Tag: first impressions

Super Mario Odyssey Impressions

On Friday, I got the latest Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey for Nintendo Switch. Since I pre-ordered the game at Best Buy, I also got this collectible coin. The front and back shown; I don’t have two coins. 😛

Both sides of the Super Mario Odyssey collectible coin.I’ve spent about 4.5 hours with the game so far, and I’m really enjoying it. It reminds me a bit of Super Mario 64, but without being thrown back to a hub area after collecting each star (or moon, in the case of Odyssey). And that’s a very good thing.

The worlds (called kingdoms) don’t have individual levels per se. Instead, you just collect power moons that are scattered throughout each world. Some of them are earned for completing objectives, like climbing a mountain or beating a boss, while others are just hidden throughout each world. You’re free to explore each world to seek out its secrets, and that’s a lot of fun.

Running through the forest in Super Mario Odyssey.Some of the hidden areas you can find include fun 2D mini-levels that look like the original Super Mario Bros. I’ve also found some references to Super Mario 3D World, so there are many things to discover. As for the coins you collect, you can spend them at shops to buy new caps and outfits for Mario.

Fashionable Outfit: I'm not clashing, YOU'RE clashing!Gotta Capture ‘Em All

One unique feature of Super Mario Odyssey is the ability to capture certain animals, enemies, or objects by throwing your cap at them. Each thing you capture has a unique ability. For example, the first thing you capture is a frog. You then basically possess that frog, and you can directly control it. That allows you to jump much higher.

Mario captures a frog in Super Mario Odyssey for Nintendo Switch.Other areas let you capture an entire stack of Goombas (standing on each other’s heads) or even a tank (which you can use to shoot at breakable stones). It makes for some bizarre scenarios, but that’s part of the fun.

Taking Photos

A really cool feature of this game is the ability to take in-game screenshots. You can pause the action, move the camera, zoom in or out, apply filters, and so on. Even taking pictures can be lots of fun. Here are a few I’ve taken.

Mario captures a Moai statue and stands near a power moon. Picture taken in Super Mario Odyssey.
Moon, Moai, Moon
Mario and a taxi driver. Picture taken in Super Mario Odyssey.
Is this Super Mario Odyssey or Crazy Taxi?
Mario is afraid. Picture taken in Super Mario Odyssey.Controls in Motion

If I have a slight complaint, it’s with the controls. Don’t get me wrong, the controls are good overall. But when Mario runs, he almost seems to be a bit out of control; the controls don’t seem quite tight and precise enough. Maybe I just need to get used to them a bit, or maybe I need to move slower and point the camera at a higher angle when precision jumping is required.

Also, the game uses some motion controls by default. For example, shaking the controller after throwing your cap makes the hat home in on nearby targets. While motion controls aren’t mandatory, I’m trying them out for now, at least. They generally work fine, I’m just generally not a big fan of motion controls.

Out of this World

Super Mario Odyssey is a lot of fun so far, and it’s one of those games that is hard to put down. That’s a sign of a great game. While I’m not far enough into the game to definitively say if it’s the best 3D Mario game yet, I’d say it has a chance. It’s definitely up there with the best of them.

Update: Here’s a video showing my first 50 deaths in the game. I hope you enjoy!

Splatoon 2 Global Testfire

The Splatoon 2 global testfire (multiplayer demo) for Nintendo Switch is taking place this weekend, at six designated times. The first one was held this afternoon, and I made sure not to miss it. It starts off with a quick tutorial on how to use the controls. Unfortunately, you can’t customize the controls until after you’ve completed the tutorial. And then you can’t test your changes until you’re in a battle against other people.

So I inverted the X-axis camera controls, adjusted the sensitivity slightly to match my Splatoon settings, and joined my first match.

Trying the Weapons

I started out with the splat roller, and I quickly noticed that it seemed much slower than the Krak-on roller I’m used to in Splatoon. It also seems to run out of ink quickly, so I’m thinking they severely nerfed the roller.

The splat roller, out of ink, in Splatoon 2.Of course, this is just a demo and the final attributes likely haven’t been determined yet. But I hope the standard rollers aren’t like this, or I won’t be using them very often.

Anyway, the special weapon on the splat roller is the splashdown. You jump up and slam back down to the ground with the power of a mini-airstrike. It would be best used for dropping in on enemies from above, but it’s not that great if you’re just using it for ink coverage (since it’s just inking turf right where you’re already at).

I also tried out the brand new splat dualies. It’s actually two guns that you hold, one in each hand.

Using the splat dualies in Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch.When using them, you have the unique ability to roll while shooting (up to twice in succession). That’s a very cool feature. The special weapon on the dualies is the ink jet printer. You fly up into the air and hover there, and you can shoot blobs of ink at your opponents or onto the ground. I think this is my favorite of the new special weapons so far.

The ink jet special weapon in Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch.I also played a couple of matches with the splattershot, which is a basic gun. Its special weapon is tenta missiles. They can lock onto an enemy and then fire. But one time I tried using it, and it couldn’t lock on to anyone. So I was kinda stuck just standing there for a couple seconds and I couldn’t fire it or cancel it. It’s probably just a matter of learning the right way to do it.

Controls

I had some issues with the controls in the game, but they’re really just things I’ll need to get used to. After spending hundreds of hours playing the first Splatoon, it may take some time to un-learn some things and switch to the new ways.

The biggest change was that the jump button has been moved from X to B. The X button now brings up the map, which blocks your view of the action. So quite a few times, I would accidentally bring up the map when I meant to jump. And then I would scramble to figure out how to cancel out of the map again. 😛 I really wish they would have kept X as the jump button, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.

The superjump/map screen in Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch.Superjumping seemed a bit tricky too…except for the times that I did it by accident. 😛

Maps

Two maps are available in the demo, Musselforge Fitness and The Reef. They’re both pretty basic, medium sized stages with lots of ramps. The Reef reminds me a bit of Urchin Underpass (at least the central part), but with a bridge connecting the two sides.

Since I’ve only played each map a handful of times, it’s too early for me to really finalize my opinions of them. But so far, they seem fine, although not spectacular. I’m sure Nintendo is saving some more interesting stages for the full game.

Global Testfire Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the global testfire. It was fun and it re-confirmed that I really want to buy the game when it comes out this summer. Also, I did not have any connection troubles today either, so that was a good sign.

I’ll be playing more of the global testfire over the weekend, and I’ll post a video or two as well. If I have any additional thoughts about the game, I’ll add them to this entry.

Updates

Update #1: One thing that I really like is that when you’re submerged in ink, your ink indicator shows a line that lets you know how much ink you need to use your sub weapon. Very helpful.

Update #2: Here’s a gameplay video showing two matches from Musselforge Fitness. In one, I used the new splat dualies, and in the other, I used the splat roller.

Update #3: I’ve now played in four of the testfires: Two on Friday and two on Saturday. Now that I’ve had more time with the game, here are some updated thoughts:

  • The splashdown special has really grown on me; I like it quite a bit now. You just need to think of it as an attack weapon, and not a way to ink a bunch of turf. It’ll be great for any map with some height to it. I would love to use it in a map like Flounder Heights.
  • The ZL and ZR buttons on the JoyCons don’t seem to stay pressed in as easily as they do on the Wii U gamepad. There were times I stopped shooting or stopped ducking in ink, even though I didn’t mean to. I’m sure the Switch ProController will be better, though.
  • I’m already a bit tired of those two maps in the testfire, particularly Musselforge Fitness (which seemed to show up a lot for me). We don’t know how many maps the game will launch with, but I’m looking forward to seeing what other stages they add.
  • After no disconnections on Friday, I had quite a few of them on Saturday. Hopefully things will be better once the full game comes out.
  • The splat dualies is my favorite weapon of the four options (although I didn’t try the charger, since I’m not interested in sniping). But I always seem to forget to use the roll move! So I’d probably be a better player with it, if I could remember to use its highlight feature. 😉

I’m really looking forward to the game’s launch, and I’m wondering if there will be more testfires before then. Guess we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I’ll add some videos from the global testfire.

Update #4: Here is a video showing two matches in The Reef:

Update #5: Here is a video showing some highlights from the global testfire. It features three of the new special weapons in the game, as well as some of my splats, combos, fails, laggy moments, and more.

Related: 7 Things I’d Like to See in Splatoon 2

My Nintendo Picross

Nintendo’s current loyalty/rewards program, My Nintendo, launched on March 31st. And in many ways, it is inferior to their previous program, Club Nintendo. For example, points expire after only six months (vs. two years in Club Nintendo). Also, physical game purchases do not earn any rewards at all!

But it’s not all bad. You can earn coins on a regular basis just by doing things such as signing into Miiverse once a week or starting up the Wii U or 3DS eShop once a week. There are additional ways to earn coins if you use the Miitomo app as well.

I’ve earned enough to coins to redeem their first new reward, an exclusive, digital 3DS game called My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The title is certainly a mouthful, even if you abbreviate it as MNP:TLoZ:TP. But as you can probably figure out, it’s a Picross game with graphics, music, and sound effects based on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (which has been released on GameCube, Wii, and recently, Wii U).

My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess title screen.If you’re unfamiliar with Picross, the name comes from the combination of “picture” and “crossword.” It’s a logic/puzzle game in which you are given numbers for each row and column of a grid. Each number set indicates how many blocks on that row/column need to be filled in. So if a row has the numbers “3 2,” that means it will have three consecutive blocks filled in somewhere, followed by at least one empty space, and then two more consecutive blocks filled in. When you’ve filled in all appropriate boxes, you’ve completed the puzzle (and a picture).

My Nintendo Picross gameplay screenshot.I’ve been a fan of Picross games for years; I loved the original Mario’s Picross on Game Boy, and the Picross e games on 3DS are good too. So it’s no surprise that I’m really enjoying My Nintendo Picross so far. My biggest complaint with the Picross e games was the boring music. This is not a problem here, as My Nintendo Picross has some great, quality Zelda tunes.

On the downside, My Nintendo Picross has just 91 puzzles: 45 regular Picross puzzles, 45 “Mega Picross” puzzles, and apparently just one large “Micross” puzzle. This compares to 150+ puzzles found in the Picross e titles. It will still take a number of hours to complete them all, but it is less content than you would get in the $6 Picross e games. One other minor complaint is that you can’t skip the tutorial if you already know how to play.

With that said, this is a quality game that I’m having a lot of fun with. This is miles better than Nintendo’s Club Nintendo exclusive Wii game from 2010, Grill-Off With Ultra-Hand! If you’re a fan of Picross or puzzle games in general, I recommend picking this up with your My Nintendo coins.