8 years later, Super Mario Odyssey players are still getting awed by the discovery that you can destroy metal crates by turning into a bird and pecking them 200 times

Mario odyssey screenshot showing mario standing with sentient forks

It's been almost eight years since Super Mario Odyssey arrived for the Nintendo Switch back in 2017, and still to this day players are tearing the game apart, turning it into one of the most impressive speedrun games of all time (just behind its grandpa, Super Mario 64).

It's gotten to a point now where new discoveries about the game are few and far between, with the current speedrun record sitting at just under an hour by Tyron18. But with this level of speedrun optimization and the lack of a proper new 3D Mario game (Bowser's Fury was just too short), players are making wild discoveries.

Super Mario scholar and archivist Supper Mario Broth posted a video on Twitter showing that the beloved Mario Odyssey capture Pokio (the little bird with the beak that sticks into walls) can destroy the metal blocks found in the Bowser's Kingdom level. These boxes are intended to be destroyed by launching bombs at them, but it turns out that with enough persistence, Pokio can break them open – it only needs to peck at it 200 times in a row.

When you put that into perspective, someone just decided to use Pokio to go ham on that box, and not only that, they didn't give up until it had been pecked 200 times. This being such an odd thing to find out naturally led to some interesting reactions in the community, such as with Nintendo YouTuber Akfamilyhome, who Tweeted, "Nintendo, you have to announce the next 3D Mario right now. The fans are now discovering stuff like this," in response to the video.

What makes this even funnier is that it turns out this didn't end up being a brand new revelation to the Super Mario Odyssey community. In response to the original post by Supper Mario Broth, another user, DetectiveClipp, posted proof that they actually discovered this first… in December 2017… less than two months after the game released. Considering this is hardly a time-saver when it comes to Super Mario Odyssey speedruns, it's not shocking that it wasn't widely known. But it speaks to how much Odyssey had going for it that there are this many little secrets (I mean, it's probably unintended, but still).

And to be fair to the 3D Mario community, despite going almost 10 years without a proper follow-up to Odyssey, they seem pretty well adjusted. You just have to look at some of the antics Pikmin fans got up to during the wait for Pikmin 4. Then there's the Batman Arkham subreddit, which has more in common with the titular asylum than the games it's based on – for example, the second most popular (and probably least NSFW) post of all time on there is a picture of a bird mixed with a tennis ball which – from what I can tell – has nothing to do with those games.

Speaking of unintended ways to play Mario, a blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner recently set three world records in the span of four days.

Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over two years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on 12DOVE in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 speedrunners thought a trick that requires landing on a spot "the width of a red blood cell" was virtually impossible - now it's been done blindfolded
Super Mario 64 log drift
Behold, a Super Mario 64 player discovered that a 34-frame loop repeated 2.8 million times over 36 days can make a log drift through a cliff: "This has no currently known purpose"
Super Mario 64
Behold, Super Mario 64 speedrunners can do "an absurdly lengthy and precise series" of 41 button presses to make Mario stand underwater: "This has no known practical purpose"
Donkey Kong
After 44 years, Donkey Kong player discovers that the legendary kill screen isn't really the end
Super Mario 64
A week after suffering webcam tragedy, blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner casually breaks 3 world records in 4 days: "Another day in the office, another world record"
Best Mario games
The 15 best Mario games of all time
Latest in Super Mario
Mario odyssey screenshot showing mario standing with sentient forks
8 years later, Super Mario Odyssey players are still getting awed by the discovery that you can destroy metal crates by turning into a bird and pecking them 200 times
Image of the Nintendo Switch box art for Princess Peach Showtime, Ys X Nordics, Unicorn Overlord and Super Mario Jamboree on a GamesRadar pink background.
Mario Day's colossal savings on these games is enough to make me forget about the Switch 2 for now
Super Mario 64
A week after suffering webcam tragedy, blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner casually breaks 3 world records in 4 days: "Another day in the office, another world record"
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 speedrunners thought a trick that requires landing on a spot "the width of a red blood cell" was virtually impossible - now it's been done blindfolded
Super Mario 64
Behold, Super Mario 64 speedrunners can do "an absurdly lengthy and precise series" of 41 button presses to make Mario stand underwater: "This has no known practical purpose"
Super Mario 64
Blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrunner gets near world record pace, doesn't realize the run's been invalidated by a broken webcam until it's already over
Latest in News
Saints Row Review
Saber Interactive CEO says Saints Row had to die because the games were too expensive: "The days of throwing money at games other than the GTAs of the world is over"
Team Liquid clears Chrome King Gallywix
World of Warcraft's latest raid race ends in disappointment after 12 days with a final boss so lackluster the team who won was visibly confused to have beaten it
Mario odyssey screenshot showing mario standing with sentient forks
8 years later, Super Mario Odyssey players are still getting awed by the discovery that you can destroy metal crates by turning into a bird and pecking them 200 times
Wyrdsong
Skyrim and Fallout veterans' new open-world RPG is now a roguelike that's not open-world, after funding issues brought the team "down to a skeleton crew"
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor in Andor season 2
Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy says his Star Wars show is trying to be "more serious about this sh*t than anybody ever has been"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing companion Shadowheart, a young half-elf woman with long tied-back black hair
Baldur's Gate 3 animation impresses Larian Studios, prompting one dev to say "mature" animation of the RPG "would pop the f*** off"