Aw yes yes yes! Yes to everything shown and told about this game! I was hoping for a return to the free roaming, non-time limited, non-linear Mario adventure game. I wasn't sure if they were going to ever do it again; I thought they might just keep focusing on the fast paced romp through many short levels like Galaxy 2 and 3D world. Boy am I glad to be wrong! While almost all Mario games have great gameplay and graphics, to me the best ones are the ones that have heart and soul poured into them; the ones the feel like irreplaceable adventures. That's why Mario 64 has remained so prominent throughout all these years, and I think it's one of the reasons Sunshine has been having such a big resurgence. As much as I wanted to make myself think it, Galaxy 2 and the 3D series just did not have that, as entertaining as they were. I don't usually say a game looks awesome before it even comes out, but this game is gonna be awesome. I haven't been this hyped for a game in years.
I think it's funny that some people are comparing this to Sonic 06, I'm sure a lot of them are joking, but I think some people were put off by seeing the cartoonish Mario in a real looking setting, with realistically proportioned citizens. I can tell you just by looking at it that this is no Sonic 06. Heck, I can tell you by looking at a piece of poop on the ground that this is no Sonic 06.One, Sonic 06 had terrible performance problems, terrible gameplay, and was overall rushed and unpolished to the point of being borderline unplayable. Two, the story in Sonic 06 was extremely awkward, both in terms of overall plot, and in the way it was presented (bad cut scenes, voice acting). For goodness sake, they had a romance between an anthromorphic hedgehog and a human princess! Being in a realistic city was the least of Sonic's problem. Even so, I will bet anything that Mario will run totally fine on the switch, have very polished gameplay, the story will be fairly abstract, non-invasive, and probably a little silly, and Mario will not have a romantic interest in any of the New Donk City dames. Also, I think it's a quite as weird to see Mario in a city because one, he is an actual full blown human despite being drawn a lot more cartoonish than the side characters, and he did originate for New York according to the original games and old media (not that Nintendo cares about Mario's canon). Oh, and not to mention that the city is ONE level out of like five shown, and there will probably be even more in the actual game.
Well I accidentally turned that paragraph into a Sonic rant, but now that it's written, I'm keeping it up there.Here are some things I've heard/seen that I am excited about:
- Mario' vibrant expressions. We see him dancing to music and shivering in the cold in-game. Official sources say they have given Mario more expressions. Immersion in the game is cool!
- Triple jump is back baby! And the dive, along with all of Mario's standards. I also like the Kung Lao hat throw
- Carrying turnips like in Mario 2!
- The very subtle aesthetic changes. It's not as pronounced in-game as it is in the renders, but I like Mario's hair looking like real hair, and his overalls looking like real denim, while still looking cartoonish. I don't need him to look like he's made of plastic anymore.
- The variety of the stages. Each stage looks totally unique, and in fact some stages look like they have quite a variety within themselves. This makes me think that this game will have a few, highly memorable and highly unique stages as opposed to many small homogenized ones.
- Bowser's scheme is a broadway marriage with Peach. I think that's funny. I do still kind of miss Bowser as a menacing antagonist as I pictured him in Mario 64 and earlier. Then again, what's scarier than a lifelong commitment. And a forced, interspecies one, at that.
-I'm excited to see if there's anything special with the Crazy Caps store. There seems to be one in every level. Perhaps you can buy power-ups there, or swap out Mario's special abilities?
-New Donk City's plethora of Donkey Kong references. Could this be hinting at a potential to see DK himself somewhere in this game? That would be one epic throwback to where it all began! Oh, and also you CAN jump on the realistically styled NDC residents. Nintendo confirmed it.
And a short list of things I'm not super excited about:
-Mario's hat having eyes. Doesn't seem to happen too much in game, so it's no big deal, I just don't think it looks good aesthetically. I'd just tell myself they're some kind of steampunk goggles if they do pop up in game. I'm guessing the hat is just your assistant character and he pops his eyes out when he talks to you.
-The rabbits. I'm not a big fan of anthropomorphic creatures hence my roast of Sonic, and I think these rabbits cross that line a bit. I think I'd like it better if they looked more like real rabbits (or the ones Mario chases in the game) in suits and hats. That would make it more surreal looking, which I am actually a big fan of. But I should count my blessings that they weren't the rabbids :p
Overall it's safe to say the Nintendo Switch is a guarenteed buy for me.