Many of us have dreamed of the day we could dive in and make our own Mario levels. With this tool, you not only have that ability, but a great online connective area to play levels created by others. You’re able to star them, comment on them, and see the completion percentage that other gamers have survived through.
So what really makes this a big deal? Not only can you create across the original Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros., but seemingly all of the objects to do so are available across titles. So you can have airships in the original Super Mario Bros. or even Wigglers or Bowser Jr! If that doesn’t get your imagination flowing, you can switch between game themes on the fly in creation mode.
You’ll start off slow however, which as frustrating as it can be, that’s a good thing. Content, at least in the build we played, was doled out in an almost Animal Crossing sort of daily fashion. When we started the game we had a few blocks to work with, some enemies, and power ups. The game then informs you to come back in a day or two. After that it seems like content is released daily as long as you play around with your current new items for five minutes in build mode. This also goes for different backgrounds too like airships, underwater, and castles. Content is kept locked away and you’re encouraged to visit often to unlock more. Fortunately you can play other peoples creations in the meantime.
One strange thing about the game is the occasional differences from the Mario titles you’re used to. Most are very little things but they do stand out. It’s incredibly awkward to drop into an underground level for the first time and see brown above world Goombas walking your way instead of the typical blue ones you see below the surface. Also, there doesn’t seem to be those ledges that constantly rise or fall from the top of bottom of the screen. Nor pulley ledge platforms. Hopefully these will be included in future updates but it just feels strange to have them missing, or at least seemingly unless I didn’t understand how to unlock them. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it could make developing your favorite level into your own creation a problem. Even the nighttime background of Super Mario Bros. level 3-1 seemed to be missing, along with the gray Goombas of Boswer’s castle. Nor does it seem white bolted blocks in Super Mario Bros 3. make you fall behind the scenery if you duck on them for five seconds.
Again, none of these things are a deal breaker. It’s just awkward to not have them available. With Nintendo’s larger push to keep supporting titles online like Splatoon however, perhaps these items will either be addressed, or are already there and I just didn’t see them. I’d personally adore Nintendo even more if they created a Super Mario Bros. 2 USA DLC pack, but due to the complexity of working that into the engine in place, that may prove to be difficult. Even then, give us the funny rice crispy ground of the Japanese SMB 2, or the different trees that game included. Not to mention the poison mushroom.
I’m not knocking Super Mario Maker. There’s always something to be surprised by in the user created levels. Plus the costumes allow you to play as different sprites including even a Goomba! Even more so, it’s a game that has set my imagination reeling and wanting more! This is exactly what I wanted as a kid, the ability to make my own Mario levels. Being able to craft my own experiences to share with the world is an incredible experience! Even more so, the mix of user created content is great! Some levels are ridiculously challenging, and others feel as if they were left out of previous Mario titles by accident they feel so genuine. Others go completely out of their way to make new experiences like a shoot em up level I played featuring enemies flying towards Mario as he rides in a Clown Copter.
That and being able to toss Bowser into the mix anywhere you like is a fun experience! Again, back to my childhood, I spent hours trying to find a Game Genie code that would replace Goombas with the Koopa King himself! Instead I ended up with just his lower half and some flickering graphics most of the time. Now you can create the ultimate challenge and have an army of Bowser breathing waves of fire at Mario from across all of level 1-1! It’s fun to even just create levels to challenge your friends and then take turns playing each others stages in person.
A nod does go to the audio design as well. Each item has a happy digital voice that sings the objects game along to the current music. So placing a treasure trove could include a joyful “co-in” voice over with each coin you drop tuned along to the current note in the music. All objects do this and it’s quite a cute addition. The Mario Paint aesthetic that the game holds is also a nice nod for an old school gamer like myself. There’s no music creation mode, but some familiar icons make a return.
There is so much fun to be had here. Odds are you’ll spend hours staring at the builder screen and just trying to wrap your mind around new creative ideas. It feels like we haven’t seen the greatest user created content the game has to offer yet, and there was some very impressive stuff in the reviewers build of the game. Someone out there is going to create levels that will stun us all. Maybe that someone is you!
