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Super Mario Maker is a game creation and publishing tool and video game, which allows players to create their own levels from the Super Mario series using the Wii U GamePad, and then publish those levels to the Internet. Players can base their levels on the gameplay, and visual style of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U, with their corresponding styles of physics, gameplay mechanics and enemy behavior. Some elements are limited to specific game styles while others can be added to game styles that previously did not have them in the original game, such as Boos in Super Mario Bros.^[2][3][4]

In addition to traditional Mario elements such as Goombas, warp pipes and power ups, players are able to manipulate the behavior of various elements in unique ways. For example, they can stack enemies, have hazards come out of question blocks and warp pipes, use shells as protective helmets, and make cannons and Lakitu emit any chosen objects. These combinations are possible because editing tools in the game work in tandem with one another. This allows players to enlarge an enemy by giving it a mushroom, grant an enemy the ability to fly by giving it wings, combine different attributes, and more. The Sound Frog adds audiovisual effects to particular locations, including microphone-recorded sounds, though user-generated sounds are removed from uploaded courses. Editing elements are introduced gradually, with new elements unlocking as the player spends more time creating levels.^[5] The Mystery Mushroom, which can only be used in the Super Mario Bros. theme, dresses Mario in one of over 100 different costumes, with the same effects as a Super Mushroom. Each of these costumes can be unlocked by playing through the 100 Mario Challenge, clearing special event courses, or by scanning a corresponding Amiibo figurine. Additionally, the 8-bit Mario Amiibo figurine adds a Big Mushroom that makes Mario giant while changing the appearance of enemies.^[6][7][8]

Once the user is able to play through one's own newly created level, that level is then allowed to be published to the online Course World. There, all players can browse and play various user-generated courses, or participate in the 100 Mario Challenge, where they can play through a set of randomly selected user-created courses. Alternatively, players can play the 10 Mario Challenge, which features pre-made courses included with the game.^[9] Players are initially limited in the amount of courses they can upload online, but by receiving stars from other players, they can earn medals which allow them to upload more courses.^[10]

The game was first announced at E3 2014 with the name Mario Maker. The game was originally conceived as a tool by Nintendo's internal development team, to be used only within the company. The team, however, quickly realized the tool's potential as a game and pitched the idea to senior game designer Takashi Tezuka.^[11] Meanwhile, Tezuka had been wanting to make a Wii U followup to Mario Paint that utilizes the Wii U GamePad.^[11] Upon seeing the Mario Maker tool however, Tezuka realized that a level-making tool was more marketable than a mere art program. He noted to Polygon that building levels is "not as difficult or out of reach as drawing is" but that he "was inspired to bring the fun of Mario Paint into this course editor".^[11] The game was directed by Yosuke Oshino, who previously worked as a programmer on Pikmin, Pikmin 2, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.^[12]

The game's soundtrack was composed and arranged by Koji Kondo,^[13][14] Naoto Kubo, and Asuka Hayazaki.^[15]

In May 2015, Nintendo announced that people could try out Mario Maker at Best Buy stores across North America on June 17 and 20, 2015.^[16] The game was demonstrated under a new name, Super Mario Maker, on June 14, 2015, during the final round of the Nintendo World Championships event preceding E3 2015.^[17] The four levels created by Nintendo Treehouse for the Championships are available to play in the final game.^[18]

Prior to the game's release, Nintendo partnered with Facebook to host a special "hackathon" event. 150 Facebook employees were tasked with constructing levels using Super Mario Maker, and the winning team was given the opportunity to create a level to be featured in the game on its launch.^[19] Several notable video game designers showcased levels they had created, such as Michel Ancel, Koji Igarashi, Tim Rogers, and Derek Yu.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]} Ancel's level is included in the base game.^[29]

Super Mario Maker was released worldwide in September 2015, with a corresponding Wii U bundle.^[30] Each copy of the game is packaged with a 96-page booklet of creative ideas, which is also available as a PDF download.^[31][32] Alongside the release of Super Mario Maker, Nintendo launched an 8-bit Mario Amiibo figurine, available in two different color variations. The figurine is sold alone, and within particular Super Mario Maker game bundles.^[33]

The game was originally intended to require players to wait each day to unlock new elements, but a patch was released on the game's launch date which delivers new elements corresponding to the player's content creation efforts.^[34] Destructoid noted that there were many elements missing from the game that had appeared in past entries of the series,^[35] but following its release, the game received free updates that added new features. The first major update, released on November 4, 2015, added mid-level checkpoints, conditional power-ups, and event courses.^[36] Clearing certain Event Courses unlocks additional Mystery Mushroom costumes, such as Super Mario-kun and GameCenter CX presenter Shinya Arino.^[37][38] The game's second major update was released on December 22, 2015 which, in addition to records listing a course's fastest clear time, launched the "Super Mario Maker Bookmark" website, which allows players browse through uploaded courses through any web browser and bookmark them to play in the game later, allowing for easier sharing of levels.^[39]

Super Mario Maker received critical acclaim. IGN's Jose Otero praised the game's social elements, commenting on Super Mario Maker's online features and highlighting positively the 10 Mario Challenge, stating that players would "see a genuine reverence for Mario’s history" in the online modes. He also gave positive comments on the level editor itself and its user interface, writing that "[n]o matter which style you choose, creating levels is an intimidating task but the well designed interface makes learning easy and intuitive" and that it "gives us a fun, flexible toolbox to build and play Mario levels like never before".^[50]

GameSpot's Justin Haywald praised the game's level editor and its features, stating that "the mix-and-match nature [of gameplay elements] allows for exciting and anachronistic additions to familiar scenarios". In contrast, he also expressed disappointment in particular limitations, such as the absence of a checkpoint as seen in Super Mario World, and the vertical and horizontal limits of each stage. He ultimately concluded that "the game won't necessarily turn you into the next Shigeru Miyamoto, but you can almost feel a little bit of that magic rubbing off every time you upload a new creation".^[47]

Polygon's Griffin McElroy wrote positively of the game, saying he had "a tremendous amount of fun playing, but the way it developed that newfound appreciation for something I've known my whole life was the game's biggest accomplishment".^[52]

The increasingly rich online library of user-generated content has been individually showcased and praised by reviewers, and has been praised by Mario series co-creator Takashi Tezuka. He described Nintendo's restraint in the gameplay difficulty of its own content, in the interest of mass appeal. He expressed both appreciation and caution for the fact that the users do not necessarily share the same restraint in their creations.^[54]

I expected that the users who wanted to play more of the hard courses would be attracted to Super Mario Maker. ... It was quite a surprise how much fun it was to watch the videos, without even playing myself. There are so many intriguing and inventive courses, like one which you couldn’t beat if you picked up a mushroom. It’s been a huge motivation for us developers to do better.^[54]

Super Mario Maker debuted in Japan with more than 138,000 physical copies sold; it had sales of 245,000 copies in its first three weeks, by the end of September 2015.^[55][56] It was the second best-selling game in the UK in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the UK software retail chart. It was the fourth fastest-selling game for the Wii U since the console's debut in 2012.^[57] In its first three weeks on sale in North America, 445,000 copies had been sold, with over 500,000 sold by the end of September 2015.^[58] As of the end of December 2015, 3.34 million copies had been sold worldwide.^[59] Sales in the United States reached 1 million in mid-January 2016, making the game the sixth Wii U title to do so in the country.^[60]

A downloadable, Super Mario Maker themed stage for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U was released on September 30, 2015.^[72]

• Mario video games
• Mario Paint, 1992's inspiration for Super Mario Maker
• Mario Artist, 1999's sequel to Mario Paint with online publishing

• Official website

Category:2015 video games Category:Mario platform games Category:Mario Universe games Category:Nintendo Network games Category:Side-scrolling video games Category:Video games composed by Koji Kondo Category:Video game development software Category:Video game level editors Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games with 2.5D graphics Category:Video games with user-generated gameplay content Category:Video games that use Amiibo figurines Category:Wii U eShop games Category:Wii U games Category:Wii U-only games