Mario reigns supreme in the halls of beloved video game characters. His adventures have been with us since childhood, and we still proudly stroll into stores to purchase his latest games with zero shame. Spot-on platforming, a successful transition to 3D spaces, and engaging couch co-op are just a few of the reasons why Mario has held a place in our homes for so long. And not just our homes. The plucky red plumber has successfully reserved a place in our hearts.

So when news came that a brand new Mario game was going to be released, we were ecstatic. We could not wait to get our hands on Mario's latest adventure to be played on the Nintendo Switch. However, the reports we received on Super Mario Odyssey were staggering. Quite frankly, we were dumbfounded. Mario loses his hat, only for it to be replaced by an anthropomorphic replacement called "Cappy." Mario attacks enemies with this Cappy and can then transform into his enemies. Mario roams around a realistically rendered city instead of the bright world of the Mushroom Kingdom. The departure from the usual Mario standards was astonishing.

But, true to form, these departures were innovative and inspired. The changes to Mario's typical gameplay did not impede the natural flow that Mario's adventures have always followed. While different in many ways, Super Mario Odyssey adheres to Nintendo's tradition of excellence when it comes to one of gaming's most enduring (and endearing) icons. As with most games, it isn't perfect, but we're willing to forgive, if not forget, Odyssey's flaws. Here we have the 8 best and 7 worst things about Mario's flashy new game. And let me tell you, it was work figuring out what we thought was the worst of this fantastic game.

15 BEST: Holy Awesome Couch Co-op

Nintendo has always been king at creating games that cater to those who just want to sit on a couch with their best buddy and play a game. In these times, when the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are suffering from a lack of co-op games, it's heartening to return to Nintendo for some 2-player mode in their latest Mario game.

We were initially worried that the 2-player offerings in Super Mario Odyssey would be slim. After all, the second player would be playing as a hat while the first player got to frolic around as the titular Mario. Younger siblings around the globe moaned over the definite downgrade from Luigi. Never fear. Cappy has a good amount of agency for a hat. He can shoot himself off of Mario's head of his own volition and return whenever he wants. He can jump and ground-pound as well, if not as forcefully, as Mario. It was, in my humble opinion, more entertaining to be Cappy than it was to be Mario.

14 WORST: I Thought We Were Friends!

Remember how we were saying that playing as Cappy was a great and wonderful thing? It is for whoever is playing Cappy, but for Mario, it can be a bit aggravating, especially if whoever is the second player is a jerk. Cappy's agency, while definitely a perk, can really screw over Mario's agency. If someone is controlling Cappy, they get to decide who to possess and who not to possess. Sure, Mario can toss Cappy himself, but if the second player decides to veer away from Mario's intended target, it can cause quite a few problems. Oh, and did we mention that Cappy controls the camera angles?

If your co-op friend is not a jerk, this should prove to be no problem, as you both will maneuver yourselves into positions that will help Mario and Cappy proceed on their quest to rescue Peach and Tiara. However, if your friend is prone to bouts of mischief, expect to get messed with. A lot.

13 BEST: Old Meets New

Super Mario Odyssey is currently being compared to many of its predecessors. If we were to boil Odyssey down to its most basic comparison, we would have to say that it feels very much like Super Mario 64. Super Mario 64 was the first Mario game to make the leap to 3D and therefore brought a lot of innovations to the table. Super Mario Odyssey follows in the proud tradition of introducing new mechanics to the Mario world, but it also gives us a healthy dose of nostalgia.

In several areas scattered throughout the kingdoms, blocky, pixelated green pipes will jut out of walls, and if Mario enters them, you get to play a small 2D segment in this mainly 3D game. The art style fits surprisingly well in this space. Mario is flattened out into a recognizable pixel-version of himself, and he can jump his way past familiar obstacles. These moments are a genial nod in the direction of Mario's past games.

12 WORST: Broodal Nightmares

Mario makes a new friend in Cappy, but he also makes new enemies in the form of the hideous Broodals. These Broodals are deformed rabbit creatures that are a part of an evil wedding planner organization, clearly trying to help Bowser in his plans to marry Peach. They are the bosses of Super Mario Odyssey's kingdoms, and Mario and Cappy have to face them in battle many times.

If you have a predilection toward bunnies, and you think that they are the cutest widdle creatures you've ever seen, be prepared to be disabused of that notion. The Broodals are disgusting animated villains. They make you long for the cute villainy of the Boos and Shy Guys. An upside of fighting them is that you no longer have to see their faces until the next fight.

11 BEST: A Cappy Old Time

The newest mechanic introduced in Super Mario Odyssey is also its best. It seems obvious now that possessing Mario's enemies would be thrilling, but we have to admit, we were nonplussed when we first heard about it. Using Cappy to "cap-ture" opponents is a novel way to solve puzzles and to fight battles. Imagine you're in a jam, and the only way to get out of it is to hurriedly toss Cappy onto your nearest enemy. Cappy falls onto and captures a Bullet Bill, and now Mario can zoom to safety with his new flight ability.

Not only is the capturing itself new, it opens up fresh avenues for gameplay. Capturing a Bullet Bill and trying to reach a destination before it explodes is just one of the ways that Nintendo shows this. Cappy can land on Goombas and Chain Chomps, and even a dinosaur. Come on, you can't beat turning into a T-Rex.

10 WORST: My OCD Is Tingling

It is a point of pride to be able to say that you completed a game in its entirety on the first try. Completionists excel at scouring a game of its achievements and collecting them all before the credits roll. Some games encourage this by creating a checklist of sorts. Quests and awards are ticked off the list as the player completes each one. As a completionist myself, I can tell you there is nothing more satisfying than whittling down that list. I don't mean to sound like my life has no meaning aside from this, but darned if it isn't true.

Unfortunately, Super Mario World does not offer full completion the first time you play it. In the game, you must collect Power Moons in order to get your vehicle, the Odyssey, up and running. This is how Mario progresses through the game. This is all well and good, but some Moons can only be gotten after the game has been completed at least once. Oh well, at least we can still collect them all, even if it's after the fact.

9 BEST: Hat Wars

"Wait a minute," you might say as you ponder upon Super Mario Odyssey's new capturing mechanic, "if Cappy can capture Mario's enemies just by landing on their head, why doesn't he just flop his way onto Bowser's head or spin onto one of those Broodals' noggins?" Nintendo has all its bases covered. If an enemy is wearing a hat already, Cappy cannot capture them. And Bowser has decided to look dapper for his wedding to Peach, so he has a large, studded top hat to defend himself.

Aside from the big bosses, a few of Mario's opponents in the game will be wearing small hats as an added layer of defense that Cappy has to get through. If you send Cappy twirling at them once, it should knock the hat off, and then they will be ripe for capture. It is a small thing to applaud, but keeping game logic solid is an important part of gamer immersion.

8 WORST: Motion Control Sickness

Motion controls in nearly any game can be a polarizing topic. Some appreciate the strides developers try to take with the technology, others are annoyed by it. Whether or not you are a fan of motion control, Super Mario Odyssey comes with motion controls that can be turned off in the menu. However, there are specific moves that can only be performed with the motion controls on.

Nintendo clearly intended players to use the motion controls, but it is a bit upsetting that a person who takes to motion controls the way a fish takes to land will be barred from performing certain moves because of that. Even more unfortunately, certain Power Moons can only be collected when using the motion controls. Woe to those who are completionists and totally against using the motion controls.

7 BEST: Ch-ch-changes!

Not that it is easy to get tired of playing the game, but the developers of Super Mario Odyssey clearly wished to ensure that a player has plenty of exciting changes to prevent them from becoming bored quickly. In each kingdom that Mario and Cappy land in, there is a boss that must be defeated, and once that boss is defeated, the kingdom changes into something slightly different.

For example, once the boss is beaten in the Sand Kingdom, a strange affliction of ice and cold temperatures that has been plaguing the map ceases, and Mario can now access places he couldn't before. And that says nothing about after you defeat Bowser. Gotta catch all those Power Moons now, right?

6 WORST: This Can't Be Real

It's okay if you want to try new things. Trying new things is the way that great things are made. But the art disparity in Super Mario Odyssey, when Mario makes it to New Donk City, is a bit too much. Seeing Mario scampering alongside a realistically configured human is disturbing to say the least. It would be as if SpongeBob SquarePants decided to make an appearance in Dragon Ball Super. The disconnect is disorienting, and broke our immersion.

Cohesion in art style is not necessarily a must in every game, but the disparity was enough to distract from the otherwise bustling setup of New Donk City. We could not help wandering down lines of thought that traveled to the existential crisis that Mario might currently be suffering from as he glimpsed what "real" people looked like.

5 BEST: Feels Brand New

We talked earlier about how Super Mario Odyssey made us think about past Mario games. But one of the enchanting things about Super Mario Odyssey is how brand new it feels. Sure, the same cast of characters with a few additions follow the same basic plot of all Mario games, but Odyssey is imbued with an experimental vibe that translates into exciting fresh content.

The first time you toss Cappy onto an enemy and Mario whirls into the enemy's shape (complete with mustache), you feel that newness. It grabs you and doesn't let go, even when you "beat" the game. And that's the tried and true sign that you're playing a good Mario game. No matter how many times you've traveled the different kingdoms, no matter if you've collected every Power Moon, no matter if you know the story interactions by heart, the fresh take on Mario will have you coming back for more.

4 WORST: Since When Does Fashion Matter?

Everyone knows Mario by his red cap, bristly mustache, and his red shirt and blue overalls. Super Mario Odyssey aims to change how you continually perceive Mario, leaving only the sacred mustache alone. His cap is shredded at the beginning of the game, and it turns out that it is necessary for Mario's signature outfit to change in order to collect Power Moons throughout the game.

In the various kingdoms, Mario can visit the Crazy Cap store to switch out his outfit. He can change from his usual overalls look to differently themed costumes. For the collection of at least one Power Moon per area, Mario must wear a themed outfit in order to find and collect a Moon. We never believed that clothing could have such an impact in a Mario game.

3 BEST: Making It Rain

It used to be that Mario would collect an exorbitant amount of coins, with the benefit (aside from watching the coin counter slowly tick upward) of earning a life every one hundred coins collected. It seemed almost absurd to call them coins, which are by definition a rounded piece of currency, when we never bought anything with them. Super Mario Odyssey changes this typical Mario approach to money, though it is by no means the first game to do this.

Using the coins you collect during your Mario-Cappy adventure, you can stop off at a store and buy outfits, hearts, and eventually Power Moons. Buying items is not the reason of all reasons that Super Mario Odyssey is a great game, but it definitely is a factor. Now there is actually a reason to risk your life to collect these coins.

2 WORST: Is Life Worth It?

This is an understandably odd complaint. We do not expect Super Mario Odyssey to be at a Dark Souls-level of difficulty, but the lack of punishment makes the game sufferably easy. Each time Mario dies, a small amount of coins is taken away, and then Mario re-spawns at one of the numerous checkpoint flags speckled across the map. There is very little punishment for losing a life.

In older Mario games, a death meant that a level had to be started all over again. We started the Mario series with the understanding that the unyielding nature of the game made the reward at the end that much more worth it. The departure from this give-and-take equation means that it is possible to fly through this game without much of a challenge. For a look at past worries about Super Mario Odyssey, check out this list.

1 BEST: Super Mario Open-World Odyssey

This Mario game is large and in charge. The wide expanses of the kingdoms Mario and Cappy visit are awe-inspiring. The diversity of each kingdom contributes to the wonder you feel as you explore. Super Mario Odyssey encourages exploration more than any other Mario game we have played so far. Not only are Power Moons secreted away in places that need to be discovered, the environment itself welcomes you to explore every inch of it.

The Sand Kingdom is a glorious vista of red-grained hills extending all the way to the horizon's edge. New Donk City, while an odd mix of reality and cartoon, is a sprawling urban center that invites you to explore every alley. Super Mario Odyssey is a game of exploration and adventure, and it is a delight to everyone who picks it up. It is an epic journey that expertly showcases what an odyssey can be in a game when it is in the right hands.