Super Mario Maker 2 - Nintendo Switch

[briareos_kerensky]

Story mode is a collection of self-contained levels create by Nintendo designers using the tools available in the game. You have to collect coins to pay for rebuilding Peach's castle and complete levels to continue construction. Completely building Peach's castle takes around 5 hours, and that covers around 50-60 of the available levels. Clearing certain levels unlocks tools to be used in the "Maker" portion of the game or outfits for your Mii (apparently they still exist).
I've found story mode pleasant, the levels might be short but some throw in some good twists you won't find in main Mario games, keeping interest high. It's the classic effect of "one more before I quit". It's also a good showcase for what you can do in the editor. Clearing all levels should take 10 hours or less.
I don't think there's coop.

[fishbowlhead]

Cheers bk.

[QualityChimp]

Embedded Tweet

[briareos_kerensky]

Completed story mode yesterday, so here are some closing thoughts.
I'm not sure that there are 100 levels in total, probably there are a tad more: more tha 90 levels given by the taskmaster, then a couple of characters have 3 more, then there are some random stages given by others. Not that I mind! The only thing is that the very last level is given 4 stars for difficulty while instead it's more of a victory lap you complete in 30 seconds. Oh well.

Levels are on the short side and self-contained, which gives the story mode a pleasant "one more and I quit" vibe. Even the hardest levels aren't that challenging and should be clearable by everyone even without Luigi's help. I've noticed that in levels with tunnel vision bringing up Luigi's item menu will make the darkness disappear even without spending...mhmmm...coins? I've never used them, don't really know.
A lot of levels have a peculiar feeling different from mainstream Marios, as if all designers had a lot of fun making those and weren't constrained by a Mario game's tone and/or setting. I wouldn't mind for this kind of attitude to seep into main Mario titles, Mario Maker 2's story mode reminds me of Mario 3 in terms of variety and number of crazy stuff it has.

As with the original Mario Maker I had trouble adjusting to the "universal inertia" the game uses, rather than the different physics used by various titles. Mario's moves are also dependent on the graphical style used, so you won't get wall-jumping in levels styled after SMB or SMB3. When "advanced" movement options were available I found myself hitting down on the d-pad for the buttstimp by mistake a lot of times, I wish there were customization options for some controls so that only ZL and ZR would trigger it.
I was also a bit disappointed that Mario's mobility on the "overworld" (more like a strip of terrain with Peach's Castle and characters on it) is restricted to running and single jumping, I like to long- and triple jump freely whenever Mario's in 3D.

The campaign took less than 10 hours to complete, with the group stages after builidng all of Peach's Castle taking less time than the ones before, despite them being longer and harder. Probably this was due to me trying to get as many coins as possible for Castle parts, while after that I just went for the goal. The story mode holds a couple of surprises in the form of secondary characters, like the eraser guy...man he's creepy.

[kryss]

Even the hardest levels aren't that challenging and should be clearable by everyone even without Luigi's help. I've noticed that in levels with tunnel vision bringing up Luigi's item menu will make the darkness disappear even without spending...mhmmm...coins? I've never used them, don't really know.

Luigi's help doesn't cost anything and there is nothing wrong with using it if you need to!

->Open Spoiler<-

Curious how you beat that level with the stone and 4 doors/keys, the 4th door isn't possible as far as I could see.

[briareos_kerensky]

->Open Spoiler<-

Curious how you beat that level with the stone and 4 doors/keys, the 4th door isn't possible as far as I could see.

I'll need to replay to check, but I do remember retrying that a couple of times. IIRC there's a star you can use to help with one of the doors, but everything is doable without it.

[Zen Monkey]

I'm disappointed with Story Mode as I feel too many stages are reliant on completing puzzles or meeting certain criteria. I do appreciate Nintendo trying something new but would have preferred a purer platform experience. Can't fault the toolbox though and have already played a lot of good user content.

[ZipZap]

I haven't played too many of Nintendo's levels, but I get the impression they're meant as a bit of an introduction for the masses. I am massively impressed by how creative some of the user generated content has become.


I enjoyed the original Mario Maker, made a few levels, played some good levels and a LOT of bad levels, then went on to other things. Coming back to it, I see there are loads of people out there who have got really good at making. The best stages are usually the ones that don't try to be like Mario levels of the past and instead just go crazy. Mario Maker is very much becoming its own thing.


Finding good stages through the game is still hit and miss (although I do think the ratio or good to bad levels is much better than it used to be), but you can get some good tips from some of the streamers, and I have a whatsapp group with a couple of friends where we share our best discoveries.

[Zen Monkey]

Yeah, the creativity on display is very impressive.

[ZipZap]

My first attempt at doing something more difficult...

2V8-420-KDG

...or for something pretty easy

26Q-LWQ-DDF