Nintendo recently revealed that they were not porting Super Mario Maker from Wii U to Nintendo Switch as many had thought to be an inevitable outcome. Instead, Nintendo was creating a sequel to the innovative platformer title that married the creativity of LittleBigPlanet with the familiar physics of everyone’s favorite mushroom-consuming plumber. This is an exciting move by the company as it allows them to build upon an already critically acclaimed title that racked up plenty of game of the year awards when it was released in 2015.
Despite all of the accolades it deservedly received, Super Mario Maker wasn’t without its flaws. Primarily, the levels that players were able to create were limited by some odd constraints and some lackluster community tools that made it more of a pain than it should be to find enjoyable levels. Several updates helped to alleviate some of these issues, but there’s still plenty of ways to better the overall formula for the sequel.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Super Mario Maker 2 features that need to be in the upcoming sequel.
Super Mario Maker 2 Features | More 3D games given a new spin
One of the coolest things about the original was the ability to create levels that used the physics and graphics of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, or New Super Mario Bros. U. Even the exact same course layout could feel considerably different depending on what theme the creator used. Despite covering most of the 2D Mario titles, there are still some themes missing that kept this from being a true celebration of the plumber’s decorated past.
We already know that a theme based upon Super Mario 3D World is being added to the sequel, which makes it possible for even non-2D titles to be featured here. With the floodgates open, we should see a Super Mario 64 graphical style that featured the blocky polygonal look of the classic platformer. An even more interesting possibility is a Super Mario Sunshine theme that features a 2D version of F.L.U.D.D., the divisive water pack that allowed Mario to explore Delfino Island with additional mobility.
Super Mario Maker 2 Features | Super Mario Bros. 2 and Land themes
Of course, it’s also a possibility that more 2D-based variants could be introduced in the sequel. Both Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Land aren’t yet represented and could be interesting additions due to how drastically different they play from the rest of the series. It certainly would be an undertaking to add the gameplay of Doki Doki Panic to the game, but it would allow for a much more diverse experience for players. It’s long been one of the most underappreciated games in the series and being able to explore Subcon in a new way after all these years would be a fitting tribute. It’s been far too long since players have plucked vegetables from the ground.
Similarly, it would be great to see Super Mario Land‘s primitive platforming get some love here, as it is a wonderfully weird title with bouncing fireballs and plenty of enemies that haven’t been seen in any other Mario game. However, the gameplay hasn’t aged all that well and it would likely be an ignored feature by most players. A much more possible inclusion would be Super Mario Land 2, which featured similar graphics to World and was a visual landmark for the handheld system.
Super Mario Maker 2 Features | Better online structure
While Super Mario Maker was an incredible game, its limited online infrastructure was a huge flaw. Nintendo simply didn’t have the experience or know how to allow players to easily share their levels with the world and the tools made available to follow creators were quite limited. If Super Mario Maker 2 has players giving out course IDs again then they will have completely missed the boat in regards to creating a modern online enabled game. There are no excuses to be made here and the sequel has to be as fully featured as LittleBigPlanet 3 and other community-driven creation titles.
Players should easily be able to find playlists of levels that are curated both internally by Nintendo but also other players. The tagging system needs to be overhauled so the search functionality works better, and they need to have all of the functionality of the Super Mario Maker Bookmark website within the game itself. The original largely got a pass for its shortcomings due to its originality and fresh ideas, but a sequel has to be held to a higher standard. This is truly Nintendo’s moment to show that it does understand online play and its importance.
Super Mario Maker 2 Features | More playable characters
This appears to be a route that Nintendo is going down seeing how Luigi is on the cover of the game and the released artwork shows both Luigi and Toadette in similar catsuits. Either way, having multiple playable characters is a major addition as long as they play differently. Levels could even be designed around a certain character’s strengths, such as Luigi’s slightly higher jump or Princess Peach’s slow descent, and it allows level creators to have more freedom. It could also act as a difficulty level of sorts if Nintendo includes a character like Nabbit, who was invincible in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
Super Mario Maker 2 Features | Multiplayer and online cooperative play
Online co-op may be a stretch but a worth addition despite the odds. The reason it seems like an unlikely inclusion is because the recent enhanced port of New Super Mario Bros. U, which is practically built around multiplayer, didn’t bother to include the ability to play with friends online. Still, there might be more of a chance seeing how this is being developed for Switch from the ground up rather than a port and online integration is already a large part of the experience.
