I Won as Mario of Super Mario Odyssey
I have an important announcement. I, Deidre Lynn Thompson, of the Are You Sure You Want to Start Over fame, have finished a story-based video game. IN ONE SHOT. Not one sitting. I had many meals involving sourdough bread and I went to like two parties in between. But one SHOT. Without STARTING OVER. If you’re like, yes and, then you need to catch up on your reading and think about me at night more often.
My boyfriend donated his copy of the Nintendo Switch starter classic, Super Mario Odyssey, to me, in hopes that I would enjoy the open-world figure-it-out-yourself platform. And as always, I was armed and loaded, ready to shoot him down and prove him wrong. And as always, all I did was prove him right.
He brought me this game 12 days ago. 3 of them I spent on a trip, 1 of them at a birthday party, and 1 of them at an adult egg hunt. That left me a week to spend with Mario.
And honestly, I bodied it.
It took me a second to realize I finished it. Mario and Peach were running into the hat ship and their hats started holding hands and spinning (this game is all about hats and they are alive; I didn’t fucking create it), and suddenly there were WORDS and NAMES flying upwards on the screen?! I tried to find Mario to destroy them but then I realized they were credits. I’ve never seen those before.
And as I watched the credits roll, I thought about how far I’ve come. I didn’t start over. And you know what? I haven’t started anything over this year. I’ve only moved up. I stuck with a full audition season so I could be cast in two upcoming productions (more on that later), I am continuing with my service job that I get to keep after those contracts (more on that even later), and I’m renewing my lease in the city even though I could’ve sworn I was only going to last a year here. I am leveling the fuck up and not going back.
I mean, I’m only going up from here! What else should I finish? A poem? A book? A marathon?! Finishing feels good. Wait (wait)
What the hell is this—
There’s MORE gameplay?!
There’s a whole post-game level, and I can unlock two more post-game levels if I finish this one?
WELL WHY THE HELL WOULD I DO THAT?
I’m not satisfied by finishing at all it turns out. Wait
I’m not even going to finish this blog p