NintendoFlow: Super Mario Maker 3DS Review

Nintendo allowed people to make their own Mario levels when they released Super Mario Maker on the Wii U back in 2015 and now have brought the same experience to go on the 3DS...or did they?

Just like the Wii U version,players are free to create their own levels,where they get to decide what items go where and what objects do to interact with Mario to make the level come to life. They also get to decide how long the level plays by making either making it super short or very long. Once players have a level they created and like,they can save it to CourseBot,which acts like a playlists of all the levels they created or downloaded from other players.

Players also get to choose a style to fit their level from original Super Mario Bros,Super Mario Bros 3,Super Mario World and or New Super Mario Bros. and each style comes with their own physics on how Mario performs to truly give the player freedom of design.

Another cool thing in Super Mario Maker exclusively for the 3DS version is to create and share levels via LocalPlay. You can start creating a level and then have it ready for someone to download,once they download your level, that person can add or edit your level and you can then add more and so on until you both have created a level. It's always fun to see how a level comes to life when there are 2 minds behind the creativeness.

If players don't feel like creating,they can do the Super Mario Challenge,where they can play thru 100 Nintendo crafted levels with only 10 lives or they can also do the 100 Mario challenge,where players have 100 lives and play thru levels created by other players from the Wii U version.

Sadly this is where the similarities end. Despite the New 3DS having amiibo support,players cannot use the mystery "?" mushrooms found in the Wii U version,where if you tap an amiibo,it unlocks a cool 8-bit costume for Mario to wear(in classic mode only).With the amiibo costumes,players could create levels based on certain characters such as Olimar or Link or even Fox McCloud and while players can still create these levels,it feels weird to play as Mario and not the represented character. Luckily players can still experience costumes if they play a level thru the 100 Mario challenge that features costumes.

While amiibo support is a hit or miss for some,there is one thing that is better on the Wii U version and that is room to create. On the Wii U version you had the TV to see how far your level has come You also had the Wii U gamepad that had a decent view on where to put items next and of course room to move and rest your "creative' hand. On the 3DS(I even played on an XL) the bottom screen felt cramped with multiple icons and the view to see what you can add was barely visible and or blocked entirely by your hand.Of course you also have the 3DS's upper screen,which makes things easier to track on how your level is coming along.

Speaking of the 3DS's upper screen,this game is not playable in 3D,which I don't mind,but I'm sure players out there would've loved a 3D side-scrolling Mario. The 3D feature is not missed in this game as some levels have so many things to process,especially with levels with multiple bouncing objects or enemies that fill up your screen you'll be glad that it wasn't in 3D.

Despite Super Mario Maker 3DS missing some key features found in the Wii U version(like amiibo support) and having a small area on the bottom screen to design your levels the game is still fun!With endless Mario levels to play in challenges to seeing your level come to life is always exciting to see and with so many creative tools,you can spend hours playing Super Mario Maker without even realizing it.

With that said,NintendoFlow gives Super Mario Maker a

7.5/10