So Super Mario Maker is pretty awesome.
It really is amazing how much you can do with so little--which isn’t to say the game is
exactly short on content.
Buuut, I wouldn’t mind some more.
So here are the top 10 things I want to see added to the game as DLC in no particular
order.
- I want Checkpoints - Please dear God add checkpoints Nintendo.
There are levels out there that NEED them.
Even the original Super Mario Bros. had them!
It really sucks to make it through a long, tough-as-nails level, only to eat it at the
end and have to redo the entire thing.
Now I realize it would require creators who use them to beat the level a second time to
ensure it can also be finished from the checkpoint, but that’s a small price to pay to make
levels more accessible.
-I want Slopes.
Gah, slopes have literally been in every Mario game except the first 2, so why aren’t they
here?
Even the Super Mario Maker stage in Smash Bros Wii U has them!
It would go a long way in making courses feel more organic and natural, as well as enabling
for you to adjust altitudes without jumping.
-I want More level themes!
So Super Mario Maker already covers most of the basics...if we’re talking about the
original Super Mario Bros.
But where are my desert, beach, snow, jungle, and mountain levels?!
How am I supposed to recreate Delfino Plaza without a beach theme?
Although what good would a beach level be without water, which brings is to...
-I want to add water anywhere!
Ever since Mario 3, Mario levels have featured a mix of ground and underwater gameplay, and
it’s a little annoying that you can only create levels tat are completely dry or completely
submerged.
They should either make it a tileable surface, like ground--or simply allow you to set the
height of the water level for the entire stage.
-I want More Power-Ups!
I love that the Raccoon Leaf is here, but where are the rest of the Mario 3 power-ups?
Like the Frog Suit?
Hammer Suit?
And it’s not just SMB3--where’s the Squirrel suit from NSMBU?!
Did anyone really want the Propeller Cap instead?
-I want More variations for...well, everything!
I love how you can shake enemies to get different variations, but most enemies only have two.
I want more!
I would love if I could keep shaking the Koopa Troopas to make them different colors, like
in Mario World--and side note: why doesn’t Yoshi gain special powers after eating a shell
this time?
And speaking of Yoshis, I wish I shake them too for different colors--again like SMW.
Same thing with pipes.
And better yet, the pipes could have slightly different attributes, such as expelling enemies
at different intervals.
I would love if I could have a pipe on-screen that spat out a power-up every 20-seconds
instead of every 3.
And not to get too carried away, it would be awesome if you could have pipes expel more
than just one thing.
Like if I create a long pipe, it’d be cool if I could fill it up with enemies that then
pop out in that order before repeating.
Oh, and you know how when you give a mushroom to a Hammer Bro and it changes him into a
Sledge Bro?
I want more of that!
Why can’t I drag a Fire Flower onto him to make him a Fire Bro.
Or onto a Chain Chomp to make it a Flame Chomp?
Or how Boomerang to turn him into a Boomerang Brother.
Wait, what’s that?
You’re saying there’s no Boomerang in the game?
Now would be the perfect chance to bring the Boomerang Suit from the 3D games into the
2D ones---hell, Mario could even use a Boomerang in the Game Boy Advance version of Mario 3,
so it’s not that far out there.
But speaking of far out there:
-I want Super Mario Bros. 2 as a game theme!
It just seems a little unfair that it’s the only classic console Mario game not represented
here.
Yeah, I know that it’s the most different of the 2D platformers, but that's all the
more reason it should be here.
And honestly--the game isn’t *that* different--Mario still runs and jumps after all, and even pick
up things like how he can in the later games.
Hell, the Bob-omb enemy that’s already in Super Mario maker even first appeared SMB2
--so really, they’re like 90% there already.
And they’d really only have to tweak a few other things to make the game blend in, such
as having the Question Blocks become the sprouts you pluck from the ground.
Plus it would just be really fun to play with SMB2’s unique mechanics too, like the Super
Jump you get for crouching, or the ability to ride enemies around.
Plus I would love to see how these enemies would have evolved had they appeared in the
other Mario games.
Like the Shy Guys, and how they become more humanoid in the spinoff Mario games.
And likewise, it would be fun to see how classic enemies, like the Goomba, look like in the
SMB2 style.
Oh, and side-note, one the semi-solid platforms could totally be the whale.
Yes, a freakin’ whale.
Make it happen Nintendo!
Now regardless of whether SMB2 makes it into Mario Maker, there is one more feature from
that game I’d like to see added, and but this one gets its very own entry.
-I want Keys & Locked doors-- Okay, so hear me out.
Mario games have always been about exploration--which is something Super Mario Maker kind of lacks.
I mean, you really only need to get to the flagpole, and there’s really no reason to
go off the main path.
Which is why adding locked doors would be a fantastic way to add that element back into
the game, forcing the player to find a key before proceeding.
And it would be a far more elegant solution to block the player than the jerry rigged
P-Switches & blocks that so many people already use as a solution.
And the idea really isn’t that far out there, because even though keys first appeared in
Super Mario Bros. 2, they also appeared in Super Mario World.
And speaking of exploration...
-I want Star Coins!
Collectibles have become a staple of the Mario series, and I they would be perfect for Super
Mario Maker.
I mean, completing a level is one thing, but 100%’ing it could be something else entirely.
They could even add it as a secondary metric they track, where you can see who 100%’d
your level.
And while they’re at it, they should add Leaderboards to to track times for speed-running,
as well as points.
I mean, points have historically been meaningless in Mario games, but here they could actually
mean something.
Especially in levels that are minigames themselves, like my own Frogger or Space Invaders levels.
-I want to Force Boss Fighters - As is, boss fights are way too easy to avoid.
So there really should be some way to force you to fight certain enemies.
Actually...remember our key idea?
YOu know, from a few seconds ago.
What if you could have the boss hold onto a key that you could only get by defeating
him, which would then allow you to open the locked door nearby?
Kind of like how you had to beat Birtdo n Mario Bros 2 to get the orb that opened the
bird-door.
-And last but not least.
I want More enemies.
Yeah, this one goes without saying.
But I won’t be completely happy until I get my Charging Chucks, Angry Suns, and Reznor's.
Actually...you know what?
What if Nintendo released themed DLC packs that contained related objects.
Like a Desert pack could contain the desert theme, as well as desert enemies like Pokies,
Angry Sun, and Fire Snakes.
Whereas a Winter theme could contain the Snow theme Cooligan enemies, and the Penguin suit
item.
So there you have it--the top 10-things I want to see added to Super Mario Maker.
But what do you want to see added?
Let us know by posting in the comments below!
Thanks for watching and make sure to stay-tuned to GameXplain for more on Super Mario Maker
and other things gaming too.