The newest entry in the long-running "Super Mario" series, "Super Mario Odyssey," has a delightful throwback to the original "Super Mario Bros."
Better yet: It's built in to each of the game's worlds. Look at this madness!
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As you might've already guessed, you enter the 2D plane through the 3D, pixelated pipe at the base of the cylindrical building. As Mario passes through the pipe, he becomes 2D once again.
From there you play the 2D section just as you would in the original "Super Mario Bros." back in the '80s, or as you might've in the last year on an NES Classic Edition console.
This is what the game normally looks like, for the record:
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These 2D sections are strewn throughout the game's various worlds.
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And if you're wearing a costume, like this sombrero/poncho get-up here.
And they come in different varieties.
There's the one on the cylindrical building at the top of this piece, then this one above that's along a wall (both in the same desert world), and another seen below in the forest/wooded area of the game.
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Notably, Mario's got on a sort of mining outfit. He must've been wearing it when he entered 2D.
When I played "Super Mario Odyssey" recently, I encountered one of these 8-bit areas. I immediately smiled, knowing at once what was going to happen, and being surprised and delighted by it.
Even more impressive than the game suddenly swapping from 3D into 2D is what happens when you move Super Mario out of the 2D plane back into three dimensions. When you reach the end of the 2D section, you jump and Mario literally pops out and instantly becomes 3D once again. It's pretty jarring and crazy-looking!
Here's an example:
Beyond 2D sections, there are tons of other nods to Nintendo's long history of gaming in "Super Mario Odyssey."
In one of the areas, named "New Donk City" (after Donkey Kong), the mayor is Pauline - the original damsel in distress from the original "Donkey Kong" games.
Here she is, looking mayoral:
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There's a distinctly 1930s vibe to the clothing and music of New Donk City.
When "Super Mario Odyssey" launches for the Nintendo Switch on October 27, it'll be the first new entry in the open-world-style Super Mario games since "Super Mario Sunshine." But it's just the latest nostalgia-laced offering from a company most well-known for its classic franchises.
Check out the latest trailer for "Super Mario Odyssey" right here: