Super Mario Maker 2 (Nintendo Switch)

This is really an awesome game for all Mario lovers looking for a nostalgia boost. Sometimes after you play a game on repeat, no matter how great it is, you want something fresh. Mario Maker is a game that combines multiple different Mario versions (from the OG Super Mario Bros 1 to recent Mario 3D levels) so there’s something for Mario lovers of all ages and generations. Story mode is a really great introduction of the possibilities and mechanics of the game, but online play is where the game really shines. It is an added cost to pay for the Nintendo online which I could see as a dealbreaker but it’s really so fun. You can play levels that people from all over the world have created. Some are obviously made by 5 year olds (my own included) but some are just worked ... MoreThis is really an awesome game for all Mario lovers looking for a nostalgia boost. Sometimes after you play a game on repeat, no matter how great it is, you want something fresh. Mario Maker is a game that combines multiple different Mario versions (from the OG Super Mario Bros 1 to recent Mario 3D levels) so there’s something for Mario lovers of all ages and generations. Story mode is a really great introduction of the possibilities and mechanics of the game, but online play is where the game really shines. It is an added cost to pay for the Nintendo online which I could see as a dealbreaker but it’s really so fun. You can play levels that people from all over the world have created. Some are obviously made by 5 year olds (my own included) but some are just worked of genius and a real treat to play.

A replacement for all 2D Marios

I missed out on playing Mario Maker 1, but this time I decided to get into the series on Switch. I have always loved playing Mario games, and this game is like the ultimate 2D Mario game.Pros:It is a blast to create your own levels, and with the new DLC, they have added stuff even from Zelda. The limit is your creativity. If you more enjoy playing others' levels, It's easy to go online and play hundreds of intense or exciting levels that would never be in a Mario Game. There is a short story mode that helps you get going, and they have added some other online challenges to keep things interesting.Cons:The online aspect is what made me purchase the online subscription on the Nintendo Switch. I don't regret it, but without that, the game would be a lot less ... MoreI missed out on playing Mario Maker 1, but this time I decided to get into the series on Switch. I have always loved playing Mario games, and this game is like the ultimate 2D Mario game.Pros:It is a blast to create your own levels, and with the new DLC, they have added stuff even from Zelda. The limit is your creativity. If you more enjoy playing others' levels, It's easy to go online and play hundreds of intense or exciting levels that would never be in a Mario Game. There is a short story mode that helps you get going, and they have added some other online challenges to keep things interesting.Cons:The online aspect is what made me purchase the online subscription on the Nintendo Switch. I don't regret it, but without that, the game would be a lot less exciting. If you're not a creative person who loves to make things, then you will spend most of your time playing other people's levels instead of putting hours into creating.

Almost a cure for the itch.

I'm oldschool. I'm not too fond of the co-op 3D Mario games with its frustrating level designs that are obviously not built around co-op. Which is sad because I want co-op Nintendo games.So I decided to go primal and get Super Mario Maker 2.Getting old means lack of creativity in the noggin', so it's nice that you can play other players' levels.Unfortunately that requires to buy a Nintendo Online Subscription, thankfully those are cheap, but still...I've already knew what to expect in terms of player created level designs. Diabolical players creating close-to-impossible levels, and then there's those where you step on a moving platform and the game does all the work for you.While there is a Filter that should weed out the tryhards and the lazy, but from my ... MoreI'm oldschool. I'm not too fond of the co-op 3D Mario games with its frustrating level designs that are obviously not built around co-op. Which is sad because I want co-op Nintendo games.So I decided to go primal and get Super Mario Maker 2.Getting old means lack of creativity in the noggin', so it's nice that you can play other players' levels.Unfortunately that requires to buy a Nintendo Online Subscription, thankfully those are cheap, but still...I've already knew what to expect in terms of player created level designs. Diabolical players creating close-to-impossible levels, and then there's those where you step on a moving platform and the game does all the work for you.While there is a Filter that should weed out the tryhards and the lazy, but from my experience, it doesn't work and that really irks me. So it takes awhile to find a level that is just "normal".The retro gameplay feels a bit the same to me, BUT the inputs are changed and that really irks me as well.For example, the face buttons are just Run and/or Jump.Then you get to Super Mario World controls, the Spin Jump is now on the top buttons. WHY!?

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This is a great game! I love that it makes my kids use their creativity and mind to create puzzles and for their own levels and worlds! They haven’t stopped playing this game since we purchased it last month! There are sooo many combinations that are available so you can play daily and never run into your levels being the same! It is cool that they can upload the levels they create online for other people to play and vice versa. The only thing I do not like about this game is that other people can leave comments on the games my kids create and my kids also see the comments that people leave on other peoples games. That would be cool except that I’ve seen multiple inappropriate comments while my kids were playing other peoples levels. It seems outrageous that the ... MoreThis is a great game! I love that it makes my kids use their creativity and mind to create puzzles and for their own levels and worlds! They haven’t stopped playing this game since we purchased it last month! There are sooo many combinations that are available so you can play daily and never run into your levels being the same! It is cool that they can upload the levels they create online for other people to play and vice versa. The only thing I do not like about this game is that other people can leave comments on the games my kids create and my kids also see the comments that people leave on other peoples games. That would be cool except that I’ve seen multiple inappropriate comments while my kids were playing other peoples levels. It seems outrageous that the comments would not be moderated since it’s a kids game. If you are very particular about your child not being exposed to inappropriate comments, I would recommend not allowing your child to play this game online and use it solely for their own creations. But overall, my kids love the actual game! It’s a very fun game!

Definitive Mario Creator Toolset For All Ages

Mario Maker 1 on Wii U was Nintendo’s answer towards players who wanted to create their own unique takes on Mario levels without venturing into the realm of modding or home brews. Mario Maker 1 created a deep, but simplistic toolset that any age of gamer could find accessible, but Mario Maker 2 takes everything we enjoyed back on Wii U, and it makes it bigger, deeper and even more fun. See, I always felt like Mario Maker 1 was a mixed bag: you might end up with excellent user-created levels, or you might find yourself putting the controller down while a moving platform takes you right to the flagpole. Creativity can be both interesting and dull at the exact same time. Luckily, Mario Maker 2 consists of actual single player content as well as Course World level ... MoreMario Maker 1 on Wii U was Nintendo’s answer towards players who wanted to create their own unique takes on Mario levels without venturing into the realm of modding or home brews. Mario Maker 1 created a deep, but simplistic toolset that any age of gamer could find accessible, but Mario Maker 2 takes everything we enjoyed back on Wii U, and it makes it bigger, deeper and even more fun. See, I always felt like Mario Maker 1 was a mixed bag: you might end up with excellent user-created levels, or you might find yourself putting the controller down while a moving platform takes you right to the flagpole. Creativity can be both interesting and dull at the exact same time. Luckily, Mario Maker 2 consists of actual single player content as well as Course World level filters so you have more ways to tailor the experience to your liking. The story mode is fairly good too, with the premise being that the ‘undo dog’ resets the structure of Peach’s castle, leaving you with ‘job’s (i.e. Levels) to complete in order to earn coins which can be used to rebuild the structure from scratch. This mode alone could have been a game in its own right, and it functions well beyond your everyday tutorial. Playing is only half the experience though, and I’m sure you’re curious how the Switch version handles level creation. My main question going into Mario Maker 2 was…how will the level creation work if my Switch is docked? On Wii U, you created levels using the stylus on the gamepad, with only dimmed overlays on the TV. Only after switching over to ‘Play’ your creation, were you able to finally look up and see your level in action on the big screen. On Switch, it’s physically impossible to be able to create your level on the tablet, then simply look up at the TV after it’s done; you naturally have to walk up to your dock and mount the console. Nintendo actually made this process fairly simple: when docked, you can use any controller to your liking, and utilize the analog sticks, which act as pointers on the screen(there is no motion control option currently). While in handheld, you utilize touch input, such as what we did on the Wii U gamepad. The controller inputs actually feel pretty good, and it is as accurate as you’d need it to be! The level creation tools are insanely deep, with literally hundreds of combinations that can be formulated to create challenges, puzzles and artistic beauty into a multitude of Mario backdrops. New to Mario Maker 2 is the inclusion of different backgrounds and customization options for Mario Bros, Mario Bros 3, New Mario Bros U, Super Mario World, as well as the newly introduced 2D gameplay from Super Mario 3D World! Course World has also has been given some much needed options, such as to properly filter out levels you actually WANT to play, such as by selecting ONLY Mario 3D world levels or puzzle oriented ones for when you are in the mood to solve something. Coop play is also a thing now, even if it ends up becoming a bit of a mess while working with someone else to play or create a level. The whole package is absolutely fantastic, and a must-play for anyone looking to create, play and experience the best Mario creator toolset Nintendo has ever released. Even if you aren’t into making levels yourself, there is enough content here to keep you entertained well between other major Switch games, and the replay-ability is nearly infinite, as active community engagement will keep the game fresh for years to come.

Endless fun

Super Mario Maker 2 improves on the original Wii U game in nearly every way. There are more game styles to choose from when making or playing levels which adds a lot more variety. And levels made in one game style can transfer over to a different style at any time, with the exception of the Mario 3D World game style.The Course Maker has been given an upgrade to make it easier to find items or enemies to place in the level. Courses can now be made with a friend, which can help speed things up as long as both people are on the same page. It is much more intuitive to create levels while in handheld mode which makes creating while docked feel inferior. There are also a bunch of tutorials to watch that are sorted by Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level to help ... MoreSuper Mario Maker 2 improves on the original Wii U game in nearly every way. There are more game styles to choose from when making or playing levels which adds a lot more variety. And levels made in one game style can transfer over to a different style at any time, with the exception of the Mario 3D World game style.The Course Maker has been given an upgrade to make it easier to find items or enemies to place in the level. Courses can now be made with a friend, which can help speed things up as long as both people are on the same page. It is much more intuitive to create levels while in handheld mode which makes creating while docked feel inferior. There are also a bunch of tutorials to watch that are sorted by Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level to help learn how to make levels.The story mode tasks Mario with rebuilding Peach’s castle while playing through around 100 pre-made levels. The description of the levels and the pseudonym of the creator give clues to what character in the Mario world may have built it, which makes for some fun easter eggs. These are the usual well crafted Nintendo levels that you’d expect to see in a Mario game.The Course World makes it easy to find the levels you want by letting you search levels based on difficulty, popularity, game style, or by what type of level it is. There is also a tab where you can see levels made by any creators you have followed. The longer this game is out in the wild, the more levels will be created, which means an endless supply of new levels to come back to.You can Like or Boo levels, but make sure you don’t rate any levels until you’re sure what rating you want to give. If you Boo a level because you get stuck, only to realize what you were doing wrong and end up liking the level, you won’t be able to change the rating. It’s weird they chose to do this.Another feature that’s strangely missing is the ability to download a level and take it into the Course Maker to practice certain parts of the level or see if the creator put in hidden blocks to help them clear it for upload. This just makes it harder to clear levels that may be longer with few or no checkpoints.It can get confusing trying to remember which move set Mario has in the game style for the current level, but you can pause at any time to check out what moves are available to this Mario.Network play is not very good. Like other online Nintendo releases, online games get very laggy, and that is especially bad for a platformer like Mario. The ability to play online with a friend is also currently missing, but there are plans to add that function into the game in a future patch.Overall, this is a very good game that I can not recommend enough. Endless Mario levels to play, a fun story mode with levels made by the pros at Nintendo, and the ability to make your own levels. Some features are oddly missing, but they hardly detract from all the fun there is to be had.

Good, but flawed, Switch Mario title

First, why 4 stars? It loses the one star due to the fact that without an active Nintendo Switch Online membership, you lose out on much of what the game has to offer. h owever, those parts of the game (the online experience) are flawed, making it hard to justify a Nintendo Switch Online membership primarily for this game.With Nintendo Switch Online, you have access to other peoples' levels, which you can play or download. Some level-makers put in a serious amount of effort to create fun, classic experiences. The challenge is finding these levels, as it is a major challenge to create a well-designed level, and nearly as hard to unearth the ones that other people have made. The navigation and search functions when looking for levels are passable but could be ... MoreFirst, why 4 stars? It loses the one star due to the fact that without an active Nintendo Switch Online membership, you lose out on much of what the game has to offer. h owever, those parts of the game (the online experience) are flawed, making it hard to justify a Nintendo Switch Online membership primarily for this game.With Nintendo Switch Online, you have access to other peoples' levels, which you can play or download. Some level-makers put in a serious amount of effort to create fun, classic experiences. The challenge is finding these levels, as it is a major challenge to create a well-designed level, and nearly as hard to unearth the ones that other people have made. The navigation and search functions when looking for levels are passable but could be better.The online multiplayer has (sometimes significant) lag problems and levels are chosen at random. It wasn't very compelling.There is a single-player campaign mode with over 100 levels from Nintendo. This is probably the part of Mario Maker 2 I have most enjoyed, as many of the levels were quite challenging; however, once I played through most (all but two) of those levels, I don't feel compelled to go back to them again.Creating levels is at once relatively easy but also requires more planning than I anticipated. Perhaps that is the part that I will come back to eventually, but the level of time investment it take to learn to make a good level is a barrier.

Great Super Mario Course/Level/Game Maker!

I am not such a big fan of the (old) side-scrolling (and overall) Super Mario games. They are great of course, but not something I typically enjoy. However I did play a considerable amount of these games and I am game designer and a creative person. Recently I bought this game and really enjoyed playing it. I don't play games so much but this one I have played a whopping 5 hours in just 3 days. I might be better at creating these Super Mario levels/courses than I have expected myself to be! You need a Nintendo Switch Online account to upload these courses. This is a brilliant creation!

Has new features, discarded others

Pros:First off I want to say this game is quite a lot of fun. This time around, there is more versatility, no need to unlock main building components to make a fun course, and despite not having a second touch screen (like Wii U's Game Pad, or 3DS' touch screen), it is easy to get used to building with the Joy Cons/Pro Controller due to how intuitive it feels. Mind you, those of us that were used to building with a stylus need a bit more time to adjust, but my adjustment to this was fairly quick.Another thing to love about this game is being able to build Super Mario 3D World Courses (in 2D). True, you have to start from scratch when building in that game engine, but it's because it's different, has alternate mechanics, and adds a satisfying sense of versatility ... MorePros:First off I want to say this game is quite a lot of fun. This time around, there is more versatility, no need to unlock main building components to make a fun course, and despite not having a second touch screen (like Wii U's Game Pad, or 3DS' touch screen), it is easy to get used to building with the Joy Cons/Pro Controller due to how intuitive it feels. Mind you, those of us that were used to building with a stylus need a bit more time to adjust, but my adjustment to this was fairly quick.Another thing to love about this game is being able to build Super Mario 3D World Courses (in 2D). True, you have to start from scratch when building in that game engine, but it's because it's different, has alternate mechanics, and adds a satisfying sense of versatility to this game.One little thing I want to point out is that to unlock a special power up for Mario 3D World, you need to go through, and finish the Story Mode. Some might find it tedious, and I even felt some of those levels were frustrating, but it does give you a good sense of accomplishment once you are done, and you can take ideas used in these Nintendo built courses to make your own.Cons:One of the features the original (Wii U) Mario Maker had that REALLY disappoints me that is missing now is the amiibo support. There is none in Super Mario Maker 2, AND there's not even a Weird Mushroom. What is up with that? They, at least, kept the giant Mushroom fo play as Giant Mario, but no longer do the enemies grow mustaches or gain red Mario hats when you use said mushroom. One more think that feels disappointing is that the pipes can no longer overlap on each other. They all need to be place separately, and they still don't link when you try to build a path of pipes to make things look more connected.Another thing is that, in story mode, there are ways to play that aren't available in Build Mode. I found it very disappointing, as some of those features could have added in this game's versatility. Perhaps a DLC?But I feel the pros outweigh the cons. It's true there are some features missing from the original first game, and like any other game out there, there are some shortcomings, but this game is FUN! Mind you, if you don't have Switch Online, it might feel lacking. I have not tired playing Multiplayer myself, but I hear it's decent, though it needs updates to stop lagging. I would totally recommend this game for any Switch owner out there.

Wow

I've owned Mario maker 1, and wow, Mario maker 2 is 100 times better, there is even an additional story mode in the game that allows you to unlock special power ups! the new world maker is awesome, you can even make our own game IN a game! it is a thrilling game, that allows you to create, play, and share YOUR levels. you can even choose from different styles; super Mario bros, super Mario bros 3, super Mario world, new super Mario bros U, and new 3d world! of course not in actual 3d. this is a total upgrade from Mario maker 1 on the Wii U, although I actually had it on the 3ds. but it is way more fun than the first one. there is a variety of new never before seen parts and sound effects. I love the Koopalings in it, they add way more boos fight options to the game. ... MoreI've owned Mario maker 1, and wow, Mario maker 2 is 100 times better, there is even an additional story mode in the game that allows you to unlock special power ups! the new world maker is awesome, you can even make our own game IN a game! it is a thrilling game, that allows you to create, play, and share YOUR levels. you can even choose from different styles; super Mario bros, super Mario bros 3, super Mario world, new super Mario bros U, and new 3d world! of course not in actual 3d. this is a total upgrade from Mario maker 1 on the Wii U, although I actually had it on the 3ds. but it is way more fun than the first one. there is a variety of new never before seen parts and sound effects. I love the Koopalings in it, they add way more boos fight options to the game. the new stage themes are also cool, snow, desert, forest, and sky. you can even make it nighttime, which can sometimes have cool effects. the new "custom scroll, allows you to make the screen move in any which way. you also can make vertical levels, so it is like the fortresses from the real Mario series, I have tried making vertical levels, but I am not the best at making them, but I've seen the possibilities in this game. I play it all day whenever I get the chance! the game is just THAT good! It's fun to just mess around and see what you can create, when you get bored you can play levels from people around the world or even challenge yourself in the endless mode. This game is fantastic, building levels is fun, the story mode is great and all the new elements make it an amazing 2d game!So yes. You should definitely buy Super Mario Maker 2. It's quite easily one of the best games of the year, and while it has some shortcomings (making levels while the Switch is docked is a real pain), Super Mario Maker 2 is still well worth your time and money.Super Mario Maker 2 is the most accessible game design tool ever created, and that core is just one part of a greater whole. I spent hours building levels, testing them, and starting over again, and I feel like I've only barely scratched the surface of what's possible. Super Mario Maker 2 takes an already solid premise and builds on it with new tools and a fantastic story mode and tutorial.overall, I give this game a 10/5 star review.