Heartwarming / Super Mario Odyssey

Moment Subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.

Even after all these years, you're still our 1-Up Boy, Mario.

Heartwarming moments in Super Mario Odyssey.

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Main Game

• Mario and Cappy both deal with the fact their loved one was taken by Bowser, so what do they do? They team up.
• In the Sand Kingdom, you can use the Jaxi, an ancient jaguar statue that came to life and gives rides to tourists, including Mario. Taking the Jaxi to the empty pedestal on the pyramid where he came from will give him a moment of nostalgic reminiscence, and taking him to a pedestal on the ground opposite an inanimate Jaxi statue will have him sincerely thank Mario for taking him there—the statue is apparently part of his family, and he'll stay there until Mario jumps on again. Both of these little interactions also give you Moons, but they're worth less than the moments themselves.
• In the Wooded Kingdom, the Broodals mess up the secret flower patch. You stop them from destroying all of it, but there's still a large patch missing. You can fix this, and one of the Steam Gardeners tending the flowers will comment that the feeling it has must be joy. This moon is also a non-story moon with permanent effects, allowing the player the satisfaction of fixing the flower field for good.
• One Power Moon in the Metro Kingdom is found by having Mario sit on a bench next to a downbeat man and comfort him.
• The game's Metro Kingdom reveals that Pauline and Mario are still on very good terms. Not only are they Amicable Exes, they're practically Like Brother and Sister, considering how well Pauline treats Mario when he arrives.
• "Jump Up, Super Star", the showstopper single the game's become famous for, is part of a festival Pauline puts together just for Mario, both to thank him for saving her city and because she has faith in him. The lyrics of the chorus in particular stand out in this regard, but it's the second time around that really shows how much she and everyone else are behind him all the way:
  And if you find you're short on joy
  Don't fret, just don't forget that
  You're still our 1-Up Boy!
• If you answer Pauline's quiz correctly, you'll find the game takes place on her birthday. Mario gets her a purse as a present, and she thanks him and rewards him with a Power Moon.
• Mario Capturing Bowser and using his strength to escape saves Bowser from the collapsing moon cave. Especially if you consider that Mario and Cappy could have left him behind once they reached the Spark Pylon at the end, and with everything Bowser's done to them over the course of the game they'd have every reason not to save him.
• The ending. After Mario, Peach, Cappy and Tiara escape the collapsing Moon interior with the unconscious and Captured Bowser in tow, Mario finally decides to make his move after all these years and propose to Peach. However, Bowser wakes up, roughly shoves Mario off to the side and reveals that... his feelings were indeed legitimate enough, as even without all the stuff the Broodals gathered for him, including the ring said to bind couples for eternity, he starts to offer her another bouquet of Piranha Plants. Mario, aghast that Bowser's seriously still at it after causing all this trouble, proceeds to try and continue his own proposal, offers Peach a flower as well. Unfortunately, Mario and Bowser get caught up in one-upping each other and start shoving the flowers in her face, so in frustration, Peach rejects them both and storms off to the Odyssey in a huff. While she does this, we see Mario quietly comforting Bowser over the rejection. However, she calms down and gladly beckons them (or maybe just Mario) onto the ship, showing there's no hard feelings between them at all.
• Cappy and Tiara reuniting once you save Peach.

Post Game:

• The Mushroom Kingdom being completely at peace when you visit it. We rarely get to visit the kingdom when it's at peace. It's usually under attack by Bowser, and when it's not, Mario's being pulled away from it to adventure in a new land.
• After reaching the Mushroom Kingdom in the post-game, you learn Peach and Tiara have gone missing again. Only this time, that's not the case; instead, they're traveling the world together, and can now be sought out somewhere in each kingdom between Cap and Moon (and the Mushroom Kingdom itself afterwards) for a Power Moon, much like Captain Toad. This is very nice and touching to see for a couple of reasons:
  • First and foremost, Princess Peach finally gets to actually relax and enjoy herself (as evidenced by her changing outfits between lands just like Mario can) after a rescue, instead of being left in a captive state indefinitely via Snap Back to just before beating the Final Boss like so many Mario games implement after they're completed and the credits roll. It's not that we don't think Mario will fail to come through for her or that said other games don't imply a Happy Ending once he does, but it's nice to finally see it shown in the gameplay and know that Peach does in fact have periods of time in her life where she is not playing the Designated Victim role.
  • Second, it shows that Peach and Tiara have developed a bond of friendship between them just as Mario and Cappy did. Fire-Forged Friends is undoubtedly present in their interactions with each other (which even includes their periodically having Simlish conversations as part of their joint Idle Animation), and is very sweet to watch.
  • When you come near them, they call to Mario and Cappy, respectively, in a very delighted tone.
  • After finding them once in each kingdom and they return to the Mushroom Kingdom, the Toad nearest to the Odyssey gleefully says that all the hats the Toads are now wearing were souvenirs from Peach, meaning that even after she got kidnapped and almost forcefully married, she still got something for nearly every Toad in her Kingdom.
  • Peach delivers a sweet monologue the first time Mario visits her at her balcony.
    Peach: My travels with Tiara were wonderful — So many memories! And I realized something... How important it is to see different things and talk with different people... That no matter what kingdom you're in, people smile with the same little sparkle! We have to do what we can with our time to put smiles on as many faces as possible! So I've decided to invite people from all over the world to the castle!
• A minor one, but some of the moons require finding an NPC (usually a Bonneter) who's looking for one of the level's enemies. Capturing an enemy and bringing it to him will cause said NPC to become extremely happy and give you a moon without hesitation.
• The entirety of The Darker Side and Culmina Crater.
  • At the entrance, you're immediately greeted by several of the people you met throughout your adventure, including Pauline and the band, who play Jump Up, Super Star! They're all cheering Mario on, wishing for his success in the game's final challenge.
  • Even the brochure for this stage has an encouraging, reassuring message:
    "It will all be OK - you are not alone."
  • The Sphynx shows up in the middle of the level for one last quiz, this time only allowing you one chance per life. The final question has him ask you what his final words will be. The correct answer is "Thank you." Answering this will prompt him to thank Mario and Cappy for entertaining him and answering his questions all the time before giving you a ton of coins.
  • Before you reach the end and climb the New Donk City Hall replica, you have to move along a series of Spark Pylons that spell 'THANK YOU.'
  • When you finally complete the arduous final journey, Cappy offers Mario a heartfelt speech:
    Cappy: We've come a long way, you and me... We've seen a bunch of different kingdoms... I mean, sure, we got shot down and stuff along the way... But think of all the HATS! This trip was really amazing. Thank you, Mario. It's been an honor walking a mile on your head.
  • And even after you've gotten the Multi Moon, the people gathered outside of the entrance joyfully applaud your accomplishment - assuming you've then taken off the Invisibility Hat you've been rewarded with.
• We've heard Peach call out Mario's name plenty of times, but, this time, we finally get to hear Mario call out to Peach.
• The game gives some history about the famous stained glass portrait of Princess Peach adorning her castle, which manages to be cute and kinda sad. Because the Princess spends so much time away from the castle (voluntary or otherwise, it can be assumed), the Toads had it made so they could always see her, even while she was away.
• An Art Moon in the Cap Kingdom depicts a bunch of colored rectangles and a semi-circle. The Moon is found in the Moon Kingdom and the colored rectangles are all the different NPCs from each of the various kingdoms looking at the Earth.
• In a hidden level where you get Snow Kingdom Moons 24 and 25, there's a very high point way at the top that's rather difficult to get to. Once you reach it, however, a Shiverian congratulates you for making it up so far:
  Shiverian: Getting here was good job. You really are the something!
• In the Wooded Kingdom, you can find a Bonneter in the flower field near the Iron Road's entrance. He sways with delight and describes the field as looking like something he once saw in a dream.
• Various NPCs start traveling between Kingdoms and enjoying the experience. Okay, that's nice. But you may also notice that some of the kingdoms' native creatures are also traveling, with the Mushroom Kingdom being a destination for the birds from every Kingdom (plus one of the UFOs from the Moon). It's rather sweet to see how Mario has brought these areas together on these different levels.
• Throughout the postgame is a series of moons following a Tostarenan tourist traveling around the world (and to the Moon and back) in a New Donker's taxi. Once they return to the Sand Kingdom, the tourist and the driver thank each other for the journey of a lifetime.

  Taxi Driver: Glad to be your driver. It's been quite a ride.

  • The tourist even seems to become something of a friend to Mario after bumping into him so many times across the world.

Other

• Mario’s sleep-talking is usually randomized, but sometimes he'll mumble—or even giggle!—about Princess Peach, followed by "amore" — which is Italian for "love". Awww...
• The hat-wearing dog will come up and lay next to Mario if he goes to sleep in its presence.
• The Shiverian Racer you take control of when competing in the Shiveria Races. He goes from being too afraid to even step out of the dressing room, to being the champion and excited to race. He even thanks Mario for showing him how fun racing is.
• Even if he is stealing priceless artifacts from dozens of neighboring kingdoms, the fact that Bowser went to such great lengths to give Peach the best possible wedding is very much heartwarming.
• After many fans wondered where he was, Luigi was added to the game in February 2018 as part of a new game mode called Balloon World. Speaking of Luigi, before that, scanning his Amiibo gets you his outfit, and it's clear Mario has nothing but good things to say about his bro, though it's the Luigi Cap that stands out.

  Luigi Cap: The L stands for "winner".^note Normally the saying goes "the L is for Loser," but Mario won't have it.

  • When Mario shows up in different outfits, Luigi may be startled by some of them but still tell Mario he looks good.
• The last Captain Toad moon in the game is titled "Thanks, Captain Toad".
  • Not to mention, most of the Captain Toad moons are named as greetings or compliments for the captain, such as "Good Morning", "Hey Out There", and "Good Job". Special mention to the one in the Lost Kingdom: "Get Some Rest, Captain Toad!".
• Despite seeming so simplistic in design and purpose, Cappy's inclusion as Mario's adventuring buddy struck home with the fans and quickly became a beloved fixture — so much so, that he's right by Mario's side once again for the greatest crossover in gaming history!

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