Nintendo kicked off the early days of the Nintendo Switch with a bang. For one thing, the Switch hadThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildin its infancy, which got an overwhelmingly positive reception. Although the game broke theZeldaformula in a lot of ways, fans loved it. Coincidentally, Nintendo pulled off something similar withSuper Mario Odyssey.AlthoughSuper Mario Odysseyintroduced a ton of new worlds and characters while vastly expanding Mario’s capabilities, Nintendo ended up with another blockbuster on its hands thanks to its willingness to take risks.
Super Mario Odysseyis such a solid game that it seems inevitable Nintendo will follow it up somehow. The game introduced too many interesting mechanics and compelling settings to go without a sequel, whether direct or indirect. AlthoughSuper Mario Odyssey 2seems like an extremely safe bet for both Nintendo and speculating fans, it probably isn’t going to crop up anytime soon. For one thing, Nintendo doesn’t seem like it wants tofocus on newSuper Mariogamesin the near future. For another, Nintendo has enough going on right now that it might be impractical to focus on makingSuper Mario Odyssey 2on top of everything else.
RELATED:Mario Golf: Super Rush Shows Nintendo Should Use Mario’s Cast in 3D Sandbox Games
Why Super Mario Odyssey 2 Seems Inevitable
There’s a couple of good reasons that Nintendo will probably make anotherSuper Mario Odysseygame in the next few years. One of them is simple: Fans lovedSuper Mario Odyssey.The latest 3D sandbox platformer inSuper Mario’s repertoire taught Mario all kinds of new tricks, especially new ways for Mario to jump that resulted in technically skilledOdysseyplayers coming up with useful jump combos.Odysseyalso introduced Mario to Cappy, a curious new companion that allowed Mario to take control of his enemies and gain an extra footstool while platforming. Response toSuper Mario Odyssey’s new ideaswas so positive it’s only logical that Nintendo makes use of them in a second game sometime soon, probably within the Switch’s lifetime.
There’s also Nintendo’s frequent production of sequels and subfranchises to take into account. When a Nintendo game does extremely well, the company doesn’t often leave it alone.Breath of the Wildexemplifies that with the impendingBreath of the Wild 2,a much-anticipated sequelcoming exclusively to the Switch. Similarly, Nintendo jumped on the success of games likeSplatoonand built on the risky ideas therein.
Nintendo’s proclivity for producing sequels, as well as its knack for it, mean thatSuper Mario Odyssey 2has to be on the table. Nintendo knows thatSuper Mariofans would love to get another game likeOdyssey,so it’ll probably cash in on that market.Super Mariohas seen speedy sequels before with the likes ofSuper Mario Galaxy 2, soOdysseycould be similar.
RELATED:A Permanent ‘Mario 35’ Shouldn’t be Based On The NES Game
Why Super Mario Odyssey 2 Could Take a While
Even though Nintendo clearly isn’t lacking motivation to makeSuper Mario Odyssey 2,it also has reasons to hold off. For one thing, Nintendo is busy. The aforementionedBreath of the Wild 2is only one of its biggest projects meant to release in the near future. It also has a great manyPokemongames on the horizon, poised to impact the brand’s future. There’s alsoMetroid, Splatoon,andBayonettafor Nintendo to think about, let alone all the other IPs it’s supposedly making a game for, likeDonkey Kong.
Super Mariois undeniably a huge part of Nintendo’s brand - Nintendo essentially uses theSuper Mariocast as mascots - but Nintendo isn’t carried by Mario alone. It has a ton of other franchises, fromSplatoontoThe Legend of Zelda,that it has to help succeed. With so many games for these other franchises on the way, it’s only natural that Nintendo has Mario take a back seat for a little bit. It wouldn’t be particularly efficient to attempt to advertise and expandevery single major Nintendo IPat the same time. It’s best to pick and choose franchises as priorities so Nintendo can polish them to perfection.
Beyond efficiency and Nintendo’s busy schedule, there’s also the recentSuper Mariocelebration to think about. Nintendo already allowedSuper Marioto take center stage via the temporary battle royaleSuper Mario Bros. 35and the classic 3D platformer collectionSuper Mario 3D All-Stars.Nintendo can’t be blamed for wanting to take a break fromSuper Mariofor now. In fact, it seems like that might be its plan, based onthe poll Nintendo recently put outasking fans if they want moreMariocontent. It seems Nintendo is sensitive to the major tide ofSuper Mariothat it just unleashed, and so it might hold off on projects like aSuper Mario Odysseysequel.
Nintendo Should Get Around to Odyssey 2 Later
For theSuper Mariosuperfans who really wanted to jump onanother big-budgetMarioplatformer, it’s a shame to think that the next game in the main series could be a few years away. Even so, such fans should hold onto hope thatSuper Mario Odyssey 2is a matter of time. There’s just too many good things about the game for Nintendo to leave it on the table completely. Someday, Nintendo will almost certainly produce anOdysseysequel, or at the very least a spiritual successor that borrows and builds on many ofOdyssey’s ideas in a newMarioadventure.
The beauty of theSuper Marioseriesis that the formula remains simple and accessible for fans no matter how many new building blocks thatMariogames offer their successors. Even if it’s far off, it’s not hard to imagine thatSuper Mario Odyssey 2will be just as welcome as the original game no matter what form it takes. For now, fans will just have to remain patient.
Super Mario Odysseyis available now for Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Mario Party Superstars Should Take These Elements From Super Mario Party
