Mario Maker 2 Review For The Nintendo Switch
(I received a complimentary Nintendo Mario Maker 2 Game to facilitate this review. However, the views and opinions expressed are entirely my own. You can read my full disclosure here.)
Are you Considering buying the Mario Maker 2 to Play on your Switch? Then check out this review:
MAKE IT YOUR WAY - Ever since the original Super Mario Bros. was released in the mid-’80s on the Nintendo Entertainment System, I have always wanted to create my own video games, much like many in my generation. Super Mario Bros. games have always been deceptively simple. They matched the balance of challenging with simplicity. A little known fact is that the original Mario Bros. levels were laid out and designed on graph paper, lucky for us that is not how you create levels now.
The game is broken into several distinctive gameplay modes, Story, Tutorials, and Design. The tutorials are simple walkthroughs that show you what everything is and how things work. The best way is to let you experiment. Take a mushroom, add it to a goomba, place wings on the goomba, see what happens. Experimentation is endless, Nintendo knows it, and really encourages it.
STORY - Much like any and all Mario games, the best Mario games stories are based on a simple premise, save the Princess. In Mario Maker it’s not much more complicated, after an accident, you are tasked with rebuilding Princess Peaches’ castle. Each level is rated with a difficulty and with the more difficult the level, you are rewarded with more money in which to fix the castle up.
The Story Mode shows you what terrific level design looks like, by letting you play through some great balanced level design, along with many missions including some very well designed challenges. Such challenges include NOT jumping, which for a character that was originally called “Jumpman”, is incredibly difficult to do.
The story is honestly short and even for a kid, it can be beaten within a few hours, but to unlock everything can tack on a few more hours. This game is not about the story, it is about wish fulfillment in the form of making you a level designer.
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL - Having played the original Mario Maker on the Wii U and the 3DS, they have left a few things off the table but introduced many great new and exciting elements to the game.
The things they left off- At the time of the original Mario Maker, Nintendo was pushing the Amiibos (toys to life- figure line), that would allow you play as a 2D pixelated versions of many of the characters, including Yoshi, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Link and so on. The story mode was far more linear one level after another each with two challenges to complete, one more difficult than the other, and after a certain number has been done would unlock new items. That has been done away with in the form of a mission list and all items are unlocked from the beginning.
Things they have added- Besides the inclusion of new level styles and esthetics from more of the newer games like New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D world. This time around you will not be required to play the story mode to unlock items, and bad guys by beating challenges.
The more the merrier- This time around they have allowed for multiplayer. Both in creating the levels and playing together on the levels, but not on the story mode. Designing a level can be done by up to two players, but honestly can be a bit difficult and confusing. While that same confusion is a lot more fun in the form playing through the levels together. Playing as either Mario, Luigi, Toad or Toadette.
GAME DESIGN (is HARD) - Something I have learned while playing the Mario Maker games with my kids has been that good level design is really really difficult. Though if I have learned anything from my kids, it doesn’t really matter. Just throw everything and the kitchen sink in, it can be fun, challenging, while being a bit ugly.
One of the things that is appreciated with the sequel is that they have made the interface more simple. Finding parts, changing the aesthetics, finding past items, creating challenges, erasing, and switching between editing and playing. If you have ever played any game that allows you to create your own levels, you will find out soon that the idea is great, but simple follow through is difficult. It usually takes some time loading just to try out changes and then more time reloading the editor. Not here.
OTHER WAYS TO PLAY (ONLINE) - If you find yourself having a hard time designing a good level, as I did, if you subscribe to Nintendo ONLINE you can download other player-created levels. Which can only be uploaded if that player can successfully beat the level, which you can find relatively simple fare to excruciatingly challenging and everything in between. Along with that, you will be able to play with other players online, but the preferred method is playing with family and friends next to you.
Nintendo Online costs $3 a month or $20 a year for a single account or $35 a year for a family pass.
Update: On 5 December 2019, Nintendo released a free update that now includes Link, from The Legend of Zelda series, along with new items, game mechanics and Challenge mode that allows you play levels against many other players, in the form of ghosts.
CONCLUSION - I had no idea at the time we got the game, that I would have to fight my 5-year-old to play this game. Where I struggle to make a great level that I am proud of, my son finds simple enjoyment of adding more things to levels, he intuitively has created many levels that might not be the most pretty to look at, are playable and challenging. It’s a testament to Nintendo’s ability to create games that the whole family can play and enjoy.
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