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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Super Mario Odyssey: And Now We Wait


October 27th is every much within our grasp. What is the 27th of October? To most, I'm sure it is just another Friday. However, for video game nerds, it is the Friday. For at long last, greatness will reign down upon us. I am of course talking about Super Mario Odyssey for all two of you that were not aware.

I was already planning to buy a Switch this year. Nintendo had a  really freaking good E3, with lots of gamers saying The Big N won the show.When Nintendo wowed us with that second trailer for Super Mario Odyssey, I didn't simply want a Switch. I needed a Switch. I needed to have that console/handheld hybrid in my home before October 27th so I could bask in what is very well looking like it is going to be the biggest Super Mario adventure for years to come. Thankfully, a co-worker was willing to sell me a Switch and I was able to avoid the hassle and not deal with bundles.

I've been loving my Switch since day one. I don't own many physical games for it outside of The Binding of Issac Afterbirth+ and Tiny Barbarian DX. I would love to have ARMS, Splatoon 2, Super Bomberman R, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle in my Switch library, but I opted to hold off on $50 $60 games because. The reason for this is due to me picking up my Switch in September. I bought a Pro controller with it so that was a hefty chunk of change to drop on day one. The release of Super Mario Odyssey was already beginning to creep up on me, and if I was gonna laid down $60 for any Switch game soon, it had to be this one.

You know those games that you're really super excited for? Yeah, picking up a game you want always makes you happy but those games you undoubtedly know are going to be special, filled with such wonder and amazement? Those games are the most difficult ones to wait for. Whenever you're hyped up about one of these games, time always seems to slow down to a crawl to torture you. As I write this, it is October 25th a little after 10PM and all day time has slowly ticked away. I've already got my copy of Super Mario Odyssey paid off and I'm going up to my GameStop for the midnight release. I'm off on Friday so my day is already mapped out. I'm rocking back and forth at my computer desk in anticipation, looking at my phone's Super Mario Odyssey themed wallpaper, grinning like an idiot. The wait for this game is killing me.

The wait for Super Mario Odyssey reminds me of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It was one of the first games I ever pre-ordered and the final three day wait of that game seemed like such a slog. I reserved my copy at Best Buy and when I went to school on Tuesday, I found out that some of my schoolmates had gotten their copies on Monday. Some had gotten them on Tuesday and I felt like I'd gotten shafted. Turns out pre-ordering at Best Buy was a blessing in disguise because Wednesday was the last day before Thanks Giving break kicked off. Wednesday was also the day Best Buy got their copies of Ocarina of Time in so that meant, I could spend days playing this game. That is exactly what I did. After spending several hours in my room, the first thing my dad asked me as if I could see anything other than a tiny green elf. Ahhhhh, such good times.

As the days have drawn closer to the release of Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo has revealed more and more of the game. I've intentionally avoided every morsel of info that Nintendo has given us because I want to experience of single thing about this game for myself. This game is going to plop Mario in huge, strange, exotic locals and I'm itching to roam through every one of them. I went to some of my favorite games this year without knowing a lot and I think my experience was enhanced greatly for that. For those that want to soak up everything about Super Mario Odyssey before release like a sponge, I've got nothing against that. Go nuts. Me, I want to go in and come out slack jawed surprised.

I want to roam the lands as a vicious T-rex. I want to dress Mario up as a chef. I want to climb atop the skyscrapers of New Donk City and leap off because why not? I took my sweet time saving Zelda in Breath of the Wild. I am in no rush at all to stop Peach from marrying Bowser. This is gonna be the kind of game in which stepping away from it will feel like tearing your arm off.

If you're thinking of getting a Switch and getting this game as a Christmas gift for a loved one, buy one now. Like, right now. Once the holiday season kicks in, trying to find a Switch will be just as difficult as it was earlier this year. Super Mario Odyssey much like Breath of the Wild is going to make the desire for a Switch for those that don't have one all the more enticing. Now if you will excuse me, I'm outta here to do some more painful waiting.

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