Nintendo's Super Mario Maker, a game that allows players to craft their own Mario levels and play ones crafted by others, releases on September 11 for Wii U. Early reviews for the game have finally arrived and they are nothing but positive. In fact, Super Mario Maker may be the Wii U's defining title. With fun, new Mario levels crafted by Nintendo, a powerful creation suite, innovative controls and a vibrant online community, Super Mario Maker looks to be the game the Wii U needs.
Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez praised the game's Nintendo-made levels, along with the game's powerful creation tools:
"Nintendo has made a point of creating short, punchy levels that defy the expectations they've set over their years making Mario games. It's a provocative mode that plays with the Mario formula, at once evoking nostalgia while also telling you to forget what what you think you know about Mario. This, in turn, encourages you to experiment beyond what you might think is possible in your own levels. The 10 Mario Challenge is instructive in the most hands-on way possible."
Over at The Verge, Andrew Webster says Super Mario Maker is the first game to truly use the Wii U gamepad to its full potential:
"Adding platforms for Mario to jump on, or enemies to avoid, is as simple as tapping the screen. If you want to fill a secret area with coins, you can scribble them in with the stylus. It's easy to wrap your head around, especially because there's so little explanation needed; anyone playing this game knows what a goomba or piranha plant is, so almost all of the objects you're working with are familiar. Building stages in Mario Maker is like learning a language when you already know most of the words."
IGN's Jose Otero remarked on how the game's endless possibilities means players will be enjoying it for years to come:
"Super Mario Maker is a great way to mark Mario's 30th birthday, but it's not concerned with being an overwrought history lesson. Instead, it's a celebration that folds three decades of Mario into one accessible, powerful creation suite. The perpetual joke at the end of every 10 Mario Challenge run informing you that the Princess is in yet another castle hints at Super Mario Maker's bigger promise: There will always be more levels to play thanks to the online creation community, and a virtually endless pool of challenges to overcome."
Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard also remarked about how the Wii U gamepad makes crafting playable levels simple.
Mechanics that can sometimes be surprisingly complicated in other creation games make more sense here. The GamePad makes everything simple and intuitive — you just point and place objects where you want them to go. The start and end points are already in place for you, enemy A.I. is taken care of, and a single button press ensures your jump gaps are acceptable lengths. I found myself giggling and enjoying my creations almost immediately, and never felt overwhelmed by my options.
Though each reviewer does find some minor annoyances – such as the lack of filters for finding levels online or the fact that some of the game's level building blocks must be unlocked over time – overall, Super Mario Maker sounds like it's a dream-come-true for Nintendo fans. They've certainly been having fun with it so far.
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