[imagesource: Nintendo]

This article is a guest contribution from game enthusiast and sometimes Dungeon Master, Mo.

For many of us, our introduction to the world of gaming came through the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the knock-off version which my parents got for me.

I’m sure you remember the console.

The game that received most of my attention on the cartridge that came with the console was Super Mario Bros.

I was so taken in by Super Mario Bros. that not only did I log hours of time gaming, but also spent more time than I am proud to admit sketching level designs in painstaking detail. The theme tune for Super Mario Bros. was also the very first piece I learned to play on the piano.

Photo: GAME

Super Mario Bros. remains a masterpiece of gaming design, and it is no surprise that the red dungaree-wearing Italian plumber is perhaps Nintendo’s most iconic mascot.

Skip forward to 2015 when Nintendo released Super Mario Maker for the Wii U. Unfortunately, the Wii U was not a popular console and it was the only Nintendo console I did not purchase. Learning from that failure, however, Nintendo developed the Nintendo Switch, one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.

When I came across Super Mario Maker 2 (SMM2) on the Nintendo Switch, I had to buy it. Unlike most Mario games which are usually divided into eight Worlds with a specific number of levels per world, SMM2 allows players to design their own levels and play levels designed by other users.

You are given the option of using the classic Super Mario Bros. gameplay style, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros U and Super Mario World 3D. In the most recent update, which dropped on April 22, players were given the ability to create levels in the Super Mario Bros. 2 style, as well as create their own worlds.

In a previous update, players were given the ability to add Link (from The Legend of Zelda series) as a playable character which allowed for the creation of a number of new puzzles and platforming challenges given Link’s unique abilities to use bombs, arrows, his shield, or the Master Sword.

There a number of life-defining moments, but the dream of creating my own Mario levels finally becoming a reality is definitely top five.

The player gets a brief tutorial, some level examples, and then you are told to go forth and create. The community that developed around the Mario Maker games is a testament to creativity. Users have created music levels, puzzles, exceptionally difficult platforming levels known as Kaizo levels, troll levels, and speed-runs to name a few. There are also levels which are, for lack of a better phrase, hot garbage, but they are fun to play.

Have a look at the SMM2 gameplay trailer:

Given that we’re all stuck inside, SMM2 presents a perfect opportunity to flex your level designing brain, or try to complete some exceptionally difficult levels which, in my view, is a rewarding experience.

Check out a level designed by a popular SMM2 YouTuber, Ryukahr.

Because SMM2 boasts millions of user-generated levels, it is a game that will take up a lot of your time while you are quarantined and is nearly infinitely re-playable.

At the moment, I’m designing a Mario World that is inspired by the Nine Circles of Dante’s Inferno (one of my other favourite Italians).

If you have a Nintendo Switch, there is no reason not to get Mario Maker 2.

Stay Safe and Keep Gaming.