Super Mario: Bowser's Fury

[cutmymilk]

I've been hammering this, staying up til 1am last night to play it. I have seen the end credits after

->Open Spoiler<-

50 shines. It's a bit special!

Nintendo have found a great way to do away with the need for a hub, with levels being islands that can be accessed at any time and from any angle. There are some lovely touches, such as secrets on the outside walls of the levels. Like 3D World, there are a lot of neat moments in the game.

When you get to 48 (I think), Bowser appears and is relentless, forcing you to find 2 more shines under his attack. The music and appearance of Godzilla Bowser is very intense and awesome. Perhaps scary for younger kids? I have about 70 now and still loving every minute. I need a break from it, possibly just until tonight!

[fishbowlhead]

Getting terrible slowdown in local multiplayer in this, very disappointing.

[briareos_kerensky]

Aaaaand done. Well, not really,

->Open Spoiler<-

I've collected the required Cat Shines to get to the final battle and the game fast-forwards to it.

Loved the constant harrasment by Kaiju Bowser, and how the battles against him change a bit at every encounter. The game world is composed by a series of small islands, each with five Shines;

->Open Spoiler<-

two of them are always about collecting five lesser Shines and have Kaiju Bowser destroy special blocks. Some also have blue cons to collect within a time limit,

and more or less the challenge is on par with 3D world, though I doubt it will reach the difficulty of that game's last world.
I think the number of total Cat Shines reaches the magic number of 120, considering I'm at 70 and I have several world Shines and at least two full worlds to collect. Some of the world Shines require to traverse large portions of it, which is more a test of patience than skill...seriously, why does Mario designers like the "bring child to mother" task like the penguin in Mario 64.
I really liked how Plessie works both as a fast-travel between islands and how she's integrated into the game with world Shines and other secondary objectives.
A downside is that ome Shines aren't available until you reach the correct "chapter" of an island: think Mario 64, but instead of having to re-enter a painting, you need to exit the island and get close to it again to trigger a change in Shine positioning.

It's good, though I think I still prefer Odyssey's (and previous Mario's) segregated levels, it grants more variety in environments; islands in Bowser's Fury are varied, but the sea connecting them is kinda bland, Kaiju Bowser or not.

[briareos_kerensky]

So, Shine's not 120 but only 100, and this evening I've reached 90 of them. I guess I'll be done with Bowser's Fury tomorrow, or at least within the week. Battling Kaiju Bowser once you see the ending once will bring you to the final battle once again.

[briareos_kerensky]

And that's a 100 Cat Shines got, and Bowser's Fury is done.