- Mushroom Kingdom: Peach’s Castle (Bowser’s Infectant)
“Super Mario Odyssey 2: Kingdom Collide” takes place immediately after the events of Odyssey 1, except Cappy and his ship have gone back to Cap Kingdom, and a Power Moon crisis has erupted once again. Seeing Mushroom Kingdom as being the first kingdom on the list, it serves the role that one would probably expect. This kingdom acts in a manner of which Cap Kingdom from the first game, in which the basic tutorials are given, as well as a few simple tasks that Peach requires of you in order to gain entrance to the castle. Without Cappy, no captures are able to be made yet. Once you complete the tasks around Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser shows up uninvited, filled with disdain after his latest rejection from Peach, and releases a full onslaught of cannons onto the Kingdom, with his goal of trying to taint every kingdom on the globe with his power. After a cutscene showing Peach’s Castle along with much of Mushroom Kingdom being blown to ruins, and Bowser beginning to stake his claim in the kingdom, Mario is then whisked away to the Cloud Kingdom by Kamek, hoping to keep him in exile while Bowser spreads his mark across the globe. This kingdom is completely unvisitable until after Bowser’s Kingdom is completed, and before Kaleidoscope Kingdom is unlocked.
Once access is re-granted after the rebuilding is completed, the area is largely the same. Peach’s Castle still exists as it did in Mario Odyssey 1, with its homages to Super Mario 64 (albeit the main area and the moat are cut out onto a floating island, we’ll get to that). However, the area around it has changed to meet the Middle Ages of Japan, in a style similar to what was conducted with Bowser’s Kingdom. Enemies such as Pokios, Burrbos, and Chargin’ Chucks exist while the kingdom is under siege, but after the events of the Mushroom Kingdom story (after that of the Bowser’s Kingdom story), only the Pokios and Chargin’ Chucks remain for capturable purposes. Once the kingdom is completed as the second to last in the story before the Kaleidoscope Kingdom, the interior of the castle is reopened, and you are able to access a painting inside that leads to the Retro Kingdom. The outside area requires much more platforming to traverse, with many areas that were once attached to the ground, now being raised into the air as floating islands. Cap tricks are a necessity for moving around this area, for this game makes belly jumping off caps a necessity, with even more complex maneuvers being options for movement, albeit not required in the sense that belly jumps off of caps are now. The game gives tutorials on how to perform such combinations in-game as it did in the previous installment.
- Cloud Kingdom: Land in the Sky (Lake Infectant)
In the new iteration of Super Mario Odyssey, many of the kingdoms force Mario to visit a completely new location from the first game. Cloud Kingdom is a good example. Both “Nimbus Arena” and “Land in the Sky” both exist within the Cloud Kingdom; in this game, only the latter is visitable, with the former being exclusive to Odyssey 1. This is put into place to maintain the same theme of an area, all while completely modifying the terrain. The terrain in Odyssey 2, though, has a twist. This is the addition of kingdom infectants. Kingdom infectants are “mutations” in a sense that were involuntarily spread during Bowser’s attempts at spreading his influence into all the kingdoms. While in his plan to seize control of all of the kingdoms, Bowser was only able to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. All of the other failures resulted in a spread of not Bowser’s influence into the target kingdom, but the influence of other kingdoms into the target kingdom. Each kingdom in existence (except for the three designated boss-kingdoms) has been affected by the theme, enemies, and inhabitants of a “random” (chosen) kingdom. The area still primarily consists of theme elements, so Cloud Kingdom is still going to be maybe 90% cloudy. The last 10% goes to the Lake Kingdom infectant, which will create floating bodies of water, as well as Lochladies and other Lake Kingdom enemies and concepts. The only kingdoms that do not spread their influence are the Mushroom Kingdom, Retro Kingdom, and Kaleidoscope Kingdom, for obvious reasons. Don’t worry, the kingdom infecting appears and is explained in the cutscene after Mario is sent to the Cloud Kingdom.
The Land in the Sky opens at the base of a giant cloud stairway, leading up to a main “base” cloud. By the time you step foot on the large cloud at the center, the mission for the first power moon begins. The main cloud is connected by cap-clouds to the subsidiary platforms that lead to different areas of the map. The main subsidiary, being that straight forward from the top of the staircase through the main, solid cloud, leads to the primary, and only, air ocean in the Kingdom. The air ocean is surrounded by a membrane that seemingly creates ripples and waves around its boundaries. By passing through this membrane, you enter into the air ocean; this is a zone in which swimming mechanics are activated, yet no air is lost. Large water balls rotate through the air ocean, in which the breath meter is engaged. Also in the air ocean are many varieties of fish, coral, and all different types of decorative surroundings to make the air ocean feel like an ocean. Except for without the blue tint. At the center of the air ocean is a less extensive version of the Lake Kingdom city, however the city (which is inside a glass shell as usual) is completely filled with water. Bubbles are released out of the floor; Mario must pop one in order to refill a portion of his breath meter. Besides the main subsidiary, Mario can also venture to three others besides the first. The second subsidiary is a stationary floating lake with Cheep Cheeps inside; the lake is about 75% the size of the air ocean, so the lake isn’t exactly small, given that the air ocean can fit a two floored replica of the Lake Lamode’s city. The third subsidiary leads to a smaller floating lake, however you can access 2 water balls that circle around the entire kingdom, providing easy transport (provided that you BREATHE), and then a third water ball that circles the smaller floating lake. The fourth and last subsidiary is the area in which most of the non-swimming action is. This is where the Cloudhoppers are located. The Cloudhoppers are a wispy, almost ghostly being just larger than Mario’s size. They resemble light gray cumulus clouds with two glowing electric blue eyes on the top half of their body. On the bottom half, there are three white cylinders that expand and contract as they jump like a spring. They continuously jump up and down to great heights comparable to the frogs from the first game, moving as they jump around the platform. These Cloudhoppers are in fact capturable, and are used similarly to the Cloud Flower from Super Mario Galaxy 2. When the X/Y button is pressed after jumping with A, a half-jump is performed in mid air. This creates a temporary cloud beneath the area that the half-jump was performed, and propels the Cloudhopper in the direction the analog stick is facing. Multiple half-jumps can be performed consecutively, however each time a half-jump is used, a white cylinder beneath the Cloudhopper visually turns a shade of shadow black. Once all three half-jumps/cloud creations are used, all that remains are the jumping capabilities of the Cloudhopper. The Cloudhoppers are used throughout the area of the fourth subsidiary, where many moons are found on various ledges and moving cloud platforms. Finally, there is an extension of clouds behind the air ocean that lead to a walkway of Ty-Foos (which can be led to any of the other subsidiaries to solve different puzzles, a couple Cloudhoppers, as well as a small battle arena where Mario faces off against an undecided mini-boss without the use of any captures. This kingdom is a two-mission completion. The first mission is the first Power Moon, located on the main hub cloud, and the second is against the area mini-boss behind the air ocean.
- Cap Kingdom: Bonneton (Metro Infectant)
Just because the same location is revisited in Super Mario Odyssey 2, does not mean that it is forced to have the same exact design and layout. Sure, the area is organized relatively the same way. In this game, though, Bonneton got a huge revamp, and the fog level has lowered just enough to create a whole new layer to roam, creating a plateau of sorts where the original layout used to be, with Top-Hat Tower being remodeled into a skyscraper, and the buildings in the background being remodeled and placed into the main accessible zone for the player to visit. Many more Bonnetors are present, and there will now be enough content for a standalone subplot within the area, as well as an area boss rather than a miniboss. At this point, Mario will rejoin Cappy, and the two of them are able to recover control of the Odyssey and venture out into the world after enough moons have been collected.
Bonneton looks much different in layout than how it was in the first game. For one, the fog level has declined, as previously stated, and the area takes on a whole new urban design. Because this is a returning area, not much additional context needs to be provided. Also, the Crazy Cap shop now has a building (once again, modeled after those found on the horizon). Extra running room is always welcome.
- Tropic Kingdom/Lake Kingdom Option
- Tropic Kingdom: Jango Jungle (Seaside Infectant)
The Tropic Kingdom is the first kingdom of the game that has not had any of its elements utilized in the past game of Odyssey 1. The theme of this kingdom is, similarly to the Lost Kingdom, it is a deserted island with a jungle theme. The Tropic Kingdom, unlike the Lost Kingdom, is based off of a tropical deserted island, filled with dense Palm Trees, and an open beach filled with the inhabitants of this Kingdom, the Jangolians. These individuals are about 3/4s the size of Mario, and wear coconuts on their heads, concealing their face completely. They live in a castaway type village, with a campfire, open hammocks, leather tarps, and a Crazy Cap shop located outside without a building. The Jangolians used to go explore the jungle and tame its inhabitants, but after the infecting of the kingdom with the Seaside Kingdom elements, they decided to kick back and relax on the open beach. There is limited ocean to explore as opposed to the water areas of the Lake Kingdom or the Seaside Kingdom, however the true treasure of the area lies within the sticky, dense jungle at the area’s core. When you land on the beach with the Odyssey, the game’s mission instructs you to immediately go explore the jungle. Once you attempt to do so, the jungle gets incredibly foggy, the camera viewing is limited, and the narrow pathways through the dense flora is moderately lit with tiki torches, leading in directions that aren’t necessarily correct. The narrow pathways make the accessibility of the jungle a struggle by itself, but some of the paths lead to dead ends that require you to retrace your steps. Of course, you could always try to venture off the path, however the trees and bushes make trudging through the thick brushes very slow and inefficient. One path, though, will lead to a hidden temple, modeled off of that of the Mayans. Entering the temple will have Mario endure a dungeon-crawling exploration, where his goal is to defeat enemies and make his way down floors of obstacles, all in dimly lit rooms that don’t get any lighter as he progresses downward. Once he reaches Floor Sub-10, he is presented with the undecided Kingdom Boss of the area. This Kingdom only has one mission, and this is it. Once it is beaten, the fog in the jungle lifts, the camera readjusts, and navigating the jungle is much more convenient. Also, a permanent rain ensues, meaning that the Gushens spawning around the outer edge of the island can access and zoom around the jungle without needing to refill. Uproots now spawn off the sides of the pathways, as well as a new undecided capturable enemy that makes travelling off the path into the dense rainforest a bit easier. If the jungle isn’t interesting, there is also a water filled cavern adjacent on the island to the beach where the Jangolians live. As no Cheep Cheeps appear in this kingdom, you can use a Gushen to go around back into the cavern, where aplenty of moons await your discovery. The entry is underwater, and once arriving inside, let’s just say the interior is pretty dark. Luckily, capturable Bulbers are available to help guide your way through the area.
That should be about it for what I can show (for now, I have a bunch of spitball attempts to create a formal layout)! While I have a good idea what the other kingdoms will look and play like, I am extremely interested in getting detail suggestions from anybody interested.
