Bullet-Bills can blast through rocks. Goombas can stack to reach new heights. These “captures” range from frogs to Bullet-Bills to Goombas and each comes with its own unique ability. By throwing Cappy, Mario can take control of most enemies and some friendly creatures so long as they aren’t already wearing a hat. Mario’s classic hat is destroyed in the opening cutscene and he’s introduced to Cappy, a more than capable replacement. It’s especially annoying this time because the cutscenes look glorious and they’re wasted on this trite concept. However, with every new Mario game that comes out, the goal of rescuing Peach from Bowser becomes more and more painful to watch unfold. I don’t particularly care about the stories in games such as this one, so I’m not going to pretend to be all that passionate about it now. Mario has to fly across the globe to track down Bowser and the Broodals who are stealing valuable items for use in the wedding. This time Bowser is forcing Peach into a marriage with the aid of the Broodals, a group of rabbit wedding-planners who also pop up in boss fights.
You’ll be disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that Mario’s mission is to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. With Super Mario Odyssey, the term “collectathon” has never been a more accurate description. Likewise, in 3D Mario games you collected coins but you earned stars. Sure, Jak & Daxter had 2000 precursor orbs to walk into, but it was the power cells that progressed the story and they took more work.
I always thought the term “collectathon” was a rather mean-spirited way to describe games like Jak & Daxter, Spyro the Dragon, and Super Mario 64.