MARIO’S MOVEMENTS AND CONTROLS
The way Mario moves and feels in Odyssey will immediately remind you of the gameplay in Sunshine, and by extension Super Mario 64. Although the moves were animated differently in both titles, they both ultimately completed the same actions with slight variations due to the capabilities of F.L.U.D.D. and Cappy.
For example, in Sunshine you are able to spray water in front of you and slip-n-slide forward, and in Odyssey you can do a tumble roll that propels you forward. Backwards somersaults that launch you to higher areas are in both games (and Super Mario 64 as well) with triple jumps and spins attacks functioning the same way. However, in Odyssey your spin attacks shoots Cappy in a circle around you while in Sunshine F.L.U.D.D. blasts water in every direction.
The way Mario moves is also analogous in both games. When he turns, he dips a bit in the direction he’s going and speeds up during tight turns, pulling back after running forward has him slide a bit before turning. This is of course similar to how Mario moves in the Super Mario Galaxy titles as well, but the environments that Mario moves within are more similar to Sunshine and therefore more evocative of that experience.
Overall, the demo felt extremely smooth and tight, and the player is granted a lot of freedom in how they decide to move about the world with the new array of moves Mario is able to do. The fact that 2D platforming is also mixed in via a Link Between Worlds-esque fusion to certain walls in the maps means Odyssey is a throwback to past action Mario games and the originals on the NES as well.
