Collecting things in video games is usually a chore. You know the drill. You run to a corner of the map, pick up a shiny object, and a counter goes up by one. It’s busywork. But when Nintendo dropped Super Mario Odyssey, they took the concept of the "collectathon" and basically broke it on purpose.
Super Mario Odyssey power moons are everywhere. There are 880 unique ones, and if you count the shop purchases, the total number hits 999. That sounds exhausting. Honestly, on paper, it looks like a nightmare for completionists. Yet, somehow, it works. It works because Nintendo decided that the reward isn't the moon itself; it’s the fact that the game noticed you did something clever.
You jumped on a weird-looking pole? Here’s a moon. You dressed up like a clown and talked to a guy in a suit? Here’s a moon. You captured a piece of literal meat and sat in a pot of salt? Moon. It’s constant validation.
Why the sheer volume of Super Mario Odyssey power moons actually matters
Most people look at the sheer count of Super Mario Odyssey power moons and assume it’s just "filler." In Super Mario 64, there were 120 stars. In Sunshine, 120 shines. Jumping to nearly 900 feels like a massive pivot. But this change in density completely alters how you play the game.
In older titles, getting a star felt like finishing a chapter. The game would kick you out of the level, you’d save, and then you’d jump back in. It broke the flow. In Odyssey, the flow is never broken. You grab a moon, Mario does a quick little pose, and you keep running.
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This creates a "just one more" loop that is incredibly addictive. You’re on your way to a boss fight, but you see a glowing crack in the ground. You ground pound it. Moon. Then you notice a bird glowing on a distant pillar. You chase it down. Moon. Ten minutes later, you’ve forgotten about the boss entirely because you’ve found six different secrets. This is what developers often call "micro-incentives." By lowering the stakes of each individual moon, Nintendo made the act of exploration feel more rewarding than the act of completion.
It’s a design philosophy that respects the player's time while also demanding a lot of it. If you only have ten minutes to play, you can still find three or four moons. That’s a huge win for portability on the Switch.
The controversy of the "easy" moons
Some hardcore fans hate how easy some of these are. You’ll find Super Mario Odyssey power moons literally just sitting in chests or behind a thin wall. There’s one in the Sand Kingdom where you literally just walk behind a pillar. That’s it.
Is that bad game design?
Not necessarily. You have to look at the moons as a language. The easy moons teach you how to look at the world. They tell you, "Hey, the developers thought about this corner, so you should check every other corner too." They build a sense of trust between the player and the level designer.
If every moon was a grueling challenge, players would stop experimenting. They’d get frustrated. By mixing the "participation trophy" moons with the "pixel-perfect platforming" moons, the game stays accessible to a five-year-old while still offering the Dark Side of the Moon challenges for the veterans. It’s a spectrum of difficulty that most games fail to balance.
Captures: The moon delivery system
You can’t talk about these collectibles without talking about Cappy. The capture mechanic is basically the key to the entire moon economy. Instead of Mario having a static power-up like a Fire Flower, he becomes the enemy.
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- The Gushen: Shooting water to hover over lava in the Luncheon Kingdom to find those hidden alcoves.
- The Pokio: Poking your beak into the walls of Bowser’s Kingdom to climb to heights that seem out of bounds.
- The Uproot: Stretching your legs in the Wooded Kingdom to break bricks that are way too high to reach.
Every capture is a puzzle. When you realize that a Chain Chomp can be pulled back and aimed at a specific rock wall, and that wall hides a moon, it feels like you've outsmarted the game. Even though the game wanted you to do that. It’s a clever trick of psychology.
The post-game explosion
The real game starts after the credits. Most players finish the story with maybe 200 or 300 moons. That’s when the Moon Rocks impact each kingdom. These giant grey cubes explode and scatter a whole new set of Super Mario Odyssey power moons across the map.
This is where the nuance of the "Master" moons comes in. These aren't just hidden; they require mastery of Mario’s movement. We’re talking about long jumps, Cappy dives, and mid-air spins. If you’ve ever tried to get the "Vanishing Road" moons or the "Invisible Road" challenges, you know the pain.
There’s also the Toadette achievements. She stands in the Mushroom Kingdom and hands out moons for things you’ve already done. It’s basically an in-game trophy system. Jumped 10,000 times? Moon. Captured 30 different things? Moon. It feels a bit like busywork, honestly, but it provides a roadmap for players who feel lost once the main narrative ends.
Acknowledging the grind
Let’s be real for a second: some moons are annoying. The jump rope challenge in New Donk City is a notorious wall for many. Getting 100 jumps in a row feels less like Mario and more like a rhythm game gone wrong. Then there’s the volleyball challenge in the Seaside Kingdom. It’s slow. It’s tedious.
And let’s not even talk about the "Bound Bowl Grand Prix" in the Snow Kingdom if you aren't great at the physics of the Shiverian races.
These outliers are the only time the game feels like it’s padding the length. When the movement is fluid, the game is a masterpiece. When the game forces you to stop moving and engage in a clunky minigame, the "power moon" magic fades a little bit. It’s a small price to pay for the other 800+ gems, but it’s a valid criticism that many players share.
The technical side: Why "880" is a specific number
From a technical standpoint, the way the game tracks these is fascinating. Each moon has a unique ID tied to the save file. This allows the game to render the "transparent" version of a moon once you’ve collected it.
Interestingly, the game doesn't actually require you to get all of them to "finish" everything. You need 500 to unlock the ultimate challenge: The Long Journey’s End on the Darker Side of the Moon. Anything beyond that is purely for the golden sail on the Odyssey and the pride of saying you did it.
The fact that you can buy moons in the shop is a genius move for accessibility. If you are truly stuck on a platforming section, you can just grind for coins and buy your way to the next kingdom. It prevents the "progress wall" that killed many 90s era games.
What you should do next
If you’re staring at a map with 50 missing moons and feeling overwhelmed, stop looking at the map. The best way to experience the hunt is to turn off the UI and just look at the environment.
- Look for the sparkles: Anything glowing usually has a moon inside.
- Talk to the birds: Talk to Talkatoo. He gives you three names of moons per kingdom. These names are often puns that tell you exactly what to do.
- Use the amiibo: If you’re really stuck, scanning any amiibo at Uncle amiibo will mark a moon location on your map. It’s not cheating; it’s a feature.
- Master the Cappy Jump: Learn the Y -> ZR -> Hold Y combo. It’s the only way to reach the "unreachable" moons without a capture.
The brilliance of Super Mario Odyssey power moons isn't the items themselves, but how they turn the entire world into a playground. Every inch of the map has a purpose. Every weird rock might be a secret. It’s a masterclass in level design that makes every other collectathon feel a little bit empty by comparison.
Go back to the Sand Kingdom. Climb the highest tower. Look around. I bet there’s a glow in the distance you missed. Go get it.