I am a loyal fan of both series and would buy the games happily if they got garbage reviews, because I think both franchises have earned that from me with enough stellar titles over the course of my life. Nintendo is coming to terms with a situation is hasn't had to deal with all that often in the past few decades, which is having a real shot at winning a game of the year award. On top of that, Nintendo is basically fighting itself for that award with both Odyssey and BOTW going for the title this year. I've poured more hours than I care to mention into both games and am here to make the case that it should be Mario wearing the crown and not Link. I'm going to mention now that there are some spoilers ahead, so read carefully if you haven't finished the games yet. Here are the five categories I used to evaluate the two games. There are other metrics I know, but others that I looked at (graphics and visuals) were so close that there was no clear winner in my eyes.
#1 - Easter Eggs/Nostalgia
BOTW smacks you in the face with some great Easter Eggs in the very first minutes of the game when you meet the Old Man who gives you a weapon and casts you out into the overworld without much other guidance. A solid homage to the original. The Easter Eggs are scattered throughout the map and game after that, with nice nods to the Temple of Time ruins, attacking Cucoos, appearances by some races we expected to see (Zoras and Gorons), some musical references, and some other smaller details. These are all nice and made me nod my head in approval and remember specific moments in different games, but the overall experience was more about the BOTW world, not connecting it to previous games. I can't even call some of them Easter Eggs because BOTW exists in the same world as other games like Ocarina of Time and because of that, they basically had to include some throwbacks.
Odyssey on the other hand has one of the greatest collections of Easter Eggs I've ever seen in a video game. They had a ton of history to pull from and they really didn't disappoint. From music cues pulled from the original NES game, Super Mario World and Mario 64 and the Galaxy games, to incorporating elements of original 2D games seamlessly in the 3D worlds, Odyssey is like a greatest hits album for the franchise. By the time I had gotten to my favorite throwback of the game in Peach's Castle, I knew three things. Yoshi would be waiting on the roof, the moat could be drained, and if I looked at the ceiling inside the castle, I'd get a power moon. The eggs were so well placed that by the time I hit the end of the game, I was able to anticipate what was coming up, and I wasn't disappointed in the least bit about the lack of a surprise.
Winner: Odyssey by a landslide
#2 - World Map/Environment
I'll be the first to mention that when I first fully understood the scale and scope of the map in BOTW, I was awestruck at just how much map there was to uncover. Fast traveling is easy in BOTW and very user friendly/convenient, but each time I transported to a different location, I had a mini anxiety attack at the thought of what I possibly missed out on by not walking there. The map is also varied to the point where different climates and terrains are encountered and all can be traveled to without having to see a loading screen. Amazing. My one complaint (and I'm going to nitpick here) is that there is no need to traverse much of the map. Sure, the map is littered with half buried chests and ancient ruins to explore, but for the most part I never felt that I was missing out of anything all that significant. Any weapons I found almost always paled in comparison to the top of the line gear I had picked up from playing the main story and side quests. This is in contrast to a game like Skyrim, which deals with the same size map and the same issue of not needing to go everywhere along the way, but they answered that problem with a ton of small fun and interesting side quests that felt important to complete.
Galaxy's map is a bit different and more in line with Mario 64 and the two Galaxy games. There are different worlds, with unique climates and terrains. The overall amount of land I'm guessing is comparable, if not a bit smaller than in BOTW. One advantage that Odyssey has over BOTW here is that with so many different worlds to explore, they can make each one fresh and unique, rather than worrying about trying to tie them together. This freedom allows them to offer up some unique and breathtaking worlds. What's more, they get to offer even more diverse sub-worlds with the warp pipes littered throughout the levels. The main selling point for Odyssey here is that I felt I needed to explore every corner or every level to hunt down the seemingly endless number of power moons and purple coins.
Winner: Odyssey in a close call
#3 - Music
BOTW has some of the best music in any game I've played. The designers have done a great job of blending the old and the new and tailoring the music of each region to fit nicely with the theme. The music never overtook the gameplay but complimented it nicely and set the tone for the situation Link was facing at any given time, whether it be in combat or exploration. There are over 240 individual titles totaling more than 4 hours of soundtrack. In a game that will take most players upwards of 20-30 hours to beat, having that kind of variety is key to enhancing the overall game experience. One thing I really enjoyed about the music was how it let me know when I was being tracked by an enemy and should get ready for combat. A helpful tip as I was often lost in exploration.
Odyssey is right up there with BOTW in terms of quality and quantity. Also doing a stellar job of blending the old and the new for each environment to let you know that what you are playing is a Mario game, but clearly something new. I noticed the music a lot more in this game and I have developed favorite worlds based on soundtrack alone. Something I cannot say about regions of BOTW, which is nice because you wind up spending a ton of time in each world in Odyssey. I am not sure exactly how many titles are in the complete soundtrack, but there are a few Youtube videos up there with close to 5 hours of soundtrack. Again, the variety is great to have. While the music doesn't really help you out in the same way that it does on BOTW, I find it more enjoyable to listen to and it sets the mode in a better way. I play Odyssey partially to hear the music, something I can't really say motivated me to pick up BOTW. As a nice little nod you get the ability to change the soundtrack at anytime you'd like (I only realized this after I beat the game, so I'm not sure if you can do that at any time or not).
The quality of the music in each game is at such a high level and shows how important the soundtrack is to the feel of a top level game.
Winner: Odyssey
#4 - Replay Value
BOTW differs a bit on this one from Odyssey. In Zelda, after beating the main quest you earn the ability to replay the game in Master Mode, which ramps up the difficulty substantially. Beating the game on this setting is certainly a badge of honor and encourages players to pick the game back up again. The jump in difficulty is steep however, and turns many casual gamers away and I think is there for only the hardcore gamers to enjoy as a reward. Additionally, BOTW adds replayability by including two DLCs. As of now, only Trials of the Sword is out and I know many fans are eagerly awaiting the next one (The Champion's Ballad). The first DLC added an arena style combat zone to power up the Master Sword and can be completed in three phases, each getting progressively more difficult. I firmly believe that the average casual gamer would be able to complete the first and MAYBE the second phases, but would need to log some serious hours to complete the third phase. Many lack the time and skill necessary to do that. Some new gear dropped, but nothing felt essential because I assume many like me had already beaten the game and were just in to to explore at that point (not to mention you can't use any of your gear/weapons in the Trials). Did it look cool? Yep. Did I feel rewarded by getting it? Eh. No clue what the next DLC will really look like but it promises a new dungeon and area with some more quests, which I see as just a continuation of an already great story. Nice replayability, but not great that I needed to shell out an extra $20 to get what I consider to be less than the equivalent 30% of the game.
Odyssey on the other hand contains all game content with one $60 purchase. As with BOTW, you can cruise through the game and beat it fairly quickly if that's how you choose to play. I am a completionist and need to get every collectible and discover every secret there is. Odyssey's replayability comes in the form of its close to 1000 collectable power moons. Yep that's right, close to 1000. Some are mind numbingly easy and others I still haven't gotten after a few hours of attempting. There they sit, off in the distance, mocking me as I struggle. For the record, I refuse to Google solutions to games would much rather it take me 8 hours of gameplay to figure out. The reward is so much sweeter that way. Whats even better is that many moons are only accessible AFTER taking down Bowser, accessible in three new worlds (Mushroom Kingdom, Dark Side of the Moon and Darker Side of the Moon). I look forward to picking the game back up and searching through the worlds for the missing moons and collecting thousands of coins to buy the different outfits, which takes time, but not more than it does to get all the moons. I actually have no idea what happens after I collect all the moons in the game, and I think that won't happen for some time, so this game still has some legs on it. Not sure which game I'll want to pick up first in a year or two though. All I know is that after I beat both main story lines, I had a reason and motivation to keep playing Mario and I didn't have one to keep playing BOTW (excluding the DLC)
Winner: Odyssey (Both games have some replay value built into the game, but BOTWs is too steep of a difficulty curve and asks you to replay the entire game again, while Odyssey provides new content at no additional cost. BOTW forces an extra $20 our of you for that.)
#5 - Story
BOTW has a wonderful story that you uncover piece by piece. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the story and what happened to Link and to Hyrule. I looked forward to getting every bit of information about the backstory and it was done exceptionally well by the game designers, with one exception, the flashbacks. Scattered throughout the world are flashback points you need to locate based on a set of photographs given to you, which tell the story of what went wrong in the fight against Calamity Gannon the first time around. A very nice touch, but there is no order in which you have to get them, so many gamers (myself included), uncovered that part of the story horribly out of order. I find great story lines in games to be extremely rare. I usually find myself clicking through minutes of text boxes (because I didn't purchase a graphic novel), but not with BOTW. The conversations were direct and meaningful and never seemed annoying or something I needed or wanted to rush through.
Odyssey, and basically every Mario game for that matter, sticks with the basics. The princess is kidnapped by Bowser, what else is there to explain? Odyssey tries to keep the story fresh by connecting the worlds together in a better way than in previous Mario games, by adding wedding prep to the story. Mario needs to chase down Bowser's flying airship as it hops from world to world collecting the cake and dress and food and so on. It's very cheesy, but it fits with the franchise and works with the game. It's a nice attempt and it's great for a Mario game, but to call it a story is a bit much. Mario games were never built on the story though, which is what makes the games so great. They are insanely popular without having to actually tell a story at all. Good for them. While you can say the same about the Zelda franchise, BOTW seems to break from that trend a bit more and it plays very well in their favor.
Winner - BOTW on the account of Odyssey not putting up much of a fight. They showed up, but that's about it.
Final Thoughts:
Both games are great and I cannot take away from either of them. There can only be one overall champion and while I was far more excited to start playing BOTW, I enjoyed (and still enjoy) playing Odyssey more. I have to crown Mario king and award him game of the year. I hope that the next installments are on par with these two amazing games and that Nintendo takes their time and doesn't rush to capitalize on the success of these games and produce lack luster follow-ups.
Let me know if you think I got it right in the comments!