seeking. Those have to be kept in harmony. For instance, most levels in Mairo 64 were like little toy sandboxes to run around in, even though it also had some pathways designed to feel more like normal levels. That's the 3D Mario concept, and it depends heavily upon open, freely explored areas that are like little surprise gardens. Galaxy 1 has tons of these.

In G2, it's as if they wanted to give up on 3D Mario's whole concept, regress the franchise to the point where they apparently forgot even the lessons of Mario 64, and focus on linear courses (or linear courses disguised as non-linear due to a couple of small open areas along the middle)... but that takes away the magic of journeying into new planets and exploring them.

Even the semi-linear levels in G1 are just better. Nothing in the second game tops the glass pill in the middle of one of the first levels of G1, with the gorgeous pacing as you approach it. I miss that sense of quiet wonder that the first game so often gave you, with its soundtrack and its frequent moments of pause without any "next objective" in your face.
 
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Disagree -- the hub wasn't a barrier in Galaxy 1 at all, since it was very quick to get across it.

But the hub's developing narrative was beautiful. The sense of a real adventure is unparalleled in the franchise, from the first quiet moments when you run around a small planetoid chasing the rabbit, to seeing bits of Rosalina's past unfold as the ship comes to life. Mario's head-ship in G2, on the other hand, was so stagnant it felt like a placeholder that they forgot to populate. It never changed or developed at all, it was just this weird extra thing before the level select.
I never felt a sense of adventure throughout the entirety of Galaxy one. Odyssey provided that in spades and Delfino Plaza and Peach’s castle offered great exploration. The hub in G1 felt monotonous, painful, and a slog to move through.

G2 is, as you said, absolutely nothing. But that is exactly what I wanted. I just want to get to the levels in as short of time as humanly possible. That is what
The mix between journeying far into unknown space, seeing strange planets along the way, seeking to find the Princess but also slowly revealing Rosalina's story about the loss of childhood... it's like a meta-game for everything Mario. It's absolutley lovely, and of course the brilliant Koizumi was responsible--sadly Miyamoto pushed him back for the sequel.
The story made me feel absolutely nothing. The fact that it is truncated in G2 is all the better. Mario games, unless they are comedic RPGs, should not have story.

I also found the level design to be greatly superior in the first game. It balanced the 2 pillars of 3D Mario much better, which are (1) free exploration and (2) goal-seeking. Those have to be kept in harmony. For instance, most levels in Mairo 64 were like little toy sandboxes to run around in, even though it also had some pathways designed to feel more like normal levels. That's the 3D Mario concept, and it depends heavily upon open, freely explored areas that are like little surprise gardens. Galaxy 1 has tons of these.
The levels are exactly the same between the two games in how they are structured. The only difference is that G2 offers more challenge and wastes less time getting you into the levels.

In G2, it's as if they wanted to give up on 3D Mario's whole concept, regress the franchise to the point where they apparently forgot even the lessons of Mario 64, and focus on linear courses (or linear courses disguised as non-linear due to a couple of small open areas along the middle)... but that takes away the magic of journeying into new planets and exploring them.
G2 just took what G1 had, but upped the difficulty and cut the fat. Your love of “3D mario” and what it was about was given up with in G1.
 

Zuzu

Member
Yeah I agree, it's a pretty boring game though it's better than 3D world. Sunshine is much better than both those games.
 
I quite agree, the game was a massive step backwards form Mario Galaxy 1/2. Its the only mainline Mario game I can't be bothered to finish.
 
Mario's movement is off in the Galaxies (also too slow). Sunshine has the best movement physics (but no long jump unfortunately). Mario 64 movement is great too, but the levels (and probably graphics) are just too primitive.

Odyssey's movement looks like it might be even better than Sunshine's. However, the ugly rabbit enemy things put me off. I find them aesthetically horrid. I also don't like the look of the 'Rabbids' in the Ubisoft Marios, gross. Stick with the Koopas, Miyamoto.

At this point in my life, the sophisticated hat/Cappy mechanics have raised the barrier for entry for me too high -- the hat trick shenanigans look more like exploits than built in game design.
 
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Let's examine the reasons why.

- The moons are dumb. Way too many of them and way too easy to collect, quality over quantity
- The boss battles are piss easy
- The kingdoms are too small
- the ending is bad, Peach doesn't seem appreciative at all, didn't respect my time
- the game is just not very fun. You really expect that it would be but nope.
I haven't played Odyssey yet, don't even own a Switch.

But if I didn't know better and Moons and Peach weren't there I would have thought you were describing Super Mario 3D Land.
Mario 64 movement is great too, but the levels (and probably graphics) are just too primitive.
That's fixable these days.
 
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Mozza

Member
Still top of the tree on Open critic and at 96 on Meta, with both user and critic reviews high, can't see peoples issue with it to be honest, all the things we love about Mario on a grander scale, loved the dinosaur world where you fell of the ledge to your doom, or so you would expect.... only to land in a cool underground area.
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Meh. Some of you are soulless. Odyssey had me at Fossil Falls, what with the roaring waterfall and the awesome music.
Very few games nail the sense of wonder like Odyssey. Galaxy 1 and 2 are pure genius, but they’re a very different type of game. Odyssey is the perfect mix of Mario and Banjo. It was a fantastic ride for me, one surprise after another to the very end. Perfect game? No, but to even suggest it’s the worst 3D Mario is insanity.
 

Smasher89

Member
Yep, the most fun I had with the game was going through the "world championships stage", backwards, that way the stage got hard and an actual challenge.
First challenge i got was in the postgame with a marathon between a couple of bosses with 1 health i think, skipped the rest because there was just soo much filler moons.

IT had some fun powerups and the general movement had cool tricks, to bad the stages didnt utilize the tricks unless you went speedrunning trying to go as fast as possible (knowing exacly where to go).
 

Synless

Member
Most of the women I met before getting married would put out after a cup of coffee/dinner and a good conversation.

Mario went the extra mile for a woman who asked for his help and she gave him the independent woman attitude.

when she’s hitting hitting her 30’s and still hasn’t settled she‘ll be lucky to get Waluigi to commit to her ass.
 

Doom85

Member
Most of the women I met before getting married would put out after a cup of coffee/dinner and a good conversation.

Mario went the extra mile for a woman who asked for his help and she gave him the independent woman attitude.

when she’s hitting hitting her 30’s and still hasn’t settled she‘ll be lucky to get Waluigi to commit to her ass.

Quote from True Detective:

”If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then, brother, that person is a piece of shit.”

Now change “divine reward” to simply “reward”, and yeah. Rescuing someone doesn’t entitle the rescuer to something from the kidnapped. This should be fucking obvious, but I guess sometimes things have to be spelled out…

And really, it’s a pretty douchey time to propose. Oh yes, I’ve only been in trauma having been captured by this villain for lord knows how long, CLEARLY now is the time for a proposal!
 
Quote from True Detective:

”If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then, brother, that person is a piece of shit.”

Now change “divine reward” to simply “reward”, and yeah. Rescuing someone doesn’t entitle the rescuer to something from the kidnapped. This should be fucking obvious, but I guess sometimes things have to be spelled out…

And really, it’s a pretty douchey time to propose. Oh yes, I’ve only been in trauma having been captured by this villain for lord knows how long, CLEARLY now is the time for a proposal!

Dude, it's just a Mario game...
 

MacReady13

Member
Okay okay OKAY I'll boot up SM3DW on Switch and see if I can gel with it more than the Wii U version:

Bryan Cranston Reaction GIF
Angry Bruce Willis GIF
I’ll admit, I played it on the Wiiu and thought it was the worst mainline Mario game after Sunshine. Begrudgingly finished it but thought it was average at best.

Got it for Switch and, I don’t know why or what happened, but something in this game clicked for me. I fucking adore it now! In fact I’m going through it now to get all stamps, stars and finally play that final level.
 
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Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
Galaxy I and II are my favorite followed by 64 and then Sunshine. I didn't even bother with odyssey something put off of it but not sure what. My son likes it but even watching him play it doesnt make me want to try it.
 
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Odyssey
Galaxy
64
3D World (Bowsers Fury puts it over 3D Land)
3D Land (if only because the circle pad is trash)

Haven’t played Galaxy 2 and Sunshine is so awful I won’t honor it by ranking as a Mario game.
 
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