Super Mario Maker was quite the revelation. Both a game design tool and endless series of platforming challenges rolled into one package, it housed infinite opportunities for one to craft, tinker, explore, and conquer. Unfortunately, it was released for a "failed" platform, the Wii U, and is fast approaching a state of irrelevance. Enter Super Mario Maker 2, released four years later for the Nintendo Switch. This is no mere port of the Wii U game -- in fact, it serves as both a sequel as well as a suitable replacement. By the time anyone is likely to read this review the original Super Mario Maker will have been stripped of its online capabilities, thus making part two the only viable option.
Like its predecessor, Super Mario Maker 2 features a title screen presenting two discrete options: Make and Play.
MakeMario Maker 2 showcases the return of a successful method for stage creation and configuration: each stage (or "course" to use the series terminology) begins as a blank grid whereupon the player can place elements including terrain, enemies, blocks, items, warp pipes, exits, and more. Such elements can be dragged, dropped, duplicated, and deleted accordingly. This time, there's no tedious mandatory tutorial or doling out of options. Instead, the player is thrust headlong into things, with what is arguably an overwhelming set of options presented from the get-go. But yes, there is still a tutorial available for anyone who needs it, presented by a very helpful young woman... and a pigeon.
In regards to what can be done -- a lot, quite a lot, and listing everything is surely beyond the scope of this review. Essentially anything that was possible in the original Mario Maker is possible here as well, along with much, much more. The overall "style" of a course can adhere to several classic themes including Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. Yes, Super Mario Bros. 2 (both variants) has been neglected yet again and rightfully so: the inclusion of a Lost Levels theme would be redundant as it was mostly comprised of the same elements that made up the original Mario. Meanwhile, Doki Doki Panic featured design predicated on too much "weird" stuff: nontraditional nonlinear stages and lots of alternating scrolling. In any event, specific elements are sometimes tied to specific themes. For instance, our pal Yoshi can only exist in the world of 16-bit (any beyond). If Yoshi is placed into a stage that's build on the Super Mario World theme, and then the theme is swapped to Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Bros. 3, Yoshi will instead transform into a Goomba wearing a shoe (I mean.... obviously). This "rule" is far from consistent however, as there are scores of anachronisms. Wanna make an 8-bit Mario stage featuring Twomps, Dry Bones, Bowser's children, and an airship setting? Go right ahead!
A special mention is needed for the fifth and final theme, that of Super Mario 3D World. This is a standalone theme, which means that its elements are nontransferable. In other words, if one creates a course based on the Mario World theme it can't simply be given a face lift and "switched" to 3D World with its elements intact; attempting to do so will scrap the level. The same is true for the "opposite" maneuver. This may seem disappointing but it's wholly necessary as 3D World boasts its own series of unique physics, environments, and accompanying items (like the Cat Mario power-up). Experimentation with the 3D World style is certainly encouraged, as it's one of the most interesting areas to explore and is ripe for designs that literally weren't available on the Wii U.
Speaking of "new stuff" -- there's tons! Virtually everything that felt "missing" from the Wii U game is here. First and foremost, one can create vertically scrolling sub-areas. These were critical to the design of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World (with their respective pipe mazes and cavernous descents) and having them available as a design element is a godsend. So too are the slopes, allowing Mario to slip and slide and crush hordes of Goombas in his wake. There are more stage backgrounds at the player's disposal, including those much-loved snow areas. Yoshi exists in multiple forms, on/off switches can trigger the presence (or absence) of blocks, swinging claws can be used to toss Mario, twisters can propel him, there are conveyor belts, seesaws, upside down p-switches..... Virtually any Mario stage imaginable can be crafted. There are some additional perks as well: "clear conditions" can be set for extra challenge, locking the exit of a stage until the player manages to traverse it without taking damage, or without jumping(!), or requiring the player first pick up a posse of lost Toads. Finally, there's the addition of a World Maker to go along with the Course Maker. World Maker is just that: a tool to craft overworlds of varying styles and shapes, each to be littered with courses and bonus games. In my review of the original Mario Maker I stated that the game's biggest "challenge" had nothing to do with stages created by others -- instead, the most difficult thing was to create a stage that is finely tuned, memorable, and begs to be replayed. Mario Maker 2 ups the ante, offering players the opportunity to create what is essentially a full-fledged Mario game consisting of eight sequential worlds. Good luck.
In terms of opportunities in regards to the level-crafting, Super Mario Maker 2 is objectively better than its predecessor. However, the interface is worse. See, the original game was perfectly suited for the Wii U with its stylus controls and dual-screen set-up. On the Switch, the interface has been modified slightly to accommodate one screen and no stylus (though one can theoretically be used) and things get a little messy. The controls are difficult to explain and moving around course elements is predicated on the use of the d-pad and/or thumbstick and/or finger pokes. It all works out just fine, eventually, but it all feels a bit cumbersome, and matters certainly aren't helped by the smaller screen size coupled with the presence of additional icons. Overall, there's more to do in Mario Maker 2, but the process is invariably longer and slower. Call it a trade off. As expected, completed stages can be saved to something called the Coursebot, played at one's leisure, and such stages can additionally be uploaded to cyberspace.
PlayMuch like the Wii U game, Super Mario Maker 2 offers one the option to play some offline courses (crafted by Nintendo) or to head online for a smorgasbord of user-generated content. Now, the offline levels in the original Mario Maker were pretty fun but decidedly gimmicky ("hey what if we made a stage that can be beaten in ten seconds and only contains giant ghosts as enemies plus.... I dunno, spikes?"). Mario Maker 2 contains something more robust, a so-called Story Mode, and it's phenomenal. The levels are excellent: they aren't designed to simply "show off" what can be done in the Make mode, but feature, well, just some extremely brilliant design. Seriously, if "Story Mode" was merely its own standalone Mario game it would likely be one of my favorites. The story itself is integrated into some humorous overworld interactions. Mario, apparently, needs to build a castle. Well, he needs to pay for it, as the Toads are the actual workers. This, of course, requires coins. Each stage completed nets a flat number of coins at the end (200, for instance), and any additional coins collected along the way are also added to the tally. Toadette collects the cash and the castle goes up in pieces. Note that not every Story Mode course actually needs to be completed: as soon as the castle is built the credits roll and the Story Mode is effectively beaten. However, players may continue (I played every stage), and even after the castle is finished Toadette still demands money so she can create some quirky 8-bit sculptures. Inexperienced players who have difficulty beating these courses can elect to have Luigi tackle them. Luigi clears stages automatically, but doesn't collect those "along the way" coins.
As far as playing online stages goes, one thing must immediately be addressed. While the first Mario Maker allowed one to simply, ya know, "go online", the sequel requires a subscription to a service. This service is Nintendo Switch Online and, yes, it costs money. There are a great many perks to Nintendo Switch Online well beyond Mario Maker 2, and a great many players were likely signed up well before playing the game in question, but this will prove to be an issue for young kids or anyone who figured they wouldn't have to pony up cash beyond that initial game purchase. As of this writing, courses are being added by the minute, and are sorted in various columns: Hot, Popular, New. Players who upload can "tag" their courses based on specific attributes, which is extraordinarily useful, as is the ability to perform a detailed search. Completing a course allows one to rate it (and yes there's a negative rating though it's not viewable to all), and best times and clear rates are recorded. Courses can be downloaded but not edited, so stages cannot be "stolen" and then tweaked and reuploaded. Those who indulged in the World Maker can indeed upload their entire worlds, and there are additionally some competitive speedrun challenges, and more.
As expected, the quality of uploaded courses varies drastically and one will typically have to dig to find users that consistently upload the good stuff. During the Wii U era many players were fond of uploading "troll levels" -- nigh impossible stages predicated on performing a massive sequence of perfectly-times jumps. Nowadays, the hot trend seems to be that of (I dunno what else to call them) "casino levels" -- large bombastic flashy environments full of coins, power-ups, automated movement, crazy imagery and audio, and no semblance of challenge whatsoever. Composed of a unending sequence of courses good, bad, and downright unexpected, the Course World is always there to kill an hour or two.
To recap, Super Mario Maker 2 is certainly more elaborate than its immediate predecessor, with so many additional opportunities to craft and experience. Most will consider this the better of the two games, through the clumsy interface and hit to the wallet need to be considered. All told, Mario Maker 2 is an absolute blast, whether one chooses to painstakingly render a fully-realized game world, or to play with others located halfway across the globe. Just make sure you catch this installment before it too becomes replaced.
