If there was one game designed with the Wii U Gamepad in mind right from the very start and used it to its fullest potential, it was ZombiU. If there were two games that did that, it would be ZombiU and Super Mario Maker. Everything about the feel of the game and the interface screamed that this is a title that is best suited to the Wii U’s unique hardware offerings, to the point that some of us in Nintendo Life Towers were sure that it wouldn’t be making its way to the Switch in a month of Sundays.
Well thankfully, the draw of profit is strong enough that that reality never came to pass, and so despite being such a ‘Wii U-y’ game, Super Mario Maker 2 is indeed on the Switch, and it’s here to stay. The core of the experience appears to be very much the same as it was before, but is that really the case? Yes it is, deal with it.
The first thing long-time Super Mario Maker fans will notice upon booting the game is that this has clearly been built with these fans in mind; as soon as you jump into the Course Maker – which takes all of a few seconds – you’ll be pleased as punch to see that all of the themes, game styles, and objects you’d want to mess around with are right there from the very start. You’d be hard pressed to find a course that someone had created after 200 hours of play that you couldn’t recreate right from the very start.
To do that, however, you’ll need a very good eye. One of the most notable departures from the original is that while you can still download anyone’s course and play it to your heart’s content (even offline!), these are held in a separate location and cannot be edited. At first, this slightly disappointed us; an amazing level with some really unusual ideas can no longer be analysed from the editor and instead, you’ll just have to try and work out what they did or where that Hidden Block is hiding through your own wits and observations.
When we thought about this for a little bit longer though, we realised that while this may be a bit less favourable to those playing the level, it’s massively advantageous for the ol’ creator-types. A big issue with Super Mario Maker was the fact that someone could find a course, download it, change a block or two to make it ‘unique’, and then re-upload it with almost no effort at all – potentially reaping massive benefits and fake internet points that genuinely matter, while the original designer could get naff all.
Taking this even further, you no longer have any basic templates from Nintendo within Coursebot, meaning all courses you design have to be done so from scratch. There are a few pre-made courses that appear on the title screen that you can fiddle with, but getting them to appear as opposed to one of your courses seems to be pure luck. Super Mario Maker on Wii U held your hand and made you work your way up to making big courses, but Super Mario Maker 2 on Switch throws you in the deep end immediately, only offering a pop-up asking if you’d like to learn the basics when you first start. Turn down the offer and you’re on your own, bub.
Or at least you would be if not for a particularly helpful pigeon. Yes, Yamamura returns and is ready to help you learn not only the basics of course making, but also some much more intricate possibilities and even less-tangible ideals, such as making your courses better by treating the player with respect, and play-testing your creations with friends. After all, you’ve made the course, you know it inside-out and back-to-front; you’re probably the worst judge of its difficulty or fun factor.
As seasoned makers ourselves, we weren’t fazed by any of this, but we wonder if younger or less experienced players may be a little bit overwhelmed by the amount on offer to them. Yamamura does a great job easing people in, but you’re required to actually listen to him if you want to learn more, and not everyone is down for that particular flavour of party. Still, the name of the game is Super Mario Maker 2, and the name of that game is experimentation; it’s a big box of LEGO bricks with only one rule: you have to be able to get to the end. It’s bold for Nintendo to choose this option, but we think in the long run it’s for the best, certainly for veterans.
All these paragraphs in and we haven’t even talked about the new inclusions. Well, in a word they’re great. In more than one word: due to the chemistry you can create by combining different objects in interesting ways, they expand the possibilities of what a course can be far beyond the sum of their parts. One of the most obviously potent inclusions is Vertical Sub Areas, which create an entirely different way to play. You can go up. It’s madness.
This combined with the arguably less obviously exciting Scroll Stop means you can create colossal climbing courses capable of causing creators to cry out in cromulent contentedness, preventing the player from peering past the playable parameters with pillars of perennial peat moss. Courses can become so much more varied, and more importantly, they can play far more into the idea that this is an official course created by Nintendo; a quick vertical column of Ground Blocks or Hard Blocks that stretches all the way to the top of the playable space, and the camera just won’t move beyond them. As dull as it sounds, this is probably the biggest sleeper addition to the entire game, and one that we are phenomenally grateful to Nintendo for.
In terms of new objects, there don’t appear to be too many at first, but as stated previously, due to the way objects interact with each other they expand upon the scope of what’s possible to a ludicrous degree. A big one to mention is the addition of Nighttime themes, which not only change the aesthetic of a course, but also change how some things behave. These range from turning the whole screen upside down, to making Mario swim as though he’s underwater, but everything else behaves as though it’s above ground. Madness, but marvellous madness. While there’s all this new stuff thrown in, some of it is locked behind a particular new game style that has been receiving a lot of attention from fans, and not all of it positive.
The new Super Mario 3D World style isn’t lumped in with all the other styles, rather it has its own category, ‘Extra Game Styles’, which will irritate the grammatically-inclined until Nintendo decides to (hopefully) slap another style in there. This is because it isn’t compatible with the other four, and sits on its own with its own style, physics, objects, possibilities, and limitations. There are a lot of objects that are present in the other styles that aren’t here, and at first, we were pretty disappointed with this. No tracks, no Bowser Jr.; it all seemed like a sterilised theme in many ways, but then we dug deeper, and found out it’s not quite as simple as being ‘less’ of a style.
3D World style omits a lot, but it also includes a lot of really different ideas as well, such as track blocks, blinking blocks, a whole swathe of new enemy types, and Cat Mario, which makes up for everything. Whilst we can’t be sure of the decision to make this style so different, after the initial shock of not having vines at our disposal passed, we found that although you have to change your mindset and remember that certain things just won’t work in this style, it only adds things in the long run. If you want to create a track-focused course, you’ve still got four styles to choose from; nothing has been removed. As long as you’re aware of what can and can’t be done in the 3D World style, you’re good to go, and shouldn’t face any issues whatsoever.
Where you might face an issue at first however is editing in TV Mode; creating courses in this style is 100 percent more suited to a touch interface, and at first, the controls in TV Mode seem a little bit counter-intuitive and clunky. After a while though, it’ll start to click, and you’ll realise why they went the way they did with the controls. Although it’s a bit hard to wrap your head around at first, they’re tailored towards a ‘power user’ principle, and once you get them down, you can be just as quick as someone using the touchscreen. And if you really don’t like the TV Mode controls, then just undock the bloody thing and use the touch controls, OK?
But enough about making, what about playing? Course World is back, and it’s pretty much the same as it was before for the most part. There are a few very welcome quality-of-life changes, such as tags and descriptions for uploaded courses – as well as a new ‘Boo’ rating that you can apply to courses that are rubbish – but for the most part, it’s the same tune as before, and it works fine. We’ve no doubt there will still be communities sharing course codes through their own means, but for the quick dip-in-and-out type of play, it’s definitely a series of menus.
You’ll also not be limited to just playing on your own either; one of the most fanfare-appropriate inclusions this time around is multiplayer, and this really does change things up. Competitive multiplayer pits you against up to three other random people online in a race to the finish, Super Smash Bros. style, and it’s an absolute blast. In our playtime there were a few instances where courses where just simply not suitable for multiplayer play in the slightest, and made it so that players could be locked out of progressing any further, but we feel that this is why at the end of each course you’re required to supply a rating, saying if the level was good, meh, or bad from a multiplayer perspective. It’s lightning quick and although it didn’t seem to have much impact on our course pool, we’d like to assume this is because there are less than 100 courses available that people have uploaded due to the game not yet being out; the full release should be better in that regard, we hope.
You can also do co-op play as well, which isn’t competitive and instead encourages you to work together, and it doesn’t really matter who gets to the end first. It’s fun, but nowhere near as much fun as deliberately trying to sabotage someone else by footstooling them into the lava below. This can also be done offline with up to four people on the same console, and although there’s no ranking or acknowledgement that you did it, it’s fun that it’s there, and because courses can be tailored specifically to be multiplayer-focused, it’s a lot more fun than previous Mario multiplayer efforts.
Also new is the Story Mode. Yes, the original did have a series of levels to trek through, but there was little meat on the bones or context to it all, it was just ‘complete course A, proceed to course B’, and was a bit lifeless. This time however, Mario’s got an entire blooming mini overworld to explore, and rebuilding Princess Peach’s castle is the order of the day.
You’ll complete courses that show off what the game is capable of, and it’s no surprise that as these are all made by Nintendo, they’re all spectacularly well designed and immensely enjoyable. The difficulty as it progresses is staggered, and so you won’t necessarily be working towards harder and harder levels, but there’s no reason you have to play every single one of them; in fact, you can flat out ignore about a third of them and still get the castle up to completion if you want. If Super Mario Maker had never existed and they just sent this out as a full game, we doubt many people would bat much of an eyelid, which is pretty generous.
Conclusion
Put in as simple a manner as possible, this is likely to be the last 2D Mario game you’ll need. It’s Super Mario Maker but with more of everything that made the original so phenomenal. Enemies, themes, game styles, gizmos, powerups, the Story Mode having an actual story, multiplayer, the list of additional gubbins is truly massive when you take a step back. There are a few small niggles here and there, but they're overwhelmingly dwarfed by the sheer joy and unbridled freedom that exceeds the original in spades. Realistically this game poses the question as to whether this is the future for 2D Mario as a whole. For any fan of Mario who owns a Switch – heck, for any Switch owner full stop – buying this game is an absolute necessity.
Comments 202
wait no 11/10?
Pre-order canceled.
j/k
Still miss the gamepad. However I am looking forward to this. Can’t get it until I get my vouchers next month though.
I sorta miss the unlock mechanic though.
Wow, glad this was the first game I pre-ordered in years! Now I’m 100% certain I can’t wait till it arrives
It was obvious from the press this site was giving the game; but it is still nice to see a 10/10.
Really looking forward to this. They could have just released a slightly enhanced port of the Wii U game and I would have been happy but they've really gone all out with the sequel and it looks so good.
Never really doubted it. Can't wait for it to show up in the mail! Gonna play a bunch of it this weekend!
Still kinda hope they add more playable characters and themes though.
It's not an absolute necessity for me. I've already played the original game a lot on the Wii U and grew pretty tired of that, so I won't buy it yet. Maybe when there's a sale.
It almost crazy how much stuff this game has over the original. Almost there! I can feel it...!
seriously it's just 39.99 GBP in the UK ? That is equivalent to 44.6 euros and we have to pay 59.99. Again seriously ? I am comparing with Amazon Germany because that is where I ordered from
The Wii U experience was awesome, even with the relative low distribution of the Wii U. Based on the Switch sales, there will be a ton more levels created. Should be interesting (and competitive).
This will be my first Mario Maker game. 🤩
I'm not sold at all.
I keep my WiiU version, I don't need the second entry.
And to have to pay for an Online Service to get everything out of this game, IT'S OUT OF QUESTION.
I keep my money for Astral Chain.
I want to make an easy stage, just only straight road to finish line without any obstacles, enemies and gimmicks. 😆
Ambiguous review. Can't tell if you like it or not 😉
This will be my first Mario Maker - Can't wait for the thud as my pre-order drops through the letter box!
Trading in my copy of Mario Maker for 8 bucks. R.I.P. SMM 1
This does not deserve a 10. An 8 at most for the fact that I'm sure there are people like me who don't want to build the own levels or play unprofessional levels. I wish there was a real 2D Mario game more like Mario World with a full world to explore and tons of Nintendo made levels. The creation mode should be second priority. Lazy Nintendo!
I wasn't excited about this at first, but I think I've changed my mind. Probably going to pick it up in July.
So pumped for this game!! Seriously can’t wait to make a few levels with my son. But honestly just looking forward to playing other people’s creations. Couch co op baby! Friday is almost here🥳
I never pre-order games, but I did on this one. Before I read any reviews. It just looked like a 9 or 10 / 10 game. Glad I was right. I can't wait.
@harrystein You do realize it has a story mode with Nintendo made levels, including a world map?
@harrystein It's called Super Mario Maker. Why should it be marked down for being something that it is meant to be?
So is it confirmed that there are no Mystery Mushroom Costumes?
(Thank you @vitelus for saying that) So if you pay in pounds, you save 10 bucks.
@Tandy255 That was already confirmed.
Read the review. Will keep it brief as I’m likely in a small minority: not interested in this game. I love Mario as much as the next fan, especially the sidescrollers, but I have to put in a vote for a good old fashioned multi-world/land adventure. I hope this crafting focused series hasn’t supplanted the real ‘Super Mario Bros.’ series.
@Anti-Matter My preference was to make creative levels that I thought were fun, but not too difficult for most players.
@AlexOlney "can create colossal climbing courses capable of causing creators to cry out in cromulent contentedness, preventing the player from peering past the playable parameters with pillars of perennial peat moss"
M-M-MEGA ALLITERATION K-K-KOMBOOOOOO!!!
@sanderev Thanks, It was never shown, but I didn’t know it was confirmed. Not that it is a deal breaker. Just curious.
Would also have been nice to transfer your Wii U creations, but I can see why that would be difficult (and they probably want to keep it fresh and start everyone with a clean slate).
No mention of slopes. It's a pass from me.
@andywitmyer I watched videos of the story mode. It didn't look like a world map but that would be awesome. I am just so upset that Nintendo could have made a full Mario game with the awesome looking Mario 3D World levels in this game.
Welp...time to cash in one of my Nintendo Vouchers
I'm just happy I can play as Luigi and have SMW night levels now. Night Sky SMW levels are something I wanted in Mario Maker 1. I just wish I could use the original athletic theme instead of the new one they composed for night. Somehow the new compositions just don't feel right when paired with a classic art style...just my opinion though.
"The Last 2D Mario Game You'll Ever Need" until Mario Maker 3
@harrystein This is Super Mario MAKER though... that's like marking down a shoot-em-up cos you don't like shooting.
@gcunit What? There are slopes in the game. It was one of the first things shown off in its first Direct.
"...despite being such a ‘Wii U-y’ game". Who's writing this? It must be Alex right? Checks. Yep, it's Alex alright.
@alex
Thanks for the great review dude. Can you tell us if the story can be played co op as well please?
New Super Mario Bros 2 had some fantastic power ups that added a lot to the game.
Mario Maker 2... the last 2D platformer you'll ever need!
This does sound like a great time, though it is a legitimate deal breaker for me that no motion aiming controls are available.
@PCkid I wasn't sold on it until I watched Treehouse...they really did add a lot to it that makes it significantly more than the first game.
But if NSO is the dealbreaker then that's that.
@NEStalgia
NSO is a real dealbreaker for me. The Gamepad is missing too.
This is too much for me.
@vitelus RRP is £49.99, but £39.99 is the usual retail price for a £49.99 game.
"Too much construction"
Amazing cant wait till friday loved the first one
I really love NintendoLife. I'm sorry though, I really do NOT like that title.
Imagine for a moment that 2D Mario is your favorite game series. Then being told that no more games will be made for the series since a level editor for the past games exists.
If Nintendo did this for 3D Mario or Zelda, giving us no new games, just level editors, we would all be understandably upset.
I like the level editor, but there is plenty of room for innovation that a level editor cannot do.
The New Super Mario Bros. series became a pretty samey take on 2D Mario. Yet they still sold gangbusters for the first few titles. Imagine the same level of innovation and care given to a truly fresh 2D Mario, similar to Ori or Cuphead or Hollow Knight. 2D Mario would have loads of wonderful new titles for everyone to enjoy. I want a 2D Mario that expands the universe of Mario similar to what Odyssey did.
There must be something wrong with me, because I just don't get a kick out of tinkering with level editors as I used to. I absolutely loved games with built-in level/world editors as a kid (some of my Godawful childhood creations linger on somewhere in the darkest corners of the internet). Perhaps lack of spare time would be the key factor at play here.
I'm anticipating the 100 pack-in levels more than anything else, and the dripfeeding of features really sucks the fun out of creating levels. I just want to dive in instead of having to fulfill several parameters to unlock everything. Unlike some of the userbase, I don't want a contrived sense of being "rewarded" by unlocking content that I want to be able to access right away (I think "achievements" is such a stupid, stupid concept).
I would love to see the next Super Mario Bros. game to be in a hand drawn style like Wario Land: The Shake Dimension. Hell, I wouldn't mind a Switch port of that myself. Wario has been getting less and less love over the past decade with very few games. The mid-2000s was such a good time for Wario.
Colour me excited. I have no interest in creating levels, but this is still going to keep me busy for a long time.
@vitelus They give discounts to economically depressed developing nations.
I don't have a single creative bone in my body so I doubt I'd ever make my own levels. I think I'll relegate getting this game to a time when there's a lull with nothing much else jumping out at me. I have no doubt that playing the many levels created by others would be fun but I don't feel it's worth the money right this minute
@Brink I take issue with the way you refer to the NSMB series as uninspired. All of them aren't gems, but the first and last were wonderful.
going to be making mazes of doom.
Awesome, glad to see it review so well! I will definitely dabble in Story Mode, but the level creator is the main draw for me - my partner and I are going to have insane amounts of fun trying to one-up each other and create crazy difficult courses for the other to try (and repeatedly die on). 🤣
Just buy the online services and enjoy the game already. It's not expensive.
@kepsux Sorry about that. I will edit my comment.
Most talk about the NSMB games as "samey" and they'd be right. They are good games, though! The first two NSMB games were innovative takes. The last 2 were more of the same, only a bit more refined.
What 2D Mario needs is a new art style and brand new worlds to explore, a la Odyssey. The level editor is great, but no replacement for the main games.
I score this review a 10/10 for the ZombiU shout-out.
I was gonna buy this game later. But then I canceled a pre-order for another game and pre-ordered this instead. I don't normally pre-order games. But I was so late to the first Mario Maker, I didn't want to make that same mistake again. So I'll be firing this up day one. Can't wait to get into some serious level making
I'm gonna add that I think there's room for a traditional 2D Mario outside of Mario Maker
@PCkid understandable. I thought the same when the game was announced. I think story mode will be cool and adding 3d world stuff makes it worthwhile, not to mention $10 off online for a year. I am going to give it a go.
Pretty sure most reviewers went with the same 'last 2D Mario you'll ever need" slogan for the previous game. Wasn't really true though was it?
@Brink in terms of sales data, SMMaker didn’t outsell NSMBU+LU, so the numbers still favour the ‘Super Mario Bros’ series. The “New” games seem to have run their course so we are probably looking at another quasi reboot of the series with next instalment. After the first 4 SMB games the series went on hiatus, so the downside is we could get another pause after the 4 NSMB games as well. I hope not tho
No hammer bros suit, no 10/10 in my opinion
@harrystein what you need is a Super Mario 3D World game . This game is meant to be a level creator with Mario assets and whatever story mode it has is actually a bonus feature.
Can't wait to play this, damn
"A big issue with Super Mario Maker was the fact that someone could find a course, download it, change a block or two to make it ‘unique’, and then re-upload it with almost no effort at all"
Unless I'm mistaken, I'm pretty sure that SMM1 didn't let you do that. You couldn't re-upload someone else's level after downloading it, even after making changes, to drastically limit plagiarizing. You had to re-create from scratch, block by block. (I had this happen once to my most popular level. Even still, the copycat was deleted by Nintendo for obvious plagiarism after getting reported.)
"you’ll just have to try and work out what they did or where that Hidden Block is hiding through your own wits and observations"
Or, in most cases, random jumping around, with absolutely no hints existing whatsoever. I sort of get Nintendo's reason for this decision, though because of my first thought above, I'm not sure that was necessary, and it'll just encourage dev items and exits even more...
But anyway, as a whole the game looks fantastic!
I hope this isn't the last 2D Mario. I love the creativity outlet that this game provides, but I also think this presents an opportunity for Nintendo to push the 2D Mario games into a place where a user friendly level editor can't take us.
I skipped the 1st Mario Maker because it felt like too many things were missing,but now I'm really excited for SMM2,I'm getting it day one.
And there is so much potential for dlc,like extra game style(Mario bros 2 and Mario land please)power ups and missing enemies(charging chuck,pokey and the other types of hammer bros. please).
@PCkid We'll see on Friday, but so far I don't think the GamePad is an issue here. I thought it would be, but the edit mode looks intuitive with sticks, and you can still use the touch screen like the Game Pad for editing if you really want to, so I don't think there's a real loss there. But if NSO is an issue, it's going to remain an issue.
As 10/10 as 10/10 can be.
Cant wait! Finally get some use out of my paid subscription.
Aaaaaannnnd this is now on my radar, though in the "eventually" range. The amount of Switch games that I want is growing, which is both a blessing as well as a mildly negative "Crap, my wallet/backlog" scenario.
Already have my copy on hold at my local Gamestop. Let's do this!
While it's a great level editor game, the fact that you can't play the game in handheld mode (can play levels in tabletop and dock mode only) means it's a 9/10 to me. In handheld mode you can only edit levels with the tablet but you can't use the joycons while they're attached meaning if you plan to play your levels on the go you can't. Other than that the game is okay, not great just okay.
@diablo2 "Too much making, not enough CoD shooty shooty bang bang."
I’m not the type who would enjoy making levels but I could play levels made by others. I honestly would rather play a 2D game made by Nintendo. But I might try this.
Hoping my pre-order turns up early tomorrow. Really looking forward to this.
@retro_player_22 Is this a fact?
@KevTastic84 Read it for yourself
https://nintendosoup.com/super-mario-maker-2-doesnt-support-button-controls-while-building-in-handheld-mode/
The last 2D Mario Game you'll ever need..... until Super Mario Maker 3 is released.
I will get this eventually, but I am not in a huge hurry. I already have Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to get through followed by Dragon Quest when it releases (I am expecting to need that much time for XC2), and Animal Crossing when that drops. So maybe in 2022?
@retro_player_22 You can’t use button controls while building levels, it doesn’t disable button controls while playing levels.
@retro_player_22
I don't think this mean you cant play levels undocked though. Just limited to touch screen creating on the go.
If it's true that you can't edit downloaded courses, its going to have a huge impact on the Kaizo level community, making the really hard levels almost impossible to practice let alone beat.
The last 2D Mario Game you'll ever need, well that's because the last great one was on Super Nintendo. I'll be honest I wasnt a huge fan of the original as I'm not very good at making levels and it didn't have a proper story mode which this has addressed so I'll be picking this one up
AWESOME! I'm still waiting for Fire Emblem and Astral Chain, but it will come to me sooner or later... I enjoyed a lot the first one.
@Anti-Matter That’s what we call “bad level design”
@AhabSpampurse Freaking Alex
Can’t wait. Will be amazing and I know it.
I’m ready
I am going to have the Wii U gamepad next to the Switch to recreate some of my MM1 levels (and improve on them).
@Rocky2418 Yeah, you could not just reupload someone else’s course. The game knew you downloaded it and would prevent you from uploading it at any point after. To plagiarize you would have to remember where everything is placed (or take pictures) and recreate it as a “new” course.
It is a shame that such plagiarism means we cannot have nice things. It was truly rare when a user made level really impressed me, and I loved downloading them and seeing what made them tick. Can do that no longer :/
@Tandy255 Me too!
@otterskateboard This is an excellent point, but I don’t think Nintendo is particularly thinking about Kaizo levels when they developed the game. Most players aren’t going to be skilled enough to tackle them anyway. They require an almost annoying amount of patience.
I have the game downloaded already. Can I play it now, Big N?
@EasyDaRon The series is only on its second game. Unless you count Mario Paint as part of it.
Looking forward to the pre-installed game unlocking after sitting there over a month now.
Maybe it's because uploading levels isn't fully "live" yet, but you'd think with the amount of reviewers and YouTubers given early access that someone would have mentioned how the uploading works this time.
Specifically, are we going to be restricted by the same system of star votes to raise the amount we can upload? I was never able to go above 20 levels in SMM1 because I didn't receive enough stars. I've played plenty of weak levels, enough to know mine weren't bad, but I never picked up enough traction to get many votes.
I get why they don't want to give everyone unlimited uploads, and even 50-100 might lead to chaos, but never having more than 20 always felt so constricted. It's seems odd that nobody has even raised this issue out of all the videos and articles that have been racking up prior to release.
This doesn't replace traditional 2D Mario. Those games have levels that are designed to be fun to play for players of all skill levels. Most of the levels in SMM2 will likely either be troll levels, levels where the creator hides his or her lack of skill by spamming enemies to increase the difficulty, or gimmick levels that play themselves. Not worth getting unless you plan on creating levels yourself, I think.
"that some of us in Nintendo Life Towers were sure that it wouldn’t be making its way to the Switch"
ZombiU got ported to PS4 and X1. And the 2nd best game to make use of the Gamepad on Wii U, Lego City Undercover, got ported to X1 and PS4 as well. Porting SMM to Switch, a console w/ a built in touchpad, was never going to be an issue.
The only question was were we going to get SMM DX or SMM2?
Pre-ordered. Downloaded. We have 3 people who want to play it but only 1 NO account, which means 2 of us get the no in NO. Will be interesting to see how much us w/o NO can play.
FYI - We only got an individual NO account b/c Nintendo didn't bundle a Family account w/ the game. Had they, we would have too. NO for $10 was too good of a deal to pass up. If my other kid needs to buy his own NO Account for $20 that $30 is still cheaper than $35. I don't care.
@retro_player_22 that’s not what it says. It says you can’t edit levels using buttons. Whilst joy cons are attached you have to use stylus - but you can play levels in hand held...
Ugh, they removed Mario getting stolen by goombas. 4/10, preorder cancelled.
Considering we even been waiting for a new first party Switch game since Yoshi released in March, I’m more than ready to sink some time into this.
@Ralizah There are many traditional levels in MM, it's just that autolevels and sprite art get voted to the top, which is a valid complaint. The tag system in this game may help rectify the issue quite a bit, however. May i suggest looking around for communities in places like Reddit or Discord that get levels together to share for the first game?
Looks like a nice expansion to the Wii U hit. That's great and all but the last 2D Mario game I'll ever need is a true sequel and a game as good as Super Mario World is.
Preordered and have reserved Friday evening for playing this with my kiddos. They liked making random levels in SMM1 that were challenging or just plain weird, so we’re excited to see the sequel 😄
the last 2D Mario game i ever played was the one for the 3DS where you collect tons of coins this likely will be the last 2D Mario game I get
@AlexOlney - You are, without a doubt, NL's best writer. Your mad alliteration in the one part of the review was next level. It's obvious that you quite love the English language - and it makes everything you write so very enjoyable to read.
My backlog is sooooo big right now and I don't have a ton of money but MAN do I want to pick this up. Dammit, Nintendo!
@vitelus import it off amazon.co.uk?
Shoot, I was gonna preorder Pokémon Shield...
already got it preordered! 😀 and with a voucher so I saved some coin
So you don’t have to unlock course parts?!
YES!!!
IDK about you but I ‘suck’ at Mario.
Who wrote this very bad headline? A 2d Mario editor is NOT the 2d Mario game I will ever need!! I hope Nintendo never listens to this. What if Nintendo makes a 3D Mario editor will that be the last one we’ll ever need?? What about a Zelda editor?? 2D Mario is the biggest IP Nintendo has, by a lot. It would be really bad for business if they decided to only give us editors instead of new 2d Mario adventures.
@harrystein SAYS "This does not deserve a 10. An 8 at most for the fact that I'm sure there are people like me who don't want to build the own levels or play unprofessional levels. I wish there was a real 2D Mario game more like Mario World with a full world to explore and tons of Nintendo made levels. The creation mode should be second priority. Lazy Nintendo!"
ANSWER: You have got it all wrong. This is a MAKER title. To MAKE is to CREATE. Therefore, creation mode is its priority. You also accuse Nintendo of being lazy when there are more than 100 stages made by them and the rest of the game is much more advanced than its first iteration. So, lazy Nintendo, it surely is not. Lazy you, you bet.
There is a Hammer Mario power-up in 3D world, not sure why no review has mentioned it unless there is still an embargo on it.
@vitelus Until you pay $91 after taxes you cannot complain, we get the big shaft in Canada.
Didn't notice the by-line when I read the review. Saw "gubbins" in the conclusion. Knew it was Olney.
I know scores don't matter much, if at all, but it sure feels warm and fuzzy to see a "10."
This game is going to occupy the bulk of my gaming time for a long time. Cannot wait now. I just hope that I don’t miss the gamepad too much.
Choo choo
Awesome review! It was exciting to read. I'm so excited for this game that any videos or articles about it are exciting. I agree with the tagline about not needing any other 2D Mario. That's obviously why they got new super Mario Bros U Deluxe out the door months ahead of time!
This is going to be one of the best games Nintendo has ever released!!!
It's a better game on a worse console, and you have to pay extra for online. I'd only get this if it's on sale.
Review didn't answer a critical question:
Is a Nintendo subscription required to share levels? Or is it only required for online co-op?
@Cosats I'm completely lazy. That's why I don't want to make levels myself. Oh well!
So is there any reason to go back to the first game? Besides Sonic and Baby Metal?
Oh ya. This game will go down in the history books of gaming's greatest
It's a full suite level editor for Mario, the most famous, high quality platformer title on the market since the dawn of console gaming, and it comes with a full story mode of 100+ levels, co-op, the full package.
This is it right here. Games like this dont release often. So when they do, it's a historical moment.
@harrystein
"The creation mode should be second priority. Lazy Nintendo!"
Of course. How lazy of Nintendo to focus on the creation mode of a game called Super Mario Maker.
I'm sure you have also levied similar criticisms on other games.
Like how Minecraft is lazy for focusing on resource mining + creation rather than realistic + beautiful graphics.
Or like how Red Dead Redemption is lazy for focusing on the wild west rather than the modern day world.
@sanderev why say Jking? Insecurity? Feeling stupid people will not get its a joke? smh
@AlienX Not really. Aside from the costumes, possibly there are some Wii U levels you like.
You may also want to reference some levels you created.
Otherwise the Switch version will have more features and more players/creators.
The only 2D mario game i have ever played was the first so I kinda want to play all the in between first.
@Franz Dane here buddy. Never felt interested in the first one. Still dont know if I fancy this one yet.
@Jojabean44
Not a bad idea, but if you play all the games Mario Maker has styles for just before going into it, you'll see just how much from each hasn't been brought over. For the things you can't duplicate, you can see why, since they obviously require more specialized programming. Castle levels in particular often feature very large moving wall patterns and custom gizmos that wouldn't fit the drag and drop nature of SMM.
If the limit of course size is the same as SMM1, then you can't even replicate the second level in Super Mario World, it's too long to fit. Never mind the first level, it's full of diagonal semi-solid platforms and the main enemy hasn't been seen since SMW.
However, Mario Maker does tons of things none of the "proper" games did, so it's really a different beast with the same basic framework.
But being familiar with all the titles represented is a good idea.
Sorry if I missed this in the review but can you build hub worlds like super Mario world etc? So a map full of water levels moving on to a section of ice etc. Basically recreating a game like mario world where you can move round a map between levels.
@Kidfunkadelic83 I'm excited for it. I wasn't interested at first, but the more they showed it, the more fun it looked. I'm in it to play other people's levels mostly, but I'm willing to learn how to design levels myself.
@Brink Trust me, I feel the same way. I highly doubt Nintendo is done making inventive 2D Mario games though. At least I hope not.
Best level editor ever + best platformer series ever + endless amount of content = Super Mario Maker.
I've been watching pro players beating crazy (often trolly, and absolutely unforgiving) super expert levels for some time now. It has turned into one of my favourite shows. I flex my kaizo muscles as well, but some of these levels are almost soulcrushing. I finished Super Expert once (and therefore still missing 4 mystery mushroom costumes). I always get real punishers.
I will preorder it tomorrow.
I've pre-ordered it quite a while ago, the inclusion of a stylus really sweetened the deal for me. Great to see it's reviewed so well too.
I don't get why people want another 2D game. We just got NSMBUDX. You play through one of those once and you've seen it all. Mario Maker you can keep coming back to for new content endlessly. And no, Nintendo are not the only ones that can make good stages. You just need to know how to find what you want.
When's this out for Wii U? I want Gamepad use
How many levels are in the story campaign?
@Paddle1 Right! I often would unwind after work just playing 5-10 random levels. It never gets old.
"A big issue with Super Mario Maker was the fact that someone could find a course, download it, change a block or two to make it ‘unique’, and then re-upload it with almost no effort at all – potentially reaping massive benefits and fake internet points that genuinely matter, while the original designer could get naff all."
Hey guys, this is untrue. Levels are assigned an ID on upload and can't be reuploaded. This was even a problem with your own levels - if you uploaded it, you couldn't make changes and upload a V2 unless perhaps you'd made a backup save to make edits on before uploading .
"the last (x) you'll ever need" is such a bad tagline.
When anticipating Super Mario Maker 2, the only thing on my mind is Zoozittacarzay, a roller skate type of lacrosse and croquet. Why that is, I will never know, but sending a Koopa shell through a clear pipe with crazy noises going on should make more sense in creativity's sake.
@Darknyht There's a third Mario Maker game? How do you know that?
@KingMike Why is that?
@NintoRich Is this game a Switch exclusive?
@Custom1991 My uncle works at Nintendo.
I lived through the horrible 8-bit era. No desire to return to it via this game. Pass.
@westman98 No lazy Nintendo for making this game with almost guaranteeing no other real 2D Mario game, Ever!
@Dpullam yeah, I don't think they will be done. It might end up being "unoriginal" or having many familiar themes, but I bet at minimum, they come out with a new art style. Maybe they can find a way to innovate.
Judging by what I've seen, this game (as Dave Bulmer would say) deserves a place up on the shelf with the good Mario games - which is all of them except Sunshine, obviously. The 100 premade courses sound well-worth it, and the new features are sure to make a lot of fun levels. But 10/10 is a bit too generous IMO. The 3D World style is mediocre at best, the 100 Mario Challenge and unlockable Mystery Mushroom costumes (which kept me addicted to the first Mario Maker - it's a lot more fun than just playing random levels) are probably gone for good with no suitable replacement, no Weird Mario (they'll probably add him in eventually but it's still a puzzling omission), the NSMBW multiplayer mode was meh when it first came out (it's not going to get any better in 8-bit), and you can't edit/practice levels you've downloaded (essentially inviting people to make even more stupid troll levels). It's sure to be a great game for Mario Maker veterans and novices alike, but far from the definitive Super Mario Maker game (much less the definitive 2D Mario game).
@YourGoodFriendly All right GameXplain 😜
Can't wait to get repeatedly trolled with levels that immediately trap you between bumpers, which required some kind of glitch movement to escape that I never figured out. And they are also unskippable because the game won't let you skip while Mario is bouncing around. Such fun....so many 100 Mario runs killed because of those...
Where is my copy Amazon?!?!
@harrystein
Nintendo will almost certainly make another traditional 2D Mario game.
That doesnt make Mario Maker 2 any less great of a game 😊
I can’t wait! This game looks so great!
Can't wait.
Hopefully the sequel is great and Mario Maker 3 put 3D elements into the game and we can make our own Super Mario 3D World type of game.
I listened to both GameXplain (Andre)'s review and Alex's reviews back-to-back. It was cool to get different perspectives while talking about the same things. I am so excited for this!
Gotta get this game. It will be one of the best games ever.
Great time to be alive
@vitelus where I live, they usually mark up the prices you mention for 5-10 euros, just because they can. freaking sucks. can't wait to play the game tho
This better have a Battle Royale mode...
@retro_player_22 is this bait?
@harrystein You can't just say it's an 8 as it has elements you don't care for...
I'm not bothered for fan-made levels so I won't buy it, but it sounds like a great package if you are up for that.
By your logic all racing games would be a 3 or 4/10 for most people haha!
@Dellybelly 7 years ago new games were only 59.99 it just sucks. The economy f****d us. I find new games absurdly priced.
just arrived in the post boom!
Does story mode have couch co-op multiplayer?
@Dellybelly On average though cost of living vs paid wages is lower from what I gather. We get screwed many places in Canada.
@rockodoodle I like to believ they can, this is Nintendo after all.
Should I have played MM1? or will this be okay to start with
Anyone else read the short interview with the game's producer on the Switch news channel? He's pretty much already confirming plans to add more content once they see what the customer base is asking for. He doesn't consider it to be in it's "final form" yet. So, there's a factor to consider for anyone who hasn't committed yet to either physical or digital. The physical cartridges are practically guaranteed to not be the full, final game, so keep in mind if you're determined to get it that way that the full game will eventually be tied to your system memory/Switch account anyway, and not fully on the cart.
@Jimsbo I was going to say the same thing. Nintendo has been good about releasing additional content. ARMS, Splatoon, Mario Tennis, even Odyssey got a little additional content.
@Dellybelly It is just annoying that things are not priced accordingly to local economy rather than a fell swoop across a whole region.
@Jimsbo We need water volumes not restricted to level type.
@G-Boy Prepare to wait several years. Nintendo don't discount their own major games, preferring to release as player's choice way down the line. Some games, like Zelda or MK, it's even longer.
Been playing it since yesterday, and there are a few minor issues here and there (particularly with the interface and the handling of certain elements).
I'd personally give it a 9/10.... but it IS a darn excellent game nevertheless. A must-buy.
We can start speculating on what the most popular request is going to be, now that slopes are off that list.
Pokeys?
Fuzzies?
Rip Van Fish?
There are still plenty of enemies and gizmos that would work well and bring something new to the options.
On the other hand, is there anything people would hope they DON'T add because they might lead to annoying troll levels? I'm not so sure Waddlewings or bats would be a welcome addition.
Why couldn't they have included ALL the enemies, etc? Where are Chargin' Chucks? What about the Caped Koopas? There is so much missing just from Super Mario World... Its really frustrating. Come on Nintendo, get it right.
@PCkid NSO is dirt cheap. If you count stuff like Twitch Prime, or the discount with the pack.
@Custom1991 It just sounds so cliche.
Someone will always eventually make something better. Maybe in a few years Nintendo will make a MM3 to blow our minds even more. It is also a phrase that tends to be used to over-exaggerate low quality stuff. One example in games I recall is in the late '90s some TV commercial selling some bland 200-something games device (a cheap LCD game with your typical Space Invaders, Tetris, etc. knockoffs) as "the last game you ever need" and then prompting to throw some SNES game such as Super Mario Kart or Street Fighter II in the trash.
Preordered and get the limited edition pen. Can't wait.
@Nathan
I think the main reason so many SMW enemies are missing is because they'd have to put them in SMB and SMB3. Not that they didn't do that with some, but they may have chosen not to overload those games with enemies that didn't appear in them, and save some time having to create 8 bit versions of all their sprite sets.
That's why I don't mind that SM3DW is an independent style. It freed them up to just represent that game without having to match everything to the other styles.
@sanderev It's dirt cheap because that service is the crapiest ever.
Seriously, it's free on Wii U, I stay with Super Mario Maker.
PS : And I'd like to say that Mario Maker(game+artbook+Free Online) on Wii U was 34.99 at launch where I live.
Mario Maker 2 is expensiver + you don't have an artbook + you have to pay for the Online Service ? Please Nintendo GIVE ME A BREAK !
Super Mario Maker 2 is a trojan horse to "force" gamers to subscribe to the Online Service, that's simple as that.
PCKID out !
Switched to AUS, purchased. I may play it once or twice. Tears in here are tasty.
This is one of those games where it's like I didn't need to read any reviews, I pretty much expected a score of 9 or 10.
This game looks amazing! As someone whose first game was Super Mario 64 [on console], my nostalgia is with 3D Mario, so 2D Mario just doesn't hook me as much unfortunately. But the creation tools look right up my alley! I always go nuts with map maker tools.
@harrystein There's a reason the game it's called Super Mario MAKER! Creation it's the basis of the title, without it, you wouldn't get amount of infinite levels you got on the original and the amount that will be available here.
I'll either get this, Luigi's Mansion 3 or Link's Awakening for my son's birthday.
It’s really weird how this is so popular! Isn’t it just the same mechanics that you all played nearly 30 years ago except now you can control the stages? I just don’t understand how people are so devoted to playing something that has been played to death and still absolutely loving it! Maybe I’ve lost something along the way in life that I had as a kid that others have maintained as I don’t understand going by the pics and what this is how it’s so popular. But I guess you could put Mario in anything and it would sell?
"The last 2D you'll ever need"?! PFFT! Speak for yourself!
SMM2 looks good but is still far from being a great "2D Mario". It's a building game like Minecraft or Dragon quest builders. 2D marios doesn't have a corny convulted storyline and "make your level".
We are still far from a great 2D Mario. SMM2 is far from it.
Can you also create an overworld to connect your stages (like in mario bros 3 and pretty much every other after that)? Would be a nice touch.
@Jimsbo And that is the fundamental problem with the way they've constructed the game. If every game style was separate, we could have all enemies, objects, AND extras thrown in. Making a quick transition between styles is not worth sacrificing so much. If you can just set out with a style in mind, and stick to it until the level is complete, all would be well. I mean, they have SMM sketchbooks to go with the game, thus suggesting you take your time and think through your design choices. But in game, hey, suddenly prefer another style? Just make a quick transition, and voila, there it is. We could have done without the quick transitioning for superior choices/gameplay experiences.
@tameshiyaku Sadly not. Just another pathetic omission. This game is barely better than the Wii U version so far.
10/10 for what is essentially a re-release? I wonder have NL been given some money on the sly for this... It's even got the same bug that the original had lol
@JayJ This site was always gonna give it a 10, we all knew that. That's saying it's one of the greatest games of all time and can't b bettered, it's beyond reproach, it's perfect....isn't it ?
From this review its still not clear to me if the story-mode is really substantial. I suppose its still pretty short?
I guess I'll just pass on this game (unless the story-mode is substantial). I am not planning of making lots of stages (I don't have the time anyway) and I cannot even play other people's stages this time since I don't want to pay for Nintendo Online. So as cool as it looks, it has no use for me.
That said: This shouldn't replace a proper, new, Nintendo-made Mario sidescroller, with a new artsyle and new ideas. A Nintendo-made game should always be better then just some fan-creations.
@Deathwalka Play through the original Super Mario Bros. then play through the story mode in this game and then try to tell me with a straight face that it's the same game as it was 30 years ago.
@Euler so what your saying is that the last 20-30 years of what mario games have been released is not in this game?
Hmm strange going by screen shots and gameplay I could swear that it’s all the past Marios ( excluding anything on 64 or GameCube) silly me for thinking it was the same mechanics 🤦🏻♂️
Loving all the options for making - but VERY upset that you have to buy a subscription to play courses - unlike in Wii U - you could just play - this makes the game very disappointing-
You know what would make this review even more useful? Mentioning what exactly the online subscription is required for. Someone without that sub will be cut off from a huge part of the product. Seems obvious I know, it still worth mentionkng
I have a feeling that Nintendo release half of the game,I payed 60€ for game that doesn'y work online play at all!!!Is that Nintendo image to play their "great" game?!?!I think that online is about 1 or maybe in good days 2 FPS?!?!?Really..that us their best game....I feel sorry for them....My rating is 2/10...And BTW they are charging Online too....I really don't know why..they even can get Super Mario over 2 FPS....
What I am seeing from users are levels as bad as Mario Maker 1 levels. The same people making bad levels - consistently. You should be FORCED into more tutorials.
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If I was reviewing this, I'd give it a 9. 10s in my book are for games that have no flaws large enough to take away from the experience in a meaningful way. Is Super Mario Maker 2 that? No. Is it a great game that anyone who likes platformers should have? Yes! Very much yes. The level maker is fantastic and there are so many unique experiences that provide more creative highs than any NSMB game.
Some flaws that detract from the experience: Remember that tracks really are one of the most important tools in Mario Maker for making parts behave in unique ways. Even Nintendo is heavily reliant upon them in story mode. The fact that so many of the new additions in Mario Maker 2 don't work with tracks does limit the ability to use them in cool ways. Twisters, banzai bills, and skewers come to mind as parts that could work with tracks and don't.
Multiplayer. Not just the awful frame rates. The camera in even local co-op is broken. It regularly follows someone who is falling to their death and crushes people who made jumps. There's no way to predict who it will follow. Certain levels are next to impossible in multiplayer, versus or co-op. For instance, any level which requires jumping on enemies to cross gaps. That's not a problem in itself. I've made levels that can't be played with multiple players. The problem is that levels like that show up in online multiplayer. There's a tag for versus multiplayer, but it doesn't seem that the algorithm only selects levels tagged with versus multiplayer. This adds a strong element of blind luck. This can be counteracted a little bit by playing with people you know and putting up a skype call or something so you can plan, but you can't do that. I know playing with friends is coming though, so I won't beat that dead horse. The flaws with the multiplayer are the main reason I would knock a point off, and the reviewer really liked the multiplayer, so that probably explains the difference. Perhaps it is better when playing with game reviewers with 100 levels in the pool.
When creating levels, the loss of amiibo suits does make me sad. Not because of theming, but because the ability to give an extra hit and enable block breaking without making the sprite two blocks tall is useful. That's the smallest thing on this list, but it is cut content from a sequel.
The other main flaw that does detract from the experience in some way is that getting the first few plays and likes on a level often does require going outside of the game to other websites like twitter, reddit, twitch, youtube, and other gaming websites to share codes. There's not a good system for new levels to get played. Ceave Gaming has a good video on this. This doesn't bother me much, but could be a problem for a kid.
And there is the occasional janky mechanic. I'm having trouble in one level right now with keys from enemies only sometimes spawning, for instance. The sort of thing that will probably be fixed.
Don't get me wrong, an essay on why the game is good would be 10 times the length if not more. But in my opinion, there are enough noticable flaws to say that this is not a close to perfect game.
That does mean as a reviewer that I might rate a great game with no significant flaws higher than one of my favorite games that do have flaws that I say detract from the experience: I wouldn't give Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Stardew Valley, Civilization V, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Smash Ultimate, or Pikmin 1 perfect 10s. Pikmin is an 8 and the rest are 9s. Meanwhile, I'd give Super Mario World a 10 and while I could praise it all day for level design and mechanics and fun, I personally like the other games I listed better.
It's Fun but the amiibo Is gone I wish they put it back..
Knowing myself, I probably wouldn't build a single level. Should I get this anyway?
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