Super Mario Supercluster | ||||
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Developer(s) | AM Studios | |||
Platform(s) | TBA | |||
Genre(s) | 3D platformer | |||
Series | Super Mario | |||
Predecessor | New Super Mario Galaxy 2D Super Mario Odyssey | |||
Release Date(s) | TBA | |||
Media Included | TBA |
Super Mario Supercluster (Japanese: スーパーマリオ
It has been suggested through interviews that Super Mario Supercluster has twofold inspiration: the AM Studios development team's nostalgia for Super Mario Galaxy; and their hype for Super Mario Odyssey, which the team does not have much insider information on.
Plot[]
Super Mario Supercluster, for reasons unknown, sees Mario and company exploring a Supercluster near the Grand Finale Galaxy (the galaxy containing the Mushroom World) with the goal to collect Power Stars. The story is the culmination of most previous Mario games, including spinoffs. Unlike the Display's launch title New Super Mario Galaxy 2D, it will not tie into any coexisting Ninkancho or AM Studios games.
Gameplay[]
Mario and the other playable characters are once again tasked with collecting Power Stars from the galaxies. All characters can Star Spin and use various jumps and other techniques to advance through and explore the game worlds.
The game takes a more open-world, collectathon approach than previous titles, with players able to explore five branching paths through the universe to meet the ultimate goal. A new feature of certain galaxies is the inclusion of towns, where players may heal, buy items, and switch characters. After a mission involving passing through a town, the player will be able to land the hub world in the town outside of a proper mission to use its services. This allows for more of an economy present, part of which hinges on different player characters not sharing health or being automatically healed after every mission.
Chain Moves[]
Chain Moves are an expanded feature of gameplay, activated by "chaining" one move into another to produce a new effect. They were added to give the gameplay better flow, and areas were scaled slightly larger than usual for a Super Mario game to accommodate them.
- Spin→Jump: Spin Jump: A twirling jump able to break brittle objects and damage enemies with greater power.
- Spin→Ground-Pound: Homing Ground-Pound: A Ground-Pound-style move that homes in on the nearest object.
- Spin→Long Jump: Double Kick: An attack used like a Long Jump, which can damage enemies until the apex of the leap.
- Crouch→Spin: Downrock Spin: A b-boy floorwork sweep best for attacking short and small enemies.
- Crouch→Dive: Roll: A balled-up forward roll across the ground, repeatable to regain momentum if not on a surface shaped to provide it.
- Ground-Pound→Jump: Spring Jump: A slightly-higher jump that gives better airtime off of bouncy surfaces.
- Ground-Pound→Backflip: Spring Flip: A high jump that helps achieve new heights off of bouncy surfaces.
- Backflip→Backflip: Double Backflip: A higher Backflip which, indeed, involves two flips.
- Dive→Ground-Pound: Angled Ground-Pound: A Ground-Pound that flies at a steep angle, rather than straight down.
- Long Jump→Long Jump: Double Long Jump: A higher Long Jump for covering even more ground when in a hurry.
Clusters[]
Instead of using Worlds for progression, Super Mario Supercluster uses a system of brand-new Clusters. Each Cluster contains eight main galaxies and a boss galaxy, and the player can choose from five Clusters from the beginning of the game. Beating the boss galaxy will award a Grand Star, and open the next Cluster in a sequence of three.
An element taken from Super Mario 3D World is that the hub world can be piloted around the Cluster Map freely, and secret items and areas can be found by doing so.
While Power Stars from other Clusters can be used to unlock any boss galaxy, Clusters all feature unique gameplay mechanics and enemies, so at least practicing within the same Cluster before entering its boss galaxy is valuable. The archetypal Question Blocks and Goombas are few and far between, instead having different analogues in each Cluster, with these parallel elements taking advantage of the playable characters' shared moves in different ways.
On the whole, the player has five sequences of Clusters to pursue, with each one having a similar progression to that of Super Mario 64. Each galaxy, boss galaxies aside, has eight Power Stars, and there are 30 secret ones to collect elsewhere in the game. Along with the Grand Stars, this totals to 1000 Power Stars to collect throughout the game.
Playable characters[]
Like Super Mario Run, Super Mario Supercluster features a range of playable characters beyond the typical Mario Bros.. Each character handles differently, and some have special moves. Following are the currently revealed members of the roster.
- Mario is the standard playable character with good stats all across the board. He has no remarkable traits, but a jack of all trades can be better than a master of one.
- Luigi specializes in airtime, with floaty high jumps and a Scuttle move to descend slowly. This talent is a toll on his soles, however, giving him a relative lack of traction.
- Toad is a fast character with a brisk running pace that makes it hard to keep up. However, his jumping skill lags behind the competition and requires him to use special jumps more often.
- Peach may not be very strong or fast, but her Floaty Jump enables her to maneuver with careful finesse. This forgiving handling makes her ideal for athletic situations.
- Wario decidedly serves as the muscle of the group. Despite his greed and bad habits, he's less lazy than he appears and can break strong objects with attacks like his punches and kicks.
- Waluigi boasts a wacky, sore persona, and a gangly build that lets him take minor hits. He has better statistics than average, but no skill with many advanced moves and jumps.
- Yoshi can lick enemies and then spit them out or turn them into Yoshi Eggs. His playstyle is completely different from the Mario Bros.' standard.
- Nabbit steals Mario's stats, and can't be hurt outside of instant-death situations. He acts as the game's assistance mode, sneakily swapping any collected Power Star for a Bronze Star.
Galaxies[]
Items[]
Dispensers[]
- Mystery Plate: A triangular pressure plate that ejects an item when depressed.
- Brick Block: A block that may or may not have anything inside. Jumping into the bottom face or Ground-Pounding the top will break it open.
- Question Block: A block sure to contain an item, at least a unit of currency, which can be ejected by jumping into the bottom face or Ground-Pounding the top. Doing so will also defeat or stun an enemy standing on top.
- Spin Gear: A gear that can be cranked by spinning next to it. Performing a Downrock Spin on top will also activate one. Spin Gears may eject items when spun, interface with adjacent Spin Gears, or cause events. The spinning of a gear will also dizzy any enemy standing on top of it.
- Stump: A peg-like tree stump. Ground-Pounding it may or may not do anything.
- Nail: Functions identically to a stump, but is guaranteed to provide at least a unit of currency.
- Stone Wheel: A large kind of cylindrical stone to Ground-Pound, usually revealing an item inside.