I read a very interesting article about a quest to beat all of the Nintendo Wii U’s Super Mario Maker levels before Nintendo shuts down the Wii U servers in the coming months. Mario is on a real role, the movie was great and if you checked out my Super Mario RPG and my Super Mario Wonder review, you will know that I think the last few Mario games have been amazing, but for all the great Mario games that the Nintendo Switch has gotten, Super Mario Maker 2 never felt like it left any kind of impact.
I was a day one Wii U owner and I had a lot of hope for the system and while it would ultimately be a huge failure, I enjoyed my time with the Nintendo Wii U while it lasted. The original Super Mario Maker was something that the majority of Wii U owners got behind and it was one of the biggest things to hit the console. Making levels, sharing levels, watching people try to beat impossible levels, it was all so much fun. The fact that making levels was made so much easier thanks to the Nintendo Wii GamePad made it an absolute showcase title for that system. Granted, it did not do much to help improve the sales of the console, but for those of us who had it, Super Mario Maker was awesome.
Nintendo would port the game to the Nintendo 3DS and while it “worked” the social aspect was kind of gone and it just felt like a soulless version of what we had on the Wii U. When Super Mario Maker 2 was announced I was so excited and I will say that Super Mario Maker 2 is better than the first game…. But I prefer the first game! I know that does not make a ton of sense, but with that first game, Nintendo really caught lightning in a bottle, not only was it great, but it was a showcase of how the Wii U GamePad could be used in a good and innovative way. While Super Mario Maker 2 technically is the better game as it has more content and builds what the previous game had, I much preferred making my levels with the Wii U GamePad than anything that the Nintendo Switch could offer.
Super Mario Maker 2 did not feel anywhere near as big a deal as that first game. To be fair, the Nintendo Switch has a ton of great games, many awesome Mario ones, but it just never caught on like the first one did. That makes me think what next for Super Mario Maker? To be honest with you, I feel like they have exhausted what they can do as far as 2D goes. I mean, they could add in the Super Mario Land style from the original Game Boy, but would that be enough? I really cannot see them offering Super Mario Bros Wonder and all the craziness that had.
For me, if they make a Super Mario Maker 3, going 3D makes the most sense, but I would imagine offering people let’s just say, Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine…. Maybe Mario Galaxy to build upon would be such a huge task, that I am not even sure it would be possible. My idea is that instead of Super Mario Maker, we go for something different. My idea is that Nintendo go for a Legend of Zelda Maker. You have the original NES Zelda, Link to the Past, A Link Between Worlds, and Link’s Awakening Remake as your visual styles. The top down Zelda games I feel would be a fun way for people to make their own Zelda games and they have four different styles that they can allow people to use.
While I feel that Zelda would be the best way to go for their next “Maker” game, what about Metroid, Mario Kart, or even a Mario Party where you can make your own boards, games, and rules? I would love to hear your thoughts on the Mario Maker games and what you feel the next step for this series should be.