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143-529: Super Mario Odyssey is a 2017 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch . An entry in the Super Mario series, it follows Mario and his new ally Cappy—a sentient hat that allows Mario to control other characters and objects—as they journey across various kingdoms to save Princess Peach from Mario's nemesis Bowser 's plans of forced marriage. In contrast to

286-419: A + or - button, a sync button, and player indicator lights. Joy-Con L contains directional buttons, a - button, top buttons designated as L and ZL , and a screenshot button, which enables the player to upload screenshots to social media. In an update released on October 18, 2017, the screenshot button is also able to record up to 30 seconds of gameplay in select games when held down for

429-608: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

572-452: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

715-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

858-426: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Joy-Con Joy-Con are the primary game controllers for the Nintendo Switch video game console . They consist of two individual units, each containing an analog stick and an array of buttons. They can be used while attached to

1001-437: A Nintendo presentation, Odyssey was formally announced to be in development, and was followed shortly after with gameplay footage. A section at E3 2017 was themed around New Donk City, and was filled with kiosks that allowed people to play a demo. The announcement at E3 2017 was the most popular part of the presentation on social media and was considered the best part of the show by other attending developers. Critics also noted

1144-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

1287-534: A balloon somewhere in a kingdom, which is then able to be played by others attempting to find it. A leaderboard system ranks the players who have found the most balloons. The game was updated in 2019 to be compatible with the Nintendo Labo virtual reality kit. In this mode, Mario must complete challenges in a number of Kingdoms to recruit musicians and give them instruments by completing tasks related to musical notes. Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach from

1430-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

1573-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

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1716-544: A character a little later after the hat throwing mechanic was introduced because the developers wanted a "buddy" to travel alongside Mario. The developers prioritized the city environment when selecting which environments to represent in Odyssey . They wanted a familiar aspect from the series to anchor players in the novel setting, and so chose Pauline , a character who first appeared alongside Mario in Donkey Kong , to be

1859-429: A classic D-pad in lieu of directional buttons. The controller lacked features such as HD rumble, SL and SR buttons, gyroscope, and wireless connectivity standard to Nintendo-produced Joy-Con, forcing its users to be restricted to handheld mode. This was notably the first officially licensed Joy-Con to be released by a third-party company. Two more officially licensed D-pad variants featuring The Legend of Zelda: Breath of

2002-488: A cognitive training program ("CogPack") or standard treatments. The study, involving 46 individuals with depression, compared the effects of the video game, the cognitive program, and standard treatments, including medication and psychotherapy, over six weeks. Participants playing the video game reported higher treatment motivation and showed notable improvements in depressive symptoms. The study also assessed cognitive functions, finding improvements in visuo-spatial memory in both

2145-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

2288-796: A gamepad configuration via USB-C . Nintendo released a Joy-Con AA battery pack attachment on June 16, 2017, which slide onto the Joy-Con similarly to the wrist strap attachments. Joy-Con can be obtained in various colors, either with the purchase of the Switch console or individually, both separately or as a pair. At launch, Joy-Con were available in slate gray, neon red R and neon blue L colors. Black Joy-Con are also issued with Switch development kits . In mid-2017, Nintendo introduced neon yellow Joy-Con, released alongside Arms as well as neon green and neon pink Joy-Con which launched alongside Splatoon 2 . A pair of red Joy-Con were released as part of

2431-420: A glass. It was discovered shortly after public release that Joy-Con can connect to and be used with other Bluetooth-enabled personal computers and mobile devices. Official Joy-Con support was also added to iPhones and iPads as part of the iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 updates respectively. Prior to the public release of Nintendo Switch, various video gaming websites reported that the controllers—most commonly

2574-410: A hat-wearing character, but because of the new action involved in this hat, we decided to make it into a character" ... "Part of it was we wanted to have someone Mario would go on this adventure with" ... Director Kenta Motokura, 2017 Time , interview The developers constructed prototypes of gameplay gimmicks or platforming stages first; from there, they would discuss what kind of setting or theme

2717-609: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

2860-616: A lawsuit against Nintendo in the United States District Court for the Central District of California , alleging that the design of the Joy-Con controllers conflicts with its patent on the design for the Wikipad , an Android -based gaming device that also features a tablet with a detachable controller. The lawsuit sought damages on existing Switch sales and banning further sales of the console. The lawsuit

3003-511: A limited quantity breakfast cereal ⁠—" Super Mario Cereal"⁠—in the United States . The back of the box contains an NFC tag that can be scanned like an Amiibo toy, which provides exclusive in-game extras. Super Mario Odyssey received "universal acclaim", according to the review aggregator Metacritic . As of 2023, Metacritic ranks Odyssey as the joint third highest-rated game of all-time. Andrew Webster of The Verge thought that

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3146-457: A lot." Odyssey was designed to appeal somewhat more to Mario 's core audience—a departure from the series' then-recent focus on casual players; the game focuses more on dense, open-world exploration rather than the linear gameplay recent Mario games have taken, following instead the format of games such as Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine . According to Miyamoto, after Super Mario Galaxy and 3D World , linear gameplay

3289-631: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

3432-458: A number of their favorite gameplay activities. Famitsu gave the game a score of 39/40, the same as Super Mario 64 and the highest score for a 3D Mario game since then. Perfect 10/10 scores were also awarded by IGN and GameSpot , who both praised the game's originality. In contrast, Ian Dallas, the creator of What Remains of Edith Finch , gave Super Mario Odyssey a lukewarm review. He explained, "My problem with Super Mario Odyssey

3575-578: A public apology from the company for the drift problem as part of an investors' meeting in June 2020, stating "We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers regarding Joy-Con controllers. We are continuing to improve our products", but could not comment further due to ongoing legal cases related to the controllers. With the release of the OLED revision of the Switch in October 2021, Nintendo said that

3718-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along

3861-624: A second. Joy-Con R contains A , B , X , and Y buttons, a + button, top buttons designated as R and ZR , and a Home button. Each Joy-Con contains an accelerometer and gyroscope , which can be used for motion tracking . Games can support using the Joy-Con for pointing controls similar to the Wii Remote while detached without the need of a sensor bar. Joy-Con R contains an infrared depth tracking sensor, which can read objects and motions held in front of it; as an example of its functionality, Nintendo stated that

4004-404: A sense of connection to this gimmick, Mario's own hat was the object chosen to be thrown. In an interview with Koizumi, he stated that every core gameplay concept was decided on very early into the game's development cycle, with the philosophy of creating an entirely new experience for the series; these ideas consisted of traveling between kingdoms, collecting Power Moons, and other settings. Cappy

4147-654: A set of two $ 79.99. In response to increased complaints and potential legal action for the drift issue, Nintendo stated that they were aware of the frequent reports, but did not offer immediate advice outside of contacting their technical support lines. On July 23, 2019, three days after the filing of a class action lawsuit, an internal Nintendo memo was leaked; the memo instructed the firm's customer service employees in North America to start offering repairs for drifting Joy-Con controllers for free, regardless of warranty status. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa issued

4290-470: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

4433-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

Super Mario Odyssey - Misplaced Pages Continue

4576-637: A silver Super Smash Bros. series cross logo became available for pre-order alongside Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on November 2, 2018, and were later released on December 7, 2018, as part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Switch bundle. In July 2019, Nintendo announced that the neon purple and neon orange Joy-Con would be released on October 4, 2019, as well as the blue and neon yellow Joy-Con. Ultramarine blue Joy-Con launched alongside Dragon Quest XI S in Japan on September 27, 2019, as part of

4719-455: A single Switch console at a time. The Joy-Con can be optionally attached to a "Joy-Con Grip" accessory, with or without charging capabilities, that convert the controllers to a more traditional gamepad -like form factor. When detached from the console, both Joy-Con units operate autonomously of each other, and communicate with the console via Bluetooth . Wrist strap attachments are provided, which are similarly installed by sliding them onto

4862-445: A smaller form factor, which led to the idea of a console that could be portable, controlled through these smaller controllers. This became the fundamental principle of the Switch, and directly into the Joy-Con design. Both controllers contain a clickable analog stick, four face buttons, two top buttons, two side buttons accessible when detached (which become shoulder buttons when held horizontally) and designated as SL and SR ,

5005-725: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

5148-473: A template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding

5291-417: Is able to take possession of them, referred to as "capturing", allowing him to use unique abilities. For example, Mario can capture a Bullet Bill to fly across large gaps, a Tyrannosaurus to trample things, a bolt of electricity called a Spark Pylon to climb up electric wires, and a tank called a Sherm to fire at enemies and break blocks for passage. Some actions can be accelerated by using motion controls in

5434-417: Is also a level based on Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64 unlocked by beating the game. This level allows Mario to face harder versions of previously defeated bosses and earn additional Power Moons by completing in-game achievements . The game features a photo mode that allows players to use a free-moving camera to take and save screenshots , with additional options such as filters and stickers. Use of

5577-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give

5720-437: Is defeated, each kingdom is repopulated with more Power Moons to collect. Collecting enough Power Moons allows for additional outfits to be purchased and unlocks two bonus levels. One of these levels is a boss rush called Dark Side, with 250 Power Moons required to enter. The other is a platforming gauntlet called Darker Side that combines many elements of the game, and requires 500 Power Moons to enter. In addition to this, there

5863-474: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

Super Mario Odyssey - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-419: Is placed in a 2D side-scrolling environment similar to his appearance in the original Super Mario Bros. In addition to his pre-existing moves, like triple-jumping and wall-jumping, Mario can throw his cap, the physical form of a hat spirit named Cappy, in multiple directions to attack enemies and use as a temporary platform. When the cap is thrown at certain objects, enemies, or non-playable characters, Mario

6149-469: Is that it's not actually satisfying to finish. This is not to say it isn't worth playing; it absolutely is. I just don't think it's worth finishing". Phil Hornshaw of Digital Trends gave the game 4/5 stars, saying that "Mario's first turn on the Switch is fun, but lacks the innovation and creativity of Nintendo's best." Hornshaw also noted that the "Controls and camera can be imprecise" and "frustrating". The song "Jump Up, Super Star!" debuted at number 33 on

6292-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in

6435-415: Is to apply compressed air or contact cleaner under the rubber skirt of the joystick. Nintendo repairs this issue for free if under warranty, but the cost of repair for an out of warranty Joy-Con could be over 40 United States dollars according to many reports on the topic. The high price of repair leads many to buy an entirely new Joy-Con as they only cost slightly more than a repair, a single being $ 49.99 and

6578-586: The Super Mario Odyssey bundle, except in Japan and Europe (My Nintendo Store only) where they are available standalone, which was released in October 2017. An exclusive Nintendo Labo Joy-Con design, light brown in color, was released in 2018. It was exclusively available to winners of the Nintendo Labo Creators Contest. In July 2018, Hori, a video game peripheral company, released a dark blue left Joy-Con featuring

6721-741: The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch bundle. Sunglow yellow and French blue Joy-Con were released as part of two Fortnite bundles; the sunglow yellow Joy-Con L and French blue Joy-Con R were released on October 6, 2020 in Europe and November 6, 2020 in Australia and New Zealand as part of the Fortnite special edition Switch bundle, and the French blue Joy-Con L and sunglow yellow Joy-Con R were released as part of

6864-626: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

7007-606: The Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the week of November 11, 2017. In Japan, the song reached No. 1 on the Japanese iTunes Store. On the US iTunes Store, the song debuted at 25 in the "All Genres" category. Kate Higgins performed "Jump Up, Super Star!" live at The Game Awards 2017 ceremony. Three days after release, more than two million copies of the game were sold worldwide, with 500,000 in Japan. During its launch week,

7150-845: The Dragon Quest XI S Loto Edition Switch bundle. Pink and mulberry Tsum Tsum Joy-Con launched alongside Disney Tsum Tsum Festival in Japan on October 10, 2019, as part of the Disney Tsum Tsum Festival Switch bundle. Gray Joy-Con variants with a thunderbolt symbol on the left and a Pikachu silhouette on the right were released in Japan on November 29, 2019, as part of the Thunderbolt Project Switch bundle. Medium aquamarine and sky blue Joy-Con became available for pre-order alongside Animal Crossing: New Horizons on March 13, 2020, and were later released on March 20, 2020, as part of

7293-651: The Fortnite - Fleet Force bundle on June 4, 2021. Red Mario Joy-Con launched on January 12, 2021, as part of the Mario Red & Blue Edition -themed Switch bundle. Gray Joy-Con variants featuring silver and gold Monster Hunter Rise artwork were released on March 26, 2021, as part of the Monster Hunter Rise Switch bundle. A blue Joy-Con pair themed after the Master Sword and Hylian Shield from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

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7436-585: The Joy-Con controllers, but the game is otherwise fully playable with the Joy-Con attached to the console. Throughout the game, Mario can pick up coins, which come in two types; regular gold coins and purple ones unique to each kingdom, to spend on items such as new hats and outfits, some of which are required for completing certain objectives. The game uses a health system similar to the Super Mario Galaxy games; although Mario has unlimited lives ,

7579-683: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

7722-530: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

7865-678: The Moon and leaves the two to fight the Broodals in their Mecha-Broodal. They defeat the Mecha-Broodal and follow Bowser to the Moon. Mario and Cappy fly the Odyssey to the Moon's surface and confront Bowser inside a cathedral . After Mario falls through a trapdoor set up by Bowser, the two battle in the Moon's interior, where Bowser is defeated and Mario frees Peach and Tiara, however the cavern quickly begins to collapse. Upon landing deeper in

8008-476: The Mushroom Kingdom and takes her aboard his airship, intent on forcibly marrying her. Mario , also aboard, attempts to rescue her but is knocked off the ship by Bowser's hat after a brief fight and falls into the neighboring Cap Kingdom. With Mario gone, Bowser stomps on Mario's cap and lets it drift into the ship's rear propellers, shredding it to pieces. A piece of the hat is grabbed by Cappy, one of

8151-631: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

8294-503: The Odyssey , and begin hunting Bowser down. Mario and Cappy explore the various kingdoms to collect Power Moons to fuel the Odyssey and battle the Broodals—a team of anthropomorphic rabbit wedding planners hired by Bowser—who steal items including a dress, a cake, and a bouquet from different kingdoms to set up Bowser's wedding. Eventually, they catch up to Bowser in his own kingdom; however, Bowser subsequently departs for his wedding on

8437-470: The Odyssey -themed Mario, Peach, and Bowser Amiibo figurines allow for special in-game abilities and unlocking special costumes which are otherwise unavailable until after the player completes the game and collects enough Power Moons. Other Amiibo can be scanned to provide hints to finding Power Moons. A hide-and-seek minigame , called " Luigi 's Balloon World", was released as part of an update on February 21, 2018. In it, players have 30 seconds to hide

8580-525: The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Switch – OLED Model bundle. In December 2018, Nintendo also released two Joy-Con variants with designs resembling classic Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo Famicom controllers, available exclusively to individuals with an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The Famicom variants were only available to Nintendo Switch Online members in Japan. These variants were designed to be used specifically with

8723-537: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

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8866-453: The "Top 50 Games of 2017". Ars Technica ranked the game as their Game of the Year, while The Verge named it as one of their 15 Best Games of 2017. Readers and staff of Game Informer voted it as the best platforming game of the year, while the former also voted it as Game of the Year, along with Best Nintendo Game. Electronic Gaming Monthly also ranked the game at #4 in their list of

9009-567: The 25 Best Games of 2017. The game won the award for "Best Switch Game" in Destructoid ' s Game of the Year Awards 2017. It also won the awards for "Best Platformer" and "Best Original Music" in IGN ' s Best of 2017 Awards, whereas its other nominations were for "Game of the Year" and "Best Switch Game". It was also nominated for "Switch Retail Game of the Year" and "Overall Game of

9152-512: The Cap Kingdom's sentient hat-like creatures called Bonneters. The two meet, and he explains to Mario that Bowser also kidnapped his sister, Tiara, to be used as Peach's wedding tiara . Cappy joins Mario and takes the shape of Mario's cap, providing him with the ability to throw his cap and temporarily control or capture other creatures and objects and utilize their abilities. They travel to the nearby Cascade Kingdom, recover an airship called

9295-468: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

9438-480: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

9581-524: The Joy-Con L and R weigh 49 grams (1.7 oz) and 52.1 grams (1.84 oz), respectively. When measured from the top of the analog stick to the tip of the ZL/ZR trigger it has an extreme depth of 28.4 millimetres (1.12 in). Joy-Con can be attached to the sides of the Switch console via rails, or detached and used wirelessly—either as a pair (comparable to a Wii Remote and Nunchuk), or divided between two different players. Up to 8 Joy-Con can connect to

9724-590: The Joy-Con L—were susceptible to connection losses when used wirelessly. It was initially unknown whether these problems were the result of an interference issue, or caused by the pre-launch software on review units. A Nintendo spokesperson stated to Polygon that the company would "continue to monitor the performance of Nintendo Switch hardware and software, and make improvements when necessary". The company posted guidance on its support website for minimizing Bluetooth signal interference, including recommendations that

9867-571: The Joy-Con was partially inspired by feedback from players using the Wii Remote , according to Nintendo's Shinya Takahashi . After releasing games that heavily used the Wii Remote with the Wii, such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit , players had asked for different design features, such as having a smaller form factor, or being able to be strapped to a part of the body. Nintendo envisioned what benefits towards innovative design and gameplay could come from

10010-467: The Joy-Con were designed with planned obsolescence intended to fail or break due to the drift issue and other factors. The suit seeks to compel Nintendo to change its manufacturing process to improve the durability of the Joy-Con. A consortium of nine European consumer organizations requested consumers inform them on Joy-Con drift issues in December 2020 as they negotiated with Nintendo on how to resolve

10153-406: The Joy-Con were hard to detach from the controllers. It was also reported that a wrist strap could easily be attached to the Joy-Con incorrectly and become difficult to remove. One of the more common issues to be found with the Joy-Con is joystick drift. This issue occurs when dust or other small particles come in contact with the internal sensors of the analog stick. A common remedy for this issue

10296-405: The Switch console be placed away from other wireless-enabled devices. On March 22, 2017, Nintendo confirmed that the interference issues were caused by a "manufacturing variant" in a small number of Joy-Con from early production runs, and that the company would allow owners to send in their affected Joy-Con for repairs free-of-charge. On launch, it was reported that the wrist strap attachments for

10439-469: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

10582-704: The United States. Two class action lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington in July 2019 and September 2019 over the Joy-Con drift issue. The first suit alleges that Nintendo is well aware of the defect but does not "disclose the defect and routinely refuses to repair the joysticks without charge"; the second suit alleges that the Joy-Con controllers are defective. It asserts claims for breach of warranty, fraud, and violations of numerous state consumer protection statutes. The court refused to dismiss

10725-494: The United States. The game officially released October 27, 2017, alongside Amiibo of Mario, Peach, and Bowser in their respective wedding attire. In addition, a limited-time Odyssey themed Nintendo Switch was released, containing the console, Joy-Con reminiscent to the color of the character Cappy, a Switch console carrying case, and a Nintendo eShop digital download code for Odyssey . Later that December, Nintendo partnered with food manufacturing company Kellogg's to release

10868-530: The Wild and Super Mario Odyssey themes were later released by Hori in September 2018. Joy-Con colors based on Eevee and Pikachu's color schemes were released alongside Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! on November 16, 2018, as part of the Switch bundle for the games, and Hori released a fourth D-pad Joy-Con variant featuring a Pikachu theme on the same day. Gray Joy-Con variants featuring

11011-886: The Year" by both reader and staff votes in Nintendo Life ' s Game of the Year Awards. The game won the Game of the Year award at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers award event, where it won all but one of the categories it was nominated for. Odyssey also won the awards in IGN ' s Best of E3 for "Best Platformer", "Best Nintendo Switch Game", and "Game of Show"; and in Destructoid ' s Best of E3 for "Best of Show". A preliminary study conducted in Germany found that playing Super Mario Odyssey significantly reduced depression symptoms more than

11154-404: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in

11297-516: The accuracy of standard controls. The ability for Mario to turn into his 2D Super Mario Bros. form in certain segments was compared to the puzzles featured in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds , while VentureBeat noted the game's similarities to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Edge praised the inventiveness of the game's new ideas and the risks Nintendo had taken to deviate from

11440-529: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

11583-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

11726-609: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

11869-416: The controllers' rails. The strap attachments have a rounded shape and raised shoulder buttons to improve the ergonomics of the Joy-Con when used individually. Joy-Con contain non-removable 3.7 volt 525 mAh 1.9 watt hour lithium-ion polymer batteries; they are charged when attached to a Switch console that itself is charging. A separate "charging grip" accessory allows the controllers to be charged in

12012-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

12155-414: The developers filled them with diversity and small details to give them a sense of empathy by making the player feel connected to them. Each kingdom was based on personal experiences from the designers, and they built off these locations by experimenting with how Mario could interact with them. The ability to take in-game screenshots was also considered by the team to be a natural fit. Cappy was created into

12298-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

12441-469: The established formula of Mario games, which they believed had paid off. They likened the game to Super Mario 64 and called it the spiritual successor that had previously not yet been achieved. The magazine also complimented the introduction of Cappy and the capturing mechanic, which they called the most versatile ability in the Mario series to date, and enjoyed how the ability allowed Nintendo to reinvent

12584-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

12727-541: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

12870-470: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

13013-479: The game competed with Assassin's Creed Origins , which it was narrowly outsold by in the United Kingdom. In the United States and Europe, it became Nintendo's fastest-selling Super Mario game ever, with 1.1 million copies sold in the US within five days. According to the NPD Group , the game was the bestselling video game of October 2017, and was listed by Amazon as the online retailer's highest-selling game of

13156-434: The game could be played. Motion controls were also implemented, being able to use the two controllers in each hand. The developers were careful in making sure the game was fun to play in these distinct ways. To bridge the two, the game was balanced to allow gameplay in short bursts or long sessions to satisfy both fields. Kenta Motokura mentioned at an interview at E3 that the game was made possible to play in these two ways;

13299-552: The game was released on iTunes in December 2017. A four-disc soundtrack containing 136 tracks was released in Japan in 2018 by Being Inc. The soundtracks include English, Japanese, and instrumental versions of "Jump Up Super Star!" and "Break Free (Lead the Way)". The discs also include commentary from some of the development staff. The game was teased via the Nintendo Switch console announcement trailer in 2016; in January 2017 during

13442-410: The game's density of secrets and noted the format of open-world exploration. Two weeks before the game's release, Nintendo uploaded a Broadway inspired promotional music video of "Jump Up Super Star!", which featured live-action dancers alongside a CGI animated character of Mario. The song was released on the digital music storefront iTunes shortly after and became one of the top 40 best sellers in

13585-438: The game's lead composer, Naoto Kubo, with vocals by Kate Higgins . The song's chorus was made simple to be memorable and easy to sing along to. Lyrics were written in Japanese by Nobuyoshi Suzuki and translated to English by Rob Heiret. Another theme song, "Break Free (Lead the Way)", followed a similar process. Other music was written by Shiho Fujii and series sound director Koji Kondo . A sampler album containing 12 tracks from

13728-582: The game, on the hat-shaped ship Odyssey , to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser , who plans to forcibly marry her. The Kingdoms in the game return to the exploration-based level design featured in Super Mario 64 . Each Kingdom has Mario searching for and clearing various objectives in order to obtain items known as Power Moons, which are the power source of the Odyssey and grant access to new Kingdoms. Checkpoint flags littered throughout each Kingdom allow Mario to instantly warp to them once activated. Certain levels feature areas called "flat" zones, where Mario

13871-492: The game. After completing the main story mode, other post-game kingdoms are unlockable as well as an additional minigame, " Luigi 's Balloon World". The game supports multiplayer and virtual reality with a Nintendo Labo virtual reality kit. Developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division, the game entered development in 2013 soon after the release of Super Mario 3D World . Various ideas were suggested during development, and to incorporate them all

14014-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

14157-457: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

14300-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"

14443-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

14586-565: The library of classic Nintendo titles available through the Nintendo Switch Online service, as well as with select modern Switch titles. Both are notable for heavily deviating from the normal Joy-Con design, instead being taller and more rectangular in shape, having fewer buttons than standard Joy-Con, and, in the case of the Famicom variants, featuring a working microphone in the right controller. Notes The feature set of

14729-544: The linear gameplay of prior entries, the game returns to the primarily open-ended, 3D platform gameplay featured in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine . In the game, Mario explores various kingdoms and collects Power Moons hidden inside them, used as a fuel source to power an airship known as the Odyssey to travel to new locations. Cappy's main function is the "capture" ability, letting Mario possess enemies and other objects, helping him solve puzzles and progress in

14872-620: The main Nintendo Switch console unit, or detached and used wirelessly; when detached, a pair of Joy-Con can be used by a single player, or divided between two as individual controllers. The controllers have been criticized for the tendency of the analog sticks to register inputs when not being touched, which is commonly referred to as Joy-Con drift. Joy-Con are distributed in pairs, designated as "Joy-Con L" and "Joy-Con R" respectively. They each measure 35.9 by 102 by 13.9 millimetres (1.41 in × 4.02 in × 0.55 in), and

15015-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,

15158-400: The mayor of New Donk City. While doing character work for Pauline, they gave her an interest in jazz music . This led her to becoming a singer, with the inclusion of the song "Jump Up Super Star!" Super Mario Run had previously featured a track with vocals that was added in an update released one month prior to Odyssey . A swing music -inspired song, "Jump Up Super Star!" was composed by

15301-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

15444-457: The moon, Mario takes control of an unconscious Bowser using Cappy and escapes to the surface with Peach and Tiara. Back on the surface, Mario prepares to propose to Peach, but Bowser regains consciousness and proposes as well. The two fight over her hand in marriage before an overwhelmed Peach demands they stop, and she boards the Odyssey with Cappy and Tiara. The rivals are both heartbroken until Peach tells Mario to come home with her. Mario boards

15587-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

15730-502: The new Joy-Con design should reduce the drift problem but they did not expect that they could ever eliminate the drift as it is an issue related to wear from long-term usage. The new design of the joysticks in the OLED Joy-Con were made to reduce how much wear occurs to make them more durable but the company still anticipates drifting could still occur. In August 2017, Los Angeles-based tablet peripheral manufacturer Gamevice filed

15873-534: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

16016-491: The only penalty for dying is paying up to ten coins. The player can also collect items known as 'Life-Up Hearts' which grant three extra hit points. The game also features cooperative play , in which a second player takes control of Cappy and can move more independently of Mario. The game requires a minimum number of Power Moons to be collected from each Kingdom to move onto the next, though these may be obtained from any source, making major objectives largely optional. Once Bowser

16159-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

16302-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between

16445-506: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

16588-515: The player has the choice of either following a set storyline or can find power moons simply by exploring. They also made sure each platforming stage had numerous ways of completion. A game the designers considered when designing Odyssey was the sandbox video game Minecraft . They initially believed a game that had camera movement would be difficult for children, but they later passed this as sufficient due to Minecraft ' s popularity and excessive use of camera control. "Mario has always been

16731-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

16874-1048: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

17017-562: The problem, as the primary clients in both cases has purchased multiple Joy-Con but found the drift occurred over time in each set purchased. At least one of the lawsuits was dismissed in February 2023, as the judge ruled that the EULA for the Nintendo Switch required users to go through arbitration instead of lawsuits to resolve matters. The French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir filed a lawsuit against Nintendo in September 2020 alleging that

17160-423: The prototype would best fit within, and the locations would be constructed second. Thirdly, the locations would be taken and more ideas were designed specifically for them. The game's locations were built around the themes of journey and surprise, according to Kenta Motokura. The kingdoms have purchasable souvenirs to help make them more relatable and easier to connect to. Since the kingdoms were also open-world areas,

17303-430: The sensor could distinguish between the hand shapes of rock–paper–scissors . Joy-Con R also contains a near-field communication reader for use with Amiibo . The Joy-Con contain a haptic feedback engine known as "HD Rumble", which was developed in partnership with Immersion Corporation . Nintendo stated that the system could generate fine tactile feedback, such as the sensation of individual ice cubes and water in

17446-431: The ship just in time, leaving Bowser stranded on the moon. In the post-game, Mario and Cappy collect more Power Moons that were released from Moon rocks to traverse other parts of the Moon, known as "Dark Side" and "Darker Side", to complete other challenges. Meanwhile, Peach and Tiara travel the world on their own terms, and meet up with Mario along the way, giving him Power Moons each time they meet. Super Mario Odyssey

17589-441: The structure of the game lent itself well to the portable nature of the Switch, which players could play for either long sessions in order to follow the missions, or in short bursts while collecting "Power Moons", which the author compared to the "shrines", or hidden mini-dungeons, which were scattered throughout Breath of the Wild . Despite the praise, Webster noted that the motion controls "felt frustratingly imprecise", preferring

17732-585: The suits, and as of October 2020, are currently under arbitration hearings. Two additional class action lawsuits were filed in October and November 2020 in the United States, respectively in the Northern California District Court and in the Western Washington District Court. Both suits allege Nintendo of having defective manufacturing processes for the Joy-Con, even after the company apologized for

17875-405: The team decided to employ a sandbox -style of gameplay. Unlike previous installments such as Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario Run , which were aimed at a more casual audience, the team designed Super Mario Odyssey to appeal somewhat more to the series' core fans. The game also features two voiced theme songs , "Jump Up, Super Star!" and "Break Free (Lead The Way)". Super Mario Odyssey

18018-441: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

18161-540: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of

18304-453: The video game and cognitive training groups, but more selectively in the video game group. Despite these positive results, the study had limitations like participant awareness of the group assignment and a small sample size, potentially affecting the results' generalizability. Platform game The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established

18447-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

18590-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

18733-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping

18876-468: The year. By December 2017, Super Mario Odyssey had sold 9.07 million copies worldwide, making it the bestselling game for the Switch at that time. As of June 2024, it had sold 28.21 million copies. Entertainment Weekly and Giant Bomb both ranked the game second in their list of the "Best Games of 2017", and GamesRadar+ ranked it fourth on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017, while Eurogamer and Polygon ranked it third on their lists of

19019-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

19162-505: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

19305-449: Was also created in the first prototype, and motion controls were built off of this. Another goal was keeping the game running at 60 frames per second. Certain locations, such as New Donk City, contained realistic looks and humans; this design choice was to emphasize the feeling of a new location that is different from the normal. One of the main aspects considered was the Switch's capabilities of portability and TV docking, which affected how

19448-491: Was developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division, with additional assistance from 1-Up Studio . The game was produced by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Koichi Hayashida , the same producers behind Super Mario 3D World , and directed by Kenta Motokura. Shigeru Miyamoto reassumed his role of what he calls the "Creative Fellow", and the developers gave him concepts and he gave feedback in return. According to Koizumi, Miyamoto "left us to our own devices quite

19591-402: Was focused on less and the game would "go back to the roots, to Mario Sunshine ". The game did intend to have camera control that was much easier to use than Sunshine , however. The first concept that came to be for Odyssey involved Koizumi using motion controls; he pictured motion actions that the Joy-Con controllers could be used for, and the most natural fit was throwing an object. To create

19734-532: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

19877-710: Was released alongside the game on July 16, 2021. White Joy-Con were released on October 8, 2021, as part of the white Nintendo Switch – OLED Model bundle. Blue and neon yellow Joy-Con variants with artwork themed after Splatoon 3 became available to pre-order alongside Splatoon 3 on August 26, 2022, and were later released on September 9, 2022, as part of the Splatoon 3 Switch – OLED Model bundle. Dark red and purple Joy-Con variants with artwork themed after Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were available to pre-order alongside Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on November 4, 2022, and were later released on November 18, 2022, as part of

20020-500: Was released on October 27, 2017 to acclaim, with praise for its inventiveness, originality, and for improving on concepts introduced in prior Mario games. It has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made . The game won several awards and has sold 28.21 million copies by June 30, 2024, making it one of the best-selling Switch games . Super Mario Odyssey is a platform game in which players control Mario as he travels across 14 different worlds, known as "Kingdoms" within

20163-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

20306-540: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite

20449-622: Was voluntarily dismissed by Gamevice on October 23, 2017. However, in March 2018, Gamevice initiated a second patent infringement lawsuit on Nintendo related to a different set of patents. Gamevice also sought action through the United States International Trade Commission related to patent infringement under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 , and was seeking to block imports of the Switch into

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