Hey fellow speedrunners and Mario enthusiasts! Ever wondered if the official strategy guides, often seen as the "intended" way to play, hold any secrets for a lightning-fast run? I decided to dive deep, spending $14.99 to get my hands on the Prima Games official strategy guide for *Super Mario Odyssey*. My mission? To see if I could leverage its meticulously crafted advice to achieve the fastest possible time. But as any true speedrunner knows, the fastest route isn't always the one printed in black and white. What if we threw a *bootleg* guide into the mix?
In this deep dive, we'll explore the official strats, the potential pitfalls, and whether this hefty guide offers anything a seasoned runner on
speedrun.com or a Twitch stream can't uncover themselves. We're not just beating the game; we're dissecting the very nature of learning and mastering a game at its absolute fastest.
Why Even Bother with the Official Guide?
For many gamers, official guides are a relic of the past, overshadowed by online wikis and the sheer wealth of knowledge shared on platforms like
streaming platforms and
Speedrun.com leaderboards. However, as a dedicated
speedrunner, I'm always looking for an edge, no matter how obscure. The official guide promises a structured, comprehensive approach to completing *Super Mario Odyssey*. The core intention behind buying it was to see if its curated path could genuinely shave off precious seconds or if it would lead down a rabbit hole of slower, less optimized gameplay.
My personal experience with strategy guides stretches back to my early days playing on my
PC, poring over pixelated maps and tips for RPGs. The allure of a definitive path is powerful, even for someone who thrives on finding exploits. This time, the question wasn't just "how fast can it be done?", but "how fast can it be done *following this specific, officially sanctioned method*?"
Early Game Strats: Cappy Throws and Basic Movement
The guide kicks off with the basics of Mario's moveset. We're talking about the essential Cappy throws, dives, and captures. For a seasoned player, this section feels like a refresher. However, the guide details specific timings and angles for certain actions, like the crucial multi-bounce to gain height. It emphasizes the "correct" way to execute these moves, which might differ subtly from the more aggressive, riskier strats often employed by top runners.
For instance, the guide might detail a simple dive-jump combo to clear a gap. A speedrunner, however, might opt for a ground pound jump cancel or a wall jump into a dive to save milliseconds. It's these small divergences that highlight the gap between "playing the game" and "speedrunning the game." The guide’s intent is clearly to help the average player complete the game, not to break its boundaries for a
record.
The official guide emphasizes a clean execution of mechanics, which is great for consistency but often lacks the sheer optimization required for a world WR.
Kingdom-Specific Challenges and Cheese
As we move through the various kingdoms – from the vibrant Cap Kingdom to the bustling Metro Kingdom – the guide offers specific paths and solutions for each major objective and boss. It details the "intended" sequence of captures and power-ups needed to progress. This often involves straightforward combat or puzzle-solving.
In contrast, the speedrunning community has developed numerous "cheese" strategies. These are often glitches or unintended interactions that allow players to skip entire sections or defeat bosses with minimal effort. For example, the guide might suggest the full boss fight sequence for Mechawiggler in the Wooded Kingdom. A speedrunner, however, might utilize a bomb-line-up or a specific capture to trivialize the encounter, saving potentially tens of seconds. The guide's approach is methodical; the speedrunner's is exploitative.
Advanced Techniques and Potential Skips
This is where things get really interesting. While the guide does touch upon some advanced techniques like cap-canceling or dive-cancels, it rarely delves into the extreme optimizations seen in the competitive
speedrunning scene. Skips, which are sequences of glitches that bypass large portions of a level or even an entire kingdom, are generally absent from official guides.
The guide might show you how to collect moons in a specific order, a process that could take minutes. A top runner, armed with knowledge of sequence breaks and out-of-bounds exploits, might bypass half of that content entirely. The guide’s value here diminishes significantly for anyone aiming for a truly competitive time. It’s like trying to navigate a city with a tourist map versus a delivery driver’s optimized route.
The Bootleg Guide Experiment: What if?
So, what about the "bootleg" guide? In the spirit of extreme experimentation, I considered what a bootleg guide might contain. It's unlikely to be a coherent, printed document. Instead, it represents the unofficial knowledge: the rumors, the hidden strats shared on obscure forums, the cutting-edge techniques pioneered by runners pushing the limits. It's the collective intelligence of the community, constantly evolving.
This experiment highlights a key aspect of modern gaming: the decentralization of knowledge. While official guides offer a curated experience, the true cutting edge of speedrunning often lives in the collaborative, sometimes chaotic, world of online communities.
The 'bootleg' guide, in essence, is the sum of all the discovered glitches and optimizations that the official manual might overlook.
Comparing Official vs. Community Strats
Let's put the official advice side-by-side with community-driven
speedrun strategies.
* **Movement**: Official guides focus on fluid, responsive controls. Speedrunners optimize every jump, dive, and roll for maximum speed and minimal recovery time, often incorporating complex inputs like dive-cancel-jumps and ground-pound-cancels.
* **Captures**: The guide suggests capturing enemies and using their abilities as intended to solve puzzles or traverse areas. Speedrunners identify captures that can be used for advanced movement tech, like the use of certain enemies to clip through walls or reach unintended areas.
* **Route Optimization**: The guide presents a linear progression through the game's objectives. Speedrunners develop intricate route plans that often involve skipping entire sections of levels or kingdoms, relying on glitches like wall clips or out-of-bounds travel.
* **Boss Fights**: Official guides detail the patterns and weaknesses of bosses. Speedrunners find ways to manipulate boss AI, perform specific damage combos, or even skip parts of the fight entirely through precise positioning and timing.
My own journey with the official guide revealed that while it provided a solid foundation, it was the *deviations* from that path, informed by community knowledge, that truly accelerated my progress.
RNG and Predictability: The Guide's Role
One area where official guides might offer a semblance of help is in managing Random Number Generation (RNG). Some parts of *Super Mario Odyssey*, like the appearance of certain Pokios or the outcome of specific captures, can be subject to RNG. The guide might offer advice on how to maximize your chances or suggest alternative paths if RNG goes sour.
However, dedicated speedrunners have also found ways to manipulate or mitigate RNG. This can involve precise positioning, specific input timings, or even exploiting game mechanics that influence random outcomes. In many cases, community-developed strategies for dealing with RNG are far more robust and time-saving than anything an official guide could offer. For example, knowing the exact frame to throw Cappy at a specific enemy to guarantee a certain outcome is a community strat, not a guide tip.
Speedrunning Odyssey in 2024
Even years after its release, *Super Mario Odyssey* remains a popular title in the
speedrun community. The meta is constantly evolving. New glitches are discovered, strats are refined, and the boundaries of what's possible are pushed further with each passing month. You can see the latest
world record attempts and discussions on
Speedrun.com.
The official guide, published years ago, is a static snapshot. It cannot keep up with the dynamic nature of the speedrunning scene. While it might have been accurate at launch, it's now significantly outdated in terms of optimal routes and techniques. For anyone serious about achieving a top time today, relying solely on it would be a significant disadvantage.
The speedrunning community is a living entity, constantly innovating. An official guide is a historical document by comparison.
Final Thoughts and the Future of Guides
So, did the official Prima Games guide for *Super Mario Odyssey* help me speedrun the game? In a way, yes. It provided a clear, albeit slow, path and reinforced the fundamentals of Mario's moveset. It served as a baseline, a point of reference against which community strats could be measured. But did it offer the secrets to a truly elite time? Absolutely not.
For the aspiring speedrunner looking to conquer *Super Mario Odyssey*, the official guide is best viewed as a supplementary resource, perhaps for understanding the game's intended design, but never as the primary source for optimal routes or advanced techniques. The real knowledge lies within the community – on Twitch, YouTube, Discord, and dedicated speedrunning forums.
The value of official guides in the age of the internet is a complex question. They offer a polished, accessible experience for the average player. But for those of us chasing milliseconds and defying the intended design, the true "guide" is the collective passion and ingenuity of the speedrunning world.
If you're looking to improve your *Super Mario Odyssey* runs, I highly recommend diving into the resources available on
Speedrun.com and watching top streamers on Twitch. That's where the real magic happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the official Super Mario Odyssey guide useful for casual players?
Yes, the official guide is very useful for casual players who want to experience the game as intended and find all the collectibles without much difficulty. It provides clear walkthroughs and tips.
Can speedrunners learn new strats from official guides?
While unlikely to provide cutting-edge speedrun techniques, official guides can sometimes offer insights into the game's mechanics or level design that might inspire new ideas or help understand the context of certain skips.
Are there any major glitches or skips mentioned in the official Super Mario Odyssey guide?
No, official guides typically focus on the intended gameplay experience and do not include glitches, sequence breaks, or major skips commonly used in speedruns.
Where can I find the best speedrunning strategies for Super Mario Odyssey?
The best place to find current speedrunning strategies is on Speedrun.com for Super Mario Odyssey, and by watching top runners stream on platforms like Twitch.
How often do speedrunning strategies for games like Super Mario Odyssey change?
Strategies can change frequently, sometimes daily, as runners discover new glitches, optimize existing routes, or find faster ways to execute complex maneuvers.
