Have you ever come across that one Mario level that made you rage so hard you almost smashed your controller? You had to go back to easier levels and spam for lives just to beat it. Fun times, right? Well have you ever wanted to make that rage inducing level and have hundreds to thousands of people play it till they pull their hair out? Well Super Mario Maker finally gives you that opportunity.
Okay so it's not as evil as all that, in fact Super Mario Maker can best be described as a celebration of everything Mario games have been through over the past three decades. The introduction to the game alone is enough to make your inner child smile as you start out on an unfinished level that you must complete. This gives players a brief introduction into the mechanics of making their very own Mario levels. From the basic stuff like placing down blocks to stacking enemies one on top of the other making a towering being meant for blocking anyone to come in its path. Players can also change which generation of Mario their levels will reflect from the golden days of pixelated Goomba to our modern day wall hoping hero. The pure addiction that goes into making levels is something that I did not expect however and as many people already know time simply flies when you're play video games but I've found a whole day could go by making a Mario level if you're not careful.
Perhaps the reason behind this is the sheer simplicity of making each and every level no matter what generation creators happen to prefer. The game map is laid out in a grid fashion so everything will snap into place when items are dragged onto the screen. A basic level can be constructed in no time and it is something that even younger kids would be able to pick up quite easily. While the more challenging levels and tricks that people have discovered and exploited will obviously take much longer to create, it is done with such ease that you will leave your maps with little stress and feelings of accomplishment. It's almost therapeutic, like a build session of Minecraft, and the more you do the more features you will unlock from the Mario universe.
Super Mario Maker isn't just limited to the level design formula that we've all seen before however and it allows for a much more personal touch. There is an extreme freedom to create anything and everything you can possibly think of no matter how simple it may seem to everyone else. There are levels devoted to things like rube goldberg devices that propel players in every which direction without you even needing to move, there are levels with hidden birthday messages and even levels for proposals. Add to this the tiny touches that can be made to a level such as individual sounds and costumes and you will find that no two things are alike when you set out to see what others have made. It's all worth mentioning simply because it not only shows the games potential but also just how much these games have brought people together over the years.
Once you've completed a level and proven that it can be beaten, by making it all the way through it yourself, you can upload it in seconds to Nintendo's network for others to try and vice versa. Levels are presented through various categories like "new levels" or "popular levels" so you can try out up and coming designers and see just what everyone else in the world is making. It's truly amazing when you see it as well, some levels are simple and pay homage to classic Mario and others are mindbogglingly difficult to complete. This is where the aforementioned rage comes from, but it still an incredible collection and coming together of designers. It is a bit difficult though to directly find levels that are made by your friends since there is no direct search function for people you have on your friends list, but if you simply ask for the code to their level it can be found with relatively quick.
If you're having trouble sifting through all the levels and can quite determine where you want to start then look no further than the 100 Mario challenge. It wouldn't be a true Mario game if Princess Peach weren't captured and taken prisoner by Bowser or one his evil spawn and that's exactly what this mode does. Players are given 100 lives to traverse a number of user created levels at random difficulties in order to once again save your Princess from certain danger. It's a great way to get a feel for the massive community and levels out there without having to pick them out one by one. If a level ends up being too difficult then a quick switch out can also be made for another randomly picked level and then it's back to business.
Super Mario Maker serves as an excellent reminder of the games many wonderful moments throughout the years. It's simple, sweet and doesn't bog players down with an overabundance of rules or restrictions when it comes to creating, you have a blank canvas and you can do with it what you will. When I also start to think about all the features and items that could potentially be added on top of everything that is already present it leaves me with the feeling that the game is not only a fantastic created piece on it's own but it has the ability to get even better. But, for the moment there are many more castles left to explore and it would seem that Princess Peach can never be saved for long, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Good:
- Quick to pick up controls
- Unlimited creative potential
- 100 Mario challenge allows to quickly try out a multitude of online levels
Bad:
- No quick interface to try friends levels
Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10
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