Back at E3 2017, Nintendo revealed that its upcoming Super Mario Odyssey would be getting rid of the classic 'lives' system, instead punishing players for dying by having them lose a small amount of coins with each death. Although this is a big change from previous titles in the series where it was possible to earn a Game Over on a regular basis, director Kenta Motokura has a good reason for making the switch.

In this month's issue of Game Informer, the long-time Mario developer explained why Super Mario Odyssey would be making such a significant change to the classic gameplay formula:

"We thought about how a lives system would work in this kind of broad, exploration-focused game. In this sort of game, there would be a lot of different restart points. We decided not to use the lives system because it was not an element that was absolutely necessary"

Motokura goes on to say that the development team thought that a lives system might affect several players' desire to keep playing, as less experienced gamers might see the Game Over screen appear fairly frequently. Users are still punished for dying in a small way, however, as a loss of 10 coins per death will mean that players won't be able to purchase as many items in-game.

This financial loss might not seem as important as a 1-UP mushroom always did, but coins do allow Mario to switch up his signature style for a range of new or classic outfits. Coins can also be used to buy Life-Up Hearts and Power Moons at the new Crazy Cap stores, so there's added incentive to keep your wallet secure.

In other recent Super Mario Odyssey news, Nintendo's preview video for the upcoming game showed off the Seaside Kingdom where the heavily-discussed swimsuit costume can be unlocked. Aside from looking absolutely beautiful, the beach holds unique quests for everyone's favorite ex-plumber as well as a mysterious boss battle.

An additional currency present in the game, Power Moons will often be offered up as a reward to players with a keen eye or the ability to finish quests. This second form of collectable will allow gamers to visit new areas of Odyssey, and special Grand Moons will count as three of the useful items.

Super Mario Odyssey releases on October 27 for the Nintendo Switch.

Source: Game Informer