DISCLAIMERS:
- the reviewer has not finished the game with 100% completion
- the game was played on the Nintendo Switch using the version of the game intended for United States audiences
Four years after the original Super Mario Maker on Wii U Nintendo announced and released Super Mario Maker 2. Multiple big changes like the addition of a story mode, multiplayer, and the Super Mario 3D World theme makes this version of Super Mario Maker worthy of being a sequel. This review will judge the game on its own merits.
Super Mario Maker 2 is split up into two parts: making and playing. Making levels is arguably the only part of Super Mario Maker 2 that is worse than the original. Levels can be made in either docked mode or portable mode. Both control about the same, with the only major difference being how the touchscreen is unavailable in docked mode and only available for placing items in levels in portable mode. Because the Switch doesn’t use a resistive touchscreen you are forced to use inputs methods like a capacitive pen or your fingers that obstruct much more of the screen than the Wii U GamePad’s stylus did. You also obviously don’t have two separate views of the game when using the switch either portably or docked, unlike the Wii U. Although the new making mode is a bit of a downgrade it still works rather well, especially compared to other console games that provide a similar experience. The newly added items and Super Mario 3D World theme allow for even more creativity and replay-ability than the original.
The playing aspect of Super Mario Maker 2 was much more significantly changed than the making aspect. New modes like multiplayer and story mode add a lot of value to the game and both provide good experiences. Playing the various game modes is as fun as ever, though strangely slightly changed in many ways compared to the original Super Mario Maker in terms of mechanics. Finding levels is easier than ever with the new search and tagging functions. The ability to now boo levels in addition to the original heart system helps promote good level design over bad level design like forcing the player to randomly choose the correct pipe to enter and having the other pipes result in unavoidable death. Easily the biggest fail of Super Mario Maker 2 is the Network Play mode. Rather than only your opponents or partners lagging depending on their connection, the entire game is held back by the worst connection, so the majority of matches involve a lot of freezing and stuttering. An option to play against friends could alleviate this problem but this mode is not available as of the writing of this review. Still, the virtually infinite supply of levels using five of the greatest 2D platformers (Super Mario 3D World is arguably as hybrid) ever made as their bases more than makes up for basically any problems this game could have had.
In terms of sound Super Mario Maker 2 is surprisingly good. There are much more original songs than one would expect and the reviewer wouldn’t call any of them bad. Sound effects are exactly what one would expect from a Mario game at this point. Overall the quality and variety of sound in Super Mario Maker 2 is impressive.
Technically Super Mario Maker 2 is essentially perfect, which is unsurprising for a 2D platformer and especially a Mario one. The only glaring issue is the Network Play which is basically impossible to have fun in because of its technical problems. Overall Super Mario Maker 2 is unsurprisingly essentially perfect technically with one obvious exception.
As with most Mario games, plot takes a backseat. There is some entertaining writing for the little dialogue present in the game, but it is easily outmatched by many other games. The world of Mario on the other hand is as well made as always and well represented here.
Overall Super Mario Maker 2 is obviously easily worth it. There are probably more levels than you will every play uploaded as you are reading this. Essentially only people this wouldn’t appeal to are people who don’t want to bother spending any time at all looking for levels and people who dislike 2D Mario for some reason.
Overall the reviewer would give this game a 9.5 out of 10.
If you decide to purchase this game through one of the links below this blog will receive a commission.
