The team of Nintendo developers that createdSuper Mario OdysseyandDonkey Kong Bananzahave me in an inescapable iron grip. I bought a Switch for Odyssey and a Switch 2 for Bananza, and I absolutely loved both games.
It’s not just that they’re open-world platformers, it’s that they’re free-flowing, evolving experiences, rather than the stage or objective-based isolated sandboxes of games’ past. I guess technically Donkey Kong 64 did it first, but that game is nowhere near as fun to run around in.
Super Mario Odyssey Is The Most Accessible First-Party Game On Switch
If you’re looking for an accessible first-party Switch game, Super Mario Odyssey is it.
I believe that, with a little bit of out-of-the-box thinking, this particular gameplay framework can be applied to franchises and characters across Nintendo’s entire stable. We could get games with a degree of control some characters haven’t even come within spitting distance of in decades.
It’d also be a great excuse to get some of Nintendo’s lesser-used characters back into the limelight. Goodness knows, half the Super Smash Bros. roster hasn’t gotten a standalone game in ages.
9Ice Climbers
Literally Their Profession
Ice Climber
I don’t claim to be a particularly big fan of the Ice Climbers, Popo and Nana. I didn’t even know they existed before they showed up in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and they were never particularly popular in that or subsequent Smash games.
Nevertheless, someone at Nintendo is clearly carrying a torch for them. I say, if Popo and Nana are supposedly good enough for Smash, then it’s time to put up or shut up and give them a new game.
Climbing and mobility are a big part of the Mario Odyssey formula, both of which just happen to be the Ice Climbers’ bread and butter. Even back in their lone NES game, jumping and climbing stuff was pretty much all they were doing.
Their Belay ability from Smash, wherein one launches the other up with a rope, would be great for surmounting high peaks, and they could probably develop new abilities throughout the game with ice as a theme.
More than anything, consider the marketing perspective. Both Odyssey and Bananza haveoptional co-op modes, something Nintendo seems weirdly into these days, so a game with two equal protagonists could be perfect for something a little more in tune with that concept.
Astro Bot Did It
Since he first resurfaced as a secret character in Mario Kart DS, Nintendo’s Robotic Operating Buddy, better known as R.O.B., has been a sort of shadow mascot for the company. Rather than representing the games like Mario does, he represents the hardware, the tangible element of the Nintendo experience.
Maybe he’s not as recognizable as Mario, but I think R.O.B. deserves some more love, and an Odyssey-like is the perfect way to do it.
If you’ll recall his kit in Super Smash Bros., R.O.B. has quite a few tricks up his sleeve for an old toy from the 80s. He can fly with the jets mounted under his stand, spin his torso rapidly, fire various flavors of laser vision, and use his spinny, revving hand things to fire off gyros. That’s already a perfectly good basis to build an Odyssey-like traversal and combat kit out of.
More to the point, a R.O.B. game could serve as a fun opportunity to celebrate Nintendo’s hardware history, similar to what Astro Bot is for PlayStation. You could have him journey around to find and/or repair old Nintendo consoles, and maybe have them all combine into a giant robot for the last boss.
7A Humanoid Pokémon
With A Few Other ‘Mons In Tow
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
I always like it whenPokémonbranches out into genres beyond its usual RPG territory. It’s such a vast franchise with literally over a thousand recognizable characters, it’s frankly a waste not to do more with them. Grabbing a few Pokémon and placing them in a grand scale, Odyssey-esque adventure feels like it would be downright simple.
It would be cool to have this hypothetical platformer set in the Mystery Dungeon world, with Pokémon that can fully communicate with one another. The million-dollar question, though, is who our protagonist would be.
The way I see it, the best course of action would be to have a neutral, humanoid Pokémon as our ringleader, and back them up with a few weirder ‘Mons to serve as powers or transformation analogs.
For example, we could have a Lucario, Cinderace, or Machoke in charge, then switch to a Pikachu to squeeze into tight spaces or a Lapras for water surfing. It’d be kind of like the travel system in Legends: Arceus, just without the RPG stuff.
If we’re talking about aStar FoxOdyssey-like, your first inclination would probably be to give the starring role to Fox. However, Fox had his little Adventure back on the GameCube, for better or worse, and I think someone else on the team should get a turn.
Peppy is too old for this and Slippy is… Slippy, so that just leaves one viable candidate: Falco. Maybe he prefers the air, but I think Falco would make a great protagonist for an acrobatic platformer.
Admittedly, I’m not sure if Falco can actually fly under his own power, but at the very least, I’m sure he could do some cool jumps and acrobatics, and maybe glide around on his big wing feathers. If we need to incorporate more Star Fox iconography, maybe Slippy could build him a little Arwing-shaped jetpack or something.
As for combat, hopefully, we can learn from Adventure’s weird reluctance to just let Fox have his blaster and give Falco a proper arsenal. Give him a blaster, give him his little reflector thing from Smash to kick at people, and maybe also just let him kick people. Every Star Fox member is good at kicking people, or at least I like to think so.
They’ve Got The Mobility And Gear
Splatoon 3
There’s a nonzero chance that the upcoming Splatoon Raiders will be an Odyssey-like, but at the time of writing, there’s little-to-no info available about that, so we can’t say for certain. Assuming it isn’t, I do hope we get an Odyssey-like set in theSplatoonworld at some point down the line, because I think it could work very well with the Inklings’ and Octolings’ particular skillsets.
The single-player modes of the Splatoon games already have a big emphasis on mobility abilities like super jumping and climbing walls, not to mention hopping around between floating platforms and constructs, and occasionally hunting down secrets. Just arrange a few of those in a big, open world, and the whole thing writes itself.
Splatoon Raiders Announced As Nintendo Switch 2 Exclusive
Nintendo has announced Splatoon Raiders, the franchise’s first spin-off game featuring the Deep Cut Trio, which is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
My only concern is that, due to the way the Splatoon games control, the platforming bits aren’t always the most cohesive. Perhaps we could dial back the third-person shooter mechanics a bit to focus more on a raw platforming experience, though I imagine not everyone would be happy with that. Sometimes, you’ve got to break new ground with established franchises and formats. That’s what I say.
One Pair Of Wings, Lots Of Weapons
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus’ Pit strikes me as a character Nintendo isn’t really sure what to do with. Following his comeback for Brawl and Kid Icarus: Uprising, he hasn’t gotten any new games, very much in spite of fan demand. We already know from Uprising’s on-foot segments that a new Kid Icarus game doesn’t need to be an on-rails shooter, so why not take the rails off entirely and just let Pit explore freely?
Kid Icarus: Uprising introduced a massive catalog of different weapons with different abilities, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to bring a few of those back as mediums for unique abilities like climbing, gliding, surfing, teleporting, and what have you.
Maybe we could even have a take on A Short Hike’s gliding system, with special hidden collectibles gradually improving Pit’s ability to glide on his otherwise fragile wings.
I will say, if this game ever manifests, it is a hard requirement that we get more voiced banter between Pit and Palutena, and maybe also Viridi. That was one of the best parts of Uprising, and we can’t do this without them.
He’s Halfway There
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby and the Forgotten Landwas one of the biggest adventures our favorite little cosmic horror has ever gotten up to, both in literal size and scope. However, it was still a strictly linear, level-based affair. Big levels, but levels nonetheless. Kirby’s particular flavor of mobility and flexibility might make it a little tricky to build an Odyssey-like around, but I think it’s a worthwhile challenge to undertake.
If you think about it, the way Mario Odyssey placed enemies and NPCs that could be Captured and utilized isn’t all that different from how Kirby games place enemies withCopy Abilities to encourage problem-solving.
It would really just be a matter of scattering a bunch of those around a large sandbox and leaving you to explore and uncover macguffins at your own pace rather than moving you down a particular path.
The only question mark is what, if anything, would differentiate this hypothetical Kirby game from the others beyond its basic mechanics. Every Kirby game needs an extra hook, after all. Perhaps we could take a page from DK’s book and opt for more extreme physical transformations, like Mouthful Mode with a larger moveset.
Bowser’s Earned An Adventure
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Why does Bowser only get to be a protagonist in the Mario RPGs? Don’t get me wrong, I loved Bowser’s Inside Story, but the King of Koopas has so much untapped potential on his rival’s turf. He’s plenty fast and mobile, he’s as strong as Donkey Kong, and if Bowser’s Inside Story is any indication, his minions are always ready for an impromptu siege maneuver. Let Bowser cook, for goodness’ sake.
I could easily see a Bowser-centric Odyssey-like with a similar setup to Super Mario RPG, wherein someone else kidnaps Peach or takes his stuff. Bowser is a very proactive leader, and he would totally rush into a big open world to get the resources he needs to kick another villain’s butt.
He could use various kinds of fire breath or magical abilities, maybe learn some new shell maneuvers, or call up minions like Goomba stacks to reach high spots or Bob-Ombs to blow up weak walls.
If he has to have some kind of sidekick, Bowser Jr. could always tag along, similar to his role alongside Mario in Bowser’s Fury. He could be Bowser’s little tech wiz, his guy in a chair. Tell me you don’t want to see some wholesomefather-son adventure bonding between Bowser and Bowser Jr.You can’t do it.
Any Wario Game Would Be Nice, Really
WarioWare: Move It!
Speaking of major Nintendo characters that deserve the spotlight, we haven’t had a new Wario game in over a decade,WarioWarenotwithstanding. The guy was all over the place when I was a kid, with one of my favorite games being Wario World, but nowNintendo won’t let him have a proper adventure anymore.
As much as I love WarioWare, it’s time for Mr. Greedy Garlicpants to get back to his actual profession: treasure hunting and smashing stuff.
A hypothetical Super Wario Odyssey could incorporate elements from Wario’s previous adventures, such as his titanic strength and affinity for piledriving punks, his ability to spontaneously transform when injured, or his tendency to shake the stuffing out of anything he gets his grubby mitts on.
Half the fun of the Odyssey formula is treasure hunting anyway, so Wario’s honestly overqualified for the position.
I do sincerely hope that if this idea were to ever be realized, Waluigi would finally break his spin-off game shackles and make an appearance, even if only in a small capacity. Heck, he could even be a rival character, racing Wario around the world for a grand treasure.
