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!”
