But maybe the biggest, literal game-changer comes with the new 'clear conditions.' You can set exciting/simple/clever parameters that must be met in order to complete the level. Some of the new options, like different angled slopes, add even more variety to your level designs. Again, touch interface works great, but I'm so used to building levels with my controller in docked mode that I'd like to keep that continuity when I swap between Switch modes. My one complaint is that handheld mode forces you to use touch for most things, with no option to use a controller at all.

There is a gentle learning curve, one that's easy to overcome, and once I got the hang of it, I couldn't go back. I actually grew to prefer using the controller to build levels over handheld’s touch input - not because touch is bad, but because using the controller is so good. Any concerns I had about controller-based input versus the 3DS and Wii U’s touch input melted away after a short period of adjustment. It comes as no surprise that the section dedicated to crafting your own Super Mario levels is superb. Maker's Markīut this is Super Mario Maker 2 after all, not Super Mario Castle Repair Simulator. Completing the story unlocks a new option in your Maker levels, so there's more reason to play through it other than 'because it's awesome.' Honestly, I hope there are more jobs to unlock beyond the ones I have, because I love playing them. After completing construction on the castle, which required me to beat over 100 levels, I still had five pages of 'jobs' left to do. I mean it when I say the story mode in Super Mario Maker 2 could be its own game.

A later level takes place entirely in a Koopa car, and it's one of the most fluid, and most fun, levels in the game. Levels range from classic Mario platforming, to levels challenging your technical skills with precarious jumps and timing, to levels where you race on a series of bouncing platforms inside a Super Mario 3D World Koopa Car. It's almost like a chef tasting: each artist has created a small dish, unfettered from the constraints of their nightly menus, and you're lucky enough to sample the fruits of their creativity. The levels are so wonderfully creative, each one using the many varied tools of Super Mario Maker 2's maker mode to create something never seen before.

Instead, each level stands on its own, and in spite of the barest of narratives, I found myself absolutely in love with the story mode. There's no central theme or structure to the levels - there isn't a World 1-2 with a warp zone to World 4-1.

Super mario maker 2 4 player