It’s the final major update for Super Mario Maker 2, but all good things must come to an end. Nintendo released a trailer this morning detailing the new (pretty expansive) update to the ultimate 2D Mario game. The world maker everyone’s talking about is just the tip of the iceberg; there’s are plenty of features in this free update to keep Super Mario Maker 2 alive indefinitely.
Super Mario Bros. 2 Mode
Rather than adding an entirely new style, a “SMB2 Mushroom” can be placed to turn Mario into his wild card iteration from Super Mario Bros. 2. The second entry in the franchise, which was remastered on the Game Boy Advanced as Super Mario Advance, is a bit of a dark horse, so it’s impressive Nintendo hasn’t forgotten it. This update allows Mario to pick up and throw enemies as well as ride them, and unleashes the deadly Phanto when a player makes a grab for a key. It looks like some beloved enemies like Shy Guy, Tweeter, Cobrat and Birdo won’t be making the jump to Mario Maker 2, however.
New Hats Galore!
A variety a hats from Super Mario 3D World have been added and bring with them a host of new abilities. The cannon head can be used to shoot far away enemies; the propeller hat lets Mario fly 3x his normal distance; the POW block of course creates an area of effect to destroy enemies and blocks; the Goomba hat lets Mario disguise himself to enemies and sneak around unnoticed, and the Bullet Bill hat lets Mario fly in a horizontal line in quick bursts. These hats provide plenty of opportunities for creators to make courses a little larger and more complex.
The Koopalings Return
Love them or hate them, the Koopalings (also known as the Koopa Kids) have become a staple of Mario Games, even appearing in Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Bowser Jr.’s siblings are finally available as bosses, each with their own unique powers. Fighting them all at once seems like it might be just a tad too chaotic, but it seems like there are sufficient materials here to make a Koopa Kid boss tower. Mechakoopas, a new throwable enemy type, have also been added into Super Mario Maker 2 to give Mario new explosive abilities.
World Maker
If you had asked any Mario Maker fan to name their #1 most requested feature a week ago, a World Maker would absolutely top the list. With the new update, creators can stack their stages together with a simple overworld akin to Super Mario World and customize it to their heart’s content. Swap out land features, icons, buildings and biomes to build your perfect world, then attach stages you’ve built to each of the stop-points. The World Maker effectively allows dedicated creators to bring every past 2D Mario game to life in Super Mario Maker 2.
I’ll be looking forward to tracking down a recreation of Super Mario Bros. 2 myself in a few weeks. Up to eight of these worlds can be joined together to contain up to 40 courses – give it a week, and I’m sure a dedicated fan out there will have rebuilt the entirety of the original Super Mario Bros. for your nostalgic pleasure.
Creators and players alike can look forward to the near infinite number of possibilities when the third and final major update for Super Mario Maker 2 goes live on April 22.