Cap Kingdom: Odyssey's first misty kingdom
1642 words | Reading time : 8 minute(s)
LocationCap KingdomCappy
A first kingdom in black and white, drowned in fog. Cap Kingdom, Pays des Chapeaux in French, opens Super Mario Odyssey around Bonneton, the town of the Bonneters. This guide walks through the meeting with Cappy and Tiara that sets the whole adventure in motion, Top-Hat Tower and the discovery of the Capture mechanic.
Welcome to the Cap Kingdom (Pays des Chapeaux), the very first kingdom you explore in Super Mario Odyssey, the 3D adventure released on October 27, 2017 on Nintendo Switch. Monochrome and drowned in fog, this setting acts as a tutorial area before the whole world opens up to Mario.
The next kingdom, the Cascade Kingdom, opens the real playground: a prehistoric setting dominated by a giant waterfall, and a first boss in Madame Broode.
It is here, in the little town of Bonneton (Haut-de-Bourg), that the plumber meets Cappy, learns of the disappearance of Tiara and discovers the power that will change everything: the Capture.
Contents
- A first kingdom in black and white, lost in the mist
- Bonneton, the hat-shaped town of the Bonneters
- Cappy and Tiara: the meeting that launches the adventure
- Top-Hat Tower and the discovery of the Capture
- Topper, first Broodal and first boss of the game
- After Bonneton: on to the Cascade Kingdom
- Quick facts
- FAQ
A first kingdom in black and white, lost in the mist
The Cap Kingdom takes the shape of a dark island wearing a top hat, bristling with black vegetation and wrapped in a thick fog. Its almost entirely monochrome palette stands in sharp contrast with the dazzling worlds to come and sets a mood of mystery within the first few seconds.
That choice is no accident: the kingdom openly draws on Victorian-era London, with its chimneys, its hazy sky and its gothic-tale atmosphere. The nod to old English engravings shows even in the street furniture.
In terms of gameplay, this first kingdom is above all a tutorial. On the first visit, no Power Moon can be collected: the area is there to teach the controls and the basic reflexes. Compact and quickly explored, it still packs in everything you need to know for what comes next.
Bonneton, the hat-shaped town of the Bonneters
Nestled at the heart of the kingdom sits Bonneton (Haut-de-Bourg), a small town whose architecture follows the silhouette of a top hat. There you meet its inhabitants: the Bonneters (Chapiformes in French), little creatures whose head is, quite literally, a hat.
- A hat for a head that comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, perched on a slender body with big expressive eyes.
- A gift for shape-shifting: Bonneters can turn into objects or settle on other beings, exactly the way Cappy does on Mario.
- A talent for shipbuilding: they go as far as grafting sails onto their houses to turn them into airships.
It is precisely that naval know-how that will later give birth to the Odyssey, the red top-hat-shaped airship that becomes Mario's favorite way to travel from kingdom to kingdom.
Cappy and Tiara: the meeting that launches the adventure
The story opens with a fall. After losing a first clash aboard the airship of Bowser, Mario is hurled into the void, his red cap shredded by a propeller, and he crashes right in the middle of the Cap Kingdom.
There he meets Cappy, a big-hearted Bonneter who lands on his head to replace the lost cap. Cappy tells him that Bowser has kidnapped his little sister, Tiara, at the same time as Princess Peach, all for the sake of a forced wedding.
Brought together by a common enemy, Mario and Cappy seal their alliance. The little Bonneter then becomes far more than a sidekick: he turns into a throwing weapon and into the keystone of the game's entire design.
Top-Hat Tower and the discovery of the Capture
To leave the kingdom, the pair has to climb Top-Hat Tower (Chapitour), the huge hat-topped tower that looms over Bonneton and acts as the level's guiding thread. Even before the first enemy shows up, Mario learns there to throw Cappy in every direction and to use him as a springboard.
It is inside the tower that he gets his hands on Odyssey's signature mechanic: the Capture. By throwing Cappy onto a frog, he takes control of it and exploits its supercharged leaps to haul himself up to heights that would otherwise stay out of reach.
The frog makes the perfect test subject: it gently illustrates the principle that runs through the rest of the adventure, namely taking over enemies and objects to turn their powers to your advantage.
Topper, first Broodal and first boss of the game
At the very top of Top-Hat Tower stands the very first boss of Super Mario Odyssey: Topper, a rabbit dressed in green and wearing, as you would expect, a top hat.
Topper belongs to the Broodals, a troupe of rabbit wedding planners hired by Bowser to arrange his nuptials and to steal everything he needs across the kingdoms. They all answer to their matron, Madame Broode.
- Topper, in green, the first opponent, who stacks hats like so many shields.
- Hariet, in purple, recognizable by her long blonde braid and her bombs.
- Rango, in orange, specialist of the razor-sharp boomerang hat.
- Spewart, in blue, fond of a slimy, sticky substance.
The fight against Topper is a warm-up: he shields himself by stacking copies of his headgear and charges straight at Mario. You have to send his own hats back at him with Cappy before landing the final blow, an ideal way to close this tutorial.
After Bonneton: on to the Cascade Kingdom
Against all expectations, the Odyssey is not found in the Cap Kingdom. Cappy explains that a ship still in working order, derived from an older model of Bonneton's airships, is said to lie in the Cascade Kingdom (Pays des Chutes).
So Mario heads there to recover and repair the famous ship with the help of Power Moons. Only once the Odyssey is back in working order will he be able to come back to the Cap Kingdom and collect, this time, its precious Moons.
Modest in size and stripped of color, the Cap Kingdom is a founding stone all the same: it sets up the plot, introduces Cappy and teaches the Capture. A perfect curtain-raiser for one of the finest 3D Mario games.
The Cap Kingdom at a glance
| French name | Pays des Chapeaux |
| English name | Cap Kingdom |
| Game | Super Mario Odyssey (2017, Switch) |
| Main town | Bonneton (Haut-de-Bourg) |
| Inhabitants | Bonneters (Chapiformes) |
| Landmark tower | Top-Hat Tower (Chapitour) |
| First boss | Topper, one of the Broodals |
| Inspiration | Victorian London |
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FAQ
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Is the Cap Kingdom the first kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey?Yes. The Cap Kingdom is the very first kingdom you visit in the game. Monochrome and misty, it works as a tutorial area where Mario learns the basics before setting off on his adventure.
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What are the inhabitants of the Cap Kingdom called?They are the Bonneters, little creatures whose head is a hat. Renowned shipbuilders, they live in the town of Bonneton. Cappy and his sister Tiara are two of them.
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Where does Mario learn the Capture mechanic?Inside Top-Hat Tower, the kingdom's great tower. By throwing Cappy onto a frog, Mario captures it and uses its leaps to reach the heights: that is his first lesson in capturing.
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Who is the first boss of the Cap Kingdom?Topper, a rabbit dressed in green who belongs to the Broodals, the wedding planners hired by Bowser. You face him at the top of Top-Hat Tower; he stacks hats that you have to send back at him with Cappy.
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Do you find the Odyssey airship in the Cap Kingdom?No. The Odyssey is picked up in the next kingdom, the Cascade Kingdom. It is an old Bonneton airship that Mario gets running again with Power Moons.