Review Information
Game Reviewed Super Mario Bros: Odyssey (Ch1), by smbmaster99
Review Author RaymanFan1995
Created Apr 29 2014, 3:30 AM

General Commentary and Game Overview
"Super Mario Bros. Odyssey" is an episodic game which retells the events of the classic Mario games in the form of one long saga, rather than in several different sagas.

Usually, when someone "remakes" a game, they literally remake the game; more specifically, use the exact same level designs (with some added details) and music (again, with added details). However, in this case, this "remake" is actually a lot more original; the level designs are completely new, there are several new features (enemies, world themes, items, and even unlockable content) not previously seen in the source product.
 
Pros +While the story is exactly the same as the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES (and later, the SNES), the game still has its share of originality through the designs of new levels. Sure, everything in this game was used at one point or another in other licensed Mario titles, but I wouldn't really see that as a bad thing, since, again, it's a retelling without it being a remake.

+The graphics are all in-style and the colors match nicely. Rather than just taking graphics ripped directly from other games and slapping them onto the levels with no touchup whatsoever, smbmaster99 went out of his way to edit, recolor, and even draw a wide variety of various graphics. Even though it's easy to do this, it can be time consuming, so props to smbmaster for making the extra effort.

+The music is very nice to listen to. While I do think it would have been nicer to have a more original soundtrack rather than taking songs directly from licensed games (as well as fan remixes that weren't originally made for the game), I think the particular songs used in this game fit the mood of each level nicely.
 
Cons -There are some stages with SMB2USA-esque camera movement, meaning that if you go up too high or fall too low, the camera waits until you're completely out of sight before finally deciding to catch up to your position. One stage is a "tree" stage (or an "athletic" stage, if you will), meaning that, when you fall off a tree, you can't really see where it is you're going to land until the camera moves back down. When this happens, there's a larger chance of falling to your death (via a bottomless pit) compared to a normal, "free-moving" camera.
 
Impressions
Gameplay
10 / 10
Solid physics. The engine used to build this game might not be the best engine around, but I think this game has some of the most solid gameplay physics and NPC behavior I've ever seen in a fan project.
 
Graphics
10 / 10
As stated before, rather than take graphics ripped directly from other games, smbmaster99 has gone out of his way to edit, recolor, and even draw some of his own graphics to fit the art style of his game. Sure, it's easy to do this (IF you know HOW to do it), but depending on how much you want to put into the game (as well as how much effort you want to put into it), it can also be a time-consuming process.
 
Sound
10 / 10
The music is very nice to listen to, and while it would've been nicer to have music designed specifically for the game, I think the choice of music used works nicely; each song fits the mood of the level nicely without it getting too repetitive. The sound effects work well, too, as they are all straight from the 16-bit Mario titles, and this game is styled the same way.
 
Replay
10 / 10
While the game can be a bit challenging, it's nothing too frustrating. Both the main game and the unlockable content should keep you busy for quite a while, and it's always a joy to come back to.
 
Final Words
10 / 10
All in all, this first episode of "Super Mario Bros. Odyssey" is by far the best Mario fan project I've ever played. A lot of care and passion went into making this, and it's proven within the first World. I look forward to seeing the rest of the episodes as they are being made.

Comments
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Nuggeting
Jun 22 2014, 8:10 PM
Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
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