Developer by: Nintendo EAD
Genre: 2D Platformer, Level Editor
Game System: Wii U (Digital Download or Retail)
Regions Where Available: Japan, North America, Europe, Australia
Price: $59.99
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Mario Maker is a game that lets people create their own side-scrolling platformer levels using the engines of four Mario games: The classic Super Mario Bros, the improved sequel Super Mario Bros. 3, the 16-bit Super Mario World, and the modern reboot New Super Mario Bros. U, made as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros.
The developers did their best to make it fun and easy to create levels, and they definitely did their job. The interface is full of nice touches that makes the creation process as fun as the finished product, such as a robot voice singing the name of the object you’re placing down to the tune of the level theme and Mario cowering in fear if you use the eraser near him.
Over 70 objects from the four games represented come together so that you can create a pretty much endless range of levels. You can also combine some items to make even more variety, like having a giant, winged, undead turtle riding in a flying clown car wearing a spiked block monster as a hat. Only six items are exclusive to certain games, and every object can be used between each level theme.
The level themes available are the grassy overworld, the dark underground, the lava-filled castle, the haunted house, and one taking place on a fleet of flying boats that the Koopa army has for some reason. Hey, if flying boats existed wouldn’t you want one? Each level theme can be used in any game, even the ones that didn’t have those themes originally. For the games where those level themes didn’t exist, new graphics and music have been created that really feels like they would fit right in to the original games.
One thing in this level editor that has never been in any other game before is the sound effects, which let you add sound and visual effects to play at certain points in the level, which adds even more things you can make in this game. New level assets will be unlocked the next day after you spend five minutes editing a level which is sort of annoying since the really interesting things are unlocked four days in, but you could just avoid all that by setting your Wii U time to the next day.
Is making levels not really your thing? Well that’s no problem because Nintendo added in 68 built-in courses along with a huge server that anyone can upload levels to, and to top it all off we have the 10-Mario Challenge where you go through a selection of built-in levels and the 100-Mario Challenge where you play through user created courses.
Every time you beat the 100-Mario Challenge you earn a new costume that Mario can wear when he eats a Mystery Mushroom. These costumes are based off of a wide range of Nintendo characters and items, ranging from famous faces like Mega Man and the Inklings from Splatoon to stranger choices like Dr. Lobe from Big Brain Academy and… a Mahjong tile. I didn’t make that up. You could go more obscure, Nintendo, what about some characters from Marvelous: Another Treasure Island? Don’t remember that game? Exactly. Although I’ll have to give them credit that they finally put the previously spinoff exclusive character Waluigi into a main series Mario game for the first time! Now we just need to get him into New Super Mario Bros. NX, and he can finally get the recognition he arguably deserves.
Are you bored of creating and making levels? Well this game even has a remedy for that problem! Occasionally while creating levels some flies will appear in the level editor. Tap them on the GamePad to start the Gnat Attack minigame, where you have to swat a certain number of flies before time runs out. This is a really fun break from the main game and tops off all the other references to Mario Paint in this game. As of a recent update released after I wrote this, now you can access this mode by shaking a Muncher in the course editor, along with a new harder version of it. Thanks for that, Nintendo!
All in all this game is a really great tribute to the 30 year history of the famous Super Mario Bros. franchise, and a fun game even if you ignore all of the history behind it. If you’re a fan of Super Mario Bros. or 2D platformers in general, I highly recommend this game. I give this game a 9 out of 10.
Additional Content
Almost every single amiibo currently in existence can be used to unlock a Mystery Mushroom costume of that character instantly. For those who don’t know, amiibo are figurines that use near-field communication technology to add content into your video game.
Going along with that, there is one item that isn’t in the base game, and you’ll have to buy an amiibo figure to unlock it. You’ll need the 30th Anniversary Mario amiibo to add the Big Mushroom to a level. This item can only be used in the Super Mario Bros. theme and will make Mario twice his size, letting him break previously unbreakable blocks, making the screen look like an old CRT television, and giving the enemies costumes that look more like Mario and Luigi. It’s definitely amusing to see cannons shooting out tumbling Luigi’s. I’d say buy it if you can find it at launch price and you’ll actually use it in a level, otherwise you’ll just have a cool thing to have on your desk.
Genre: 2D Platformer, Level Editor
Game System: Wii U (Digital Download or Retail)
Regions Where Available: Japan, North America, Europe, Australia
Price: $59.99
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Super Mario Maker is a game that lets people create their own side-scrolling platformer levels using the engines of four Mario games: The classic Super Mario Bros, the improved sequel Super Mario Bros. 3, the 16-bit Super Mario World, and the modern reboot New Super Mario Bros. U, made as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Super Mario Bros.
The developers did their best to make it fun and easy to create levels, and they definitely did their job. The interface is full of nice touches that makes the creation process as fun as the finished product, such as a robot voice singing the name of the object you’re placing down to the tune of the level theme and Mario cowering in fear if you use the eraser near him.
Over 70 objects from the four games represented come together so that you can create a pretty much endless range of levels. You can also combine some items to make even more variety, like having a giant, winged, undead turtle riding in a flying clown car wearing a spiked block monster as a hat. Only six items are exclusive to certain games, and every object can be used between each level theme.
The level themes available are the grassy overworld, the dark underground, the lava-filled castle, the haunted house, and one taking place on a fleet of flying boats that the Koopa army has for some reason. Hey, if flying boats existed wouldn’t you want one? Each level theme can be used in any game, even the ones that didn’t have those themes originally. For the games where those level themes didn’t exist, new graphics and music have been created that really feels like they would fit right in to the original games.
One thing in this level editor that has never been in any other game before is the sound effects, which let you add sound and visual effects to play at certain points in the level, which adds even more things you can make in this game. New level assets will be unlocked the next day after you spend five minutes editing a level which is sort of annoying since the really interesting things are unlocked four days in, but you could just avoid all that by setting your Wii U time to the next day.
Is making levels not really your thing? Well that’s no problem because Nintendo added in 68 built-in courses along with a huge server that anyone can upload levels to, and to top it all off we have the 10-Mario Challenge where you go through a selection of built-in levels and the 100-Mario Challenge where you play through user created courses.
Every time you beat the 100-Mario Challenge you earn a new costume that Mario can wear when he eats a Mystery Mushroom. These costumes are based off of a wide range of Nintendo characters and items, ranging from famous faces like Mega Man and the Inklings from Splatoon to stranger choices like Dr. Lobe from Big Brain Academy and… a Mahjong tile. I didn’t make that up. You could go more obscure, Nintendo, what about some characters from Marvelous: Another Treasure Island? Don’t remember that game? Exactly. Although I’ll have to give them credit that they finally put the previously spinoff exclusive character Waluigi into a main series Mario game for the first time! Now we just need to get him into New Super Mario Bros. NX, and he can finally get the recognition he arguably deserves.
Are you bored of creating and making levels? Well this game even has a remedy for that problem! Occasionally while creating levels some flies will appear in the level editor. Tap them on the GamePad to start the Gnat Attack minigame, where you have to swat a certain number of flies before time runs out. This is a really fun break from the main game and tops off all the other references to Mario Paint in this game. As of a recent update released after I wrote this, now you can access this mode by shaking a Muncher in the course editor, along with a new harder version of it. Thanks for that, Nintendo!
All in all this game is a really great tribute to the 30 year history of the famous Super Mario Bros. franchise, and a fun game even if you ignore all of the history behind it. If you’re a fan of Super Mario Bros. or 2D platformers in general, I highly recommend this game. I give this game a 9 out of 10.
Additional Content
Almost every single amiibo currently in existence can be used to unlock a Mystery Mushroom costume of that character instantly. For those who don’t know, amiibo are figurines that use near-field communication technology to add content into your video game.
Going along with that, there is one item that isn’t in the base game, and you’ll have to buy an amiibo figure to unlock it. You’ll need the 30th Anniversary Mario amiibo to add the Big Mushroom to a level. This item can only be used in the Super Mario Bros. theme and will make Mario twice his size, letting him break previously unbreakable blocks, making the screen look like an old CRT television, and giving the enemies costumes that look more like Mario and Luigi. It’s definitely amusing to see cannons shooting out tumbling Luigi’s. I’d say buy it if you can find it at launch price and you’ll actually use it in a level, otherwise you’ll just have a cool thing to have on your desk.