I am insanely hyped for Super Mario Odyssey and it's finally here! Old Tristan here hasn't been this pumped for a new Mario since Super Mario World on the Su𝕴per Nintendo. Part of that is because I went to PlayStation after the SNES as I've written numerous times before. You get the idea already. It's not that those new mainline games didn't look cool to me. Itౠ's just one only has so much money to spend on games as a kid. Now that I’m an adult I'm desperately trying to buy back my childhood through eBay, rummage sales, and online bids, etc. Also, you know, emulation is pretty useful for research too.
Anyway, there’s just something about Super Mario Odyssey that bit my curiosity harder than anything before it. Breath of the Wild felt like the last Zelda game: a culmination of everything that came before it. Super Mario Odyssey feels like that for Mario. That’s probably not the case for either since Nintendo likes money, but boy would it be an amazing finale for both of these series if that was the case. Back to the point. Mario’s abilities gave me the idea to look back and catalog all of his powers, which will now be ranked. There are a few omissions like the P-Wing and other overpowered stuff like that. Also no items like th⛎e Goomba Shoe. You could argue it's a power-up, but in order to keep the list to nice clean and concise thirty, these are the powers that I landed on. Okay, let’s-a-go!
30 F.L.U.D.D.
Including the backpack from Super Mario Sunshine may be a stretch since it is just an item. As it's practically the only power-up in the game though I thought it was worth discussing. On paper, I like the idea of this game. Mario gets flown to a new islaꦑnd and has to clean up the place with a talking guide akin to Link's companions like Navi. The problem is the controls aren't good, as blasting water feels as clunky as it does in real life. Not only that, but F.L.U.D.D. never shuts up nor does any of the Mushroom Kingdom cast. No wonder Nintendo hasn't tried a voiced story in the Mario games that followed. Overall the game is a good id✃ea, but it's a rough design.
29 Spring Mushroom
There's a lot I don't like about Mario's 3D adventures since Super Mario 64, but I'm not going waste time complaining about camera angles and the deterioration of Mario’s pristine controls. You can see that argument . My point, for now, is the lack of significant power-ups in these games. They're more special in that they are more limited since Mario got a life bar. These skills are usually placed in specific areas for certain levels and they don't transfer between stages, unlike the 2D adventures. That's my basic outline for the next few entries as I feel they don't embody the true nature of classic power-ups. That said I don't have much to say about the Spring Mushroom. It lets Mario jump higher, by contorted a giant Slinky-like spring around his body in a horrifying manner. Can’t defend that monstrosity.
28 Boo Mushroom
This is a cute design and actually pretty useful in the various haunted locations in Super Mario Galaxy. That said its uses are then very limited to Ghost Houses. It’s not like Mario can become a ghost in a normal level. He’s just a plump looking Boo with a ghostly mustache with his iconic red hat. He can fly around and phase through walls. Not any wall mind you. Just ൩fenced walls so that’s kind of a lame excuse for a power. Oh yeah, I’m a ghost and I can pass through walls. Only certain walls though. You know because the afterlife is limiting. Ha, what? At the very least at long la𝕴st Mario can one-up those psychotic Boos. Wish there was a mini-game to scare Luigi, or something.
27 Cloud Flower
Like many of the other Super Mario Galaxy powers, the Cloud Flower is a necessary one. It allows Mario to create giant cloud platforms below him wherever the player chooses. So if there’s a big gap you need to cross then bam there goes a cloud. It’s a great way to travel around, but it’s not infinite like say the Fire Flower. You get three charges per Cloud Flower before you have to find another one to replenish your load. There’s plenty around in the levels they’re based on though since, again, they are necessary to complete these stages. No, it’s not that cool of an ability in that it 🐻lacks offensive power, but it♍ is a neat puzzle and platform mechanic. Take that Lakitu!
26 Bee Mushroom
Out of all the powers in either of the Galaxy games, the Bee Mushroom feels the closest to a traditional Mario costume. It's also the dumbest in terms of flying contraptions. Let's see how else can Mario fly? He's turned into a raccoon, possessed a flying cape, and had a magical hat. Then a bee flew by Nintendo’s window, and the rest is history. In terms of all the insects, it could be, a bee was the worst possible outcome. Okay maybe not. A fly Mario would be creepy. Imagine if they Cronenberged him up like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. Ew, that’s not a pleasant thought. So I guess I retract my 𒀰comment. Bee Mario is cute by comparison to that, but still ꦆlame.
25 Rock Mushroom
Somebody went under a dock and there they found rock, but it wasn't a rock. It was a Rock Mushroom! Try getting Rock Lobster out if your head next time you don the Rock Suit in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Sorry I just couldn’t resist. Out of all these powers, I think Rock Mario is my favorite in that game. Smashing through foes, blocks, pillars, or what have you is deeply satisfying. The design reminds me of Golem from Pokémon. Only instead of a turtle head, there’s Mario’s mustached face. My one complaint is that it isn’t in Super Mario Galaxy 2 that much. Also, I’d love to see it return in a 2D game to really give Sonic a ಌrun for his mo🦩ney, which shouldn’t be hard.
24 Red Star
Flying Mario is the closest thing we can get to Mario going full dark side. As much as I’d love to see a gritty reboot starring Luigi trying to vanquish his deranged brother as some sort of Sith Lord, I very much doubt it’d ever happen. A more likely scenario is yours truly becoming the President... Ahem. Dark undertones aside he really does look good in black and red. True to form this is probably the most limited item in Super Mario Galaxy as the Red Star is mostly limited to challenges revolving around obtaining Purple Coin🍸s. Great feeling though when you do get it.
23 Vanish Cap
Let's get to bashing Super Mario 64 next. Just kidding I know it's extremely influential in making 3D platformers a thing. I don't think the controls aged well, but that𒈔's just me. Still 👍a good game at the end of the day. What really bummed me out was that this was the beginning of no real power-ups since Mario obtained a life bar as I mentioned earlier. Anyway, the Vanish Cap is very similar to the Boo Mushroom’s ability. Mario doesn’t turn into a ghost though. He just turns opaque and can pass through fences and certain walls. Also, enemies can’t seem to detect his exact location. While useful it’s not that impressive considering how mind-blowing everything about the game was at the time.
22 Metal Cap
The same goes for Mario's Metal Cap. This essentially replaced the Super Star’s power of invincibility to create Mario T-1000. Seriously making liquid metallic models was a computer miracle at the time. High-ranking executive♛s considered you a genius, I imagine, if you could program it. If you had it in your movie, game, commercial, or whatever in the 90s you were considered cool. I thought so too at the time, but it all looks so ugly now. Making Mario metal is ꧋another lazy aesthetic choice that was probably easier than flashing a rainbow of colors. Plus Stars were more important this time around so I can see why they changed it for that reason too. Nintendo plays it pretty fast and loose regarding the whole Mario hierarchy of powers and items.
21 Wing Cap
The one power-up I did enjoy was the Wing Cap. The controls were easy to get over because I could finally fly Mario more than just a split second as opposed to the Super Leaf, or the Cape Feather. It was an incredible feeling to put it mildly. Not just in terms of getting Mario to really, and I mean really, fly, but because it was another limited item. If you got the Wing Cap then you knew you were up for something special. It may not look as cool as the Red Star and yes, again, the controls haven’t aged well, but it was the first to truly take Mario ouꦚt of bounds. For that it deserves a high ranking than most blemishes and all.