Video Game Review - Super Mario Maker

So its the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. and unlike the 25th anniversary, we actually get a game that aims to give Mario fans like myself, the chance to create our own levels for a few Mario games, instead of a SNES port of a game that we would've easily got on the Wii's virtual console library than getting the retail version. It serves as the spiritual successor to Mario Paint and in my opinion, there is no better way to celebrate this milestone than to have our dreams come true. So let's take a look:

So in the game, you can create your own levels using elements that can be unlocked when certain conditions are met and time has passed. There are some slight limitations, but nothing big that would affect how you make the levels. You can create levels that are overworld, underground, underwater, in a castle, in a spooky mansion or even on an airship or a combination of the lot and the themes are Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U. All the elements are here which include the most common of power-ups, blocks and enemies and so on that are seen in every game as well as other elements that are exclusive to particular games. The main controller is the Wii U Gamepad which will serve as the tool needed to make levels. In addition to all that, you can also throw in some sound effects which include some that are your own effects or effects that are given to you in game and if you shake some of the elements or effects, they can change and don't forget to combine some of them. And yes, amiibo plays a part here in which you can have Mario become the character that the amiibo figure is with some having their own effects that stay true to their origins (such as Diddy Kong having sounds from his debut in Donkey Kong Country). And in addition to all this creation, you can also check out some of the levels others have played and take part in a 10 or 100 Mario challenge in which you play a certain set of random levels with a certain amount of lives in the hopes to you guessed it, rescue Peach from Bowser with there being a few difficulty modes to try. And there may even be some other secrets in the game to check out as well.

So in my opinion, Mario Maker is quite possibly the best creation tool out there as its very user friendly, gives Mario fans the tools they need to make great levels and you can have hours of fun making levels with friends and family and sharing them for the world to see and try out. Make sure to have plenty of amiibo to try out in the game and if you're a hardcore Mario fan like myself, then the amiibo collectors edition is the way to go as it will give you an artbook, the game and a special 30th anniversary amiibo which is a pipe with a 3D Mario model of his Super Mario Bros. form (and you can also get one that is pretty much the same, but with Mario in his more modern colours). Totally worth it and maybe in the future through updates and DLC, we can be able to use more elements in our levels. 9/10