The journey in Nintendo switches Super Mario Odyssey is a lot more than just playing through levels. Mario Odyssey secrets and Easter Eggs ranges from switching costumes using Cappy and playing through 8-bit levels are just the beginning for the player.
Let’s dive deeper into the game and explore some of the coolest features and hidden easter eggs you can find in Super Mario Odyssey. If you planning to get this game, read the Super Mario Odyssey review.
Playing As Yoshi
Yoshi was a huge element in super Mario galaxy 2, but in Super Mario Odyssey he takes a backseat and lets Mario go on his own adventure.
The only dinosaur Mario rides in an actual level is a more lifelike upgrade in the form of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Yoshi fans don’t need to worry though because the small green reptile does get his moment to shine in the game once you beat all the levels.
After the game ends you can now have the freedom to explore the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach’s castle.
On the exterior of the castle, you will find a scarecrow sitting in the grass. By throwing Cappy on the scarecrow, you will unlock a time staircase leading to the roof of the castle.
You climb the stairs a knob over the first roof peak to find Yoshi’s giant egg. Once the egg is cracked open, Yoshi will pop out. Toss Cappy on Yoshi and you can now play as him.
Explore the kingdom, eat apples, and enjoy spending as much time as possible playing as Yoshi. By doing this you’ll also unlock a special moon for your collection.
The Yoshi appearance on the roof of the castle is an homage to the exact location in Super Mario 64.[wd_ads advert=”6059″]
8-bit Bowser
Super Mario Odyssey is a great game in itself. However, it also serves as a great love letter to every Mario game that came before it.
This also includes the original 8-bit Super Mario Bros the side-scrolling 8-bit levels mix the graphics music and characters naturally in the 3d world.
After years of battling Bowser in the original Super Mario Brothers, players in Super Mario Odyssey get the opportunity to play him. In one of the final battles of the game, Mario tosses Cappy on Bowser and their bodies fused together.
As the Bowser and Mario hybrid carries Princess Peach through the crumbling level they enter a pipe and transform into 8-bit characters.
Peach looks just like she did in the original game and Bowser showcases how powerful he really is.
He shoots flames bashes through bricks and causes pure destruction through the 8-bit world. It is awesome to shoot his flames out at will and the retro design will remind fans of what made the Mario franchise so right in the first place.
The level is perfectly placed during a dramatic part at the end of the game and really ties the whole franchise and the Super Mario Odyssey journey together.
The Dark Side of the Moon
The initial story in Super Mario Odyssey is just the beginning of the adventure. There are hours and hours of gameplay enticing players to come back explore worlds and find areas they’ve not yet discovered.
One of the main objectives of the game is to collect power moons. These power moons can unlock special levels in worlds.
The first goal is to achieve reaching 250 power moons collected this will unlock the special final stage entitled the Dark Side of the Moon. On this stage, you will face off against all the major enemies in a boss rush.
If you thought the Dark Side of the Moon challenge was stuff, then you should consider the darker side of the moon. This boss rush is unlocked once you obtain 500 power moons.
The darker side of the moon features no checkpoints and tougher bosses really giving Mario a run for his money.
The battles all take place in a special arena and include the various brutal features in the game. By defeating these stages, you can unlock more power moons and outfits for Mario to wear.
It takes a while to reach enough power moons for the darker side of the Moon stage, so it’s important to collect as many power moons as you can.
Super Mario 64 Room
Nintendo fans love Super Mario 64 and they’ve showcased this through many references to the classic game.
Once you defeat the main storyline, the Mushroom Kingdom is unlocked and the design of the world is taken directly from Super Mario 64.
With some much-needed updated graphics, this isn’t where the reference end though.
The game also features a special Super Mario 64 hat and outfit that transforms Mario into the pixelated version of himself.
As you explore the Mushroom Kingdom, you can enter a special cave with a mini-game designed off the Super Mario 64 world.
The coins sound effects and graphics are all taken directly from the game the center of the water even features the infamous star statue that sparked rumors of Luigi’s appearance in Super Mario 64 for years and years.
The room is not just for exploring as there’s a puzzle to solve. When you first enter the treasure boxes will all showcase numbers on them it’s your goal to memorize the numbers and open the chest in order to receive the power moon price.
If you mess up then villains pop out of the boxes and it must be restarted by leaving and re-entering the area.
Ground Pound Pipes
When a Mario game gets released so do the speedrunners and attempt to beat levels and complete the game as quickly as possible.
When completing a speed running Mario there are some elements that are out of a player’s control. One of them is the classic animation Mario goes through every time he enters a pipe in the past.
Mario would stand there for a moment until he was dropped down through the pipe.
Super Mario Odyssey finally addressed this time delay issue by introducing the ability to ground pound on pipes. As you approach a pipe with Mario you can perform a ground-pound maneuver that sends him flying through the pipe.
The traditional pipe sound effects play faster and Mario zooms through it. It is a fun novelty added to the game and a huge difference maker when it comes to speed runs warping through pipes has always been a key part of Mario games.
And, it continues with this much-needed upgrade. The move only works in vertically placed pipes as the ground-pound wouldn’t make much sense when traveling through horizontal pipe areas.
Now if there is only a way to instantly spread pesticides on all those pesky piranha plants.
Rescuing Captain Toad
While trying to find Mario Odyssey secrets and Easter Eggs, I noticed Captain Toad was always tracking treasure but somehow manages to get lost along the way.
In Super Mario Odyssey, there are ten different levels where players can find captain Toad and retrieve a reward for helping them out.
Some of these are more challenging than others and can be really frustrating early in the game.
You can get started on your adventure by finding the first captain toad and earning some motivation for future ones.
The only thing you need to do is a little fishing. The only way to go fishing in the early stages of the game is to toss Cappy on a lakitu with a fishing pole.
As the lakitu, you can cast out the line catch fish and float around on your little cloud. If you take the cloud to the red sand area you will see small fish-shaped shadows underneath the sand cast in and on your second fish you’ll pull out captain Toad.
The toad will thank you for helping them out and award you with a power moon for your efforts.
This is just the beginning of finding captain Toad and all ten kingdoms. In many cases, you will have to take control of another character and use their abilities to reach toad and rescue him from his crazy treasure tracking.
Pause Menu Music & Sound Effects
One of the best Mario Odyssey secrets and Easter Eggs are the musical easter eggs and references to soundtracks from previous games and Super Mario Odyssey is no exception.
You can hear a lot of the new original music thanks to characters like Pauline but you could also enjoy many of the classes.
For example, in new Donk city, the Jazz themed version of the classic Mario theme can be heard by a live band in the city hall auditorium. T
he Mario theme is featured throughout the game and give me heard in nearly every world by various characters in musical moments.
Well, it is fun to explore and discover all the musical references, you don’t have to go far to hear a few others the pause menu alone features a number of tunes and sound effects.
By pausing and resuming the game quickly will play the classic sound effect for obtaining an extra life. If you click pause and go to options mode and regular mode then you can hear a theme featured in Super Mario Galaxy.
The speed you go through the menu will make it easier to recognize the song as more players discover the game there will likely be more musical secrets.[wd_ads advert=”6060″]
Luigi’s Outfit
Just like in Mario 3d platformer games of the past, Luigi has been given a backseat. Likely waiting for his chance to shine in another tennis game or something.
If you’re a Luigi lover there’s no reason to completely give up on ever playing as Mario’s brother. The game developers have included a way to get as close to playing as Luigi as possible.
The full Luigi costume is available to wear in the game. This includes his green hat and matching jumpsuit.
There are multiple ways to unlock Luigi. The first is by using an amiibo figure of the Mario Party or standard Luigi figure can be scanned and used to unlock the costume.
If you don’t have the Luigi figure, then you can obtain 180 power moons and purchase the costume from the crazy cap shop. Luigi isn’t the only costume available though, you also have the ability to purchase the Waluigi outfit and dresses Luigi’s arch-nemesis.
If you’re feeling extra evil, Wario standard outfit is also available and it looks quite strange when Mario wears it.
These costumes out a lot of fun to the game and can make it feel like you’re playing as a completely different character. Even though it’s just Mario and Cappy going on their adventure together.
Mario Takes a Nap
After years of jumping exploring and collecting coins, Mario is just plain tired. These faced off against Bowser, a countless number of times and traveled across multiple galaxies.
And when he’s not trying to rescue Princess Peach, Mario is busy playing in various sports leagues or racing cars. Thankfully Nintendo gave players a way to truly give Mario break within his digital world.
If you put the controller down and let Mario just stand there the overworked former plumber will eventually lie down and fall asleep.
No, but that’s not all, listen closely and you can actually hear Mario talk in his sleep. Naturally, his two main topics are women and food as he goes on about Princess Peach and throws in a little pasta discussion.
On some levels, a bird will actually land on his face. The best part is when Mario falls asleep next to the friendly Shiba inu dog, the dog will actually lay down and take a nap next to Mario.
To get the dog to follow you, you just need to step inside the crazy cap shop in the sand Kingdom then you and the pup get to venture out on the beach and snooze together by the water.
Costume References
Not only will you spend hours playing to find Super Mario Odyssey but you can spend a whole lot of the time dressing Mario up in various costumes.
The costume designs may seem random at first but they’re all a huge part of the history of the Mario franchise. There are some pretty awesome designs including the Dr. Mario outfit and all is silver attire but some of the costume references may be harder to pinpoint.
For example, the explorer outfit may look like something out of Indiana Jones. But it is actually from a little-known Gameboy game entitled Mario’s pit cross.
Mario wears the exact outfit for the games promotional art. The chef’s outfit Mario wears is from Yoshi’s cookie a puzzle game for the NES.
You may think the space suit is in reference to Super Mario Galaxy, but it’s actually based on the space levels featured in Super Mario Land 2 6 golden coins.
Even the poncho suit is from a previous Mario game specifically the puzzle game Qix. The game developers really went all out to incorporate every single outfit Mario’s ever worn in the official Nintendo games.
It is also fun to mix and match the outfits with the hats to create completely original combinations.
Final Thoughts
These are some of my Mario Odyssey secrets and Easter Eggs that I found. The Mario game world is huge and finding more secrets still awaits.
These secrets are among many that found useful as it lets you play with different characters and in new worlds.
Discovering and playing with different costumes can also be fun, especially in the end-game.
Let me know in the comments below if you found more easter eggs. If you planning to get this game, read my Mario Odyssey review.
