WMG / Super Mario Odyssey

Wild Mass Guessing for Super Mario Odyssey.

Pre-E3 2017 theories

The eyes-on-hat is really another one of the rabbits.

• But it's really a good one who's trying to find the other four and help bring them back to their senses and help out against Bowser.
  • Jossed, It's some form of ghost hat creature.

The levels in this game are homages to the various Sub-Series in the Mario series.

New Donk City has many references to the Donkey Kong series, and is clearly referencing the origin point of both that series and Mario. What if the other levels seen so far also reference the other deviations and spinoffs the series has taken. They are:

• Super Mario Land: Mario's first handheld adventure took place in the desert-like Sarasland, and featured an alien as the main antagonist. In addition to pyramids being associated with aliens in the first place, the floating pyramid seen in the Desert Level seems very UFO-like. The rideable lion in this world also resembles the lion boss from Mario Land. Maybe this place is Sarasland itself, and will mark the return of Tatanga as a boss, and Princess Daisy as a character in the main series.
  • While it's very unlikely that this place is Sarasaland, as it seems more inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead^note especially since Sarasaland's Birabuto Kingdom is based on Egypt, it may also be filled with references to Sarasaland.
    • On the other hand, there is a pyramid shown, so it may be related somehow.
    • ...about as tangentially as the pyramids in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy were related...
• Yoshi's Island: One of Yoshi's first appearances was in a dessert-themed game, Yoshi's Cookie, and Yoshi is well known for having an insatiable appetite. It would stand to reason that the Dessert World may be a homage to Mario's Green Ride.
• Wario Land/WarioWare: In comparison to Mario, Wario has always been more industrial than his rival, being obsessed with garnering treasure and making money, even opening his own Microgame Factory to fuel his Greed. The Industrial-looking forest fits Wario's character well, even bearing a resemblance to Greenhorn Forest. Maybe Wario will finally make his grand return as a Boss, and Waluigi will make his long-awaited debut in the main series.
  • Jossed. There are other areas that evoke previous 3D Mario titles, however. The Seaside Kingdom evokes Sunshine, the Moon Kingdom evokes Galaxy, and the Mushroom Kingdom] evokes 64.

Expanding on the above, the many different worlds Mario is visiting in this game are all references to every setting that many of Nintendo's main games take place on.

Considering that the Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario games all seem to take place in a Shared Universe and they may even be linked to Zelda, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon, this game probably takes inspiration from all these sources and try to make sense of the planet Mario and his friends live on. Heck, even spin-off games like Mario Kart and Mario Party are fair game.

• Jossed.

If Luigi is playable, he'll have different properties to his hat.

Maybe he can throw it farther or bounce higher off of it. Or maybe it'll trade in those abilities altogether for a cap that can do something else.

• Jossed, sadly. All there is is a Luigi outfit which can be unlocked.

Peach's crown is different because she's playable a la Super Mario Run.

After all, this new one looks less pointy than the old one.

• Semi-Jossed — Peach's crown is Tiara, a hat spirit, but she could still be playable at some point.
  • Fully jossed- Peach is not playable.

New Donk City is meant to be where Donkey Kong took place.

I know that, according to Donkey Kong Land, Big Ape City is where it all happened, but this wouldn't be the first time different branches of the franchise contradicted each other. (e.g.: The Koopalings' personalities in Paper Jam vs. Color Splash.)

• Confirmed by a tweet from Super Mario UK.

Mario's new hat is a Crazy Cap.

The advertisements for the Crazy Cap have the capital CC initials on the front of the cap, looking suspiciously like eyes. Mario might be forced to wear one of these after Bowser crushes his original hat. Bowser's own top hat might also be a Crazy Cap.

• Since lots of people featured within the game so far have hats, I think it's safe to say everyone is wearing a Crazy Cap. Mario, Bowser, the 3 rabbit dudes, a Hammer Bro (he can be seen wearing a chef's hat at one point), and maybe even Peach, since her crown seems to have been replaced by a tiara.
• Jossed. After Mario's hat is crushed, it is possessed and returned to good condition by Cappy. All of the other hats he wear are purchased at Crazy Cap, and Cappy just possesses those, too.

Bowser's Top Hat is also alive and will become the Big Bad.

We know that Mario's hat is alive thanks to the ending of the trailer in which it's shown that it moves on its own and it even has eyes. What if Bowser's stylish Top Hat is also alive, and wants Bowser to help him/her on a much bigger plan? I wouldn't be surprised that Bowser's plan is to marry Peach, but his Top Hat's plan is to take over the world, and he might ditch Bowser near endgame just because he doesn't need Bowser's help anymore. Think of what happens in Meet the Robinsons.

• It's not like we know anyone else sporting a snazzy white top hat with plans involving making Bowser and Peach marry — do we?
  • The problem with the above is that Count Bleck is already reformed.
  • The chances of an RPG-exclusive villain returning in a main-series game are pretty much nil anyway. Lately Nintendo doesn't even seem to want them in the RPGs.
  • Jossed. Bowser's hat is mechanical in nature, and is actually used to defeat him. Nintendo planned on making his hat an evil Bonneter at one point, but didn't go through with it.

Peach will be brainwashed and forced to fight Mario.

People have been saying for years that the only way Bowser could ever hope to have Peach by his side is through hypnosis and brainwashing, and this wedding plot feels like the perfect time and place to do it. You've gotta make her say "I do" somehow, after all. Two other forms of media in the Mario universe that involved Bowser trying to marry Peach (Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Adventures) did feature hypnosis and brainwashing, and with the recent reprinting of the latter, thanks to Viz Media, it would be a great homage. The battle itself may take some inspiration from Super Mario Maker and have Peach ride Bowser as he attacks you. She might even be the Final Boss, who knows?

• It wouldn't be the first time...
  • Jossed, though, along with the scrapped "Bowser has a Cappy" idea, he was going to use it to Capture Peach during the final battle.

This will be an open-ended sequel to Super Mario Galaxy 2.

It seems that there appears to be a space ship (like in Mario Galaxy 2), different kinds of creatures (like tiki men, humans, and forks), and the design seems somewhat similar to a galaxy.

• Um... the game is confirmed to be about globe trotting, Mario's world has always had strange creatures in it, and the worlds in this are clearly not the size of Galaxy planets. Also, the ship has a sail on it.
• Jossed so far as canon goes.

Bowser (or whoever the Final Boss will be) will use another power-up in the final battle.

Much like Meowser, it's entirely possible that Bowser or whoever may use a different power-up during the final level. Perhaps Bowser's top hat may also come to life (much like another WMG on here), and assist him throughout the fight, or something else like a Fire Flower.

• Alternatively, Bowser will be able to use his top hat in the same way as Mario can use Cappy, maybe even to the point of Capturing other entities.
  • Jossed. Same tactics as the first fight.

Daisy/Wario/Waluigi will be playable.

C'mon, Nintendo, you've done everything else with this game, why not one of these?

• It's much more likely that Luigi or Yoshi would be playable before any of those characters, and we haven't seen any major hints towards their even being in the game yet.
  • Jossed... Although Yoshi is playable, just not in the way you'd think.

The cap with eyes is a replacement for Mario's usual cap.

There's a brief scene in the trailer where Bowser stomps on Mario's cap, which seems to be part of the same scene where Bowser throws his top hat at Mario, who gets knocked off the airship. These scenes seem to be an intro in a similar vein to Galaxy's. Extrapolating from this, the game will open with the new hat finding a hatless Mario and setting off on an adventure.

• Well, it's less of a "replacement" and more that Cappy repairs the tattered hat by merging with it, but otherwise this was pretty spot-on if the E3 trailer is any indication.

The Crazy Cap stores will be able to upgrade Mario's hat.

Maybe at first, Mario's hat has no unique abilities other than being sentient. However, perhaps Mario can spend the collectibles found in each area at the Crazy Cap shops to give the hat the boomerang and trampoline powers showcased in the trailer, and maybe some other things.

• Jossed. The caps don't add any extra abilities. Cappy can be used as a boomerang and a springboard from the start, and no matter what hat he inhabits.

The Toads will either not be in this game or heavily de-emphasized.

Due to how overused they were in most eighth generation (3DS and Wii U) Mario games.

• Jossed on the first point: a couple of Toads can be seen in the game and Captain Toad is one of them at New Donk City. Also, the Toad Brigade continues to have a presence across the game, and in the Mushroom Kingdom, they're more prominent.

The game will have more than just references to Super Paper Mario and the Chaos Heart.

Perhaps Bowser wants to marry Peach for two reasons, to marry her, and to get his hands on a Chaos Heart of his own. Imagine what Bowser could do with a Chaos Heart.

• Since the Chaos Heart can only do one thing, not much.
  • Completely Jossed.

Waluigi owns the Crazy Cap chain.

The name—evocative of zaniness and a bad temper — and the purple-yellow color scheme both match up. There is also a pith helmet on the hat rack outside the desert location; Wario is known to use this kind of hat. Could all of this hint at Waluigi's main-series debut?

• The color scheme isn't really a Waluigi thing. It's Wario who's associated with purple and yellow. Waluigi's more purple and black.
  • Granted, but purple is the dominant color for both Waluigi's and Crazy Cap's color schemes. The yellow on the Crazy Cap logo is also a region at the front of the hat, matching the placement of Waluigi's yellow emblem. Under this theory, it would make more sense for the color scheme to be based off of that of Waluigi's cap than his other clothing.
  • By the way, jossed as far as canon. The Crazy Cap outlets are run by local NPCS and besides the complementary colors of yellow and purple being used because they're complements, there is not the slightest hint that Wario or Waluigi have anything to do with the business.

The desert area having ice is perfectly normal.

At night, the desert area becomes so cold that large chunks of ice are formed, which remain there well into the day. Possible evidence of this is Mario shivering in the desert at night during the reveal trailer.

• The desert area has huge chunks, sometimes pillars of ice. That's not normal at all.
  • Jossed, as by completing the main plot of that Kingdom, most of the ice gets melted. The angry god/boss of the area is partially responsible for freezing the desert.

Epic Fail awaits Bowser.

As he is about to marry Peach on the New York level, he will be interrupted by angry SJW protesters. For a bonus, the crowd will be thick enough to form platforms for Mario to walk over and reach Princess Peach.

• Said crowd will also serve as an obstacle to prevent Mario from doing the stereotypical heroic rescuing-the-damsel thing.
  • I will laugh if this actually turns out to be confirmed. In a good way of course. It'd make my entire year!
    • The idea mentioned doesn't happen, but there's still some Epic Fails which Bowser goes through.
  • There is a side area in which the main obstacle is a crowd of people going the opposite way that Mario is trying to.

There will be a type of mafia enemy in the game, possibly the rabbits.

For some reason, the rabbits have a mafia feel to them for me, and could possibly be part of some Rabbit Mafia that's working with Bowser. Bowser provides special weaponry (their airship looks like it's produced by Bowser) and they help Bowser marry Peach. They might also be the owners of the Crazy Cap chain, with them providing Bowser with special unreleased cap abilities. However, I doubt Bowser is going to keep working with them.

• Jossed so far as official material. There are no real mob implications in the game.

Bowser is having a midlife crisis.

Between the car in 3D World and the suit in this game, I think Bowser's finally reached that age.

• Given the fact that Mario's in his mid-20's, and Bowser's around the same age as Jr. in Yoshi's Island, he's probably in his late-20's to early-30's. Not quite there yet.
• The theme of the story is a romantic competition between Bowser and Mario for Peach, so they're supposed to be about the same age. It also helps that fellow boss Madame Broode, implied to be middle-aged, looks a fair bit older than Bowser for it.

Bowser's car will reappear.

What better way to complement your cool suit than with a cool car?

• Jossed.

Non-Mario amiibo use

When tapping a Non-Mario amiibo, a level based on that game will appear. Examples include:

• Hyrule (similar to the one in Sonic Lost World, but larger).
• A Village.
• The Great Cave Offensive.
• Inkopolis.
• Alola.
• Zebes.
• Corneria.
• The Underworld.
• Green Hill Zone.
• Dr. Wily's Castle.
• A maze.

Seems to be Jossed, as they will unlock costumes and give hints.

• Indeed, they are all Jossed.

Tatanga will be a boss.

The desert level has a Super Mario Land feeling to it with sphinxes and supernatural phenomena of pyramids floating and being controlled that almost seems alien. Tatanga is an alien. Plus Super Mario Land had a world-exploration theme to it like this game.

• And if Tatanga shows up, Wario may come along for the ride. (Remember that Tatanga was actually working for Wario during the Super Mario Land games — he distracted Mario while Wario was busy stealing Mario's castle.)
  • Jossed.

The Cape Feather will make its 3D debut.

This is the perfect game to introduce it, let me explain:

So far, many old iconic 2D Mario items have been added to 3D Mario games: Fire Flower, Tanooki Leaf, Mega Mushroom, etc. And now, the feather from Super Mario World seems to be the only iconic single-game item that has yet to make a 3D appearance. The fact that the feather finally makes its return to the Mario Kart series in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe after only being used in the first game helps support the feather could make a comeback.

It would work like the Super Mario 64 Wing Cap, where Mario can gain air and glide around freely. He could run or triple jump to gain air. Imagine Mario flying around in a yellow cape above the city as an epic homage to Superman flying around the buildings of the metropolis.

Plus, how exactly is Mario going to fight a giant robot centipede on a buildingtop with no platforms or ledges in sight to grab or climb onto? Is he gonna jump in a fighter jet and shoot it down? He could grab a feather and then earn a cape to fly around the building for the fight. Mario would be flying around and dodging lasers while (if the game allows power-ups to be combined) shooting fireballs, or flying close and using a cape spin to attack, or even tossing his hat as an attack.

• Jossed on the cape being used to fight the Mecha-Wiggler — it knocks you off the building and descends to the ground right before the fight begins, you use Sherms to attack it. Also, it looks like power-ups will play a significantly smaller role than they did in the Galaxy games. However, it's entirely possible that a cape will be featured as part of a costume you can buy (though the cape may or may not enable slow-falling and/or Video Game Flight (probably not if the costumes are mostly cosmetic), and if it does, it'll probably only be available in the late- or post-game as a trade-off for being a colossal Game-Breaker).
  • Fully Jossed, as it never shows up.

Captain Toad will show up.

Since this game is about traveling to distant lands, it's a sure bet that Captain Toad and his crew will appear to aid Mario.

• Confirmed.

Relating to the above, Green Toad and Purple Toad will have bigger roles in the game than they have before.

Captain Toad was established as a seasoned adventurer in his self-titled game as well as in 3D World through the Captain Toad levels and in 3D Land (assuming the Red Toad that accompanies the Mario Bros. in that game is actually Captain Toad). Blue Toad and Yellow Toad established themselves in the NSMB games (where they were playable), 3D Land (where they accompanied Mario and Luigi on their adventures), and, for Blue Toad only, in 3D World, where he was also playable. As for Green Toad and Purple Toad, they've mostly just handed out items in Toad Houses or given advice. If the Toad Brigade does appear in this game, perhaps all 5 members will have their time to shine.

• Jossed. While Purple Toad's role of shopkeeper for three Crazy Caps alongside Yellow Toad could be considered bigger than his role as Mailtoad, Green Toad's role is as a Satellite Character for the rest of the Brigade, definitely a step down from his role as Banktoad.

Possible ideas for Crazy Cap power-ups.

The Game's Trailer and logo seems to suggest that the new power-ups are going to be based on hats. Here are some possibilities for what hats could be used:

• Construction Hat: This hat could make Mario look like a construction worker (similar to his appearance in the artwork for Super Mario Maker).
  • Confirmed.
• Chef's Hat: Mario would resemble a chef (similar to his appearance in Yoshi's Cookie), and have the ability to throw different types of food at his enemies.
  • Confirmed for the chef hat itself. Food-tossing can happen, but only by picking up food in the world, not as part of any power-up effect.
• Baseball Cap: In this form, Mario can use a baseball bat to hit tougher opponents.
• Football Helmet: Mario will gain Super-Strength, and be able to throw enemies far away.
• Top Hat: Mario would wear a red and blue tuxedo.
  • Well, it's not Red and Blue, but confirmed for a white version.
• A Knight's Helmet: This would give Mario the ability to use a sword and shield.
• Wing Cap: Will return from Super Mario 64 and allow Mario to fly.
• A Cowboy Hat: This will turn Mario into a sheriff from the old west and be able to use a pistol.
• Using Amiibo will give him hats based on other Nintendo characters.
  • Link: uses the Master Sword and Hylian shield.
  • BoTW Link: He can use the paraglider to cross wide spaces.
  • Kirby: grants limited hovering.
  • Captain Falcon: the Signature Falcon attacks.
  • Mega Man: You get a blaster akin to his Rabbids crossover.
  • Duck Hunt: A duck sits on his head that lets him glide across areas like a Tanooki Suit.
  • R.O.B: Lasers.
  • Luigi: Luigi's attributes for movement.
  • Rosalina: The spin attack replaces a default move like the double jump.
  • Diddy Kong: Pop guns.
  • Sonic: Faster running speed and a homing attack.
  • Yoshi: Flutter jump for extra height and egg throw.
  • Wario: Can dash attack to break blocks.
    • No costume gives you any new moves, weapons, or abilities, so those aspects are all jossed.

Donkey Kong will appear in (where else?) New Donk City.

Would Nintendo really have an entire stage built around Donkey Kong Country references and not have DK show up? Some possibilities...

• DK will be the game's first mini-boss fight, as a Call-Back to Mario's origin.
  • Jossed, although he is a mini boss in two 8-bit sections.
• Donkey Kong is the Mayor. Because it would be funny.
  • Jossed. Pauline is stated to be the mayor of New Donk City.
• Obviously, Dixie and Diddy have to join in, too.
  • There's a Diddy outfit, but no in-person appearance from either.

Bowser is taking Peach to another world so he can marry her legally.

Princess Peach might have made it illegal for Bowser to attempt to marry her within the grounds of the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser's solution to this is to kidnap her and take her into a completely new world where she has no royal authority and he can marry her without breaking any laws.

• Well, does The Moon count?
• The Moon is officially the destination because Bowser wants the grandest event he can have. No Mushroom Kingdom laws being skirted in the game's canon.

Mario's cap is actually a transformed rabbit.

If one pays enough attention, the eyes on Mario's cap are similar to the eyes the new rabbit enemies have. Thus might be a reference to Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat, with those rabbits being a magician species, which explains why the cap has all those magical properties.

• Jossed. It appears to be some sort of hat spirit that possesses Mario's cap.

Nabbit will be a member of the Rabbits.

• No Nabbit showing up in the game, so Jossed.

There will be more stages based on real world locations.

Currently, we have only seen stages based on New York and Mexico. It is highly likely that we will see more stages based on places around the world. Possible real world locations could include:

• Paris
  • Kind of confirmed with Bubblaine. It's based off of France for sure, but not off of Paris specifically.
• Texas (As it was presented in the Old West.)
  • You get a cowboy outfit in the Sand Kingdom, but that's the most Western it gets.
• Medieval Europe
  • The Ruined Kingdom looks like a devastated European fantasy castle, but is mostly just a stage for a boss fight.
• Australia
• Ancient Greece
  • Confirmed with Lake Lamode, though as pointed out on the main page under Fantasy Counterpart Culture, it also takes cues from France.
• Hawaii
• Transylvania
• Antarctica
• Ancient Egypt
• Egypt
  • The Sand Kingdom introduces the Sphynx character, but is otherwise Mesoamerican in its theming.
• South Africa?
  • Its visual landscape will incorporate giant wooden masks and idols.
• Asia: It will be the later levels as a whole.
  • Confirmed with Bowser's Castle.
• Russia
  • Mario dress up as Bowser, while boss is an evil version of Mario.
  • Confirmed with Shiveria, but the Russian Reversal is Jossed.

Pauline is the Trump of New Donk City.

She was originally a star singer, but after getting sick of her city getting the short end of the stick, she ran for being the mayor and won against all odds. She's still a Base-Breaking Character in-universe, as she, as a well-known-singer, was perceived not to have any background in political studies.

• Jossed; she is a Universally Beloved Leader and there is no information about her political rise.

The story will take a surprisingly dark turn later in the game.

People are already comparing the plot to Super Paper Mario, so I could maybe see it happening.

• Jossed. Galaxy got darker than Odyssey, so this one wasn't that dramatic, though it has similar scope and grandeur.

Bowser's plot to marry Princess Peach is only going forward because the Rabbits think he's a neighbouring king of their planet.

The Moon Rabbit myth has it that Rabbits pound rice cakes and is associated with the moon, but Frogs are also related to it for some reason. Bowser somewhat resembles a frog, which his Henchmen believe to be the prince of a neighboring kingdom of the Rice Kingdom (of the Rabbits). Because of their biology, the Rabbits need a hat to assume (moderately) humanoid form when outside of their planet, except those who are mature and of royal blood. Peach is presumably an Identical Stranger of the Princess of the Rice Kingdom which the Rabbits keeps direct contact from. (Bowser tells them that her people are not allowed to look at their bride before marriage, maybe cross-cultural traditions?)

The Hat Mario has is a Rabbit child who saw the plan unfold initially, tried to warn the Princess of the Rice Kingdom, and attempted to escape to Earth to avoid being detained after that failed, where he bumps into Mario. The child is too young to assume a terrestrial form without potentially dying or reverting to a regular Earth Rabbit, so he fuses with Mario's hat since he treasures it so much. Gameplay potential aside, it may be possible that Mario can upgrade the hat with tokens for jumping abilities with a few segments requiring Mario to gather a power-up that outright modifies the cap form.

You are only brought into awareness of the Child's transformation abilities during stages, such as having the hat stolen by monkeys and placed on an idol, bringing it to life. It may also be possible that there may be an Evil Chancellor who may be in on the act, who may possibly defy Bowser when push comes to shove. Bowser, in a last act of desperation, places his (unconscious) hat on something large, maybe a gigantic statue, steering the reigns. The stakes have already gotten huge, so they may as well as have gargantuan bosses.

This will reintroduce the Rabbit Cap from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as a transformation, as well as slight musical queues to the game. As an 11th-Hour Superpower, the Prince will outright enable his transformation biology (due to being a child), during a full moon, mirroring the powerset of Flying Mario from Super Mario Galaxy (this specific form would be dubbed as Lunar Mario). Maybe if possible, they may introduce a challenge mode with an in-game clock (if the story has some vague thing like 7 nights to a full moon, or whatever, implementing a form of Gameplay and Story Integration) and an Alternate Universe (again, like Super Mario Galaxy) where you play through the events of the game as Luigi.

• Jossed all around. Mario's hat is possessed by a hat spirit, and the rabbits are hired by Bowser.

There will be references to Super Mario Maker.

For example, a boss based on the "Mecha Bowser" fan level and other references towards fan content from that game.

• Confirmed. His Cat Mario sprite from the game appears on a building and his Construction Worker outfit is a costume◊.
• There's also an 8-bit section near the end where you play as Bowser with a red hat and mustache and Peach on his back, much like what the Big Mushroom does to Bowser's appearance in Maker.

Mario will be the only playable character.

Who knows? Let's wait until E3 or something.

• Jossed, kinda. Cappy can v=be a sort of second playable character, be it together with Mario, or in co-op. But in the traditional sense, yes, Mario is the only character you can play as.

This entire game is staged.

Not in a Bowser-set-this-up-to-trap-Mario sense, but rather, Mario, Peach and Bowser team up to form a play around the world.

• So, basically the ending of Mario Party 2?
  • JOSSED, and badly.

There will be some form of multiplayer.

If you paid attention during Karen's section of the Switch reveal trailer, you'll see she's playing this game. Yet, on the roof, she clearly hands a Joycon to someone else. If this game in question is still being played, shouldn't there be something multiplayer-ish to do?

• I love how it's gotten to the point where, when talking about the reveal trailer, you can mention on name that wasn't even mentioned in the video proper and people will know what you're talking about.
• Confirmed. Player 2 can control Cappy for co-op.

Post-E3 2017 theories

Mario will have to rescue Pauline.

The mission will be a sort of recreation of the original Donkey Kong. Someone will kidnap Pauline and take her to the top of a tall skyscraper, a'la King Kong, and Mario will have to dodge things to reach the top and rescue her.

• Technically confirmed. Bowser captured people from various Kingdoms offscreen to attend the wedding, including Pauline. Otherwise, you're just saving Pauline's city, but she's safely out of danger.

Bowser actually interrupts Mario and Peach's wedding.

Mario is often featured wearing a white tuxedo, after all, and there's no way he would approve of the wedding Bowser is attempting to force. Furthermore, one scene that we see with the rabbits shows one of them ask if Mario is looking for "the wedding ring" (and then furthermore saying Bowser has it now.) If Bowser has it now, who had it before, and why is Mario looking for it?

And yes, the thought that they would set up a Relationship Upgrade for Mario and Peach after so long does seem odd, but it's what seems to be happening to me.

• It's actually the other way around.

The Final Boss battle against Bowser will require Mario to possess Bowser for whatever reason.

Maybe Bowser would be required to hit a certain switch or something. (And maybe you have to do it while Bowser is not wearing his own hat.)

• Or to make it even more awesome, in some sort of cutscene, Bowser throws his hat and Mario throws his. (If Bowser's hat is also sentient, this could easily work.) They both successfully possess each other. Bowser possesses Mario, Mario possesses Bowser.
• Confirmed. Mario captures Bowser after the main part of the fight for an Escape Sequence. Whether or not this is considered part of the actual boss fight is an open question.

Mario is a ghost

He died during the opening cutscene, which explains the weird area Mario meets Cappy the hat spirit in and allows him to use possession.

• Nope. That's just a friendly ghost land.

if he's popular enough, Cappy will become a permanent member of the Mario cast.

The Main theme suggests this in one of its lines.

• Nintendo is actually thinking about making him a side mascot, for merchandise. Also, it's stated that they're going to reveal his backstory later, as they're not ready to now. So this is plausible and could probably end up happening.

Mario and Peach will finally get married at the end of this game.

Seems like a fitting finale, especially if Why Waste a Wedding? is in play. This could be backed up by Mario wearing a wedding tuxedo on his new Amiibo.

• Jossed. In the end, Peach decides she doesn't want to be with either of the two at the moment.

Cappy isn't the only one of his kind.

Cappy is possibly a part of a species of ghost-like creatures who are different from the Boos that the series usually has, given that he has Grand Theft Me powers that the Boos have never demonstrated. Bonus points if one of Cappy's kind is being used in Bowser's own top hat, letting him do everything that Mario can do with his own hat in a climatic boss battle, not unlike Super Mario 3D World where he used the Double Cherry and Super Bell.

• At least partially confirmed: new artwork shows that Peach's new tiara is apparently a member of the same species. Her name is "Tiara" and she is Cappy's sister.
• Now completely confirmed by the Cap Kingdom.

Apparently living in New Donk City long enough will allow you to become as tall as the other humans in the city.

I mean, look what happened to Pauline◊ (she's now taller than she usually is◊) and Captain Toad◊ (he's now as tall as Mario).

• The Mario franchise as a whole isn't really consistent when it comes to scale.

Pauline was originally kidnapped because of an in-universe copyright infringement.

You see all the DK references in New Donk City? Donkey isn't happy that his name was ripped off.

• It's implied the Donkey Kong incident was instrumental to the city's identity, so it seems like the city became that way because of the kidnapping.

Assuming it actually appears in the game, "I'll Be Your 1-Up Girl" (the song that plays during the trailer) will be the end credits theme.

Considering that it's the first time Nintendo has ever made a vocal theme song (i.e., with actual lyrics), even if just for this trailer^note None of the songs in the commercials for their other games (Mario or not) count. Those were just commercial jingles., they likely wouldn't go to all the trouble to make a full four minute song if they weren't going to use it for the closing credits. That said, it's also possible that the shorter version heard in the trailer will be used in the game for a demo sequence (i.e., before actually starting the game) of some kind, but it's unlikely. After all, this is Nintendo we're talking about; a company that generally doesn't play around with the whole "media mix" idea.

• Bonus points if it becomes a full-out musical number with Mario, Peach, and other characters dancing and Pauline on the stage singing.
• Jossed. It's used during a specific moment in New Donk City and the Darker Side of the Moon, but not the credits.

The final battle will involve a Boss Rush of villains from previous games.

Sonic Forces has Eggman with four Big Bads of the series; a wedding is a perfect excuse for having different characters like Wart, Tatanga, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser Jr., Antasma, Popple, and Fawful.

• Kirby: Planet Robobot already did this. And it's not just Planet Robobot, either. In fact, the Boss Rush as the last game mode had started way back, since Kirby Super Star, actually! And if you want to get really meta, Kirby's Adventure has a boss rush mode when you complete the game. Although... I'm being off-topic here, aren't I?
  • Boss Rush exists since Mega Man and Super Mario Galaxy 2 had some too.
• Jossed.

The game will have a Nostalgia Level based off of Super Mario 64 and/or Sunshine.

Think about it — what better way to return to open-world level design than to pay homage to the original 3D Mario games? They had a few nostalgia levels in Super Mario Galaxy 2, they could possibly return here.

• Using a Nostalgia Level from 64 would be very hard, since the levels in Odyssey are so much bigger than the levels in 64 and the levels in 64 were very self-contained. However, pretty much the only things keeping you from walking or swimming directly between some levels of Sunshine were Invisible Walls and kill-planes. So it's feasible for the entirety of Isle Delfino, or maybe just a large chunk of it, to be a level in Odyssey^note Delfino Plaza (including Corona Mountain), Bianco Hills, and Ricco Harbor at least could be logically merged into a single level — whether or not the other Sunshine levels could fit would depend on how the developers could create and justify ways for Mario to get to and from their locations on the Delfino map (and the way you got to the levels in Sunshine could work for all the levels but Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbor, and Gelato Beach (and those are exceptions largely because those portals would be gone along with the rest of the mess Bowser Jr. made after the events of Sunshine (though hopefully they'll come up with something better for Noki Bay than having Mario stare into the sun))).
  • Given that Isle Delfino is clearly visible on the world map, this is actually looking pretty plausible; however, time will tell whether this is actually hinting at a Delfino-set level or simply an Easter egg.
  • Semi-Confirmed. Mushroom Kingdom appears as a secret level. It’s not an exact replica of Peach’s Castle from 64, given the design seems to change every game, but it is clearly inspired by it. Power Moons are replaced by Power Stars and Yoshi can be found on the roof. Also, the Seaside Kingdom takes cues from Sunshine, but it's more subtle.

The wedding with Bowser and Peach was planned by Pauline all along

...So she can have Mario all to herself.

• Well, given what happens at the end... Maybe?

The real villain is an Evil Counterpart to Cappy.

It, or its wielder, is already possessing Bowser in the form of his top hat. Mario will fight Bowser late into the game, defeat him, and discover Bowser's hat was also alive and promptly possesses someone or something else.

• Unlikely; we see Bowser throwing his hat repeatedly in trailers, which would mean its control over Bowser would be broken when it leaves his head. Additionally, he shows no distinct signs of having a different appearance than usual, while beings captured by Mario always bear his familiar mustache. However, it is possible his hat is an entity like Cappy who is allied with Bowser, and who will allow Bowser to battle Mario on equal footing in the Final Battle.
  • Jossed. It's just Bowser.

Cappy is an assistant of Professor E. Gadd.

Cappy is a ghost with a tuft of hair. E. Gadd's most prominent appearance is in Luigi's Mansion and its sequel, where ghosts are the main focus in those games.

Bowser & the Broodals will kidnap other characters to fill roles at the wedding

Word of God has said the Broodals are taking something from each kingdom for the wedding (flowers from the Wooded Kingdom, a wedding ring from the Sand Kingdom). The climax of New Donk City might result in Pauline being kidnapped to be the wedding singer. Characters that might be forced to fill roles at the wedding.

• Daisy will be kidnapped to be Peach's Maid of Honor.
• Luigi will be Bowser's Best Man, whether he wants to or not.
• Sort of confirmed, but not quite like like that. Various members from the previous kingdoms appear at the Moon Kingdom as wedding guests against their will. (And neither Daisy nor Luigi are among them.)

The Sprixie Kingdom will make an appearance.

Hey, if the premise of Odyssey involves Mario travelling to different foreign Kingdoms, why not a foreign kingdom he has visited before? Granted, it may not offer as many Power Moons as the six currently known Kingdoms, but it would be a brilliant throwback to the development team's previous Mario game, eh?

• Jossed.

The other Broodal names

One of them will be named "Harry" or "Harold" to coincide with Harriet's Punny Name. Any ideas?

• Since it was confirmed that the short one in green is named "Topper," at least one of the others will be named after the kind of hat they wear, or at least a type of hat. Maybe "Trilby?"
• Jossed. Spewart (blue), Topper (green), Rango (lanky), and Hariet (yes, with only one R) are their names.

Bowser never actually kidnapped Peach...

This is a real wedding that both parties want to happen. By the end of the game, both Peach and Mario will have moved on with their lives (Peach will be in a relationship with Bowser, Mario with Pauline), and Bowser will either have a Heel–Face Turn or will be revealed to have not been evil in the first place.

• Given how unwilling Peach looks on the posters◊, it looks pretty one-sided. She also rejects Bowser at the end.

Mario will encounter an "untooned" version of himself in New Donk City.

The character will be a realistic-looking man in a cap and overalls who also works as a plumber. He may be a snarky Fourth-Wall Observer who brings up how unrealistic Mario's appearance and abilities are. He could even be voiced by Charles Martinet using something much closer to his normal voice.

• Jossed.

At one point, Mario will get to capture the planet itself.

It's a valid escalation because he can Capture everything else in the game.

• Jossed, sadly. He can't capture anything larger than a T-rex, anyway, and even that puts a strain on Cappy.

New Donk City will have an underground area based on Mario Bros..

Since Pauline is the mayor, it could be that New Donk City is intended to be where the original Donkey Kong took place; maybe all of Mario's games where he's in a real-world-like setting rather than the Mushroom Kingdom take place there. If that's the case, a Mario Bros. theme would make sense for a sewer area.

• Kinda Jossed.

The Pauline that appears in this game is not the same one that appeared in Donkey Kong.

Since the Donkey Kong who appeared in the original arcade game is the grandfather, sometimes father, of the modern Donkey Kong, the same is often assumed to be true of the Modern Mario and the Original Mario. Since Pauline is clearly still the same age as Mario and Peach, the Modern Pauline is either the sister or the cousin of the Mario Bros. who was named after their grandmother, just like Mario was named after their grandfather. And that is why Peach and Modern!Pauline have zero issues over Peach's relationship with Mario.

• So, all those MarioxPauline shippers... I have been waiting a long time to use this. *starts singing to the tune of "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"* It's beginning to look a lot like incest / Subtext burning hot / A carelessly chosen word / Makes everything seem absurd / Brothers and sisters screwing, what the fuuuuudddgggeeee?
• Also jossed. Pauline asks Mario if he remembers the day the original Donkey Kong took place, and in her quiz, her most notable involvement is stated to be "kidnapped by ape".

The Broodals are using Bowser.

Bowser's just pleased as punch about his wedding with Peach; he's not really paying that much attention. But we know the Dark King and the Mushroom Princess being wedded causes wonky things to happen to reality. The Dark Prognosticus is gone, but this still causes time and space to shudder. This tension is squeezing "Moons" out of reality; and Mario putting things right puts the Moons back into the right track. What the Broodals are doing with the Moons isn't clear, but there is Symbolic Precedent.

• Jossed. They were just taking a job, but this backfires for them when Mario wins, as their credibility is destroyed.

Some characters will wear helmets.

It will prevent Mario from being able to knock off their head-wear using Cappy and take control of them.

• Confirmed, and not just helmets, apparently. Most NPCs are kept out of Mario's control due to this.

Mario is spending the game in his small form.

Official materials◊ give Mario's height as roughly five feet, but Mario is clearly much shorter than that considering he is about the same height as a fire hydrant. Several games such as Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. establish that Mario's super form is his real height. So this time Bowser was able to somehow depower Mario, with Cappy being used to compensate until Mario can get back to his full strength.

• Additionally, 3D Land and 3D World has Mario's small form without his hat, and Bowser makes a point to destroy his hat.
  • More or less jossed: Mario can break Brick Blocks.

New Donk City was originally intended to be the actual New York City.

The makers of the game wanted to make it canon that Mario and Luigi indeed come from Earth as a nod to their Brooklyn-born backgrounds in the manuals of the early games, the cartoons and the live-action movie. There would also be a Discontinuity Nod to Mario Is Missing! where it's vaguely mentioned that Luigi had to rescue Mario from Bowser who previously tried to take over Earth. The game would have a cross-dimensional element to it to explain why Mushroom people and enemies exist in a realistic setting. But then Executive Meddling kicked in.

Mario and Pauline's past relationship will be referenced.

Given how deep Nintendo has dug into the earliest Mario lore for New Donk City, it's only natural for them to bring up Mario's history with Pauline in a sort of Working with the Ex mini-plot or at least have them as Amicable Exes.

• Alternatively, it'll reveal that the two realized that they were Better as Friends, and that Pauline has no hard feelings towards Mario.
• The events of Donkey Kong are alluded to, but the game sidesteps any romantic past between them entirely.

The entire marriage was just a part of a Greater-Scope Villain's plan.

Bowser wants to marry Peach presumably so that he can rule her kingdom as well as his own. If that's true, then the true villain will unveil themselves via attacking and conquering both kingdoms single-handedly, and thus the final act of the game begins.

• Jossed. No third party shows up to take control over their kingdoms, and Bowser is the final boss.

Pauline is Bowser's Accomplice

• Pauline and Mario were once an item, so it's possible she feels jealous of Peach, and with no reason to dislike Bowser, it's possible he bribed her in some way into helping him. If Peach were married, she'd be "off the market" and Pauline would have a chance to rekindle her relationship with Mario. Possible clues to this are in the lyrics from Pauline's song from the trailer. "Did you know it's time to raise our sails, it's freedom like you never knew" might mean "You can't chase after Peach all your life. Leave her to her fate and you'll be happier." The line "Don't need bags or a pass, say the word and I'll be there in a flash, you could say my hat is off to you," and "You should know that you're my Super Star, no one else could take me this far, I'm flipping the switch, get ready for this" and also, "Spin the wheel, take a chance, every journey starts with a new romance, a new world's calling out to you". All of these could be declarations of love and promises of loyalty that he could have without the hassle. Exactly how willing an accomplice she is could be scaled to just about anywhere.
• Jossed as far as canon.

Daisy and Rosalina are rulers of two of the other Kingdoms

• Pauline has come back, why not bring back some other past characters? It seems possible.
  • Jossed.

Donkey Kong will appear as a Boss

• If Pauline has returned as a supporting character, it's possible they could have brought the big guy back too.
  • Confirmed... Kinda. It's more of a mini-boss kind of thing at the end of the New Donk City festival, and it's in an 8-bit section.

The Final Battle will start with a Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace gag

• Seems this may be an Obligatory Joke here.
  • Sadly, not in this case.

There will be a Luigi mode unlocked by certain circumstances

Either it'll be in the same vein as the green star missions from Super Mario Galaxy, or it'll be like New Super Luigi U. It could either be unlocked by collecting all the moons (assuming that you aren't required to do so to challenge Bowser) or completing special missions - and it would give Luigi his own version of Cappy.

• Jossed - but you can unlock a Luigi outfit with his amiibo, or by buying it in the postgame. Luigi instead hosts an online multiplayer game mode.

Mario will capture the moon to defeat Bowser at the very end

• The moon certainly seems to be involved somehow.
  • Jossed; the Moon Kingdom is actually the Very Definitely Final Dungeon.

There will be a Japan-themed world

• There was artwork of Mario in a Samurai outfit published for Super Mario Run. The outfit didn't make any sense in Super Mario Run's context. Odyssey, however...
• It's also most likely going to be the Lake Kingdom due to its generic name and the fact we know nothing about it.
  • Jossed on the Lake Kingdom; the actual Japan-inspired level is Bowser's Kingdom, which features pagodas and traditional Japanese architecture rather than being the typical lava level.

There will be secret mini-stages

• They will be selected from the globe on the Odyssey, just like normal worlds, but they aren't captioned, akin to the ???-planet in Kirby Super Star's Milky Way Wishes.
  • Jossed. Some kingdoms are smaller, and two are very small, but they all come up during the plot and all have names.

Peach will be playable after beating the final boss

After defeating Bowser, you unlock the ability to play as Peach. She uses Tiara as her means of attack and capturing enemies.

• Jossed

You will play as Peach in the final boss battle.

Tired of being the damsel-in-distress, Peach uses Tiara to kick Bowser's ass while Mario and Cappy are incapacitated.

• Jossed.

The final battle will take place on the Moon.

The moon is clearly of some significance to the game: the main collectables are the Power Moons, the moon can be seen in the sky in most levels even during the daytime, and one of the lyrics to "Jump Up, Super Star" is "we could zoom all the way to the moon". The whole moon is even displayed next to the globe at the world selection screen, so given its prominence it would only make sense that the Moon would be host to at least one of the Kingdoms Mario can visit. Furthermore, this would tie in with the suggestion above that the Broodals are connected to the Moon Rabbit myth. Perhaps the Broodals' kingdom is on the moon and that's where they ultimately plan on staging Bowser's wedding with Peach.

• Confirmed: the final level is the Moon Kingdom, and the Broodals have a base on the Moon's Dark Side.

Cappy merging with Mario's cap completely fixed the hat and it'll be shown to be good as new even after Cappy unmerges.

It's unlikely that Cappy will stay merged with the cap in the end, he and Tiara will probably bid the heroes farewell and go home to Bonneton. Mario's cap going back to a wrecked state just wouldn't be cool, so it'll revealed to be just fine.

• Confirmed: The group picture you get at the end of the unlocked special ending shows Cappy separate from a still-hatted Mario.

Bowser will somehow become playable.

Whether it be in DLC or otherwise, it's high time the Koopa King gets his time to shine as a playable character. Outside of spin-offs, of course.

• I think the September Direct said that scanning Wedding Bowser's amiibo gets you his wedding outfit in the game, which seems a bit suspect. What good would unlocking that outfit do if he wasn't playable?
• Given that it turned out that the outfit the Peach wedding amiibo unlocks is her wedding dress for Mario, the Bowser outfit is likely for Mario as well. While this doesn't completly Joss the possibility that Bowser could be playable in any way, shape or form, it does seem to Joss the idea that the amiibo outfits are just for Bowser (and Peach).
• Confirmed! The videos were taken down for copyright infringement, but the final boss was leaked, and it is shown that Mario captures Bowser after the fight for an Escape Sequence. It seems to be only for this particular sequence, but this is still the first time we get to see Bowser playable in a mainstream title.
  • Playable Bowser returns for the very last level in the game, which is a test of all your skills.

With the recent reveal of Isle Delfino...

After Bowser's defeat, Mario and Peach will get married, and spend their honeymoon on Isle Delfino. This may even be the prequel to Sunshine, as Bowser's humiliating defeat may prompt him to put his infamous lie in Junior's head.

• Jossed. Peach turns down Mario's proposal, and Isle Delfino does not appear in the game.

Cappy will betray Mario.

Tiara is freed at the end of the Disc-One Final Dungeon, but Bowser gets away with Peach. Cappy, having accomplished his goal of rescuing his sister, decides that helping Mario is no longer worth the trouble and says Screw This, I'm Outta Here He might change his mind and return for the Final Boss.

• Jossed. Cappy stays loyal to Mario throughout the game.

The overweight female Broodal is actually Bowser Jr.'s real mom

Why did it take me this long to realize that this Broodal wears Pauline's clothes? Since Pauline was Mario's ex and is still on good terms with him, it's probable this is literally Bowser's Pauline.

Wingo will be the minister for Bowser and Peach's wedding.

Because why not?

• Jossed.

Petey Piranha will return.

As a boss in the Wooded Kingdom.

• Jossed. At most, gigantic Piranha Plants serve as mini-bosses.

Cappy will either die or sacrifice himself at the end of the game.

If we look at the track record of previous 3D Mario games, it seems that they have a knack for (sometimes seemingly) killing off the helping characters — whether it be FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine or Luma in Super Mario Galaxy. So, maybe during the final battle, Bowser will try to cheat and try to kill off Mario for good, but in the crossfire of the attack, Cappy jumps in the way of the attack and so sacrifices himself for Mario. Alternatively, Bowser's defeat somehow sets off a catastrophic event that Cappy sacrifices himself to stop.

• Cappy will apparently be invincible during gameplay, so him being Killed Off for Real seems unlikely without Gameplay and Story Segregation. A Disney Death would still work, though.
  • Completly Jossed.

Bowser will end up married... but not to Peach

After Mario rescues Peach, the wedding has to go on. The new bride is Pauline if she turns out to be Bowser's accomplice, and Harriet the Broodal otherwise. The final scene shows that Bowser has become Pauline's/Harriet's Henpecked Husband.

• Nope, he doesn't get married full stop in the end.

Peach will have her own campaign

Some time into the game, Peach will use Tiara to escape from Bowser. She'll probably get caught and kidnapped again, but maybe she'll, say, collect and hide away a few moons that will eventually be crucial for Mario's victory.

• Jossed...She does have an adventure postgame, but only as an NPC popping up in the different areas.

Tiara turns out to be Evil All Along

Cappy believes she was kidnapped by Bowser, but it turns out that she went along with his plans willingly. She's some kind of ghost creature, so Bowser shouldn't be able to physically kidnap her like he does to Peach. She's not physically restrained, so she can presumably float away at any time if she wants to. She may or may not have been duped into serving Bowser. Either way, she likely pulls a Heel–Face Turn in the end.

• Jossed.

Cappy has a sad backstory

There is precedent for giving dark backstories to supporting characters in Super Mario games, as Super Mario Galaxy and the spinoff Super Princess Peach show. He's some sort of ghost creature, so the obvious guess is that he died tragically.

• Jossed. He does not give any backstory on himself, and he has always been a ghost-like creature. At least, it likely is. Nintendo have said they are willing to reveal his backstory, and 3D Mario games have usually been darker than 2D games (excluding Super Paper Mario). Who knows, it may be a Tear Jerker.

Bowser has his own hat spirit.

Beyond Mario's Cappy and Peach's Tiara, it's entirely possible that Bowser has a soul in his own hat — which may serve two different purposes.

• A. It's the Greater-Scope Villain of the game, and will reveal itself by removing itself from Bowser and becoming its true form.
• B. It's The Dragon to Bowser alongside his Broodals.
  • Actually, it's none of the above - it's a mechanical top hat with boxing gloves. So... Jossed.

Bowser will succeed in getting the ring on Peach's finger, but...

Their marriage won't be legal, as the priest wasn't licensed. Enraged, Bowser instead decides to just kill Peach right there and then to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom unopposed. However, Mario arrives after defeating the Broodals, and he and Peach team up to take down Bowser. Humiliated that he was not only beaten by a girl, but also didn't think his plan through, as he didn't bother to find a legal priest, Bowser limps home with what little dignity he has left. After this, Mario and Peach decide not to waste a good wedding, and finally get married after all these years. With Peach off the market, Bowser now decides that kidnapping her won't work anymore, especially since he knows Mario wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he did so. Instead, he concludes that military conquest is the only solution he has left, foreshadowing the next game.

Meanwhile, Mario and Peach head off on their honeymoon to Isle Delfino after throwing the Broodals in the dungeon for their part in an illegal wedding, while Luigi and Daisy watch over the Mushroom Kingdom. Unfortunately, though, they soon find themselves having to deal with Wario and Waluigi, setting up the unlockable mode.

• Um... Have you seen the size of the ring Bowser intends to use?
• Does Luigi's Balloon World count as an unlockable mode?
• All jossed, by the way. No priest, and Mario prevents even sham proceedings from beginning.

Post-Release Theories

Humans are the natives of a dead kingdom similar to the Ruin Kingdom, possibly the Ruin Kingdom itself, and take the role of Precursors.

It's confirmed that Mario is human; Pauline, Luigi, and Peach resemble him as well; but the citizens of New Donk City don't and are only referred to as New Donkers. We've only seen a few humans throughout the franchise, all of whom are fairly high-status; and otherwise every kingdom has their own 'native' life form. I posit that humans in the Mario world are the remnants of an ancient and incredibly powerful kingdom that was almost entirely wiped out. The few surviving humans often have incredible skills and inherited powers from their kingdoms wonders that make them sought after by other kingdoms, but nobody really talks about or potentially even knows what happened to their home.

While possessing (and possessed by) Cappy, Mario is a Revenant Zombie.

That fall from Bowser's ship in the beginning technically killed him (or got very close). This is why there is no death, or fall damage in game; you can't kill what isn't alive. This is a very strong Type IV Sliding Scale of Undead Regeneration, though. He still breaths, his heart still beats; Cappy is keeping everything functional. This maintenance is so good that when Cappy leaves, Mario's body will continue functioning normally. (He wasn't really brought Back from the Dead, it's more like a Magical Life Support.)

• This is how he can use Grand Theft Me on other people.
  • Mario is not the first person in the series to be killed, brought back as undead, and revived to life.
  • Nor would it even be the first time for Mario himself to come back from death, he was once revived with star power.
  • Not saying this is plausible, but there is a zombie costume now...

Any Nintendo game that isn’t explicitly set on a certain planet (Earth, Zebes, Popstar, etc.) takes place in Mario’s world.

Seeing as mushroom people, ghosts, realistic humans and animals, realistic and cartoony dinosaurs and dragons, mermaids, robotic watering cans, living forks, etc. all apparently coexist on this one planet, it wouldn’t be too farfetched.

"Moons" are unlike the previous Stars or Shines, they are the product of Ley Line nodes, not the nodes themselves.

In 64, Sunshine and Galaxy, Mario didn't seem to be "keeping" the MacGuffin, he was simply restoring it. Thus upon collection, whatever effect the enemies control was causing was reversed. In Odyssey, however, Moons are ground up into a type of fuel for the Odyssey, and New Donk City's electricity runs on it. And taking them and leaving the country isn't an act of war. Even the Stars in the Mushroom Kingdom are called "Moons" despite their appearance; Mario is simply harvesting the product.

The Power Moons look like Power Stars in the Mushroom Kingdom because they're resonating with the actual Power Stars in the castle.

They're still called Moons, after all, and when you take them back to the Odyssey, which has a high concentration of Power Moon energy in one spot, they revert back to their true form.

Bonnetors are actually possesors.

They aren't in their true form. Considering they turned good at the end of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, it's pretty likely one would help Mario as the bros are implied to be in good standing with the ghosts.

The Ruined Kingdom was a world that consumed too many of their Power Moons and nodes.

Conservation is still important. One person is only allowed one Moon per Node for a certain period of time. One can also grind up 100 Gold Coins to replenish a node, because Gold Coins are made from Star Bits. It's not very productive for the Merchant, so they usually limit it to one per customer; but Mario gets special status after saving the world. Again.

• Whatever name the Ruined Kingdom had before, they didn't heed this. They pulled Moons out of the nodes in the form of lightning so much that the nodes collapsed, and ruined the Kingdom. The Lord of Lightning is unfairly blamed for this, power was pulled out of him as well.

The Ruined Kingdom is a Deconstruction of Dark Souls

The Lord of Lightning is basically a Lord of Fire with a different element. The Ruined Kingdom seemed to be based around Lightning, the way Dark Souls is around Flame.

• "Well, yeah, if you're constantly sucking power out of everything and being grimdark and not building anything, nothing will be left!"

Pauline is half human, half "New Donker".

That would explain why she more closely resembles a standard Mario character, aside from her height.

Bonneters are, in-universe, related to Eeries.

Possibly even evolved from some form of them when the originals bonded with their headwear and developed a culture around it.

Some real life places that areas in other Mario games could stand in for.

• Mushroom Kingdom: Possibly Belgium or the Netherlands, if so, likely the former due to it being not too flat.
  • Alternately, the Mushroom Kingdom is simply the Mushroom Kingdom. Either not strictly based on anything, or its a mishmash of so many things you can't pin it down to being one thing.
• Sarassaland: Australia, as it has a desert, like the Birabuto Kingdom. But also some grassy areas.
  • Sarasaland consists of Egypt (Birabuto Kingdom), Bermuda (Muda Kingdom), Easter Island (Easton Kingdom) and China (Chai Kingdom).
• Isle Delfino: The Bahamas, home to prominent tourist resorts.
• Rougeport: Detroit. You know, with all the crime and such.

Cappy and Tiara are actually the prince and princess of the Cap Kingdom.

• This is why they look fancier than the other Bonneters. However, they are humble about their position and don't really make a statement of it.

Cloud Kingdom is a precursor to Nimbus Land.

The Nimbus People later moved to the clouds their current kingdom resides on, leaving behind that big moon dial Mario would later battle Bowser on.

Pauline's career was motivated, at least initially, by her feelings for Mario

Mario and Pauline may have been engaged in the past, or just have been always friends, but she had feelings for Mario. Pauline has never hated Peach, but felt inferior to her: she, a regular girl, against a literal princess. She felt that, to have a chance to win Mario, she had to prove herself. And so, the girl we've long known as the original damsel Mario had to save, has become an accomplished woman: a popular singer, and the mayor of a big city. She may have moved on from Mario, however: her own accomplishments may have led her to realize that her life doesn't necessarily have to revolve around him.

Pauline is actually a ruthless dictator and mayor-for-life

Think about it, her face is on the stickers, it's on the currency, there are golden statues of her, everyone loves her (most likely out of fear of falling afoul her Secret Police), she puts on public displays of her talents and all of her citizens show up (because they have to), and any one who steps out of line or threatens the status quo is attacked by tanks (which we assume are from Bowser, but do we have any proof?)

• Just want to make it clear, I'm joking.

The Luigi in the DLC is from another universe and Cappy is actually Luigi, who was Dead All Along.

Cappy is a ghost, after all. So how did Luigi die? Well, for starters, he probably died sometime after Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon as only the real Luigi would be able to contact E. Gadd, or at least the main universe E. Gadd. Why is he not in the afterlife and in the Cap Kingdom, then? Dark Moon might not have been the end of paranormal incidents in the Mushroom Kingdom so Luigi had unfinished business, placing him in purgatory, er, the Cap Kingdom. And since Cappy is a ghost, and he can perform some good'ol Grand Theft Me, guess what other ghost can possess things? That's right, possessors! Luigi became a possessor after his death and disguised himself as a Bonneter to avoid scaring the living daylights out of everyone. But what about Tiara? It's all part of the facade, when Mario arrived he presented Tiara as his sister, when in reality they were entirely unrelated. And speaking of Mario, even though he apparently had just met him he knew what size his hat was. Cappy did not want to upset his brother by informing him he was dead, so he put on the Cappy facade and agreed to help Mario in exchange for completing his business. And when Cappy says his goodbyes, he is going off to fight other ghosts so he can pass on.

• Cappy could have known Mario's hat size because he was on his head briefly before transforming into his iconic M cap, also the size might have been on the ruined hat
• The alternate Luigi who presents the balloon minigame knew of Luigi's death and took his role from New Super Mario Bros. U onwards to be nice to the main-universe Mario.
• It's possible that Luigi technically didn't lie about Tiara being his sister. The two are unrelated, yes, but rather two ghosts that met in the Cap Kingdom and became Family of Choice to each other. "Tiara" is a little sister in spirit to "Cappy"...which kind of makes her like a little sister to Mario as well by proxy.

New Donkers aren't actually human.

They're just their kingdom's equivalent to the Toads, talking forks, robots, skeletons, etc. of other kingdoms. They're a species that just happen to resemble realistic humans in suits. Pauline, their mayor, is the only one who is actually human, which is why she looks more like the other human characters in the series.

• I love this theory.

Fossil Falls has closer ties to the Cap Kingdom than openly stated.

Looking at the world map shows that the Cascade and Cap Kingdoms are essentially right next to each other, close enough so that a power line runs between Bonneton and Fossil Falls for Mario and Cappy to use in the game's opening act. Additionally, Cappy knowing that there's an airship in Fossil Falls and there being an existing tourist pamphlet for the location suggests that he himself and/or his fellow Bonneters had been to the area previously.

This is also evidenced by the fact that, in addition to the Odyssey itself, there are what appear to be remnants of other 'hat ships' partially buried underneath the ground at or near the Odyssey's original location (they're pretty rusted though so it's easy to mistake them for just another piece of rock in the ground).

• I don't know what you mean by "close ties", as it's obviously a prehistoric area without any civilization. It seems that it was merely a popular site for Bonneter explorers to visit due to it being so close, and that the old ships are remnants of past expeditions.

The reason why the boxer shorts cost 1000 coins...

...despite many full outfits at that point in the game being much cheaper, is that it includes the price of a wax job. Seriously, that's the only explanation for the conspicuous lack of body hair seen on our middle-aged Italian when we put him in his undies.

• He's officially in his twenties. Not middle-aged.

The change to the status quo

At no point in the game do they suggest Cappy leaves Mario with a repaired hat and a farewell. The closest we get is Darker Side. Who's to say that this is the last we'll see of Mario's hat tricks? There's even some degree of precedent in regards to Yoshi's story in Super Mario World not stopping him becoming a regular.

• Actually, if you get all of the Power Moons, you get a harder version of the Final Boss. Beating that will get you this picture◊, showing the game's cast, including Cappy, separate from Mario's perfectly-intact hat.

The events of this game helped Peach discover her one true love.

...Mario possessing Bowser.

He's everything she could possibly want in a romantic interest. Bowser is indeed large, powerful, and affectionate, but his ego and malice are immediate turnoffs. Mario is heroic, kind, and devoted, but his physical and social stature make it hard for her to see him as anything more than a close friend and protector. She would be happier with a partner who possessed the best qualities of both of them... and having literally seen it at the climax of this game, she finds it hard to bring herself to settle for one or the other afterward.

...and that is one reason why her next course of action is to strengthen her friendship with Tiara. As long as her kingdom retains close ties with Bonneton, it remains possible for her dream suitor to exist again.

• So you're saying that Peach considers personality and appearances/social status equal? That's pretty shallow if you ask me. If that were the truth, she doesn't deserve either of them. Logically, I'd rather go with the nicer and less attractive person than the more conventially attractive but rude person.

Mario visited many of the kingdoms in this game previously.

• Cascade Falls is Dinosaur Land
• Sand Kingdom is Desert Land/Desert Hill
• Either Lake Kingdom or Seaside Kingdom could be Water Land/Sea Side.
• Snow Kingdom is Ice Land/Iced Land.
• Bowser's Kingdom is of course Dark Land/Castle of Koopa.

This of course raises the question of why the demographics are different than what was shown before. One possibility is that, since these areas are clearly more localized, there are other settlements filled with humans and toads, with the former acting as the various ruling families just like in the Mushroom Kingdom. Option number two is to take the statement that Super Mario Bros. 3 is an in-universe play/movie to mean that it is an adaptation of events that really occurred in the setting, but everyone in the kingdoms outside of the Mushroom Kingdom got a Race Lift.

• In the Mario lore, because Kingdoms are synonymous to countries, not every Kingdom has aristrocrats. "This of course raises the question of why the demographics are different than what was shown before." As said before, the Kingdoms are entire countries. Because the levels themselves are relatively small in size, we have yet to see every inch of every Kingdom. Heck, in the distance we can even see more of the simply unexplored Kingdom.

The Seaside Kingdom really did belong to the Gushens.

Think about it. The notable architectual features are clearly built for sea life, and the Bubblainians are more like vacationers on holiday there rather than natives. The Gushens are likely the true Bubblainians of the Kingdom, making Mollusque-Lanceur the ruler. Tyrant? Sure. But even his full title calls him "dauphin", or "prince" of the region. He was a menace, yes, but it was his land, not the snails'. Perhaps he was merely absent for long enough that the snails moved in and claimed it as a resort.

• Actually, looking at my own theory, it doesn't make much sense, and there is nothing to support that the octopi are familiar faces there. Instead, it seems more likely that Bowser let him take over tyrant-style, and his title is how he views his role there, declaring himself in charge. His French theme does suggest that he hails from the Seaside Kingdom, but probably not Bubblaine.

The Ruined Dragon is some kind of reincarnation of the Elder Scrolls dragons

The Mushroom Kingdom exists in the (or at least a) kalpa after Tamriel's, and the Ruined Dragon is a single, massive dragon with the essences of multiple (or maybe all, if it's the only one of its kind in existence) dragon souls within it rather than those souls being spread among a multitude of smaller dragons like in Skyrim. It obeys Bowser because the Koopa King bested it in battle at some point prior to Odyssey, and the old Might Makes Right principle the dov follow is still in place for this big boy.

Donkey Kong was named after New Donk City, not the other way around.

New Donk City may have been just starting to develop, but it already had its name. When a Kong in the area became famous—and made the budding city famous by proxy—by kidnapping someone, he was named "Donkey Kong" as in a Kong from New Donk.

Volbonans were the original inhabitants of the moon civilization.

Based on the giant vegetables Mario can find on the darker side of the moon which match the ones in the Luncheon Kingdom. But they were forced to flee because the Broodals kicked them out.

Mario and Luigi grew up in/around the Luncheon Kingdom.

Current Mario canon (as much as "canon" can be used to refer to Mario.) seems to have the Mario Bros. being born and raised in the Mushroom World, making it unclear whether they’re still considered Italian. Perhaps they grew up in the Mushroom World’s Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Italy, then emigrated to New Donk as adults, (hence retaining their stereotypical accents) where they got their start. After getting wrapped up in saving the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom a couple of times, they figured it would be simpler to just set up shop there. Being from the Luncheon Kingdom could also explain the Big Eater traits they’re not-infrequently depicted with.

Why the lava in Luncheon Kingdom is pink

It's actually Pepto Bismol—to help ease indigestion after all that food.

Potential DLC

DLC will involve places from old games and spinoffs

The base game will feature its own levels, but with DLC, new kingdoms will be added that reference past games and spinoffs such as Sarasaland, the Sprixie Kingdom, Dinosaur Land, DK Island, and Diamond City.

There will be a campaign for Luigi as DLC.

He doesn't appear anywhere in the game and they can't just ignore him again like in 64 and Sunshine.

• Well, barring his outfit, that is.
• Confirmed! He's not playable, but he hosts the DLC minigame Luigi's Balloon World.

Bowser will also be DLC.

Since his existing moveset as a playable character is far too limited for a whole game (since he's a cap-ture and is only available for two levels), he would have much more moves (spinning in his shell, punching enemies as well as clawing obstacles, firing fireballs or full streams of fire, and if we're really going all the way, he may also have moves from Super Smash Bros. ). Unlike the endgame, he will not be cap-tured - you truly play as the Koopa King himself here. His health will be 12 hit points, and is overall much stronger and faster than Mario - to compensate, levels are also significantly harder, with stronger enemies, more hazardous levels and bosses stronger in strength and numbers, before culminating in a Final Boss battle between Bowser and a variant of himself (Dry Bowser, Dark Bowser, whatever). Lastly, Bowser also has some costumes of his own - some include his wedding suit, Meowser, Dry Bowser, his outfit from the New 3DS commercial, and many more. Any costume with a hat will allow him to cap-ture enemies.

Isle Delfino will be DLC.

We saw it in the promotional materials and the world map in the strategy guide, but it's oddly not on the globe.

• Actually, it is on the globe! It just isn't coloured. Likely because it'll be a future DLC, or is just an easter egg.

Potential DLC Kingdoms

• Isle Delfino. Aside from the reason mentioned in an above WMG, it would be relatively easy to bring into the game compared to making a completely new area. The blueprints for it already exist in Sunshine, and it’s already designed with open-ended exploration in mind. All they would need to do is give it and its residents an HD touch-up, compose the new music, give newer enemies and bosses to fit with this Island and put the collectibles in new places.
• Hyrule, specifically based on the Breath of the Wild incarnation. These two games share much of their audience and have more than a few similarities, so having a crossover between them has a lot of potential and would certainly make money. Aside from that, the reasons for doing this are similar to those stated for Isle Delfino.
• An expanded version of the Ruined Kingdom. It’s clear that this kingdom has a lot of history and what was shown of it in the game is only scratching the surface. Perhaps new DLC missions would involve exploring the rest of the kingdom, uncovering some of that history, maybe even Capturing the Ruined Dragon. Plus, a lot of the assets they would need are already in the base game.
• Sarrasaland. After Pauline appeared in New Donk. It seems like a logical next step.
  • Note that Sarasaland is divided into "kingdoms" just like Odyssey's world. And the Birabuto Kingdom even has a sphinx in it.
• Dinosaur Land. Includes several references to it's game of origin, and some more dinosaurs to capture in addition to the familiarSuper Mario World enemies. The Special Zone can be a sub-area...that leads to more sub-areas.
• A Ghost House/Big Boo's Haunt level. (Luigi's Mansion?)
• Space!
  • The Cosmic Kingdom, which would feature the Comet Observatory as Odyssey's landing point and would otherwise take place on a series of planetoids.
• A "Plumber Kingdom" or possibly even a "Luigi Kingdom" (Luigi having his own kingdom would be through some Noodle Incident during the events of Mario's story; perhaps by saving a kingdom offscreen from complete destruction, it was renamed in his image?) explaining where Luigi has been the whole time, mainly running on Rule of Funny. Either way, it could contain references to the original Mario Bros., as New Donk City/the Metro Kingdom has several references to Donkey Kong. The regional outfits could include Mario's blue color scheme from the box art, or the yellow and blue palette swaps in the Game Boy Advance ports of it, since it would be nice to have a blue Palette Swap of Mario's hat in the game. Given that the Classic, Luigi, Wario in his Wario Ware outfit, Classic Wario and Waluigi outfits account for other colors.
• Classic Kingdom, which would feature a remake of at least one of Super Mario 64's painting worlds, either as floating islands or a combined landmass (perhaps Tall Tall Mountain, Bob-Omb Battlefield, Dire Dire Docks, and Thwomp Fortress could be meshed together, with Hazy Maze Cave sprawling underneath). The brochure would discuss how painters from the Mushroom Kingdom would travel to the Classic Kingdom to paint its history.
  • Here's an idea for that. The levels could be attached by a series of land corridors or otherwise the slingshots Mario uses in the game. With the netrence to Tall, Tall Mountain's slide now being the entrance to Hazy Maze Cave. The river from Tall, Tall Mountain could flow into the Hazy Maze Cave, where is in turn flows to Dire Dire Docks. Meanwhile, Hazy Maze could could be a described as an ancient abandoned mine that was abandoned due to gas in the title maze. That way, we could connect all five levels seamlessly.
  • Alternatively, it could just be the Battlefield section. Bob-Omb Battlefield already has a cameo in the map that Hint Toad reads. Most of the original stars would remain intact, with the Silver Stars becoming moon pieces and some red coins becoming Power Moons. The Wing Cap objective can become a Glydon course. Koopa the Quick becomes a Roving Racer. The Island in the Sky can feature a warp portrait. Bowser in the Dark World or Bowser in the Sky can be a "Small World" course within.
  • If Odyssey had a Classic Kingdom, wouldn't it just be in those 2d sprite sections?
• A Storybook Kingdom, where the Odyssey lands at an arena featuring warp pipes to different worlds, taking Mario to Hyrule or Popstar or Kanto.
• A Painted Kingdom. Made to look like a stylized oil painting (almost like Painted Swampland in NSMBU) and composed of lush islands surrounded by poison paint, perhaps coming from waterfalls as well, filling a similar niche to the Luncheon Kingdom by being ultra-stylized and surrounded by deadly liquid.
• A Comic Book inspired Kingdom.

There will be Christmas DLC.

Just think about it. New costumes themed around Christmas. A possible new Kingdom. We will get to see Mario in a Santa Suit.

Waluigi will make an appearance with his own mini-game.

Being a rival to Luigi, he competes with him by giving Mario a mini-game different to Luigi's.

Potential DLC Outfits

We already got additional outfits from the Balloon World update. List some of your ideas:

• Referee Outfit
• Rapper Outfit (from Mario Pinball Land Japanese commercial)
• Tennis Outfit (either from earlier Mario Tennis games, or Mario Tennis Aces)
• Donkey Kong Suit (We got Diddy Kong suit, why not DK?)
• Peach's gown and crown
• Daisy's gown and crown
• Rosalina's gown and crown
• Toad Outfit, with his "cap" (or part of his head) and his blue vest.
• SMB Classic Outfit (brown and red color scheme)
• Party Outfit◊ (from Mario Party : The Top 100 cover art)
• President Outfit◊ (from Mario Hanafuda cards)
• Striker Outfit (from Mario Strikers series)
• Power-up form suits/color schemes (Fire Mario, Ice Mario, Tanooki Mario, Cloud Mario, etc)
• Bowser Suit (not his wedding suit, but a suit of Bowser), with his head as the hat and the rest of his body as the outfit.

Future Games/Sequels After Odyssey

Post Your Super Mario Odyssey 2 Ideas Here

• Super Mario Odyssey 2/Super Mario Voyagers: You start up with the lineup of playable characters from Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D World which includes Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, and Yoshi as both a playable character and a rideable companion. The Power Star Wands and the Sprixie Princesses have been taken by Bowser to gain control over the entire Mushroom Planet, and even some friends from the Wario (both Land and Ware) Series, the Donkey Kong Series, Mario spinoffs, Super Mario Land and the Yoshi Series are taken by Bowser as insurance against our heroes coming to the rescue. Unlocking more playable characters along the way by rescuing them, you must journey with our five starting heroes through the first eight worlds (and the four final and bonus worlds) so you can save the Sprixie Princesses and recover the Power Star Wands to use them to banish Bowser and his forces away from the Mushroom Planet.
• Super Mario Galaxy Odyssey. Redefining the concept of "open world", it adds Galaxy's planetoid mechanics to Odyssey's formula.
  • Unfortunately doubtful. Really, Nintendo doesn't seem keen on the idea of returning to Galaxy. Besides, I'm fairly sure that Odyssey was already their attempt at "continuing" Galaxy.
• Super Mario Multiverse. Think of like a mix of two ideas but involving Alternate Continuities and Spin-offs of the Mario Multiverse with the Time Travel concept. Not to mention, not only many Mario Heroes and Heroines would be playable for the ultimate Heroes Assemble moment, it would also be Mario's very own Dream Match Game where we get the already Awesome Bosses from the library taken into more harder and insaner levels. If Link can get one, then so can our favorite Plumber.

A second Captain Toad game

Much like how Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was to Super Mario 3D World, there will be another Captain Toad game for the Nintendo Switch that will be a Spin-Off to Odyssey, featuring the return of Toadette—and the surprise addition of a Captain Toadsworth.

It's also safe to assume that Wingo will be back for revenge on the Toads that humiliated him, as the Captain Toad quote found in the Lost Kingdom implies that Wingo continues to harass the little guy. But what if, this time, he's moved on from collecting treasure, instead intending to steal foods from people—to win the heart of Cookatiel?

Things we want to see in a sequel.

• The Plains Kingdom: A place based on Ireland.
• Sarasaland: Only this time, it is based on the Netherlands to better fit Daisy's motif.
• The Desert Kingdom: based on Australia's Outback. With NPCs based on Kangaroos
• The Mountain Kingdom: A place based on the Appalachia.
• Swamp Kingdom: Based on Madagascar.
• Isle Delfino: Shown as a fusion of the original Delfino Plaza, Tampa, New Orleans, Rio de Janiero, Puerto Princesa and Miami.
• The Haunted Kingdom: Based on Eastern Europe in general, but especially Romania. Though there are also some reference to the J-Horror genre in there. With Professor E. Gadd making an appearance.
• Kong Kingdom: A further nod to Donkey Kong in the form of appearances by him and other Kongs like Diddy and Dixie. Perhaps even a boss where Mario captures DK and fights King K. Rool.
• Casino Kingdom: A city-based Kingdom that takes inspiration from Las Vegas and has a casino motif, with Wario and Waluigi possibly making an appearance.
• Independence Kingdom: A Philadelphia-inspired Urban Kingdom with a dose of Boston in which is American history themed.
• Fiery Chilly Kingdom: An ice and fire fusion Kingdom.
• Dessert Kingdom: A spiritual successor to the Luncheon Kingdom, but with a Candy motif.
• Melody Kingdom: A kingdom based around musical instruments.
• Westward Kingdom: A desert kingdom based off the Wild West.
• Oriental Metro Kingdom: A Hong Kong themed kingdom.
• Yoshi Island: A world themed around the Yoshi’s Island series. Have Kamek show up as a boss.
• Rogueport: In order to make it fit the theme more, it would become a fusion between the original version as well as famous port towns/cities.

The next game is going to be "Super Mario 3D Multiverse".

Rosalina was Promoted to Playable in Super Mario 3D World and following the Theme Naming, the next should be "Super Mario 3D 64 or "Super Mario 3D Sunshine", which sounds unlikely. The concept of the Multiverse would be used.

Super Luigi Odyssey

Much like New Super Luigi U was to New Super Mario Bros. U, there will be a modified version of Odyssey in the near-future. It will put Luigi in the spotlight, as he explores tougher versions of the Kingdoms Mario went through on his adventure to collect even more Power Moons, somewhere along the lines of Super Luigi Galaxy. But this time, Princess Daisy will be the one in need of rescuing from another villain set on trying to marry her. The villains could be a team up with Tatanga, King Boo and Dry Bowser. And unlike Mario and Peach, Luigi and Daisy will be officially married.

• Alternatively for the villain, it will be Waluigi, hired by Bowser to divert Luigi's attention so that Mario will be forced to go it alone.

Bowser's very own platforming game

Based on the very few playable sections as him, Bowser will become the star of his very own 3D platforming game. What will the story be? Let's see if we can figure it out:

• Borrowing from the usual Save the Princess setting, a new villain has kidnapped Bowser Jr., warranting the Koopa King's wrath.
• Bowser seeks out all the needed ingredients for a Love Potion he intends to use on—you guessed it—Princess Peach.
• A Coming of Age story where we get to play with Baby Bowser's movesets in early levels, then adult Bowser's for the rest of the game.
• Bowser gets trapped in an Alternate Universe where Mario and crew are antagonists, and Bowser and his army are protagonists. Of course, Bowser gets out at the end.
• Peach is kidnapped by a new villain, along with Mario and Luigi—forcing Bowser to save Peach (and reluctantly, Mario and Luigi).
• A new villain banishes Bowser, takes over his castle, and captures or enslaves everyone in it; and Bowser has to embark on an One-Man Army journey to reclaim his land, soldiers and loved ones.
  • Bowser's Inside Story already did that.

Places that could inspire levels in a sequel.

• The Netherlands (perhaps a revamped version of Sarasaland, due to Daisy's flower motif)
• The Australian Outback (with Kangaroo NPCs)
• Romania (with Professor E. Gadd making an appearance
• India
• Peru
• Texas
• Hawaii with a dose of New Orleans (Perhaps a redesigned Isle Delfino)
• Las Vegas
• Philadelphia
• The Philippines

Super Peach Odyssey - A platforming game starring Peach as the main character

• And she'll have to save Mario from Bowser this time. Teamed up with Tiara, she'll have many of the same abilities as Mario, in addition to the ability to use a parasol and float. Giving Peach the chance to be the Hero.
  • More likely this would be DLC. Either way, a better idea than the simple Russian Reversal would be if Peach had to save someone else. Perhaps create a younger sibling of hers.

Cappy will be incorporated into Mario's moveset in Smash Bros 5.

A full-on reimagining of Super Mario 64 for the Switch

Odyssey has a huge number of references to 64, from the paintings to returning enemies to the Mushroom Kingdom at the end. This game proved that the sandbox style used in 64 can still be done well, and more importantly, will still sell well in today's gaming climate. The original game was beloved and is still hailed as one of the best games ever made, but cracks in its design have been showing.

Super Mario 64 was remade once, on the DS, but even that game is beginning to show its age. But rather than another remake, I think that they would instead reimagine the game entirely - take the same starting ideas, but build an entirely new game on top of it. Interviews say that there was a lot that was planned for 64, but couldn't be included because of how limited the 64 was, and how little experience the developers had working on 3D games. Maybe some of that long-lost content could finally see the light of day in a reimagining.

Future areas added through updates or a sequel might involve visiting different places in the existing kingdoms.

We were teased in-game from time to time with kingdoms that weren't really full-fledged areas; the Ruined and Cloud Kingdoms are the obvious ones, but you'd be forgiven for thinking the same of the earlier locations too.

So possibly, Odyssey 2/Odyssey + will have you visit other areas in these kingdoms that'd expand on their atmosphere and lore more than was originally shown. For example:

• Ruined Kingdom: Anvilhead Village: A partially ruined medieval town much like what you see in fantasy games, with much of the local story involving what life was like before it all collapsed. (The comparisons to Dark Souls would be heavily emphasized, as the town and surrounding area would resemble something out of Dark Souls III.)
• Cascade Kingdom: Paleo Forest: A thick prehistoric jungle, perhaps on one of the distant plateaus seen in Fossil Falls, inhabited by various dinosaurs and carrying the feel of a Flinstones episode (making the caveman outfit all the more relevant).
• Sand Kingdom: Temple of the Emperor, expanding on the history of Tostarena's Ruins
• Metro Kingdom: Stanley County: A small suburban town and rural-ish landscape beyond that acts as a satellite town for New Donk City itself; for a more 'casual' take on urban Mario gameplay.
• Luncheon Kingdom: Fruited Plains: A relatively open landscape akin to the rolling 'vineyard country' of southern Europe and the Australian tropics, though still maintaining the same world made of food aesthetic.
• Cloud Kingdom: Mount Cumulus: A literal mountain of clouds and the fanciful countryside around it, inhabited by a bird-like race that'd call back to the Rito .

The Broodals aren't done.

A sequel game could see them coming back to be the main villains, Madame Broode especially, perhaps taking Peach or even Mario (making Peach and Tiara the main characters) as revenge. Madame B. especially felt like she was made for a bigger role than she got (even the RPG games would have done more with her), so if Nintendo would risk a Peach game, they might become her rivals?

A sequel would call out Peach being an Ungrateful Bitch in the ending.

Basically, Toadsworth calls Peach out for not marrying Mario, and begins to question the actual nature of their relationship. Of course, Peach is tight-lipped on the subject, and accuses Toadsworth of only being interested in securing the succession of the Toadstool bloodline. And much to her relief, Mario doesn't even bring it up, instead only being interested in whatever new threat he has to face.

• And if he did get pulled into the argument, Mario would far more likely than not side with the princess on it, calling out Toadsworth on disrespecting not only Peach's agency as a person but also the fact that he, while initially disappointed by it, accepted her rejection of his proposal.

Bowser's brother or a False Bowser will appear as a boss in in Odyssey 2.

They would be the first boss but return as part of Bowser's boss battle letting you battle Bowser with the same powers after capturing them with Cappy.

The Sequel's theme will be on Birthday's

Since the objective of Odyssey was weddings, perhaps the sequels' objective will be on Birthday's cause there are different ways to celebrate birthdays around the world, so maybe it can work on that.

• Maybe Bowser will plan a sinister birthday party for Bowser Jr.?
• or a birthday for The Koopalings?

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