Super Mario Maker 2 marks the return of one of Nintendo’s newest franchises. The first iteration, which sold well on both Nintendo Wii U and 3DS systems, was loved by fans worldwide. Thousands of people invested tons of hours, trying to create the most fun or most challenging Super Mario course out there. This sequel takes that same formula but after playing this on Nintendo Switch for over an hour, it seems like it will improve on a lot too!
The story
The first mode I played during my guided hands-on session was the brand-new story mode. This is the mode I looked forward to the most. I really enjoyed playing the first Super Mario Maker but it lacked some singleplayer content, in my opinion. It’s good to see that the developers tried to solve this in the sequel. Now, the story isn’t anything mindblowing, just like in other Super Mario games, it’s kept rather light. In Super Mario Maker 2, you’ll need to assist a couple of Toads in their quest to rebuild Peach’s Castle, which has mysteriously been wiped from the world. Now, in order to rebuild the Castle, you’ll need to collect some coins, coins you can earn by clearing certain levels.
At its core, this story mode feels like a compilation of different Super Mario Maker courses that you need to clear. I haven’t played a lot of the story just yet but I did like the variation it already offered. I only played a couple of levels but all of those introduced a new element, ranging from on/off switches to the newly added Super Mario 3D World style. Thanks to this, you’ll get to know all the elements you can use when you try to create your own course later on. Calling it one lengthy tutorial would detract from the creativity of the levels. It all begins pretty easy but the more you advance, the more difficult it all gets. Clearing the harder levels will also give you some extra coins. That way, you’ll eventually gather enough coins to rebuild certain elements of the castle to its former glory, all with the help of Chief Toadette, Taskmaster Toad, and the Builder Toads. Again, I haven’t seen a lot of the story just yet but I can’t wait to see what kind of crazy levels the developers created for this new mode.
Make your own level
Playing some new Super Mario levels is fun, especially when they are coated in an extra layer of Super Mario Maker creativity, but nothing beats the freedom of creating your own level. This is, of course, the biggest selling point of the title and the options are near endless. Since my hands-on session was strictly timed, I couldn’t really take the course creator for a lengthy spin. Instead, I tried some of the new elements to see how well they were implemented. It might be interesting to know that I made the level using the handheld mode of the Nintendo Switch. This in combination with the precise touchscreen works like a charm. With just a flick of my finger, I was creating a new Super Mario level, which I could instantly play to see if the jumps were possible or not.
The creation of your level follows the same routine as in the first Super Mario Maker but there are some important changes. One of the biggest changes is the addition of slopes. Fans have been asking for those since the launch of the first one so it’s really good to see the team listened and implemented those in the sequel. Slopes are a big part of that typical Super Mario gameplay and now you can go crazy with them. That’s not the only new element, there are plenty of new additions, including on/off switches, day/night mechanics and more. There’s simply too much to talk about at this point, we’ll discuss all of the big changes in the review eventually but from what I’ve played until now, I did notice some other crucial innovations.
One of my favorite new additions is the conditions to clear the level, you can set those to your liking. This means that hanging on the flagpole at the end of the level doesn’t necessarily mean you won. You can, for example, set a number of coins that need to be collected before you can win and more. This new option opens up tons of new ways of playing and you could already see the impact on the created courses. This is, in my opinion, one of the biggest and most fun new additions.
The second biggest innovation is the Super Mario 3D World style. This elevates the Super Mario Maker expierence to new heights, including a lot of new enemies and items. Thanks to the 3D World style, Mario can transform into Cat Mario, climb walls, defeat new enemies, and more. This addition isn’t just an easy addition since it’s really a new style on its own. This means you can switch styles if you create a 3D World level, simply because you’re using elements that weren’t available in the other styles. Also add new styles, new objects, and a better-stylished object picker to the mix and you know that Super Mario Maker 2 is on the right track to become the most complete Super Mario Maker to date.
Pick your course
If you’re not that creative but you would like to play new Super Mario levels, Super Mario Maker 2 seems to be the perfect game too. The last thing I played was the Course World mode, where I could pick some of the courses others created. Of course, at this point in time, the created levels were still very limited so it was easy to pick the one I liked the most. As the first Super Mario Maker proved, things can get a bit too hectic with thousands of people uploading their levels, so how can you find a level you like?
Well, this sequel comes with an extremely handy search option. You can literally pick switch all important criteria like singleplayer/multiplayer, themes, Super Mario style, difficulty, popularity, and more, to filter the levels just the way you like it. This option is a tremendous leap forward compared to the first Super Mario Maker. I’m sure everybody will love this and thanks to the geniusly executed tag mechanic, you’ll never lose track of the levels you like the most. To top it off, you can leave comments, rate course, recommend courses, give your Mii avatar some new style and even keep track of everything you’ve done this far. The team really listened to the complaints of the fans and it seems like they thought of everything this time. Also, note that some of those levels are playable in multiplayer (locally or online) and you know that the fun never stops. Judging the Course World on its content right now wouldn’t be fair but it’s safe to say that this mode has some impressively strong foundations to built on.
Conclusion:
After spending one hour with Super Mario Maker 2, I can only conclude time went by way too fast. This sequel is filled with content and improvements, easily surpassing my expectations when I first started playing. This one is shaping up to be the best possible sequel fans could have hoped for. Of course, there’s still a lot to discover but I’m sure the game still has a couple of surprises to make it even better. If this wasn’t on your wishlist already, it might be time to give it your top spot!
