Yes, ladies and gentlemen! I got Super Mario Maker! When I saw the little bar indicating download progress, I don't think I ever was so impatient for many other things in my life. I was so excited for the game to finish downloading so I could play it.
When I started playing Super Mario Maker, I encountered one of the only real issues I had with the game. It turns out you have to play every day to unlock certain content. It wasn't that big a deal to me, though. I liked the idea of slowly learning how to use the elements and tools that are available to build courses.
Basically, the game's goal is a simple one: use the elements and tools to make your own Mario levels, and then upload them on to the Internet to be played by other game players who can rate them and give critique. They can also take the opportunity to warn other players of trollish hazards.
You can create levels (and use elements) in four styles, the original NES Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Brothers 3, Super Mario World from the SNES, and Super Mario Bros. Wii U. A neat selection of styles, but I also wish that elements and enemies from Super Mario Bros. 2 were used as well. I can see why, though. SMB2 was very different from the other Mario games on the NES due to its origins, but I will admit, I would like to be able to use Shyguys and Snifits as enemies, have Birdo, Clawgrip, Mouser, and Tryclyde as optional bosses, and I want Mario to be able to grab vegetables out of the ground on an airship or ghost house. Ah, well. Maybe it'll be DLC. I hope so.
A cool thing that is fun to do are Event Courses, specially made courses that allow you to win 8-bit costumes for Mario. I have already unlocked some neat costumes, including what I like to call "Mercedes Mario". I'm not sure what the costumes are for, though. It would be neat if they unlocked brand-new special assets or something like that.
The gamepad makes creating levels really simple with its stylus. All you have to is tap the asset, then tap where you want to place it. Some assets, like Koopa Troopas, have secondary assets that can be used by shaking the thing you are using. For example, the green-shelled Koopa Troopa, if shaken, reveals the red-shelled variety, who can be used to patrol platforms as they don't blindly walk off the edges. I'm mixed on this. One, it is a way to save space in the asset menu, but at the same time, it can threaten to tire out the arm.
Besides those nitpicks, I have to say, this game is awesome. It's so much fun to let your imagination run wild and create your dream levels. I play on levels other people make and am often amazed and inspired by what other people, and the things they can do with it. That's the hook and really the biggest strength of this game: it lets you feel like a game designer. This was something I wanted to do as a kid, and having this game brings me right back to my childhood, dreaming up ideas for a game as a boy. I would be surprised if in the future, we get a generation of game designers who credit Super Mario Maker for inspiring them to make games. If you have a Wii U, this game is a MUST. HAVE. Download it from the eShop or get a physical copy, just get this game.
This game may also inspire other "Maker" games. Can you imagine a Mega Man Maker? Or a Legend of Zelda Maker? Or even a Sonic the Hedgehog Maker? The possibilities are endless.
I just realized something. The next post I make will be post number 100. My hundredth post. That sounds really cool. I'll have to think of something special for it...any suggestions would be helpful!
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