Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

New Mechanics

Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

Both Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild feature a pretty drastic change for their respective series. Both games are a big departure, albeit Breath of the Wild more so. But which game introduces better, or more engaging mechanics? Well, they’re each different, but let’s take a look.

Breath of the Wild’s big new mechanics are the ability to climb and weapon degradation. There are, of course, more smaller changes introduced but those are the big new things in the game. Climbing was a revolutionary new mechanic for Zelda that opened up its world like never before. Even when comparing Breath of the Wild to other open world games, its climbing mechanic felt so freeing, actually allowing you to go anywhere in the world that you wanted. On the other hand, though, weapon degradation wasn’t quite as engaging. While you eventually got used to the system and it wasn’t much of a deal later on, the beginning hours of Breath of the Wild can sometimes be frustrating simply because of how many weapons you go through constantly. This can lead to the game’s difficulty feeling a bit artificial at first, despite feeling natural later on. Fans’ reception was also fairly mixed to the mechanic, despite overwhelming positivity towards the rest of the game.

Now with Super Mario Odyssey, the major new mechanic of the game is hat throwing, along with capturing enemies and items. The hat throwing in and of itself is a great mechanic that allows you to fight enemies in new ways, and use it for some smart platforming. It’s comparable in kind to the F.L.U.D.D. of Mario Sunshine in how it really changes the way you play Mario. The ability to control enemies is also incredibly fun in Odyssey, and there’s a wide array of things to capture. Controlling everything from a taxi to a T-Rex is absolutely absurd, but Odyssey makes it work. The ability helps you approach puzzles in new ways, or simply romp around as a Goomba if you want to. These mechanics so integrally redefine how a Mario game plays, that it makes Odyssey such a fresh experience, while also just being tons of fun.

In terms of new mechanics introduced, Odyssey definitely takes the cake. Breath of the Wild redefined Zelda in an exciting new way, but Odyssey’s hat mechanics change Mario in smart ways, being absurd but fun at the same time.

World Exploration

Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

Surprisingly, both Breath of the Wild and Odyssey have morphed their series’ core gameplay around exploration, but in different ways. Super Mario Odyssey puts a big emphasis on collecting Moons, literally dumping them around the game’s various worlds for you to find. Only by exploring will you really find all of them, along with some fun characters, areas, and sidequests too. The strength of the game lies in the varied locations you can explore, and how each one is brimming with characters and content to uncover. There’s still plenty of traditional Mario platforming and puzzle solving, but much of it is uncovered through exploration. This hearkens back to the style of Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine, which were more focused on exploration than mostly linear platforming, like Mario Galaxy and Mario 3D World.

Still, for how exciting and pleasing Super Mario Odyssey’s exploration can be, it just isn’t on the same level as Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, you have a world entirely based on exploration, really it’s the main point of the game. After only a few minutes of opening, the world is completely opened up to you, letting you explore a small section of it, before moving onto the world at large. Breath of the Wild really nails exploration by constantly rewarding you for doing so. There’s tons of shrines to uncover each of which hold a little puzzle, different towns to uncover, sidequests littered all over the map, and collectibles and items everywhere. There’s always a motivation to keep going, and Breath of the Wild’s structure lets you approach even its main story in any order you want to.

Mario Odyssey’s self-contained areas arit’se a joy to explore and run around in, and yet, it just doesn’t stand up to the vast open world of Breath of the Wild. There’s just so much to see and do, so many characters and stories, with everything feeling connected and part of the same world. Breath of the Wild was an impressive new entry for the Zelda series, and even open-world games in general.

Gameplay

Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

Comparing the gameplay of the two games is difficult, as they’re so disparate and designed for different bases. Mario Odyssey is, of course, a platformer while Zelda appeals to adventure and action-RPG fans. However, both games completely redesign their series’ traditional gameplay.

Breath of the Wild provides the same basis of close quarters combat, and long range archery, but it all feels so different. Weapons degradation affects everything, but combat in general just feels more weighty and deliberate. Link’s moves are a bit more limited this time than in past titles, but that’s effective in amping up combat situations. Like we said before, running around the world and using Link’s different items and abilities to explore feels fantastic. One downside to the game though has to be its boss fights. They aren’t bad per say, just not varied, something a bit disappointing when looking at the history of the franchise. Still, Breath of the Wild succeeds much more than it fails with its gameplay.

Super Mario Odyssey is a game almost entirely based around its gameplay, like most Mario titles. The platforming and controls feel silky smooth like other 3D Mario titles, and running around interacting with everything is an absolute joy. We already said this earlier, but it cannot be overstated how drastically the hat throwing and capturing changes up Mario. The sheer ability to control all of these characters and items is impressive, while simultaneously mixing up gameplay in exciting ways. You never know what new characters you might find in a new area to control, and what puzzles they’ll be able to help you solve.

Super Mario Odyssey just barely ekes out Breath of the Wild in the gameplay department, purely because of the fun factor of everything in the game. Still, they’re for very different audiences so it’s very much up to your discretion on which you enjoy more.

Story and Music

Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

It should come as no surprise that Super Mario Odyssey isn’t a hugely story focused game, Mario really never has been. Cappy and his sister Tiara are fun new characters to the universe, and useful ones at that. On top of that there’s a group of new boss enemies that work with Bower in the game, evil looking rabbits known as the Broodals. Odyssey’s story is fittingly ridiculous and has some fun moments, along with some great references and cameos, like seeing Pauline as the Mayor of New Donk City.

In terms of story though, Breath of the Wild takes it, because of the new things it tries. Breath of the Wild weaves a narrative filled with some mystery, and a plot you have to uncover at your own pace, finding all of Zelda’s memories if you want to see everything. This isn’t even to mention the strong personalities of the four guardians that you learn about. At the same time, there’s countless smaller stories and bits of lore crammed into the characters you talk to and the sidequests you undertake. It’s a very different storytelling approach for a Zelda game, but one that works well with the exploration focus of the game.

With music, however, there’s two very different soundtracks for these two games. Breath of the Wild’s is more ambient and calming, while Mario Odyssey features a jazzy upbeat soundtrack. There’s a lot that goes into personal preference for which one you like better, but for our part we’re going to give music to Mario Odyssey. Breath of the Wild has a great soundtrack, that’s very fitting for the game, but there just aren’t a lot of tunes you’ll distinctly remember outside of the main theme. It’s hard to not smile at Odyssey’s music, especially with its now almost iconic theme “Jump Up, Super Star!”

Difficulty

Super Mario Odyssey vs. Breath of the Wild

Difficulty is where these two games differ the most, and for good reason. Although it never feels unfair, Breath of the Wild is focused on challenging you, both in combat and exploring. Weapon degradation and a limited moveset work to make combat a bit more difficult, and you’ll need to increase your stamina capabilities and find special items in order to explore more. It’s certainly not on the level of something like Dark Souls, but Breath of the Wild is a game that’s meant to challenge you, until you get far enough that you’ve got so many hearts and abilities that you’re basically invincible.

On the other hand, Super Mario Odyssey is a game that’s meant to be accessible to players of all kinds and ages. Even when compared to past Mario games, Odyssey has toned things down a bit. Dying only loses you a measly 10 coins, practically nothing in the face of how many you collect. At the same time you can turn on Assist Mode, which guides you with hints and arrows to your next objective. These things don’t detract from the fun of Mario Odyssey, but it just doesn’t provide the same challenge as Breath of the Wild. It shouldn’t, as Nintendo wants everyone to be able to play Mario.

Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are two very different games developed for two different crowds. In terms of difficulty you could give it to Mario Odyssey because of the accessibility for anyone to play it, but there’s something to be said for the challenge of Breath of the Wild as well.

In terms of which game is better, it really comes down to personal preference. In terms of how we’ve judged things, Super Mario Odyssey barely squeaks out above Breath of the Wild. Nintendo has provided two stellar games for Switch this year though, and you almost couldn’t go wrong saying one is better than the other, there’s a defense to be made for each one.