Super Mario Odyssey Won't Have Game Over Screens

With each new Super Mario game, Nintendo seems to focused on doing things differently than other games in the series. Super Mario Odyssey has its share of new features and mechanics, but one change that Nintendo is making breaks with a long-running aspect of the Super Mario series. Super Mario Odyssey will be dropping the game over screen, which has been present in every mainline Super Mario game for the past 30 years.

Of course, back in the NES and the Super NES days, game over screens served more of a purpose. A product of the times, game over screens were transplants from the arcade era, where they would mark the end of your run and – in the case of a lot of console games – your trip back to the title screen.

In recent Mario games, however, the game over screen has meant less and less. In fact, some games like New Super Mario Bros Wii and its Wii U sequel just keep a running tally of the number of times you've hit the game over screen, with no other real drawbacks of note. In short: it was probably time for the game over screen to go since it doesn't seem to serve any real purpose these days.

This move, which was announced via Nintendo of Japan's Twitter page, goes hand-in-hand with the way Super Mario Odyssey will handle lives. There aren't lives and 1-Ups in the traditional sense anymore, with Mario keeping a persistent collection of coins across the game and losing 10 of them each time he dies. As the tweet explains, players will be able to continue on even if Mario has less than 10 coins when he dies.

So, just like that, Super Mario Odyssey is doing away with a long-standing – if not a little outdated – feature that many games have used throughout the years. At the end of it all, though, this decision is probably for the best. Will the game over screen be missed? Head down to the comments section and give us your take!

SOURCE: Nintendo of Japan