Mario Maker First Look

While it is true that Little Big Planet 3 beat Nintendo to announcing a new, next-gen playground for creativity in editing levels, Mario Maker has the advantage of being a better platformer. It is, after all, a Mario game and uses all of the mechanics from Mario. Little Big Planet has loose controls that just aren’t as fun as those found in a Mario title.

Nintendo hasn’t messed with creativity on its main console in quite some time. The most classic example of it was the fan-favorite Mario Paint on the Super Nintendo. I used to pretend I was making Mario levels in the stamp editor by stamping them out in comic book panels. Though I probably lack the creativity and time to make great levels today–I fully expect to be able to download other users levels.

Mario Maker gives the Wii U Gamepad a pallette of choices to make. You can begin to place your blocks, enemies, and then flip into play mode where you can test out your creation. Currently, you can flip between playing as an 8 bit level and a New Super Mario Bros U looking level. 

Sadly, this is yet another of the crop of games coming in 2015. When it arrives, it should be worth a look.