Super Mario Maker 2 Review (Switch)

The game where you create levels for Super Mario that are so difficult you'd make Bowser proud is back with a great sequel!

I love sandbox games, or pretty much any game where I get the chance to create my very own content, so it goes without saying I was pretty thrilled when they announced the new Super Mario Maker 2. Mario has been with the gaming community since the very dawn of gaming, and I’m glad that such a symbol continues to stay vivid within the mind of the community.

Super Mario 101

Because Super Mario Maker 2 isn’t full of itself, it treats any player as if they may be new to the series, even new to the Super Mario franchise itself.  This can be best seen during the intricate tutorial phase that is catered for both veteran players as well as newbies alike. Of course, you can skip between tutorial levels if you’re a veteran and don’t want to bore yourself with details of things you already know by heart. The tutorial is an interesting mix between a live demo and a visual-novel-type discussion between two characters: Nina and Yamamura. They will teach everything you will ever need to know about how to layout a great Super Mario level, from how to lay down basic terrain pieces to how to program enemy NPC’s movement patterns.

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For those of you that have been with Mario since the very beginning, you’ll be glad to know that Super Mario Maker 2 supports level designs from 4 different visual styles, from the traditional 8-bit Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World to the more modern Super Mario Bros. U. Once you complete all of the tutorials, you can go along and play the Story mode, or start creating levels of your own in free form.

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The story

Because this Super Mario title is made to have its very own gimmick in the form of the level creator, the story is also tailored to fit the mythos. As such, Mario manages to build princess Peach a large and beautiful castle, but unfortunately, a mishap leads to the world being reset from zero (the game editor’s world reset button breaks the fourth wall and is involved). Now broke and with little time to spare before Peach finds out, Mario has to take odd jobs and complete missions with the sole purpose of gathering enough coins to build the castle from scratch. As he completes more and more missions, he will be able to unlock newer and more difficult ones, but they also offer larger rewards as well, totalling over 100 levels designed by Nintendo.

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Getting the coins is neither hard nor easy, and it mostly depends on how good you are at playing the game. For example, completing a mission will earn you a set amount of coins, but the coins you will manage to gather during the mission itself will also be added to the final sum you earn. This means that getting better faster will let you finish the castle sooner and with fewer missions to do.  Non-playable characters will also offer players extra tasks and jobs throughout the mode Of course, if you play the game purely for the fun of it, then you won’t be counting how many missions you have left and you’ll just be enjoying yourself along the way.

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Showcase your level building prowess

What good is creating a Super Mario level if you yourself know all the gimmicks and tricks you need in order to pass it easily?  Well, in Super Mario Maker 2 you can create levels and upload them for other people to test out, and you can also go ahead and download other people’s work in case you suffer from a severe loss of inspiration. You don’t have to be across the country to have fun designing levels with others though. Super Mario Maker 2 lets you and another friend share the Nintendo Switch’s two detachable controllers so that you can simultaneously design a level, which comes in handy when you want to get the job done faster. And besides, designing levels together and fooling around while you're at it sure sounds like fun!

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion