Super Mario Maker 2 Review

Genre: 2D-Platformer / Creator Game
Players: 1-4
Playtime: 40 Hours (Includes clearing 100% of the Story Mode, trying out each of the various Endless Challenge and Multiplayer course modes, and spending a good deal of time creating / uploading my own levels; See end of review for codes to try out my uploaded levels)


With the massive success that was Super Mario Maker for the Wii-U, its continuation and move to the Nintendo Switch seemed all but inevitable.  What did come as surprise to many though was such was not to be a simple port, but rather a full-fledged sequel.  The game introduces a sleuth of new mechanics, story mode missions, multiplayer and more, but are these shiny new features enough to warrant the title of sequel at the sacrifice of other components?  Let's put on our hard hats and deconstruct the positive and negative building blocks that compose this creative construction zone.

Endless Mario

The base story mode of Super Mario Maker 2 provides over 100 levels of fun and clever Mario levels in which to be enjoyed, although it is more a myriad of ideas rather than your typical overworld-traveling Mario adventure.  But for those willing to dig deeper online, you have an infinite well in which to enjoy a never-ending wealth of Mario levels.  It's like an endless offering of weird and wonky DLC to all your favorite Mario titles of past, and what's not to love of that concept?  Any means to play more Super Mario World is brilliant by my books.

More Super Mario World is always tubular.

Music / Sound Design

Another delightful aspect of Super Mario Maker is seeing new imaginings on scenarios that didn't exist in past Mario games, such as haunted houses in Super Mario Bros. 3 or angry suns in Super Mario World.  What really stands apart in these new imaginings are the scores of new original music tracks that somehow feel perfectly at home in these new digs.  Combined with the plethora of other rich and memorable Mario tunes and sound effects, this is a game whose entire sound package is filled with nothing but smiles and happy, content head bops.

New Mechanics

Of course one of the most captivating aspects to what this game being dubbed a sequel is what new features / mechanics it has to offer.  And Super Mario Maker 2 does deliver an enjoyable variety of new tools and toys to tinker with.  From slopes, on/off switches, vertical stages and more, all the new additions included in this game offer immense potential for all sorts of wonderfully fresh and riveting ways of play.  Beyond just these new assets, levels can now include clear conditions as well which offer tons of new and creative approaches to level design.  Multiplayer is also a fun, if not chaotic addition that presents its own distinct, maniacal flavor to the mix.

Creativity at Work

One of the most rewarding aspects of Super Mario Maker that still holds true for this Switch entry is witnessing the superb displays of creativity at work.  From complex pinball machines to witty storytelling, it's amazing to see just what ingenious ideas can be brought to life given the right tools.  Add to that the perfect platforming engine that is any Mario game, and you have the ideal kitchen in which to concoct some incredibly delicious dishes.

Reinterpretation of Super Mario Sunshine's Sand Bird level, complete with Sunshine music and angry sun.

Online / Sharing

The longevity of Super Mario Maker lives or dies mostly on its online, and unfortunately such is largely lackluster.  Online multiplayer is more times than not plagued with lag, sometimes to the point of it being unplayable.  Uploaded levels will often get buried by the flush of levels constantly being dumped of varying quality.  Even sharing levels among friends is not made convenient as there are no means of notifications or easy sending.  Instead, much is left to sending level / player codes via means of outside communication.  It's abundantly apparent that Nintendo has given up on their Switch Online app as would have provided a moderate solution to sharing and searching for levels, and quite disappointing the degree of quality this online currently holds, especially considering how essential it is for this game and this is a service that players pay for.

Difficulty Reminders

Too often Nintendo makes persistently annoying design decisions that belittle player's basic intelligence and sour the experience.  In this case, it is with the constant reminders during Story Mode to tone down the difficulty should you die twice on any level.  This is an absurdly low bar with no means of turning off the notifications that will repeat on every other level and adds no positive impact to the game.  If anything, I just loathe Luigi now.

We get it Luigi.  Let me play.

Loss of Mystery Costumes

One of the coolest features to me in the original Super Mario Maker and saddest omissions for this sequel were the Mystery Costumes.  These mysterious shrooms would transform the players into all sorts of 8-bit renderings of classic Nintendo icons, offering unique animations, sound effects, and victory/death tunes.  They were a fun means of inspiration towards creating clever, themed levels and granted a gratifying reward for playing the game (as well as the best reason to own Amiibos).  I understand they may have posed challenges for certain aspects of this sequel such as with multiplayer, but I still think workarounds / certain restrictions could have been implemented to allow their continued use.  As it stands though, their loss makes for one component that feels a bit of a downgrade.

Clumsy Create Controls / Asset Restrictions

Despite the nifty tool wheels as a new means of sorting / accessing assets, creating levels via standard controls feels clunky and clumsy at best.  Dragging your cursor across the screen via a thumb stick is slow and tedious, to which I'm uncertain why they didn't attempt pointer controls as a more nimble alternative?  On the flip side, creating in handheld mode feels adequate provided you have some sort of stylus.  But compared to Super Mario Maker on the Wii-U which felt like the perfect match, this Switch sequel feels just ever so slightly off the mark.

Cool in concept, though it fails to feel as intuitive or fluid as its Wii-U counterpart.

Another frustration in creation mode are the odd distinctions / restrictions between the new Super Mario 3D World and other Mario palettes.  Because of certain unique and special assets found in Super Mario 3D World, its palette does not allow for swapping between the other Mario palettes.  This is fine for the most part, but it becomes annoying when you go into one palette with an asset in mind only to find it not available.  No on/off blocks.  No variety of ceiling or circle Boos.  If you don't have the foresight to plan out your level ahead of time, switching palettes then requires a great deal of rework.  This does not lend itself well to spontaneous creative designing.

Uninspired / Frustrating Encounters

This last negative point is a bit of a stickler if Nintendo is to allow players complete freedom, but it remains a problem worth noting none the less.  Playing online, it's inevitable that players will encounter boring, uninspired, ridiculous and all sorts of unfair levels.  At least the tools are easy enough to skip and rate these encounters, but it's an annoying reality all the same.

If you've been anxiously awaiting for Super Mario Maker to make home on the Switch, you'll be happy to know that this sequel successfully satisfies that itch.  Although it loses some features and takes a few missteps in others, the wealth of new components and ideas on display help make this feel like a fresh, if not still familiar experience.  It's a superb toolkit topped with the best platforming mechanics in the business.  There's a delicate balance of mediocrity and sheer creativity to be found on display here, but for those willing to wade through it all, the endless bounty of gold is well worth it.

If you have any questions or thoughts about this game, please feel free to comment and discuss below.  Thanks.  And happy gaming!