Nintendo is practically wholesomeness incarnate, with the vast majority of the company's flagship titles frequently taking on a whimsical, family-friendly theme. Even as games with a more violent nature like DOOM are announced for the Switch, the company itself maintains a dedication to content of a more light-hearted nature - and there can be no better example than Super Mario Odyssey. Just look at the latest trailer from Nintendo's YouTube channel, which covers a significant sum of the game's features:
Our first take-away from the above trailer is that, with regards to an overarching story, Nintendo's not exactly innovating. Princess Peach has once again been taken captive by Bowser and is in need of rescue by Mario before she is forcibly wed to the monstrous antagonist - only now, this trope extends to Mario's new companion. Cappy, a sentient hat with magical abilities, is also seeking to rescue someone from Bowser. His sister, Tiara, is in the great lizard's clutches, and he'll need to work together with Mario in pursuit of their common goals.
Cappy comes with the already well-documented ability to transfer control of whomever the cap sits on back to Mario, who is then able to utilize the wearer's abilities to traverse the environment and defeat enemies. This ability isn't just limited to monsters, though; Cappy can be placed on inanimate objects as well. When combined with Mario's unusually athletic abilities (for a plumber), the two can overcome a wide variety of obstacles.
If you look closely, you can see the exact moment this koopa begins to regret his life choices. Source
As for the Odyssey - well, it's not just a fancy new name for this installment. Odyssey actually refers to Mario's new, cap-shaped flying ship, with which he can travel all around the world. That is, provided he can find fuel of course. The Odyssey runs on something called "Power Moons," a collectible item scattered across the globe. Power Moons can be acquired by defeating special enemies, solving puzzles, and winning mini-games. They're also in some cases just lying around in hidden locations for Mario to uncover.
Once the ship's been powered, Mario can visit a fair number of unique locations. The trailer makes mention of the humorously-named New Donk City, with which Super Mario Odyssey was originally heavily marketed, but there's also Tostarena, Mount Volbono, the Steam Gardens, Bonneton, Fossil Falls, Shiveria, and Bubblaine, with a promise of even more as-of-yet unrevealed maps waiting for players to explore.
Each map comes with its standard characters, challenges - and outfits! Mario can now access new customization options via "Crazy Cap," a special vendor found around the world. Each Crazy cap sells thematic outfits for the local region, as well as a handful of throwbacks to previous titles.
Never forget the classics. Source
The final revealed feature is the new snapshot mode that allows the player to take and doctor up screenshots. You can apply different kinds of filters, angles, color schemes, and effects to the photo, which can be rotated to fit as your new desktop wallpaper or mobile background, depending on your preference. These screenshots can then be shared over social media to show off to your friends and family (and market the game, of course).
Super Mario Odyssey is set to release for the Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2017. For more information, you can follow Nintendo over the company's official Twitter account, where regular news is released covering new developments, games, and more.
