The Magic of Mario Maker

by Finn, Grade 7

We all know about the Wii U. It released, it failed, and that’s about it. But I was really enjoying games like Nintendo Land, Super Mario 3D World, other Wii games I owned, and most importantly Splatoon. But, along with Splatoon, I had another game I could play for days on end: Super Mario Maker. Being one of the standout games on the Wii U, I played a lot of that game to the point where I had all of my level slots completely filled up with other creations I enjoyed and even my own. So, let’s go into the magic of Mario Maker.

Releasing on September 10th in 2015, Super Mario Maker was a toolbox of dreams. At the time, it seemed like there were infinite possibilities and you can create amazing things, and they were correct. Playing others and making your own levels just felt good and since there were so many tools it just felt good. I would either make a quick level in 5 minutes or plan a long level that takes 2 hours, and it felt rewarding to see your creation come to life as a Mario level. You were no longer held back by the level limits only made by Nintendo, but you can now play that tree level from that guy at Gamexplain. And you want to know what made the tree level so good? It’s the costumes. There were 200+ costumes for Mario to wear, and it tied a lot of levels together. One second you’re playing as Link in a mysterious dungeon and the next you’re running around 1-1 as the Inkling Girl from Splatoon. And they were easily obtainable through the 10 Mario Challenge or just using amiibos. They even did insane collaboration with characters like Shaun the Sheep. WHAT. Shaun the Sheep is now canonically a Mario character, and it all worked. And it all fit together because of the Gamepad.

In most Wii U games, the Gamepad was a gimmick. In Mario Kart, you can use it as a horn or a map, but the map was so inconvenient that they literally patched a map into the main TV screen to make it more convenient. But Mario Maker said “Yeah, what if we actually used the Gamepad in unique and creative ways?”. And that’s what they did. The Gamepad allowed you to create and place blocks at the tip of your finger or stylus, and it led to such accurate, beautiful, and fun creations all through this process. But, due to it being on the Wii U, it didn’t get a lot of attention. So that’s why when Mario Maker on the 3DS came out, even less people cared.

A lot of video game fans have briefly heard/not heard at all about Mario Maker by then, so when the 3DS version came out, it felt a bit overwhelming to those who didn’t have it on the Wii U and for those who did, it felt like a downgraded version that was worth $20 at best. So, that’s when Nintendo said “Yeah, but what if we made Mario Maker actually popular?” And then the Switch release, and then about 2 years later when almost everyone had a Switch, they released Mario Maker 2.

Mario Maker 2 felt like a larger, more expanded game compared to the original, with a new story mode, styles, and parts, it was looking bright. But, it did what it set out to do really well, but it did miss the mark by a little bit. For one, creation didn’t feel the same with Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller because it didn’t feel like you were making something on two separate screens, it was more like “Pick the blocks with the button and place them with the way less convenient joysticks. Have fun!” Sure, the creator tool was greatly expanded, but at a cost. Part of that cost was the removal of the costumes. The Switch did have amiibo support and they could easily add a feature to slowly unlock them as you play more, but to Nintendo they just seemed like an unnecessary feature, but it wasn’t. But in the end, it paid off. We had more tools, a 3D World style that has completely different parts and enemies, these parts lead to insanely fun levels and contraptions, and we even got a Story mode! Later on we got even more parts, Link with a completely new unique moveset, an officially supported speedrun mode, and even a World creator basically allowing us to make our full fledged Mario games! But, as quickly as it started, it was over. Nintendo updated it for about a year and then dropped it, to collect dust along with Super Mario Party, and it felt wrong. Then they also shut down part of the online service for the original Wii U game, and Mario Maker has now reached a new low.

And that’s about where it is today. Despite all the ups and downs, I love Mario Maker and I still will. I’ve been playing Mario Maker 2 a lot more recently, and it’s been a blast, even without the Gamepad. Look, I know I was complaining quite a bit throughout this article, but I do love Mario Maker, and I mean that sincerely. It’s such a beautiful creation tool that leads to near endless possibilities of levels. If Nintendo was to drop the entire Mario franchise with Mario Maker 2, that would be a good ending to gaming’s most iconic mascot. So, thank you Mario Maker, and I hope you can inspire other people too.