Super Mario Odyssey 2 Would Be the Perfect Follow-Up to Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Nintendo devs are experimenting with more open-world games, including Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and Super Mario Odyssey 2 seems a perfect option.

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As expensive, open-world video games have become more commonplace for AAA developers all over the industry, Nintendo has begun adapting some of its signature franchises. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the Wii U’s swan song and the Switch’s blockbuster introduction; turning Hyrule into a fully traversable open world that would inspire other games like miHoYo’s Genshin Impact and Ubisoft’s Immortals: Fenyx Rising. First-party Nintendo studio Game Freak has also announced its intent to broach the genre with next year’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus, giving two of the biggest names in video gaming a foothold in open-world design. Another obvious choice to follow this up would be Super Mario Odyssey 2.

The upcoming Pokemon game has been a long-time coming. Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced during a Pokemon Presents livestream in February, taking place in the Sinnoh region generations before the events of Diamond and Pearl – which will get remakes on Switch developed by ILCA this year. It will eschew the traditional railroading structure of a Pokemon game by making the entirety of rural Sinnoh open to explore, while bucking additional traditions with choices like including starters from different regions. This works as an evolution of the Wild Areas present in Pokemon Sword and Shield, while seemingly bringing the series one step closer to the “Pokemon MMO” that fans have desired for years.

A theoretical Super Mario Odyssey 2 could do something similar for Nintendo’s ever-popular plumber mascot. The original Super Mario Odyssey in 2017 brought the franchise back to a more open sandbox design seen in games like Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, but like those games it kept each individual world segmented. Evolving the design by creating the first complete, open-world Super Mario game seems like the next logical step, as it’s something Nintendo has been building up to for some time.

Classic Sandbox Mario Games

Super Mario Bros. on the NES saved and revolutionized the video game industry in 1985. It is so revered by fans and historians alike that a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $660,000 at auction this month, setting the record for gaming-related collectibles as a whole. The franchise of 2D platformers to follow became a gold standard for everyone to follow and attempt to usurp, with mascots like Sonic the Hedgehog emerging as challengers to the throne.

However, Super Mario has consistently held its high position, and once again set the standard for 3D platformers thanks to the Nintendo 64 console’s launch game Super Mario 64 in 1996. This perennial classic expanded upon Mario’s jump-based move set with new techniques like a long jump and backflip that made it easier to traverse in a 3D space, and dropped players into the hub world of Peach’s Castle so they could experiment before taking on any big challenges. Those challenges were segmented into different levels accessed via paintings throughout the hub world, but there were also plenty of other secrets to uncover.

Super Mario Sunshine, though it released in 2002 after the GameCube, carried on many of the same ideas. Multiple areas could be accessed via the Delfino Plaza hub, but this time each one was similarly themed to create a cohesive island environment as opposed to throwing Mario in sometimes disjointed areas like the bizarre abandoned city of Wet-Dry World in Mario 64. The F.L.U.U.D. water pack also evolved Mario’s move set to give him more ways of exploring the increasingly dense worlds for collectibles. Both games were re-released on Switch via Super Mario 3D All-Stars alongside 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy, which retains a lot of the 3D movement of its predecessors but creates obstacle course-like planetoids to overcome instead.

At the same time, the 2D Super Mario formula would carry on via the New Super Mario Bros. series that began in 2006. Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS would recreate the 2D platformer style with 3D movement in 2011, which carried into 2013’s Super Mario 3D World on Wii U. However, when that game was ported to Switch this year, it came with a side mode that appears to be a first step toward a fully open-world Super Mario game.

Bowser’s Fury and Super Mario Odyssey 2

Super Mario Odyssey revived the sandbox formula following Super Mario 3D World, and many fans have said it did so in spectacular fashion. Mario had his most complex move set thus far thanks to Cappy, a companion he could throw to both extend his jump combo and take over certain enemies, gaining new abilities. However, each area was still segmented into different “Kingdoms.” He and Cappy could use their airship, the Odyssey, to fly from Peach’s Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom to New Donk City in the Metro Kingdom, or even to the Moon. However, with the exception of a few one-way transitions like that of the Cap Kingdom to the Cascade Kingdom, there was no deeper connectivity.

Though The Legend of Zelda franchise has always been known for its focus on adventure and creating an interconnected Hyrule, Breath of the Wild removing loading boundaries between areas helped the game come alive. Something similar can be said for DLC like The Isle of Armor in Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as the more open environments in Monster Hunter Rise on Switch compared to Generations Ultimate. Nintendo even experimented with a similar idea using Bowser’s Fury, a tie-in game with Super Mario 3D World on Switch with the open-world Lake Lapcat that draws inspiration from Super Mario Odyssey with a more restrictive move set.

Creating Super Mario Odyssey 2 as a follow-up to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, using lessons from Bowser’s Fury, could create the perfect blend between traversal mechanics and immersive open-world design. With Breath of the Wild 2 in development it’d make sense to see Mario get another shot too, one where the Odyssey is more of a fast-travel system akin to the Sheikah Towers across Hyrule.

Whether this sequel would maintain a world-travelling vibe befitting its name or pick one location to expand upon, be it entirely original or a return to older lands like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga’s Beanbean Kingdom similar to Pokemon Legends: Arceus reusing Sinnoh, the game would likely be lauded given Nintendo’s track record. For now it’s a hypothetical pipe dream, but if any video game protagonist knows their way around a pipe filled with mystery and potential, it would be Mario.

Super Mario Odyssey is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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