Super Mario Odyssey is finally here, which means that pretty much every Nintendo Switch owner is busy exploring its incredible worlds, collecting Power Moons and unearthing all of the game’s many secrets.
But this isn’t any old Mario adventure — with the introduction of Cappy, Mario has had many more abilities added to his arsenal, which has ensured that there’s plenty of new things to learn. As such, I’ve highlighted 5 tips I wish I knew before I started playing Super Mario Odyssey below:
1. You don’t need to sprint to get to your destination faster
There’s no dedicated sprint button in Super Mario Odyssey, and when exploring some of the game’s more vast areas Mario can feel a little sluggish. That is, until you master the long jump and roll.
The long jump has been a staple of fast movement in 3D Mario games since Super Mario 64, but here it has been complemented with the roll. You can pull off a long jump by pressing ZL and B, while the roll requires you to hold ZL then hold Y. The roll is a new ability which allows Mario to pick up speed when rolling down hills, which can be a huge help when taking into account some of the verticality of the landscapes in the game.
To whiz around each world, it’s therefore beneficial if you combine the long jump with the roll in order to jump and dive through each world, curling up into a ball like a certain other iconic platforming mascot and gaining tremendous amounts of speed in the process. As you continue progressing through the game and are less concerned with exploration and more focused upon bagging yourself those Power Moons, being able to swiftly move from one place to the next is essential.
2. Pick up every Power Moon you can
This might sound a little obvious, but bear with me. You’re required to pick up a certain amount of Power Moons in each new world to progress to the next one, and while you’re likely to gather more than the target the game gives you in each world, if you want to see more of the game you should aim a lot higher.
Though I won’t spoil Super Mario Odyssey‘s endgame, it inevitably entails collecting more Power Moons to unlock more things to do. I gathered a considerable amount while playing, though I was still some ways off the goal needed for the next part of its post-game explorations. As such you’re going to want to put in the legwork in the early stages, as while it’s still fun re-exploring the game’s various kingdoms, if you want to see more of its secrets ASAP then being a dedicated Power Moon hunter is the way to go.
3. Possess an enemy then explore your surroundings
Super Mario Odyssey will routinely point you in the direction of an enemy you to take control of in order to move past an obstacle, whether it be assuming the role of one of the Hammer Bros. in order to knock down a nearby wall, or throwing your hat onto lava in order to swim around in dangerous liquid. However, when you take control of these enemies it’s always worthwhile venturing off the beaten track, and seeing how far you can take them before eventually being forced to switch back to Mario again.
When doing so, you’ll often find that the game has tucked a few things away for the mischievous explorers out there, with previously impossible to reach Power Moons and other such collectibles stuffed away in areas only accessible when controlling another character with Cappy. As such, when you throw that hat atop an enemy’s head, make sure you look around in order to see whether there’s any other areas outside your immediate vicinity that you can venture to.
4. Double-jumping is possible
Mario doesn’t have a traditional double jump, but it is possible for him to pull off a huge leap if you know what you’re doing. Mario has two moves in his arsenal that can help him achieve this, with the cap throw and hold and then the dive allowing him to cover sizable distances.
Firstly, you’ll need to initiate the cap throw and hold by holding down Y. This will cause Mario to throw Cappy ahead of him, with him then able to use the hat as a jumping pad. As you descend from this jump, you can then hold down ZL and Y to perform a dive. This will allow Mario to cover more of a distance, allowing him to make previously difficult jumps a lot easier. After mastering this combination it’s surprising just how much more of the game’s worlds are accessible to you, so get practising right away and soon enough you’ll be able to take on Super Mario Odyssey like a speedrunning pro.
5. Save your coins
There are two types of currency in Super Mario Odyssey — golden coins and then purple, world-specific coins. Both of these are used to unlock costumes and decorations for your ship in their respective stores, though you’ll likely want to save them up as you play to unlock some of the pricier stuff that pops up later in the game.
You’ll gather coins very liberally in Odyssey, so if there’s a particular outfit or decoration you want, then go ahead and buy it. While the purple coins can be spent at will given that they can each only be used in the world you found them in, golden coins carry over between worlds, and one particular end-game clothing option will set you back 9,999 of the latter.
