Super Mario Maker is really two games in one. The first "game" is at the core of the experience, and it's genre is somewhat unusual! It's primarily a tool through which you can create your own Mario levels in a variety of styles. The other side of the game, however, is that levels created by others can be uploaded to be played by other players, making this side a pure platformer for those who would rather enjoy others creations than the process of creating them on their own.
I own the Wii U version, so this review doesn't necessarily reflect on the 3DS version, although I would suspect that they're quite similar.
Super Mario Maker allows you to create and play levels in 4 styles taken from past Super Mario franchises. These styles are Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U. While you might think that these styles are just "skins" overlaying one core physics engine, each actually feels pretty distinctive and authentic to their version, and include most of the iconic elements that separate each game. For example, the Super Mario Bros. 3 style allows gives you the "p" gauge to judge your speed, and the accompanying whistle when you reach max speed, while the New Super Mario U style lets you wall jump.
The course design tools are supremely excellent. The Wii U tablet is used better here than in any game I've ever seen, and it makes course creation an intuitive delight. My kids understood the interface with very little instruction, and were on their way to making levels within minutes.
Despite its simplicity, however, the tools are also capable of producing levels of a complexity level that surpasses anything ever seen in a Mario game to date. The community surrounding the game is robust and fascinating, and as is typical in internet culture, the hive mind has worked together to produce some absolutely mind-boggling accomplishments in terms of level design.
Nintendo gave WAY more than was necessary to support charging 59.99 for this game, but I felt like there could have been more. There are certain elements specific to each style that could have been included to allow for things like perfect recreations of entire levels or worlds from other Mario games, but without these, entire gameplay elements are removed from play. For example, there's no quicksand present in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, and no dastardly sun to chase you around. I feel like the community could have had a field day with creating levels like this, and their exclusion feels a bit lazy (although again, Nintendo definitely went above and beyond with this game). As another example, the Super Mario World style doesn't have the nice little checkpoint from the game, but gives you another one (it may be from New Super Mario Bros. U, but I haven't played it, so I don't know), or the lack of secret exits in the game. They also omit small details that would be nonetheless important to maintain an authentic feeling to the original games, like the mini games to get extra lives in Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3, or the little sound effect after clearing a level and Mario celebrates with a v for victory in Super Mario World.
These would have all taken some work by the creators, but would have been nice touches to make a game that would be talked about for generations. But one exclusion is simply unforgiveble to me, and that is the exclusion of making overworld maps or level sequences to simulate the experience of playing a full Mario game. Levels in Super Mario Maker are kept in silos, with no possibility of proceeding from one to the next. While you can definitely experience a level sequence type of game with their 10 Mario challenge, in which you play curated levels intended to introduce you to the game with 10 lives, or the 100 Mario challenge, in which you play random user created levels with 100 lives, I would have adored the chance to make my own Mario game, which ramps up in difficulty, and with different themes and environments to proceed through. I feel like this wouldn't really have been that hard for the makers of Super Mario Maker, and would say that this would be my number 1 most desired feature for Super Mario Maker 2 (please Nintendo, make Super Mario Maker 2, or an English localization of Mother 3, or both). I would also be delighted for them to make the mystery mushrooms (costumes you can put on to look like most Nintendo characters, oh, and Sonic) available in every creation style.
From my standpoint, as a person who's not terribly creative, I found that my experience with Super Mario Maker went along with the skill of the person creating the levels. And you frankly have to work through a lot of muck to find truly great levels. But the great levels...are absolutely incredible. I will think about probably 20 levels from Super Mario Maker as among the pantheon of Mario levels forever, and would say that some are even better than any single level from my beloved Super Mario World. My personal favorites are a level called "Yoshi is Awesome" in the event courses section, and a level in which you have to use the mechanic of ducking on ice to slide around and navigate some really tough challenges. It's called something like "Ice Duck Runner 2".
But my favorite thing about Super Mario Maker is just the community and creativity involved in it. Users have created entirely new genres of Mario levels, including my personal favorites in which you just sit there and automatically finish the levels due to bouncing trampolines, springs, lifts, and other manner of tools. It's basically the Rube Goldberg machine of Mario levels. There are levels in which you can simulate the experience of other games, with remakes of Mega Man 2 levels, and great levels in which you "play Mario Kart" by getting a mystery mushroom which turns you into Mario driving a Go Kart, and you must speed through the level as fast as possible. There are levels that serve as tutorials for mastering tricky Mario mechanics, including things I never knew were possible! The tools Nintendo has created has only increased my admiration for human creativity, and how wonderful Mario is, and for that I'm very grateful.
It's an absolute masterpiece that could easily be a game that shapes gaming generations to come, and I really hope that they take off a few of the rough edges in a sequel, and I'll be there to buy it on day 1. I can't say it's perfect, but it's about as close as it gets. I'll give it a 9.9/10.
-TRO
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