Super Mario Odyssey - Rank your top 3 kingdoms! (Untagged Spoilers)

[Bartend3r]

Hello all.

Now that the fucking amazing SMO is out and many people have completed it, it's time to rank your top 3 kingdoms. Difficult task but here we go.

It may contain spoilers obviously so if you are yet to start the game don't scroll down!

My top 3:

Seaside Kingdom - This is simply beautiful, varied and clever designed. Just roaming around this feels amazing.

Metro Kingdom - The most innovative level with so many good ideas. Nintendo has pushed it farther with this one.

Mushroom Kingdom - What to say. Pure nostalgia. And beautifully crafted too. And Mario 64 outfit. Jeez they nailed it.

Cast your vote ERA!

 

[Savantcore]

Metro - massive and packed with stuff to do. Flinging yourself around is one of the most satisfying ways of traveling in a game.

Wooded - similarly huge, but built by having loads of different elements slotting together instead of being one big 'thing'.

Cascade - completely opposite to the previous two, I just like how much variety there is in a comparatively tiny space.

 

[Killyoh]

3 - Seaside Kingdom, so refreshing, love the beach volley

2 - Metro Kingdom, so much to do, it feels like the real hub of the game.

1 - Bowser's Kingdom

Because I'm a huge weab.

 

[Deleted member 2834]

1. Luncheon

2. Seaside

3. Metro

 

[Deleted member 8752]

The Moon
Lunchon
Mushroom

 

[Zalman]

Metro - Feels like the "main" kingdom of this game. The city is alive and a joy to walk around in.
Sand - I'm usually not a huge fan of desert stages, but there's something calming about this one. I also love the music in the ruins.
Seaside - Reminds me of Mario Sunshine (in a good way).

 

[Innuendo84]

Metro Kingdom - has best platforming bits due to the verticality
Cascade Kingdom - love the theme and visuals.. First real kingdom that serves as a fantastic start of the journey
Bowser's Kingdom - love the Japanese esthetics; has by favourite capture enemy Pokio and an amazing 2d stage.

 

[KingSnake]

3. Wooden Kingdom
2. Seaside Kingdom
1. Bowser's Kingdom

Bonus: the Ruined Kingdom would have probably been my favourite if it would have been a real level, not just a boss fight.

 

[Dwebble]

1. Metro Kingdom- the best playground in any Mario game by an absolute mile. Traversing the city's an absolute blast, the side content is the best in the game, and THE FESTIVAL.

2. Wooded Kingdom- on top of having the game's best music, the sheer density of this one takes the breath away. The first time through, you have no idea how they can fit it all in, but every time through you discover whole new areas- stumbling on the Deep Woods entirely by accident was one of my favourite moments in the game.

3. Bowser's Kingdom- the closest thing that Odyssey has to a Galaxy stage, but no worse for it. A striking, unexpected level theme, superb music, unexpected density and the single best capture mechanic that the game has to offer- I'll take that Pokio spinoff whenever you're ready, Nintendo.


Basically the only kingdom which I'm not overwhelmingly in favour of is the Seaside Kingdom- I did enjoy exploring the trenches, but there's simply not enough land to futz about with Mario's movement, which was one of Odyssey's best facets.

 

[hotcyder]

Cascade - Perfect vertical slice for the entire game. Small enough to become familiar, but lots of verticality and secret areas. Really opens up in the post game too.

Metro - Layout and progression feels nothing like the rest of the game. Whereas other levels are more about pushing you towards a linear objective with a defined start and end point, Metro's second Headline Objective instead asks you to engage in the kind of Scavenger Hunt gameplay the rest of the game dips into.

Its Introductory Boss Battle also managed to make good on the Arkham Knight Tank Battles.

Wooded - My favourite level of the game. Love its music, it's inhabitants (got a soft spot for totally non-humanoid/faceless characters with personalities). It's Headline Objectives are probably my favourite of the game too - and tap into what made Super Mario Galaxy work so well.

First Headline introduces you to the Long-legged Onions, escalates the challenges you perform with. Second Headline introduces the Tanks, escalates the challenges you perform with them. Third with the Boss brings back the Onion and uses it in a neat way that totally makes sense. And then it ends with a beautiful field of white flowers straight out of the end of MGS3.

Bowser Kingdom - I like a lot because of it's look and feel, not to mention the bird capture who really, really needs his own Hal Labratorys game.

Ruined Kingdom is great because of how different it is aesthetically from other Mario games - yet mechanically it's as you'd expect. I've always said I've wanted to play a Dark Souls game with Mario - not a character that looked like him, but a game where you you can wall hop off the architecture, and hop on heads to take them out. The fact that they teach you how to fight the dragon and apply it the same as a Galaxy game is so good.

 

[Azoor]

Cascade; one of the most beautiful and breath taking zones in the game. It's very open and you could find moons and small platforming challenges everywhere. Having some ruined Odssey ships here and there is a nice touch too!

Metro; the New York inspired setting is quite refreshing for a Mario game, it's one of the biggest kindgoms with lots of small secrets hidden everywhere!

Luncheon; It has the tightest and most challenging platforming and the entire game.

 

[eKongDiddy]

3. Wood- Love the music and atmosphere here. A little too small for my liking

2. Sand- What I want from a 3D Mario game. It's he biggest one and I can walk around it before seeing edges again.

1. Metro- Best condensed map with the coolest missions and homages

Award for worst:

3. Bowser's Kingdom - Not at all what I expected for a 'Bowser's Kingsom'. Too small and linear for my liking. The birds were cool, though.

2. Lost - Boring Kingdom. Too small and platform focused. The jungle would have been a great idea of it didn't take up a measly 3ft of space (exaggeration but it was so small) before you open up into a block filled poison mine.

1. Luncheon - It was also so boring. I hardly remember it. Super cramped too. Only Kingdom I played in handheld mode so I could watch tv and fumble through. What ever they had in mind, hey gotta try again and do better.

 

[Datajoy]

1. Seaside - I love the vibe in this Kingdom. I spend lots of time here just dicking around trying different jumps and jetting to and fro on the Gushens.

2. Lost - Love the music, art direction, and local creatures. This is the first kingdom I 100 percented and doing so left me a little melancholy.

3. Metro - The ultimate jungle gym for Mario's best moveset ever.

 

[Vishmarx]

Seaside
Metro
Forbidden

 

[Aristos Achaion]

1. Bowser's Kingdom
2. Wooded Kingdom
3. Lake Kingdom
4. Moon Kingdom
5. Mushroom Kingdom
6. Luncheon Kingdom
7. Metro Kingdom
8. Snow Kingdom
9. Lost Kingdom
10. Cascade Kingdom
11. Cap Kingdom
12. Seaside Kingdom
13. Sand Kingdom

I wish they had developed Cloud Kingdom and Ruined Kingdom more, the themes are already strong (especially Ruined)

 

[kc44135]

Metro Kingdom: Nothing tops this. Amazing level design, fun ways to travel, jumping off of skyscrapers, evading a T-rex on a moped, and not one, but two amazing throwbacks to Mario's 2D glory days make this the best level in Mario Odyssey.

Mushroom Kingdom: Pure nostalgia overload, baby! It's just such a big, beautiful homage to one of the plumber's greatest adventures, and it's packed with so many great challenges too! Plus, Yoshi!!!

The Darker Side: Yeah, maybe it's a stretch to call this one a kingdom, but after getting 500+ Moons (mostly) without breaking a sweat, this was the challenge I was looking for. What's awesome about this level beyond the difficulty is how much variety there is within it. One second you're controlling a flying dinosaur, the next your a lava blob, and still later you're climbing up walls as a woodpecker. It uses many of the game's transformations to great effect. Plus, the final climb up the tower is an unforgettable and bittersweet moment that marks the true end of your journey.

 

[Fat4all]

1. Luncheon
2. Bowser
3. Metro

really liked the abstract sort of designs and popping colors of the luncheon kingdom a lot

 

[Moff]

Luncheon
Lost
Metro

 

[wiill64]

3. Snow Kingdom
Loved how the outside portion felt a bit like Majora's Mask's Snowhead area while I loved the Bound Bowl Grand Prix moon challenges.

2. Wooded Kingdom
It has one of the best music tracks in the game as well as the cool deep forest area with the T. Rex.

1. Bowser's Kingdom
Fantastic visual design and an awesome battle with the Broodal's Mech.

 

[Zedark]

1. Metro Kingdom - The verticality of this kingdom is something else: it allows for so much platforming and for risk jumps that I feel it is the best platforming kingdom in the game. Not to mention the festival

2. Bowser's kingdom - In terms of art style, Bowser's kingdom is unmatched: the beautiful traditionally-Japanese building are a treat for the eyes. Besides that, it has the single best capture creatures, the bird creatures (Robins?), and the platforming is great too! Oh, and an awesome boss battle to boot!

3. Seaside kingdom: I love the beach aesthetic in games like this, and Seaside kingdom nails it perfectly! Besides that, the underwater areas are challenges in and of themselves, and exploration felt really fun.

A massive shout out to the Ruined kingdom, an amazingly timed change of mood that perfectly captured the tone of the situation after Bowser went off to the moon to marry Peach! It doesn't rank here because there's not much to do, but I will say that the battle against the Lord of Lightning was probably the best boss battle in the game!

 

[Monogatari]

1. Mushroom Kingdom ( the longest continuous time I spent in any of the kingdoms )

2. New Donk City ( The E3 video was meh to me, it just seemed like "oh boring city, this is not why I play Mario". The level design is immaculate. Urban cities aren't boring places to set games, it just turns out most cities I've played before lacked any level design nuance to them).

3. The Lost Kingdom ( I love the colours, tight design and the elevated structure of this level. Feels like something out of Mario 64).

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Darker side
Mushroom Kingdom
Bowsers Kingdom

 

[super etrian odyssey]

Nothing super final (in the process of 100%ing the game and am only halfway through), but current thoughts:

1. Lost
2. Lake
3. Mushroom

Lost is beautiful in a weird, artificial way, with great music and the best capture in the game (the accordion wiggler). It feels so fun to explore and is tiny enough to be pretty memorable.

Lake for the same size reasons as above, and it's also really pretty and relaxing.

Mushroom, because it's such a great new version with really cool little areas (the Goomba forest, for example).

I'm also excited to return to Snow, Seaside and Bowser. Not excited to return to Luncheon.

 

[Firemind]

Metro and Wooded are the two I'm most likely to return to. Need to get a higher RC car time! Wooded is the most inventive 'classic' world. Love the robot inhabitants watering the flowers. Very Laputa-esque.

Mushroom Kingdom is nice to have a stroll, but I can't believe Peach's "Castle" is literally one room. That's one thing SM64 did better! I can't help but compare them, I'm also let down by the powers you can earn in Odyssey. They're for the most part interesting but none of them give you the absolute freedom the Wing Cap gives you in SM64. That first time you use it in Bob-omb Battlefield is magical. The gliding dragon is annoying to control and paragoomba and koopas are too limiting.

And the Moon was a major disappointment. The Thousand-Year Door did the whole moon thing better!

 

[silva1991]

1- Luncheon
2- Metro
3- probably Musrhoom.

Really wish Ruined kingdom and Moon had more going on for them. Two of the best aesthetics to me i the game.

 

[Pirateluigi]

1. Metro Kingdom - The verticality of this kingdom is something else: it allows for so much platforming and for risk jumps that I feel it is the best platforming kingdom in the game. Not to mention the festival

2. Bowser's kingdom - In terms of art style, Bowser's kingdom is unmatched: the beautiful traditionally-Japanese building are a treat for the eyes. Besides that, it has the single best capture creatures, the bird creatures (Robins?), and the platforming is great too! Oh, and an awesome boss battle to boot!

3. Seaside kingdom: I love the beach aesthetic in games like this, and Seaside kingdom nails it perfectly! Besides that, the underwater areas are challenges in and of themselves, and exploration felt really fun.

A massive shout out to the Ruined kingdom, an amazingly timed change of mood that perfectly captured the tone of the situation after Bowser went off to the moon to marry Peach! It doesn't rank here because there's not much to do, but I will say that the battle against the Lord of Lightning was probably the best boss battle in the game!

Click to shrink...

This matches my top 3 exactly. All 3 easily could vie for my favorite Mario worlds throughout any of the games.

 

[newmoneytrash]

1. Is easily Metro Kingdom. It's so dense and so fun to explore and it's the perfect level to showcase what Odyssey really is

2. The Sand Kingdom. It's the kingdom I have spent the most time in just because I love the aesthetic so much

3. Mushroom Kingdom is such a pleasant and chill level that is perfect to be dropped into in the post game

I haven't been to the darker side of the moon yet tho

 

[coregroupnegative]

Lost Kingdom - I feel like this is the most traditional Mario Kingdom - reminds me of Soda Jungle/Forest of Illusion. I love the colour palette and the feel of the place

Bowsers Kingdom - such a bold design choice. Music is amazing and it feels so epic

Cascade Kingdom - a perfect choice for when the adventure begins in earnest - so exciting and the music is spot on

Shout out to Cap Kingdom which is basically the old London town kingdom

 

[Brend]

Cascade Kingdom - It's so tightly packed with content that moving onto the Sand Kingdom feels so empty by comparison. Arriving here for the first time with that orchestra playing is unreal.

Metro Kingdom - Grand Theft Mario. What's not to love?

'The one with the dragon' Kingdom - It's only brief but the aesthetic was so well done, I wish Nintendo explored it a bit more. The Bayonetta-esque boss was also great.

 

[Deleted member 3017]

1. Seaside - A contender for the greatest sandbox level ever made. And it has quite possibly the best boss battle in a Mario game, ever. The entire stage is your battlefield!
2. Metro - Who would have believed one of the greatest Mario playgrounds of all time wouldn't feature a single enemy?
3. Lost - It's like a Super Mario 64 level, but with 20+ years of refinement

Major shoutout to Bowser's Kingdom as well. It's a mixture of a Bowser level from 64 with a Galaxy stage. And it somehow is able to feature tons of secrets and side activities, despite being quite linear.

Oh, and the Ruined Kingdom is the game's biggest surprise.

 

[Sera]

Bowser – Loved the most gameplay & aesthetic wise, favourite capture (pokio)
Seaside – other favourite capture (octopus) and super pretty edit: I agree with the poster above, best boss arena
Mushroom – How am I feeling nostalgic for a game I never played???

 

[Molten_]

1. Luncheon Kingdom - Awesome art direction, tons of fun platforming, really enjoyable to just run around in.
2. Lost Kingdom - Basically the same reasons as Luncheon but at a smaller scale. It also feels like a 3D Yoshi's Island stage.
3. Metro Kingdom - Nice aesthetics and great platforming, packed with secrets.

 

[Zerojul]

1 - Seaside, which is surprising as I usually hate water-based levels, but this one felt great and relaxing to me for some reason.

2 - Bowser's kingdom, beautiful aesthetic and unbelievable BGMs. The long-beaked birds mechanic was amazing, too.

3 - Luncheon kingdom, some of the best pure gameplay parts are here, and lovely aesthetic too.

Honorable mentions go to the visually stunning Lost kingdom, and Mushroom kingdom if only for nostalgia

 

[decoyplatypus]

1. Metro Kingdom - best platforming, great music, and a killer story sequence.
2. Luncheon Kingdom - I love the art direction here, and for me anyway there's a nice progression from slowly working your way around the "lava" to getting comfortable with the layout and flinging yourself across the map with abandon.
3. Bowser Kingdom - best capture and some nice, focused challenges.

 

[Valahart]

1. Lost Kingdom - I love the art style and the transformation is very clever and unique, the way we get to the kingdom unexpectedly had an impact on me as well.
2. Wooded Kingdom - Its idea overall is very interesting to me, a mechanical forest is not something I would expect from Mario. The plant transformation is also very mechanically clever and a big part of the appeal to me.
3. Seaside Kingdom - An overall feel good area with a very creative boss fight.

Haven't given this much of a thought though, I'll eventually rank all of them.

 

[RepairmanJack]

3. Lost
2. Seaside
1. Wooded

I think my favorites largely revolve around the most fun captures. I think I'm one of the few who actually really liked the Lost Kingdom. I liked the small congested feel of it and really liked the Wiggler Capture.

 

[Lord Azrael]

1. Metro - I absolutely love the verticality. Leaping around from rooftop to rooftop is a blast. It's truly a playground to try out all of Mario's skills. Pretty much everything here facilitates jumping around, whether it be taxis you can hop off of or buildings you can wall jump between. Plus that festival.

2. Wooded - once again, love the verticality. I also really like the aesthetic and music in this one. Another kingdom that is super fun to jump around and just explore.

3. Sand - I absolutely love the little town and its citizens. The ruins are very fun to work your way through too. For being a desert, there is a ton of variety here, from an oasis to a fun little town to frozen over tombs.

Honorable mention the the moon for its amazing, serene atmosphere, awesome surprise value and light gravity. Jumping around here is so exhilarating.

 

[Stealth]

Metro
Snow
Moon

 

[RepairmanJack]

3. Bowser Kingdom - best capture and some nice, focused challenges.

Click to shrink...

I think this was the most frustrating capture for me. Especially during the boss fight.

 

[Cranston]

1. Metro
2. Wooded (greatest Mario tune ever)
3. Snow

 

[Nay]

Metro Kingdom- The best platform in and an amazing atmosphere.

Cascade- The amount there is to do is astounding and the kingdom is beautiful.

Mushroom- Absolutely amazing costume and great nostalgia value.

 

[LuisGarcia]

Metro
Mushroom
Wooded

 

[Deleted member 59]

1. Bowsers Kingdom - Music and visuals were fantastic, and I loved the new direction for a "Bowser" level. Gameplay was sublime thanks to the unique capture.
2. Metro Kingdom - Something extremely unique to the Mario world. Love the verticality and just jumping off high buildings Is a blast, plus the festival.....just amazing.
3. Moon Kingdom - Awe inspiring even if it is relatively simple and small. Loved the interior section and the culmination with an amazing boss/ending sequence.

 

[Coaster17]

1.) Metro - Mario climbing tall buildings was pretty fun
2.) Seaside - I always love beach themed levels in Mario games and this one did not disappoint.
3.) Luncheon - The colors and the music make this Kingdom pop. I loved every second of it.

 

[Bán]

Huh, feels like I'm one of the only ones conflicted about the Metro Kingdom, then. There's a lot I like about it but also plenty I don't. No enemies, tends towards using 'gimmicks' to get around rather than platforming, all the best content is indoors or in pipes, I've been running around for an hour trying to find an RC car to race this dude, and just the overall low visual quality of the place and clashing art style... plenty of stuff. On the other hand it is fun to bound around on the tops of huge buildings and the art style is so poorly fitting that it almost loops around from 'bad' all the way to 'weirdly experiemental and good'.

My favs (of the major kingdoms):
1. Sand Kingdom - Lots of good linear platforming levels, charming little town, the jaxi, gorgeous colour palette... an ideal take on the classic desert level
2. Wooded Kingdom - Great music, great secret area, charming characters, lots of platforming over open space, good bosses and challenges
3. Seaside Kingdom - The underwater sections are great. Swimming around as a cheep cheep and exploring the sea floor is fun.

Least Favs:
1. The Moon - Visually boring, not a lot of fun exploration to be had here which is a problem as that's the appeal of the game
2. Bowser's Kingdom - Way too linear and too reliant on pokio mechanics, even if the style was fantastic
3. Cap Kingdom - I love the foggy visual style but it's tiny and therefore a bit boring. Doesn't warrant the amount of moons that end up being there.

 

[Neo-Saiyan]

Mushroom Kingdom - What can I say, Mario 64 is one of my all time fave games and this level was pure nostalgic bliss, the first time I set foot inside the castle, I automatically look straight up at the ceiling like I would on Mario 64, the result left a huge smile on my face.

Metro Kingdom - This level was absolutely fun for me and also a great level to practice Mario's more advanced moves.

Moon Kingdom - Maybe it's just me but this level has the most satisfying anti-gravity in a video game ever!! I have a constant grin on my face just maneuvering around the level.

 

[electricblue]

Seaside
Wooded
Mushroom

Lost, Bowser, Cascade were all amazing too

Metro was kind of a letdown, maybe my expectations were too high
Moon felt awful, especially if you add on Dark Side

 

[Haloid1177]

Wooded
Luncheon
Seaside

Wooded has the best music in a Mario game ever, and the Dark Woods are so cool. Luncheon has crazy level variety that I enjoyed. Seaside is just fun to explore underwater and had the best boss fight in the game that wasn't Bowser.

 

[Dyle]

Luncheon Kingdom, great visuals, some good music, the backside climb to the mountain is the best platforming playground in the whole game
Metro Kingdom, the festival, lots of ways to get around
Bowser's Kingdom, incredible aesthetic that came as a total surprise, it felt like a super long Galaxy level, but with tons of extra secrets. Love the way they introduced Pokio and the smashing golems, had lots of ways to mess with them, and them brought the mechanics into the giant mech fight, which was my favorite boss of the whole game

 

[purseowner]

Cascade
Bowser's
Seaside

Pure adventure, pure innovative design (and a break from Mario's global aesthetic to a more nationally rooted one), pure HD rumble innovation.