Super Mario Odyssey 2 is a 3D action-adventure platformer for the Nintendo Switch 2 released on July 28, 2030. It is the twenty-third title in the Super Mario series, and it is the eighth 3D Super Mario title on a home console and the tenth 3D Super Mario title overall. It is a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey, using the same sandbox format and level design from said game. The plot itself revolves around Mario and Luigi travelling across the other side of the Earth to more Kingdoms, in order to stop Bowser from living off of Princess Peach's forced loyalty towards him thanks to an artefact called the Fountain of Fidelity. While the story keeps the series' signature of simplicity, it adds some character development to Mario and Luigi.
Story[]
A few months after his brush with being covered in Black Goop, Bowser is resting in his bed, still recovering from the incident and is furious. As he watches television, an advert about Lake Lamode comes on, which infuriates Bowser as he remembers the wedding he planned but failed with. However when a segment about a fountain called the Fountain of Fidelity appears on the screen, Bowser is suddenly interested and he starts to make a plan in his head.
Cutting to the next morning, in the skies above Peach's Castle, Mario and Bowser are fighting each other on Bowser's Airship, with Princess Peach on board, tied to the Fountain of Fidelity. As Mario grabs Bowser by his tail and swings him around, launching him into the propellors of the airship, Bowser is launched backwards and he knocks Mario off of the ship towards Peach's Castle as he is dangling on the edge of his airship. Mario crash lands through the pan glass window of the castle and lands on Luigi, who is reading a book.
Mario tells Luigi to call an old friend of theirs to ask them if they can loan a vehicle of theirs. An hour later, the brothers meet up with Cappy. After Mario explains the situation to him, Cappy tells him that he gave the Odyssey to his sister as a birthday present, but he promises to help without any hesitation regardless. At that point, Captain Toad sprints out of Peach's Castle to tell the Mario Bros. that he just bought the recently retired N64 Express as a private steam engine and that he is planning on taking a scenic route to Bowser Jr. Kingdom whilst collecting different artefacts to brighten the coaches of the express up as he goes along. He counts on Mario to collect them in the various kingdoms they will travel to. Arriving at the train station, Captain Toad says that he and his brigade will control the train and to come to the locomotive itself if they want to talk to them about something.
Their first stop on their journey is the Waterfront Kingdom, where Mario does some exploring around the port of Port Pisanio, collecting some Cat Shines, remembering his adventure in Lake Lapcat as he collects them. When Mario enters a hotel in the center of the port, named Gricily, the locals of the town are surprised to recognize him not as a celebrity. When Mario comes up to the mayor to ask some questions, he recognizes Mario as both a celebrity and a figure of the town and tells him that Bowser is that the top of the hill in the town, but before letting him run off, he asks Mario to come with him for a minute as it is some ancestry matters. After Mario gets Luigi, the two brothers stand in an auditorium and look at a fresco painting of a war that had happened in the two square. The mayor points out a man with a handlebar moustache riding a horse taking on a great evil and tells Mario and Luigi that this man was their great grandfather who was destined to serve as a guardian of the town for generations but had died in the field of battle a few years later and that the town, despite being peaceful has never seen any protection since then. Mario and Luigi promise to take care of the town and at this point, Luigi tells Mario that he can swap out with him at any point if he's feeling tired.
Mario catches up to Bowser on the hill and they engage in a fight. After Bowser loses the fight, he scurries off to his son's kingdom but not before calling some reinforcements to stop Mario on his journey. Mario heads back to the N64 Express with some Cat Shines. Before departing, the mayor asks Mario if he could join him on his voyage, telling him that he needs a holiday. Their next stop is the Flower Kingdom. As Mario explores the kingdom, he collects some Power Stars, and runs into Prince Florian, who is having lunch with Princess Daisy and Yoshi. They tell him that there have been skin holes appearing around the Petal Isles and that it would be idle if he could do something about it. He heads to the Petal isles and finds out that King Totomesu has been the source behind it. After defeating him, the three thank Mario for doing the deed and Mario offers them a trip to the other side of the Earth and they accept the offer as Florian tells a Poplin who just brought him a coffee to keep his castle secure along with the guards.
While travelling to their next stop in the Shimmerrock Kingdom, Cappy discusses with Mario and Luigi the ins and outs of Paddy Town in the Shimmerrock Kingdom and how dangerous it could be if something goes wrong. Landing in the Shimmerrock Kingdom, Mario sets off to collect some Cat Shines, mingling with the Paddies and Charmies while keeping a distance. He runs into a pub where he finds Madame Broode, drowning her sorrows, still furious that Bowser had fired her and her four bunnies. When she recognizes Mario, she starts to attack him and after a fight, she loses and the bar man thanks Mario for dealing with her as she has been a bully in the bar for quite some time. The bar man follows Mario out of the pub, telling him that he needs to get out some more, Mario points him to the N64 Express.
As they travel through the various kingdoms such as the Andale Kingdom, Sunshine Kingdom, Kitty Kingdom, Ghost Kingdom and Railway Kingdom, Mario and Luigi are happy to have brought the support of different individuals on their journey as apposed to just souvenirs. They reach the kingdom belonging to Bowser Jr. and Mario gets out of the N64 Express ready to fight. As he climbs up to the top of the villa, he sees Bowser propose to Peach with the Fountain of Fidelity, with Peach being annoyed that he would go through all of the trouble, knowing that he answer would be no. Bowser snaps his fingers and Peach suddenly starts acting flirtatious towards him, Mario at this point jumps in and destroys the statue and then deals with Bowser. Bowser grabs Peach and jumps on the airship, Mario gives chase as the N64 Express gives chase to the airship on the scene and he jumps on the steam engine. Throughout the fight, Mario using Cappy lobs projectiles back at Bowser's airship, after ten hits, the airship crashes down into the sea and Mario catches Peach.
The night that they arrive home, Peach asks Mario about what he meant by his ancestry and he starts explaining to her in front of everyone as the credits roll.
After collecting all of the collectables in the Kingdoms, Mario receives a letter from Rosalina, telling him to meet her at the gates of the Grandstar Kingdom. Using a golden Warp Pipe found in the locomotive pulling the N64 Express, Mario arrives at the gates, with Peach and Rosalina waiting for him with a Grand Star.
Gameplay[]
Super Mario Odyssey 2 follows the same sandbox format seen in Super Mario Odyssey while also including the open world settings with smaller locations seen in Bowser's Fury, with the Kingdoms that Mario or Luigi is taken to, containing small levels that have their own self-contained collectables to collect. Cappy maintains his move set from Super Mario Odyssey, however he always hovers behind Mario or Luigi and does not take either with him when he possesses an enemy or an object in the field. If Mario and/or Luigi are harmed by enemies or hazards, the HP meter will be eaten away as the camera is moving back and forth for a split second. If the HP meter goes out completely, Mario and/or Luigi will try to stand up, only to completely fail to do so and to collapse dead. A life is lost after that. If Mario or Luigi die when underwater, especially from being underwater for too long, Mario or Luigi will flop around, gag, and choke before they gurgle and sink. Mario and/or Luigi will disintegrate if they lose all their HP from lava. Mario and/or Luigi hold their necks and stagger before choking and falling down on the ground when they die from toxic gas. Should Mario and/or Luigi lose all their lives, the player ends up in the continue screen. The word "FAILURE!" is on top of the word "CONTINUE?". The continue screen consists of Mario and/or Luigi lying dead looking all battered and bruised in a blacked-out room with a power switch option of whether the player wishes to "I: Continue The Game" or to "O: End The Game". When the player flips the switch to "I", Mario and/or Luigi get revived and their injuries go away, making them look at the camera with super happy smiles, causing the game to continue from its last checkpoint. But, WARNING: Should the player flip the switch to "O", the game ends: The battered and dead bodies of Mario and/or Luigi fall in a backwards barrel roll down a hypnotic spiral. When Mario and/or Luigi disappear out of sight into the hypnotic spiral, a "GAME OVER" sign comes spinning forwards out of the bottom of the spiral and it stops very close in the center of the screen. After the game over music, the screen blackens out completely with the "GAME OVER" sign still present for a minute just before the title screen displays.
Bro Blaster Mode[]
Bro Blaster Mode consists of Mario holding Luigi or Luigi holding Mario like handguns. They fire any power ups from their mouths while in this mode in first person view. It is used multiple times in the final boss.
The N64 Express[]
The N64 Express acts as the game's central hub that Mario or Luigi reside in before entering a Kingdom. They are free to explore the coaches of the express and they are given their own cabin that they can decorate with souvenirs from the Kingdoms that they have previously visited. There are three coaches on the express, the first coach is designated to the rooms of the passengers travelling on the express and it is where the player can swap between Mario and Luigi, the second coach is designated to different minigames that are unlocked as the game progresses and the third coach is the restaurant where players can get a nice view of the landscape and the sea. The collectables that Mario collects on his travels in the Kingdoms that the Express stops in, act as coal and water for the tender engine pulling the coaches, allowing it to advance further.
Playable Characters[]
Super Mario Odyssey 2 allows for three player co-op where the second player plays as Cappy, moving independently from the other players instead of hovering behind Mario or Luigi until he is thrown at an enemy or up in the air or used to bounce over a gap in the terrain. The three other players act the same as the first player, moving on the ground as they can use the second player to jump on for more momentum Mario and Luigi themselves share the same moveset, however Luigi has a higher jump than Mario and his traction is much more uneven than Mario's. The player can switch between the two brothers before entering the Kingdom when leaving the N64 Express.
| Name |
|---|
| Mario |
| Luigi |
| Cappy |
Minigames[]
Much like Super Mario Odyssey, the sequel offers three minigames. All three minigames can be played in the second coach of the N64 Express.
Ring of Rage[]
Unlocked after clearing ShimmerRock Kingdom, Mario or Luigi have to fight against various sets of enemies, increasing in speed and damage. The bar man runs this mode.
Apocalypse[]
Unlocked after clearing the Ghost Kingdom, Mario or Luigi have to survive a raid of Boos in the woods. Professor E. Gadd runs this mode.
Kingdoms[]
The amount of kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey 2 is ten. Each kingdom has a specific theme, some are based off of other themes of media, such as religion and geek culture. Each kingdom that Mario explores has a selection of areas that contain their own self contained collectables, each area has six collectables to collect and they make usage of Mario and Luigi's abilities as well as including them mingling with the locals of the Kingdom itself. Collecting all of the collectables in each Kingdom allows Mario to enter the gates of the Grandstar Kingdom, where Princess Peach is waiting with Rosalina in front of a Grand Star as their way of saying "Thank You". Every time the Broodals Trio are defeated by Mario or Luigi, the four rabbits retreat to be violently punished by Bowser. When they are defeated for the last time, they finally decide that they have had enough, and they leave the villainous side and to begin their life of being on the heroic side.
| Kingdom | Boss Fight | Collectables | Regional Coins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfront Kingdom | Bowser | 60 | |
| Flower Kingdom | King Totomesu | 70 | |
| Shimmerock Kingdom | Madame Broode | 100 | |
| Andale Kingdom | Torus the Titian | 80 | |
| Sunshine Kingdom | Petey Piranha | 50 | |
| Kitty Kingdom | Boom Boom | 100 | |
| Ghost Kingdom | Bogmire | 70 | |
| Railway Kingdom | The Broodals Trio | 50 | |
| Bowser Jr. Kingdom | Bowser Jr. | 60 | |
| Grandstar Kingdom | The Broodals Trio | 50 |
Collectables[]
| Name |
|---|
| Power Star |
| Shine Sprite |
| Power Moon |
| Cat Shine |
Soundtrack[]
Naoto Kubo and Shiho Fujii, who had composed for Super Mario Odyssey returned to direct the game's score, whilst working closely with Kojo Kondo. They aimed for an orchestra–big band fusion for most of the soundtrack whilst keeping in mind what was done in Super Mario Sunshine.
Development[]
The success and acclaim for Super Mario Odyssey as a best seller on the Switch lead to Nintendo EDP considering ideas for a sequel. Not wanting the project to compete directly with Super Mario Odyssey as a new version of the original instalment, the team came up with the concept of a train being a hub world that would help in adding more to Mario's journey than just souvenirs. The developers looked for a more European look, something similar to Super Mario Sunshine based of off Italian culture and architecture.
Super Mario Odyssey 2