Nintendo has found a really broad range of ways to celebrate theSuper Mariofranchise’s 35th anniversary. An event like this can always use a retrospective, so fans were delighted by the announcement ofSuper Mario 3D All-Stars,a bundle porting some of Mario’s greatest 3D adventures to the Nintendo Switch. There were some more unorthodox celebrations, too. Nintendo came up with an odd twist on battle royales withSuper Mario Bros. 35,released toys enabling fans to playMario Kartin real life, and more. However, one newerMariosubfranchises didn’t get much attention.Super Mario Maker 2didn’t get a whole lot to celebrate the franchise’s birthday.
Super Mario Maker 2did acknowledge the series' anniversary with a Ninji Speedrun course. However, Ninji Speedruns are a pretty small part of the game. The name makes the real heart and soul ofSuper Mario Makerobvious: it’s all about player creativity and innovative uses ofSuper Mario’s most foundational building blocks. That means that the most appropriate way forMario Maker 2to celebrate the anniversary would’ve been a new batch of parts for players to work with. Even though there was a major update for the game in 2020, it seems odd that Nintendo didn’t plan on adding one more update during such an important year in Mario’s history.
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Making More Mario Maker
Version 3.0.0 ofSuper Mario Maker 2was definitely impactful. Ever since it released in April 2020, players have had access to some very special parts, including the Frog Suit, the Boomerang Flower, Mechakoopas, and even the multitalented Koopalings. Perhaps most importantly, though, the update introduced World Maker, which allowed players to essentially put together and publish their ownSuper Mariogame.Super Mario Maker 2was fundamentally different after this major update, and players got a lot of mileage out of it. It was such a bold and exciting update thatMario Makerfans were really eager to see what more Nintendo could do with the game.
However, Nintendo was up front about 3.0.0 being the last major update forSuper Mario Maker 2,even though the game had been out for less than a year by then. It’s frankly startling that Nintendo would stop making additions to the game that early.Super Mario Maker 2earned critical acclaimand remains one of the Nintendo Switch’s best-selling titles, so it seems logical that Nintendo would want to extend the game’s lifespan as long as possible. There’s lots of content that fans still want to see in the game, too, like the Ice Flower or favorite features from the firstMario Makerlike amiibo Costumes and Weird Mario.
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Room For More Fanfare
As great as thelast majorMario Maker 2updatewas, there’s definitely room for more. Fans were dying to get a map maker inSuper Mario Maker 2,and eventually Nintendo complied. That doesn’t mean that fans have let go of their hopes for enemies like Chargin' Chucks, Torpedo Teds, Rexes, and so on. Even a small update adding a couple more of these enemies and items would totally reinvigorate the game, encouraging fans to find innovative ways to put all these parts to use.
Unfortunately, odds are low that any more major updates are coming toSuper Mario Maker 2.Nintendo hasn’t gone back on its word over the last year, teasing or launching any major changes to the game. If it hasn’t happened by now, then it probably never will. It’ll always be odd that there wasn’t a greater emphasis onMario Maker 2during the franchise’s 35th anniversary. Making levels in the style ofSuper Mariois one of the best ways to celebrate the franchise imaginable, which is why fans fell in love with this subfranchise in the first place. Nintendo would’ve been wise to find even more ways to keep makers making. At the very least, Nintendo has supported the game well overall. There may not have beenMario Maker 2updates by numbers, but they were always just what the game needed.
Super Mario Maker 2is available now for Nintendo Switch.
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