During the golden age of video games the primary definition of a sequel was ‘same thing, just more’. There were minor tweaks here and there, but the primary gameplay remained the same… only with an abundance of new content. Super Mario Maker 2 is a throwback to this era with improvements and additions to the original DIY Wii U predecessor in nearly every way.

If you missed out on the original Super Mario Maker back in a few years back, the premise hasn’t changed in the sequel. It’s a Mario Bros. themed, 2D platforming and level-editing game that expands on the original with a host of new features, level styles, enemies and items. In addition to Mario, you are able to play as Luigi, Toad, and Toadette in both the single-player and multiplayer modes. The two stand-out features in Super Mario Maker 2 are the offline, single-player Story Mode and the new online multiplayer elements.



In the Story Mode Mario is tasked with numerous jobs from the Toad builders of the Mushroom Kingdom. Each job rewards Mario with a differing amount of coins which he then uses to build various sections of Princess Peach’s new castle. The jobs are ranked in difficulty between one and four stars, the later earning more coins. The jobs come in the way of over 100 official courses pre-produced by the taskmaster Toad. All the jobs are unique and rather than acting as a tutorial show players what can be accomplished with the traditional and new features of Super Mario Maker 2. They can be seen as an inspiration lab for your custom course designs. Once Mario has rebuilt the Castle there are additional tasks that can be completed via non-playable characters such as Mr. Eraser and the infamous ‘Undodog’. Completing these levels will reward you with rare items that you can apply to your online profile to make you stand out from the crowd.



The online hub in Super Mario Maker 2 is presented through the Course World; granting players the ability to find levels created (and shared) by other players. While this was available in the previous reiterations of the series it has now been significantly streamlined for a much more memorable experience. Players can view popular courses, search by course and user ID as well as use parameters such as style, theme, difficulty and region to make things easier to navigate. Once you’ve successfully completed a user’s level you can provide feedback on the course via text, a drawing, or a Mario-themed stamp. Players can also vote on courses and provide a positive or negative ranking using the "I like it!" or "Boo!" buttons. A clear rate and world record time for the level are also shown for every custom course. Players on the Course World are presented by a Mii with each profile showing the players VS rating, Maker Points and medal list for accomplishing different tasks. In this section you are able to apply different cosmetics to your Mii that can be unlocked throughout the various game modes.

The Network Play feature allows you to join up to 3 other players both online in Global Play as well as Nearby Play where you can join 3 other Switch consoles. The Global Play consists of Multiplayer co-op and Multiplayer Versus. The online versus mode is a whole lot of fun and by far the best new addition to the series. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the Multiplayer co-op which is simply frustrating and overly chaotic.
Much like the popular 100 Mario Challenge in the first Super Mario Maker an Endless Challenge has been introduced whereby you take part in completing as many random courses before you run out of lives. There are four different sub-sections to the Endless Challenge; Easy, Normal, Expert and Super Expert. If you manage to achieve a high score on any of the difficulties, you will make your way up the online global leaderboards. are ranked on the leaderboards.

Newcomers to the franchise may want to try their hand at the comprehensive ‘Yamamura's Dojo’. This is a tutorial mode that provides Maker Lessons that are categorized for beginner, intermediate, and advanced techniques. This also briefly showcases some of the newer inclusions to the game.



Super Mario Maker 2 is a worthwhile sequel to the original but there is no doubt that the series felt more at home on the Wii U console. If you plan to play the game via anything else other than the handheld mode, you’ll have to sit through quite a frustrating interface learning curb. I used a general tablet/phone stylus which increased the accessibility of the coarse Maker section tenfold. Another disappointment is that not all the new enemies and/or items are available though out all of the themes even though they were included in the original games. This being said, there is a variety of different themes far larger than ever before with Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World all having ten sub-themes such as Sky, Ghost House, Airship and Snow; each with their own unique twist in gameplay.

In the end what will make or break Super Mario Maker 2 is the online community and the quality of content it provides. Super Mario Maker 2 is both a homage to the games from the past that we know and love and a creative addition to the franchise. Let's just home that the Global Play levels aren't swamped with those Auto-Mario, "Don't move" levels that plagued the first game.