Board 8 > Which game should I play next Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Got both games recently but have put off playing them until I finished (more or less) with Dragon Quest XI. Can't decide which to play first. Should I play Odyssey first because I generally much prefer Mario games to Zelda ones? Should I play Breath of the Wild first for that same reason to save "the best" for last on the assumption that I'll like Odyssey more? Give Breath of the Wild a try to acknowledge Zelda apparently being a GameFAQs contest god now? Odyssey first because Mario is Italian and I had pasta with Italian sausages the other day and it was really good? Help me, board 8. Solve this dilemma that I am inexplicably incapable of handling myself.
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Both are great. Zelda is at least twice as long if that matters.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Both are great. Zelda is at least twice as long if that matters.

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Odyssey is my game of the generation, Zelda is perhaps the most revolutionary open-world game I've ever played, but kind of a weak "Zelda" game in many regards, to be honest. Which, hey, might not mean much if you're already not huge on the series!

They're both masterpieces, but Odyssey is my favorite. So yeah, fuck waiting, jump into that magnificent, magical joyfest of a video game.
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Murphiroth posted...

Mac Arrowny posted...

Both are great. Zelda is at least twice as long if that matters.

More than twice as long but both games are great. Mario if you want a shorter great game.

Zelda if you want a longer game you'll get lost in.
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Also even though I like Odyssey more, I have 85 hours in it and 300 hours in BotW, if that says anything.
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Odyssey doesn't have a weapon degradation mechanic that completely ruins the game, so that.
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Best of the Worst marathon.
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I'd play Odyssey first, because it's shorter. You could play BotW for weeks, honestly.
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It's kind of interesting that everyone keeps commenting on the length of the two because that was even one of the things on my mind. I figure that once Smash Ultimate comes out it will be occupying my gaming time for a while, so I kind of want to finish whatever I start before then. Figure Odyssey can be easily done in that time frame, but Breath of the Wild might be a bit dicier
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BOTW because you will get bored/disappointed at a certain point and you will feel much better about quitting if you have another game to play which is more fun

That said, Odyssey doesn't have much to it either, so you'll need a remedy for that as well

And that remedy is A Hat in Time
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I don't feel like a bat in lime will remedy many problems
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Super Mario Odyssey.
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Odyssey has a much stronger ending than Breath of the Wild, so if you want playing them one after the other to have a satisfying conclusion, I'd say BotW then SMO
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Odyssey is a more focused and tighter experience than Breath of the Wild, so I'd say play that one first. BotW is a massive meandering timesink game, so if you want to actually play anything else save it for later. Or just play Zelda until you get sick of wandering around a mostly empty map and go bum rush the endgame.

I just hope you aren't a completionist because you're looking at hundreds of hours if you are.
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Panthera posted...

It's kind of interesting that everyone keeps commenting on the length of the two because that was even one of the things on my mind. I figure that once Smash Ultimate comes out it will be occupying my gaming time for a while, so I kind of want to finish whatever I start before then. Figure Odyssey can be easily done in that time frame, but Breath of the Wild might be a bit dicier

If your goal is just to complete the game, BotW. Just beating Odyssey will leave you too much time.

If your goal is to 100% the game, then Odyssey, because you wont be done with BotW in time.
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lets do the odyssey
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He's not gonna 100% Odyssey either

Just don't try to 100% either of those games, that's not what they are made for
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i see foolmo has regressed into tip top horrible opinion form once more! i haven't played A Hat in Time you may be more than right about that one

100%ing Odyssey is so goddamn good though. lots of the best and most challenging platforming stuff is post-main game
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100%ing Odyssey was a lot of fun for me but I think I agree it's not really how it was meant to be played.

100%ing BotW sounds like a free pass to an asylum.

Either way, BotW is probably a top 3 Zelda game and Mario is the best Mario game IMO so you really can't go wrong! Just depends on how much time you're looking to spend, as others have said.
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StartTheMachine posted...

lots of the best and most challenging platforming stuff is post-main game

Sure but you don't need the 400+ trash moons to get to that stuff
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actually yeah, I'm being too hard on foolmo here

Just don't 40% Odyssey -- 80%ing it might be the sweet spot. I do remember the last 10 or so hours being rather mundane, especially compared to the insane highs of the first 10 or so hours.

foolm0r0n posted...

StartTheMachine posted...

lots of the best and most challenging platforming stuff is post-main game

Sure but you don't need the 400+ trash moons to get to that stuff

You're right. But lots of those moons are on your way to get other things, and I would definitely defend it as a brilliant design choice -- both for the nature of the Switch and for being in the classic "accessible to anyone, hard to master" mold that Nintendo is so good at. I really enjoyed inspecting every nook and cranny of the world, personally, but I can accept the idea that it's overdone as a valid critique. The idea that those moons shouldn't exist at all? Get outta here with that.
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Odyssey imo

It's so good and you can definitely finish before Smash comes out
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I know why they did it, same with koroks and such in BOTW. It's not brilliant though, it's the same open world hamster wheel that has been used for decades starting with the early MMOs. People like it because it triggers the basic rewards centers of your brain with a constant drip of dopamine. But it's definitely trash and bad for the game and players' enjoyment.
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Get 40% in Odyssey, then play Hat, then come back and finish Odyssey

I'll be impressed if you can get to step 3
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I don't see myself playing a rat in crime anytime soon

I feel like I'll probably be going with Odyssey first
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Panthera posted...

I don't see myself playing a rat in crime anytime soon

I feel like I'll probably be going with Odyssey first

If you do play Hat, make sure you play it well after Odyssey so it doesn't look bad by comparison. It's a pretty good game but it can really hold up to a masterpiece like Odyssey
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I played Hat shortly after Odyssey and it was definitely a huge drop down.

I don't really see the 'filler' moons in Odyssey as a bad thing. They're not really all that different from, say, coins in earlier Mario games. Some of the definitely aren't that fun (like the drawing ones) so they could've cut down on some of those, but those are the minority.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Both are great. Zelda is at least twice as long if that matters.

Nah I beat Mario in 20 hours. Didnt do much extras after that but still got 150 moons. Zelda took me 80 hours to beat and thats with only 60 shrines.
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Xiahou Shake posted...

100%ing Odyssey was a lot of fun for me but I think I agree it's not really how it was meant to be played.

100%ing BotW sounds like a free pass to an asylum.

Either way, BotW is probably a top 3 Zelda game and Mario is the best Mario game IMO so you really can't go wrong! Just depends on how much time you're looking to spend, as others have said.

No need to 100% any game. I was done with Marino after I beat it. Zelda I played for another 40 hours to get all shrines but I only got like 250 korok seeds. Pointless getting anymore and dlc was decent but nothing amazing.
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Breath of the Wild's second DLC had the best shrines and dungeon in the game, so long as we're not counting Hyrule Castle as a "dungeon." BotW in general has so much cool stuff, I kinda do think it's worth doing a full 136 shrine playthrough. That said, don't be an idiot like me and also do all 89 sidequests (they may have added more now). Most of those are pretty awful. I played the game for months and months and just kind of like, did a sidequest or two every time I played it. I was actively planning to not 100% them, then I eventually only had a couple left and said fuck it.

Now getting every korok seed is literally pointless after 441 since it stops expanding the inventory. I ended up with like 535 or something. So yeah, no way I'll ever get all of those.
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I like that BotW makes fun of you if you actually do go for 100% Korok Seeds
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Hey the current BotW 100% record is 25 hours 46 minutes

You can do it on a long weekend! <_<
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Jakyl25 posted...

Hey the current BotW 100% record is 25 hours 46 minutes

knowing how amazing speedrunners are at these things, that is goddamn hilarious
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Jakyl25 posted...

Hey the current BotW 100% record is 25 hours 46 minutes

You can do it on a long weekend! <_<

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Let me guess, the any% record is an hour or so
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Closer to a half hour

EDIT: 31m 46s
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What's with the Hat in Time bashing. So mean.

I bet half of you replay DK64 when nobody is looking.