Maybe this is a taste of what the future of Mario has in store, or perhaps it’s a hint at a new direction Nintendo might take in delivering bite-sized, experimental games in other series. Sure, it only takes five hours or so to collect every Cat Shine, but I loved every single second of that time. It feels familiar yet strange in the same wonderful way that Yoshi’s Island and Majora’s Mask do. But Bowser’s Fury’s creativity and experimentation nearly outshine 3D World’s massive adventure. It’s an accompaniment to Super Mario 3D World, which is finally getting the audience it deserved back when it first released on the Wii U. Combine this with the return of Plessie, who plays as important a role mechanically in this game as Yoshi did in Super Mario World on SNES, and what you have is a Mario experience that’s absolutely brimming with life.Īt the end of the day, I’m not exactly sure how to even classify Bowser’s Fury. This ranges from him not helping out at all unless you tap the screen on a specific spot for him to paint, to him clearing out any enemies that remotely enter your orbit. I really appreciated the fact that you could toggle Bowser Jr.’s helpfulness in the pause menu. The item stock isn’t the only thing that makes Bowser’s Fury feel more accessible. By baiting his rage, you can direct it to open up shortcuts, blast through Bowser Blocks, and unearth a bunch of power-ups. While Fury Bowser does bring a heap of danger and makes precise platforming a bit tricky, you can use him to access certain parts of the world.

Seeing him slowly rise in the distance as the weather turns for the worse brings a sense of urgency, but one that can be utilized to your advantage. Instead of feeling disposable like Odyssey’s Moons, they felt like genuine lifesavers.īut the really smart thing Nintendo did was to ensure Fury Bowser’s arrival is never an exclusively bad thing.

Keeping these two factors in mind while exploring meant that I was always looking out for a Shine that I could save and easily access when Bowser would wake back up. Alternatively, you can keep an eye out on the weather, as it begins to rain once your time is running short. You can spot his massive shell slowly rising out of the ink in the center of the map, eventually clearing the goop and waking back up. Bowser’s Fury has a pair of convenient indicators to give you a clue as to how much time you have left to explore before Bowser erupts once again.

Another world super mario odyssey