Super Mario Maker

Nintendo are giving players the chance to finally create their own 2D Mario levels and share them with the world. How does it work? Well, it’s already been proven that a game based around creating your own levels could be so much fun, so of course Nintendo has gone and knocked it out of the park with this one.

The game wastes no time getting you right into making your own levels by using the very first Mario Bros level as a tutorial for the basics, and from there, you’re off with the basics to make your own designs. The interface used to make each level is nothing short of brilliant in function, as just about anything can be transformed, altered or messed with in some way. The game doesn’t forcibly hold your hand like many games do these days, instead letting you naturally discover the creativity you have in your own head naturally, and if you make a mistake or change your mind about something you’ve already done? The Undo and Reset buttons are always there, and you can even change world types or game styles with ease, and without even deleting what you’ve created, as it will transform with the design to fit.

That said, while this game is very easy to learn and get creative with, it has its limits, and they are sadly rather unwanted. The time limit cannot be removed, so forget creating long and complex level designs, as Mario might not make it to the end if you do that. There are also the vertical and horizontal limits that are imposed, and while the horizontal limit isn’t too excessive, the vertical one certainly does feel constraining, limiting you to the height of 2-3 screens. It’s a disappointing thing to have imposed, and I could certainly envision some excellent vertical projects if only such limits were removed. Then there is the system through which you unlock elements to use in your levels, which has been alleviated somewhat with a patch. You start with the basics and only one style and level (Super Mario Bros 1 and the Ground level) and unlock the rest either by turning the game on for 9 different days, or (with the patch) using all your newest elements at least once and placing a certain number of blocks or items. My complaints on this were lowered somewhat thanks to the aforementioned change in the system, but I still feel that holding things like this behind an unlock system is very unfortunate, though thankfully not nearly as frustrating as the system used by fellow level creator game, LittleBigPlanet.

So, what about the gameplay? Super Mario Maker represents 4 of Mario’s 2D adventures: Super Mario Bros 1, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros U. Each conforms strictly to their original play style (although level design is not restricted in any way by which style you choose) and thus has certain gameplay functions to consider. If you pick the original Super Mario Bros, for instance, the controls are barebones: run and jump. New Super Mario Bros U, however, has wall-jumping and the ability to grab objects such as shells. These are things to consider when making your level the best it can be. What may be an impassable wall in one style is simply an easy wall-jump away from being traversed in another.

When you are actually playing these levels however, the classic Mario game design needs no introduction or explanation to even the youngest of players. The game allows you to either pick each level from different lists hosted online, or take the 100 Mario Challenge, where you may pick a difficulty and try to best a string of levels without losing 100 lives. Along the way, you’ll be able to comment on each level, and place a star on your favourites. For those fearing of several unbeatable levels floating around, never fear; the game will not allow a level to be uploaded unless the author themselves can beat it. So no covering the flagpole with bricks; there must be a way through, even if hundreds of koopas, goombas, and the fearsome Bowser himself stand in your way.

So Super Mario Maker is just about everything you could want out of a level creator for the Italian plumber. The design is sleek, the gameplay is sublime as ever, and very little exists to stymie your creativity. Just… don’t go sending any job applications to Nintendo on the back of what you make with this. I’m pretty sure they’ve got it covered.