Super Mario Odyssey Hats are Fun

I’ve only had my switch for about a year and just now started playing Super Mario Odyssey hats (the hats are not in the title, but should be). The goal was to wait for it to go on sale, but it is still full price. Even trying to find it used was next to impossible. Now I know why, it’s a great game that every switch owner should play.

The Story

King Koopa kidnaps the princess, again. He intends to Marry her and he has also kidnapped a living hat to be the princess’s tiara. You follow him and his broodals to different lands by collecting moons to power your odyssey air ship.

You are aided in your quest by your own living Super Mario Odyssey hat who wants his princess hat back. Koopa is traveling to each land to get something for the wedding: ring, bouquet, dress, etc..

Some of the lands I have traveled to include:

• Hat Kingdom – mostly black and white tutorial area.
• Cascade Kingdom – like an island paradise with water falls.
• Sand Kingdom – desert that curiously had ice, until you warm it back up.
• Lake Kingdom – plenty of water to swim around in.
• Wooded Kingdom – trees all over the place.
• Cloud Kingdom – place where you first fight Bowser in the sky.

Silly story for anyone other than kids, but this is not a game to play for the story. You play it for the outstanding gameplay.

Animation and Sound

As with every Mario game, the graphics and sounds are the cartoonish style that definitely looks like a kid’s game. I’m really not a fan of how Nintendo games use mumbling sound effects for characters speaking instead of full voice over. I can read pretty quickly, but I’m so used to full voice overs from all the PC games I’ve played.

Although the Super Mario Odyssey hat graphics are at the kiddie level, the animations are so well done and fun to watch. The changing style of the hats, the jumping moves and the different variation of things you control with the hat are all smooth. They often would put a smile on my face.

Nintendo really nails the fun factor with these animations and sound effects. They help to take the stress off of a long day and really bring you back to being a kid having fun with games.

Super Mario Odyssey Hats

The real stars of the game are the Super Mario Odyssey hats and things you can control with them. You start the game out with a living hat as your companion. You can use that hat to attack, or to take control of various creatures and objects. The latter part is used to solve various puzzles in the game. It can also be used to interact with switches and the like.

When taking control of objects or creatures, the look of the thing makes it look like a Mario version of it, mustache, hat and all.

Here are some of the fun Super Mario Odyssey hats I’ve run into so far:

• Frog – used this form to jump much higher than Mario can by itself.
• Electron – Mario becomes a ball of electricity that allows him to travel over a powerline to hard to reach areas.
• Chain Chomp – you can use this to pull the big metal ball head back, then let it snap back to knock down wall or bust rocks.
• T-Rex – this I used to attack the chomps and break through a rock wall. It’s ridiculous, but so much fun to control the huge dinosaur.
• View Finder – taking control of these lets the user jump up a great height and zoom through the lenses to see across the map.
• Stone Tiki Heads – their stone body allows you to walk across deadly liquids and putting on its sunglasses will show you hidden blocks.
• Banzai Bill (bullet) – use this to control the direction of the bullet to travel long distances and break through things.
• Goomba – these little foot soldiers are good for walking on slippery surfaces where they do not slide and you can jump on top of others to stack.
• Rocket Fist – this was used to punch a boss during a fight.
• Cheep-Cheep (fish) – when you need to swim, these guys make it much easier to get around. Fast in the water and no need to find air.
• Koopa Troopa – taking control of these guys gives you the ability to throw fire balls.
• Plant Bulb – these have stems that will grow to boost you up to higher levels and give you a bit of jump to get on those ledges.
• Tank – roll around and shoot through walls.
• Boxer Hat – King Koopa’s hat has robot arms with boxing gloves I used to punch him in a first encounter fight.

Super Mario Odyssey Fun Boss Fights

Each of the bosses have their own specialty Super Mario Odyssey hats with special powers. You have to avoid their hat attacks, then use your hat in retaliation. It’s usually a simple combination of running around, jumping and throwing you hat. Once your attack is successful, you just have to jump on the head of the boss to do damage. Do that 3 times and they are defeated, then you score a bundle of 3 moons. Simple, but fun.

My last Super Mario Odyssey session ended with a first encounter fight with King Koopa himself. The pattern was basically similar to other boss fights with the tactics used with one exception. You take control of his boxing hat and use it to punch him continuously. This is something you can button mash or use the motion controls for a bit more immersion.

None of the boss fights were very difficult and most were really easy. Usually this ease would be boring in other games, but there’s enough variety and fun that I really enjoyed them. Plus it helps me get through the game quicker since I still need to finish Zelda.