Super Mario Odyssey Drops A Wildly-Varied Trailer, Wacky Theme Song, And Release Date

Earlier this year, Nintendo wowed fans with the reveal of Super Mario Odyssey, the next 3D entry in the series, and, arguably, the Nintendo Switch's first true blockbuster original. Nintendo promised E3 2017 would be Super Mario Odyssey's big coming out, and they didn't disappoint, with an exhilarating and diverse new trailer for the game. You can check it out, above.

At first, it isn't apparent we're watching a Super Mario Odyssey trailer at all, as we open on a rampaging, realistically-rendered T-rex. But wait, what's that on his head? Yup, it's Mario's cap, specifically that weird one with the eyes on it. The trailer reveals the purpose of that strange hat, as tossing it onto the head of an enemy or other creature lets you possess them and use their powers. Of course, when you do that, the Goomba/Koopa Troopa/dinosaur/taxi grows a sporty Mario moustache. In addition to the basic Mario cap, it looks like there will also be a variety of other hats with different powers.

Aside from the hat mechanics, the focus of the Super Mario Odyssey is simply variety, with a huge array of different stages shown. Over two-and-a-half minutes with see dinosaur, city, Mexican, ghost, and underwater world themes, as well as a bunch I can't even really describe! Oh, and the whole thing is set to a swinging theme song entitled "Let's Do the Odyssey." Nintendo's gone completely off the tracks, and I love it.

Super Mario Odyssey is a long-awaited return to the more open, freeform kind of 3D adventure we haven't really seen since the days of Super Mario Sunshine on the Gamecube. Games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World had some fun with 3D space, but their courses were generally fairly constricted. In terms of level-design, they were essentially 2D Mario games from a different perspective.

Super Mario Odyssey will be the major focus of Nintendo's E3 booth, with several levels on display. Expect a lot more information to come out over the next few days!

Super Mario Odyssey jumps exclusively onto the Nintendo Switch on October 27.