Nintendo fans are mental over the upcoming “Super Mario Odyssey.” After its show off at this year’s E3, the Japanese gaming behemoth began dropping morsels of info, which Mario fans quickly devoured. The latest of which comes from a post from the game’s Japanese Twitter account that seems to announce the game is finally getting rid of its game overs. This doesn't the mustachioed protagonist will live on for infinity; instead, players won't see the usual Game Over Screen they've all gotten used to. A new mechanic is being introduced -- something that involves coins.
It’s game over for game over
Straight from the “Super Mario Odyssey” Japan account, there is a short video of Mario bumping into an enemy and dying. No game over screen appeared whatsoever – the jovial plumber merely loses ten coins. When translated, the tweet says that even if a player has nine coins, it won’t still be the end. One can play throughout the game and complete a quest.
Unlike previous incarnations, when Mario dies and loses all of his lives, the player is taken to a game over screen and have to start all the way back at the beginning with three lives. In the upcoming game, players will only be penalized and can move on to progress to another level.
Nintendo wants players to keep going
In an interview with Polygon, “Super Mario Odyssey” producer Yoshiaki Koizumi did mention some alterations with game lives and 1-Ups. Apparently, this includes game overs as well. The concept isn’t exactly new, as many other games avoid traditional game over fail states, with some devs arguing such hard stops are a failure of design.
However, it certainly is an interesting move for Nintendo, given the Mario franchise has served as a prime example of how to incorporate concepts like 1-Ups, lives, and the looming threat of a game over.
“Odyssey,” from the preview, has retained the classic look and feel of Mario’s past adventures, but doing away with game overs sure is a colossal change, and it may take time before fans get used to it as they significantly alter a very familiar formula.
What's more, Mario has a whole new sidekick named Cappy! The game is bursting with ideas, and early previews of the game show that it brings back a style of game that Mario has been missing for years.
“Super Mario Odyssey” will launch Oct. 27 solely for the Nintendo Switch. It's the first open-world Mario series installment since “Super Mario Sunshine” arrived on the GameCube in 2002.
