Nintendo announced new details for Super Mario Maker 2 today in a Nintendo Direct centered around the title. As expected, it will play similarly to the first Super Mario Maker that released for the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems. In this game, players can create side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. levels with a wide range of tools and themes. There are a few styles for design base on the aesthetics of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. With Super Mario Maker 2, there are of course many new options for level creation.
The Direct was packed with details about the new tools introduced in Super Mario Maker 2. Some highlights will be listed below.
- Slopes – Angle of slopes can be sharp or gentle. Mario can slide down these, taking out certain enemies in his path.
- Angry Sun – This enemy from Super Mario Bros. 3 returns. It will chase Mario relentlessly across a course.
- Snake Block – These blocks become a move platform. Level designers can the path they move along. Blue Snake Blocks move faster than normal ones.
- On/Off Switch – These blocks can trigger a few actions when hitting them. They can swap physicality of blue and red blocks back and forth. They can change tracks that platforms and objects move along. It can also reverse the direction of conveyor belts.
- Seesaw – This platform tilts according to Mario’s weight displacement along it.
- Swinging Claw – The objects will hold onto Mario as he swings from them. They will release when him pressing the jump button.
- Water Level – Level designers can now adjust the depth of water in a level. It is possible to make water that raises and lowers according to a timer. Lava can also be used instead.
- Custom Scroll – Auto-scrolling levels are now an option. Players can customize the path on which the level scrolls and the speed of the scrolling. It is also possible to create vertically scrolling sub-areas of a level. Scroll stops can be to hide secret areas in a level by not allowing the screen to scroll into them.
- Banzai Bill – These giant Bullet Bills can be aimed in four different directions. There is also a variety that automatically seeks out Mario.
- Dry Bones Shell – Power-up the allows Mario to jump into lava unaffected. It can also turn him invincible by playing dead.
- Big Coins – These coins can be placed around levels are worth values of 10, 30, or 50 gold coins.
- New Sounds Effects – There are several new sound effects that can activate at a the level designers’ discretion.
- Co-Op Making – Two Joy-Cons can be used simultaneously to work together in designing a course.
- Clear Conditions – Different requirements can be set for players completing a levels.
- New Level Themes – New themes include Desert, Snow, Forest, and Sky. There are nighttime version of these themes that change how the levels function.
- New Music – Expect tracks by Koji Kondo, the granddaddy of Nintendo sound design.
There are many more additions to the game that were not fully covered in the Direct.
Unlike the first game, Super Mario Maker 2 will have a story mode. In it, Mario will aid in the reconstruction of Peach’s Castle. When completing levels in the story mode, players will earn coins. The coins can be spent to rebuild and expand the castle. As players progress, they will encounter characters that offer new challenges for Mario. In this mode, there will be over 100 courses designed by experts at Nintendo.
There is a new Game Style based on Super Mario 3D World. It will not work with other game styles because it has many unique functions and objects that only appear in this style. Some of these special features are as follow.
- Cat Mario – This power-up will allows Mario to climb walls, scratch, pounce, and generally do kitty things.
- Clear Pipes – These pipes are a little different from others in the game as they can bend. Enemies can enter these pipes, too. Designers can draw the path of pipes.
- Crates – These boxes can Float on water and lava. They can be used as platforms.
- Warp Box – Upon entering it, this block will teleport Mario to a different area of a level.
- Spike Block – These will block will expose and recede spikes at time intervals. When combined with the On/Off Switch, they will react according to when the switch is hit.
- ! Block – These blocks will extend more blocks when struck. Ground pounding makes it expand quickly.
- Blinking Block – This platform flip between physical and intangible based on timed beats.
- Track Block – This will move along a drawn path. Blue ones move when Mario stand on them.
- Mushroom Trampoline – These are simply a bouncy platform.
- Piranha Creeper – This Piranha Plant extends along a drawn path. It has a spiked stem.
- Skipsqueak – These mouse-like enemies tend to jump when Mario does.
- Koopa Troopa Car – The power-up can speed through levels and run over enemies in its way.
- Charvaargh – This is a large dragon-like lava creature.
- Pom Pom – This minboss enemy is armed with a shuriken and can create doppelgangers.
- Banzai Bills – In this Game Style, Banzai Bills can be aimed toward the foreground.
There is likely far more to this Game Style than what has been seen so far. What is interesting to note is that in the Super Mario Maker 2 menu interface, the Super Mario 3D World Game Style was place in a section labeled “Extra Game Styles”, so there may be more level design tools based on Mario games to come in the future.
In Course World, players can and discover each other’s courses. While finding new levels to play, they can choose from the most populars courses or use a search filter to narrow down the type of course they want to play. Adding tags to the search will fill certain parameters. Courses can be downloaded to play offline later. This is also where Network Play can be accessed. This is a multiplayer mode in which players can choose between Mario, Luigi, Toad, or Toadette. There is a VS Mode that pits players against each other at they race to complete courses. Alternatively, the Co-Op Mode lets them word together to beat a level. If one person wins, everyone wins.
Super Mario Maker 2 will release in North America on June 28, 2019. In the days leading up to E3 2019, there will be a Super Mario Maker 2 invitational tournament.
