Super Mario Maker 2 Nintendo Switch Review

When Nintendo announced Super Mario Maker in 2014, I didn't immediately cheer. I could not imagine that many high quality levels would be made and I was not immediately waiting to play levels that were not officially designed by Nintendo itself. When the game came out a year later, I tried to do it, and I experienced that my first reaction was completely unjustified. I soon learned how creatively people use the level editor and what beautiful levels were made. Unfortunately, Nintendo has added little to the game afterwards, aside from some minor adjustments. I was a lot more enthusiastic about the announcement of Super Mario Maker 2.

To distinguish the sequel from the first part, Nintendo has thought carefully about what could and should be added. One of the new game elements is the Story Mode. As you would expect from a Mario game, the story actually means nothing at all. Undodog, who we know from 1992’s Mario Paint, presses the delete button too long in his enthusiasm and makes Peach’s castle disappear like snow in the sun. Mario and the Toads are determined to rebuild the castle, but of course that will cost them. You guessed it, our plumber on duty can do the job again and collect as many coins as possible. With these coins, earned by completing jobs for the Taskmaster, the castle can be restored to its former glory.  Completing a job, means you receive a predetermined number of coins based on the difficulty of that level.

The Story Mode has more than a hundred unique levels to offer. They’re all made by Nintendo, but are designed so that they could just as well have been levels from the community. Although the Story Mode adds little, it does offer the opportunity to be inspired with all kinds of new objects and enemies. You can use this inspiration later if you start making your own levels. Princess Peach can lie down on her pea again, while you are busy completing the remaining jobs of the Taskmaster. After you have made the princess happy by restoring her house again, special levels become available at the Taskmaster that allow you to freely buy items and clothing for your avatar.

Super Mario Maker 2 is of course mainly about the level editor which gives you the chance to put together your own Mario levels and let your creativity run free. The level creator brings even more possibilities, which in turn results in even more creative levels from the community. Nintendo has also thought of innovation in this area. It is possible to co-op levels together with a friend. Not only is creating a level twice as fast, but it is of course so nice to decide, alongside your construction partner, how you are going to shape the level. The only drawback is that you cannot do this with two separate Joy-Cons.

The biggest addition to the level creator is the arrival of a new style; namely Super Mario 3D World. You have to think carefully beforehand whether you want to make your game in one of the well-known styles or whether you will work in Super Mario 3D World. If you want to change styles in between, you lose all progress and must start over again. You can also assign certain conditions before you can complete a level. With this you can make it extra challenging to reach the flag. For example, after jumping you cannot hit the ground or that you have to defeat a certain amount of specific enemies.

If you no longer feel like building levels, you can of course always try one of the thousands of levels made by other players. With so much levels to choose of, it can of course be quite difficult to choose a level, but the Endless Challenge is also available for your enjoyment. In the Endless Challenge you play as many levels as possible of your chosen difficulty level. This continues until you run out of lives. The longer you persist, the higher you will be in the global rankings. You can also search for specific levels. Because Nintendo has added tags and a more extensive search function, you can quickly find levels that fit your style. For example, you can filter by region, game style, level theme or difficulty level.

Nintendo has also introduced the possibility of playing online with others. You can compete in Versus Mode against up to three opponents, where it's all about getting to the flag first. Tricking your opponents also plays an important role in this. This can mean the difference between a victory or a defeat. If you are not that competitive, a Co-op Mode is also playable. Instead of competing against each other, collaboration is important. Together you must ensure that you play through the level as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, not everything we know from the first Super Mario Maker has been preserved. For example, certain items are no longer available, such as the weird mushroom and the amiibo. Another big loss is opening someone else's level in the creator. You can still download the levels from other makers, but it is no longer possible to view them in the editor. But, in the end, the new additions more than make up for the old features that didn’t make it in.

Super Mario Maker 2 is - like its predecessor - a pleasure to play and intended for two types of gamers: the people who like to put their creativity into building levels and the people who want to play many unique Super Mario levels; and that makes the game so much fun. Super Mario Maker 2 has a lot to offer, besides all the new possibilities with creating levels, the multiplayer mode is also a welcome addition. Building your own stages together is of course great fun and, in my opinion, a brilliant addition. I hope that in the future we can expect some extra content in the form of DLC. For everyone who likes to play Super Mario games, this is a must have.
 

Andrew Murray, NoobFeed
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