Is Grinding to 999 Moons in Odyssey Worth It? A Fan‘s Perspective

As an avid Super Mario fan who has 100%-ed multiple Mario platformers, I totally get the urge to collect every single Power Moon in Odyssey. So does reaching that max moon counter of 999 actually get you anything special? In short – no, there is no new reward for getting 999 moons. But the journey there still holds some excitements for us die-hard collectors!

Let‘s dive into the moon milestones and their rewards across the road to 999:

As you can see, the last major milestone comes at 880 unique moons collected, which turns your ship‘s sail gold and unlocks a small cutscene at Peach‘s Castle. The only bonuses beyond that are maxing out the shop stock and seeing the triple nine moon counter.

So why even push to 999? Here‘s my perspective as a fan…

The Long Journey to 100% Completion

Reaching 999 moons in Odyssey takes a staggering 80-100 hours for most players. That‘s nearly twice as long as a 100% run of Super Mario 64! So being one of the dedicated few to hit 999 moons puts you in an elite club.

But beyond prestige, I‘ve found striving for 100% completion to be immensely fun and rewarding in itself. Here‘s why:

• It forced me to master the depth and complexity of each kingdom
• I got to slowly uncover every hidden challenge the devs tucked away
• Optimizing my moon grinding kept the gameplay feeling fresh
• Seeing the moon counter inch up is weirdly satisfying and addictive!

So would I recommend the grind to 999 moons? If you love Mario‘s tightly designed gameplay and exploring every nook and cranny of his worlds, then yes! It‘ll put your skills to the test for sure. Just don‘t go in expecting any huge new revelations or game-changing rewards.

Why Cap Moon Count at 999? Teasing the Dedicated Fans!

As a game designer myself, I‘m fascinated by the decision to cap the moon count at 999. The developers clearly knew only the most dedicated fans would even get close to that number through normal play.

Capping it there rather than a nice round number like 1000 seems to tease us completionist players, while also making the grind for 999 feel more rewarding. It demonstrates the developers‘ attention to detail and knowledge of their core fanbase.

I speculate that they may have even left room to extend the cap in future DLC expansions. But over 2 years since launch, it seems we may have seen the extent of Odyssey‘s content. What a journey it‘s been though!

Completing Odyssey Gives a True Sense of Mastery

In the end, reaching 999 moons isn‘t about getting some major new reward. As a fan who has collected every star in Mario 64 and flagpole in the New Super Mario Bros series, the journey itself gives that addicting sense of mastery and completion.

And for those not ready to sink 80+ hours into the postgame grind, Odyssey has an incredible breadth of content even just aiming for the 500-moon mark to unlock the final brutal challenge of the Darker Side.

So while 999 moons won‘t net you anything game-changing, it remains an aspirational milestone for us fans. And the journey will take you through undiscovered depths of Mario‘s most expansive sandbox ever designed. See you out there hunting for moons!