Were the Broodals in Mario Odyssey a complete misfire? Failed new villains?

RagnarokX said:

But they actually have been creative with the Koopalings. Every game they've been in their fights go differently. The big problem with the Koopalings is that it's too easy to hit them 3 times before they really get a chance to attack, which is a problem the Broodals also had. The Broodal fights themselves were exactly the kind of thing a Koopaling fight would be. I like the Koopalings, too, and at least if they went with the Koopalings Nintendo maybe would have given use 7/8 unique bosses instead of 4. Hell, Bowser Jr should have been the ring bearer. Wendy the flower girl. I'd love to see the Koopalings in 3D.

Bowser Jr's first appearance in Sunshine was really lame, but every game he's been in since then has solidified him as a worthy addition to the Mario universe. I love how they've characterized him as Bowser's general, like a more competent Bowser who gets it done but still bows to his dad. I really like that they made the junior clown car his gimmick. That was a really good idea. Bowser Jr's boss fights in NSMBWii and NSMBU were great.

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When were the creative with Koopalings? I can excuse SMB3 because of its era -- but some of those Koopalings were identical in mechanics. SMW, same deal... I can't think of any title where each of the Koopalings individually has some interesting boss mechanic.

Bowser Jr. has gotten so much care over time. I wish they could do that with each of the Koopalings in some new title.

I liked them and they made sense for the story. New characters are always welcome, and they're far better than another appearance from the Koopalings.

We'll se if they get used in Mario Sports spin offs and Kart.

They're crap, yes. I hope we never see them in anything again.

NateSnacks said:

Mario odyssey was a misfire.

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Kind of. I enjoyed it, but in retrospect it's probably my least favorite 3D Mario.

Always expected them to be "one and done". Doubt we'll see them again. They're wedding planners, after all.

Rabbit koopalings, that's it.

i didn't mind them, but i doubt they'll be seen in anything unless there's an odyssey 2, and even then i don't expect them to have a major presence

I liked Them, fighting the wedding planners lol

Mario overwhelms all of the villains.

It doesn't work in every game but it works in Odyssey. Such a brilliant, fun and charming game.

i didnt care for them and would prefer if they were left out of future mario games.

They should have replaced them with possessed rabbids.

Rotobit said:

He was in Smash as an Stage Hazard (on a stage which is apparently returning for Ultimate) and had a relatively big part in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. He's definitely on thin ice for future appearances, but I get the feeling the NSMB team likes him quite a bit (he was playable in Super Luigi U after all)

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I forgot about his role in Paper Jam, it was pretty nice to see him there. He was a neat feature in the Mushroomy Kingdom U stage as well.

Hopefully he makes an appearance in the next 2D Mario. If not, I wouldn't expect more than an infrequent Mario & Luigi cameo.

Dizagaox said:

They should have replaced them with possessed rabbids.

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rabbid peach is actually the best new character to come out of a mario game in a long time

They are forgettable. The boss fights were fine.

BOTW bosses were also forgettable.

They're not great, but they're pretty far down the list of problems with the extremely disappointing Super Mario Odyssey.

They were basically just the Koopalings/Boom Boom with a different look. I don't think the game really tries to elevate them above just being minibosses, as Bowser is still the main villain. So I wouldn't call them a failure.

I just appreciated seeing a new set of villains. I like the Koopalings, but they even show up as bosses in the Mario RPG's now. Nice to have some new faces once in a while

They were fine?

I have already forgotten them after beating it lol

Ponchito said:

BOTW bosses were also forgettable

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one of the biggest negatives of an otherwise perfect game. at least dlc's boss was fun.

I thought they were fine, but I haven't felt like any of the Mario bosses have been particularly memorable since SMW.

It was nice to get a break from the usual suspects, but they look like Deviantart OCs.

Would've liked something a little more weird to go with Odyssey's design aesthetic.

I finished the game at release and can honestly say that I don't remember who the antagonists are. I'm sure hats were involved.

I vote missfire.

Thorn said:

Doesn't help their fights were sleep inducing.

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Their fights are basically designed for speedruns, theres like several ways to just end it early

I actually loved them. Cute but hilarious in most cases. Especially the lady with the "dog".

Diddy Kong said:

They were okay. I wish Nintendo would bring back some of the older classic enemies and bosses.

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Such as? I'm pretty sure every classic Mario villain has come back in some form, with the exception of Wart.

They're not appearing again except in Odyssey

They were alright. They served their purpose as mini bosses and is a far better option than having the annoying fucking Koopalings again.

MrBadger said:

Such as? I'm pretty sure every classic Mario villain has come back in some form, with the exception of Wart.

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Tatanga would be neat.

They seemed like they could've just used the koopalings and been little to no difference besides the hat thing.

For me the Broodals are simply some hired minions for the wedding. Not important enough to be nothing worthy of Lore xd.

I think they are nice. Their designs are good and the final fight with them was fun. Mainline 3D Mario is not the place to be using things like the Koopalings. More original ideas and characters are what helps 3D Mario distinguish itself from the franchise and Odyssey has a ton of it.

I kinda liked their design, but the fights weren't very memorable because they were too easy and over so quickly. The only memorable fight was the mech battle which was actually really great.

They seemed like an afterthought

NateSnacks said:

Lol. Sure it is.

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...it's not really debatable.

They were fine. No better or worse than the Koopalings.

I'd rather the Mario series get creative and introduce more new characters than doing the same thing every game

I completely disliked them and just wished they were the koopa kids. I simply didn't like their designs at all.

The only real problem with the Broodals is that they don't have some sort of memorable catch, other than being rabbits, and the only reason for that was an attempt to be "evil opposites" with Cappy (top hat vs. rabbits). Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings at least had the distinction of being kids/nephews/relatives/whatever of Bowser, even if most of them don't really have any personality per se (though I like what Nintendo has done with Junior lately).

Slam Tilt said:

The only real problem with the Broodals is that they don't have some sort of memorable catch, other than being rabbits, and the only reason for that was an attempt to be "evil opposites" with Cappy (top hat vs. rabbits). Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings at least had the distinction of being kids/nephews/relatives/whatever of Bowser, even if most of them don't really have any personality per se (though I like what Nintendo has done with Junior lately).

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They are rabbits for more reasons than that, actually. Rabbits are connected to the moon in Japanese folklore iirc, that's part of why the game culminates in the moon and the end game takes place there

Koopalings suck too.

They should use more Bowser Jr, and introduce Wario and Waluigi as villains in 3D games.

Like with a lot of shallow Nintendo villains, some kid is going to grow up being an annoying asshole about their inclusion in Smash Bros.

see: K. Rool

low-G said:

When were the creative with Koopalings? I can excuse SMB3 because of its era -- but some of those Koopalings were identical in mechanics. SMW, same deal... I can't think of any title where each of the Koopalings individually has some interesting boss mechanic.

Bowser Jr. has gotten so much care over time. I wish they could do that with each of the Koopalings in some new title.

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Yeah, in SMB3 and SMW some of the Koopalings were copies of each other, but their tactics in SMW were completely different from SMB3.

Starting with NSMBWii is where Nintendo made sure to make each one a completely unique fight. And when they reappeared in NSMB2 and NSMBU their fights were different in each game. Though NSMB2 didn't do as much.

NSMBWii Larry: Somewhat standard fight but each section of the floor moves up and down. (first boss of this game)


NSMBU Larry: 3 geysers come up through the floor randomly making things pretty interesting.


NSMBWii Morton: He ground pounds the floor and causes 2 sections on either side to rise up and crush Mario.


NSMBU Morton: He uses a hammer to lob sections of a giant pokey at you.


NSMBWii Lemmy: He sits on a massive ball throwing smaller balls to bounce you into pits in an ice arena.


NSMBU Lemmy: His balls are now bombs and bigger (first boss of this game)


NSMBWii Wendy: The room floods and you can't jump on her until the water goes away. She swims around and attacks.


NSMBU Wendy: She has ice skates and skates around using her rings to knock down icicles to crush you.


NSMBWii Iggy: He chases you around in a chariot pulled by a giant chain chomp.


NSMBU: He summons a blarg that comes through the floor and he can enter pipes to run on the ceiling where he's invulnerable.


NSMBWii Roy: He jumps up into pipes and ground pounds out of a random one to stun Mario.


NSMBU Roy: He has a friggin bullet bill bazooka and chases Mario around mini airship platforms.


NSMBWii Ludwig: The floor breaks and you fight him while rising on 3 elevators. He flutter jumps around attacking.


NSMBU Ludwig: He flies around making clones of himself and subjecting Mario to bullet hells.


The main problem with the koopalings is that after you hit them once it's too easy to predict when they will become vulnerable again and hit them before they can start phases 2 and 3. This is a problem shared by the Broodals, though.

The kinds of changeups to their tactics throughout their appearances would have lent well to Odyssey. Just give each of the Koopalings a different magical hat that grants those abilities similar to how in NSMBU some of the Koopalings had their own gear:

Lemmy got bombs, Wendy got ice skates, Morton got a hammer, and Roy got a bazooka.

Boss fights were dry AF!

I appearciate the change but no.

Basically a rehash Koopa Kids

They're basically Wart status. Not memorable, but not a mistake either.

Rosalina was god himself, so it has potential for a recurring character. Wedding planners no, except for waluigi and wario's wedding in 2050.

They're basically just the Koopalings, but the Broodal that spits poison was named Spewart, so they got that going for them

Jonneh said:

...it's not really debatable.

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This just proves review scores for video games means jack shit.

Their concept is so specifically tied to Odyssey's context that you'll probably never see them again unless it's in a sequel.

I prefer them to the koopalings tbh

I can definitely see how and why people were put off by them or find them to be a bad fit.

But, part of me can't help but enjoy how cheesy and fugly they are. They remind me of creepy Chuck E Cheese animatronics, or shitty villains from some crap 80's movie or cartoon. So yea, I sorta love them. Hope this isn't derail-y, but I drew Mama Broodal a while back cause of how awful she is.

Kcannon said:

Their concept is so specifically tied to Odyssey's context that you'll probably never see them again unless it's in a sequel.

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Really? How do? From what I remember, I feel like pretty much any Mario badguy/minion could have filled their parts.