When I look at Super Mario Odyssey, i'm always rubbed the wrong way.. It looks familiar, but not because its Mario, it's Kirby.

I think Odyssey took what Kirby would look like as a 3D platformer and repurposed it for its own use. I understand Mario has more appeal than Kirby, but I cant help but feel bad now that Kirby will never be able to have a 3D version without being considered a ripoff of Mario Odyssey.

Can you please elaborate on that? I don't see Kirby on Odyssey in any way.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the possession mechanic was Geist on the Gamecube.

Alright. So first we must imagine, "if Kirby was a 3D platformer, what would it be like?"

Well, 1) it would have hub worlds for each area.

2) Kirby would likely meet some sidekick that allows for a co-op experience (Prince Fluff, other Kirbys, Waddle Dee)

3) Kirby would eat his enemies and obtain their abilities. These abilities would help him to progress in the level, maybe even reach specific areas he could not by himself.

4) He would need to collect enough of some item to progress. (ie energy spheres in Kirby Wii)

These all correspond with Super Mario Odyssey. Yes, some of Mario and Kirbys design philosphys overlap, but Kirbys MAIN ability is the one that is being introduced in Odyssey as the new thing, Power Copy.

Which now stops Kirbys power from being able to be expanded on. It is an evolution of Kirbys power that couldve been explored in a Kirby game.

These are all Nintendo gameplay ideas so who cares. Odyessy also borrows the "2D wall" mechanic from Zelda: Link Between Worlds. So what.

Video games have had the basic idea of taking an enemy's power since Mega Man, if not earlier. But this is done in a different way than Kirby. Kirby just uses his enemy as a catalyst to transform. In a Kirby game you never feel like you're something other than Kirby (except in Squeak Squad... which actually does have this exact mechanic).

If there were a 3D Kirby game, I wouldn't imagine it working like this. In a Kirby game, I'd expect to be able to hold on to my favorite powers throughout a level, primarily using them for combat benefits, and occasionally to solve simple puzzles. Here, the main purpose of possessing enemies isn't really about battle, but about using them to get from one platform to another out of reach one. And seeing as Kirby would have some sort of flight ability, I don't think that'd be the case in a Kirby game.

i didnt realize you could steal something that is already yours.

I see the 2D wall as a more blatant steal that seems a bit out of place in the context of the game.  I hope they'll have a good explanation for it, but I'm sure it will still be fun.

I'm not sure I see it... Mario has already had hub worlds, he's had co-op sidekicks, and relied on collecting enough items to move on (stars/shines etc).

The only real similarity is the hat mechanic, which still seems different to me. Rather than consuming an enemy and gaining new powers, Mario very literally becomes that enemy. He can no longer do anything Mario could, relying entirely on whatever movements or abilities were available to the enemy he just possessed.

If anything, it sounds like your 3D Kirby platformer would largely be lifting ideas from the Mario franchise, and not the reverse.