Nintendo basically handed over the keys to the kingdom and walked away. That is the simplest way to describe what happened when Super Mario Maker landed on the Wii U back in 2015. For decades, we played the levels Nintendo gave us. We jumped where they told us to jump. We died where they wanted us to die. Then, suddenly, the "maker" became the player.
It changed everything.
Honestly, nobody expected a level editor to become a cultural phenomenon that would span two console generations and a decade of YouTube history. You’ve likely seen the clips. You know the ones—where a tiny Mario survives a literal wall of firebars and spinning saws by a single pixel. It looks like magic. It looks like a mistake. But in the world of a dedicated maker, it’s a calculated masterpiece of design.
The Secret Language of Level Design
What most people get wrong about Super Mario Maker is the idea that it’s just about making things hard. Sure, "Kaizo" culture—a term borrowed from the infamous Kaizo Mario World ROM hack—dominates the headlines. But the real soul of the game is in the mechanics that Nintendo never actually taught us.
Take "shell jumps," for example. Nintendo didn't program a specific "shell jump" button. It’s an emergent property of the physics engine. You throw a shell against a wall, it bounces back, and you jump off it in mid-air to gain height. It’s hard. Like, "spend six hours trying to do it once" hard. Yet, the community turned this quirk into a foundational skill.
There is a weird tension here. Nintendo builds games for everyone. They want your grandma to be able to finish a level. But the Super Mario Maker community wants to see how far they can bend the rules before the whole thing snaps. They use "global ground" tricks to keep objects loaded off-screen and "spawn blocking" to manipulate where enemies appear. It's less like playing a game and more like low-level programming with Koopas.
Why the Wii U Version Still Has a Cult Following
You might think Super Mario Maker 2 on the Switch rendered the original obsolete. You'd be wrong. Even though Nintendo officially pulled the plug on the Wii U servers in early 2024, the "Pretendo" project and other homebrew efforts have kept it alive. Why?
The GamePad.
💡 You might also like: Why Seek a Word Puzzles Free Sites are Actually Getting Better (And Where to Look)
There is no replacing that stylus. Using a finger on the Switch screen or, heaven forbid, a controller joystick to place blocks feels clunky. It’s like trying to paint a portrait with a potato. On the Wii U, a maker could fly through menus. The dual-screen setup meant you could edit on the fly while looking at the TV. It was seamless. Also, the original game had the "Mystery Mushroom" costumes. We lost those in the sequel. We lost the ability to play as Link, Kirby, or an actual Mercedes-Benz GLA (yes, that was real) in the classic 8-bit style.
The Tragedy of "The Last Level"
In the months leading up to the 2024 server shutdown, something incredible happened. A group called "Team SMM" realized there were thousands of levels that had never been cleared. Under Nintendo’s rules, you can't upload a level unless you can beat it yourself. This meant every single level in the database was theoretically possible.
The race to clear every single level was intense.
One level, titled "Trimming the Herbs," became the final boss of the entire community. It was a 17-second gauntlet of frame-perfect inputs. For weeks, the best players in the world failed. Then, a bombshell dropped: the creator admitted they used a "TAS" (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) to upload it. It wasn't humanly possible.
Once that level was disqualified, the community realized they had already won. They had cleared every legitimate level ever uploaded. It was a rare moment of internet unity. Thousands of strangers working together to ensure no maker was left behind before the lights went out.
How to Actually Build a Level That People Don't Hate
If you're jumping into Super Mario Maker 2 today, don't make a "hot garbage" level. We have enough of those. You know the type: a door that leads to an instant death, or a "pick-a-path" pipe that relies on luck. That’s not difficulty. That’s just bad vibes.
Good design follows a "breadcrumb" philosophy.
💡 You might also like: Finding the Landmarks of Riches Map 3 Treasure Without Getting Lost
- Introduce a mechanic in safety. If you want to use a seesaw, put it over solid ground first.
- Iterate. Make the player use that seesaw to jump over a small pit.
- The Twist. Now make them use the seesaw while a Lakitu is throwing spinies at them.
- The Reward. Give them a 1-up or a giant coin for doing something stylish.
Think about the flow. A player should never feel cheated. If they die, they should know exactly why it happened. Use coins to guide the player's jump arc. Use "indicator" tracks (those little dotted lines) to show where to throw an item. A great maker is like a silent guide, leading the player through a dance they didn't know they could perform.
The Psychological Hook of the Endless Challenge
Why do we keep playing? It’s the "just one more go" factor. Super Mario Maker taps into the same part of the brain as Dark Souls or Super Meat Boy. It’s about mastery. There is a specific chemical hit you get when you finally nail a mid-air spring drop after 400 attempts.
It’s also about the "Troll" levels. But not the bad kind. "DGR" and "CarlSagan42" are famous YouTubers who popularized high-quality troll levels. These are levels designed to trick you in hilarious, creative ways. You enter a pipe thinking you’re safe, only for a giant Thwomp to gently nudge you into a pit. It’s comedy. It requires a deep understanding of player psychology. You have to know what the player expects to happen so you can subvert it.
The Limits of the Engine
It’s not perfect. Nintendo’s "Object Limit" is the bane of every creative maker. You can only have so many enemies, so many blocks, and so many power-ups on screen. This forces creativity.
I've seen people build fully functional calculators using nothing but Note Blocks and Munchers. I've seen recreations of Pong and Mega Man. When you give people a limited set of tools, they find ways to do things the developers never intended. This is the "Maker" spirit. It’s about looking at a Goomba and seeing a logic gate.
What’s Next for the Maker Series?
We haven't heard much about a Super Mario Maker 3. With the "Switch 2" rumors swirling, everyone is wondering if Nintendo will iterate again. What could they even add? Slopes were the big request for the second game, and we got them. Maybe a "World Maker" that is even more robust? Or perhaps a 3D level creator?
Creating in 3D is a nightmare compared to 2D. The simplicity of the grid is what makes Super Mario Maker accessible. You don't need to be an engineer to make a fun level. You just need an idea. If Nintendo moves away from the 2D plane, they risk losing that "pick up and play" magic that made the original a hit.
For now, the community is the engine. Between the "Team Precision" levels that require movement accurate to the pixel and the "Auto-Mario" levels that are basically Rube Goldberg machines, the game is functionally infinite. You could play a new level every second for the rest of your life and never see the same thing twice.
Step-by-Step: Moving From Player to Maker
If you want to move beyond just playing and start building levels that actually get "Likes" and "Plays" in the current ecosystem, you need a strategy. The "New Arrivals" tab is a graveyard of forgotten ideas. To stand out, you have to be intentional.
✨ Don't miss: Why Assassin’s Creed Shadows Feast for Thought is Actually a Big Deal for Historical Immersion
- Play the Story Mode. In Super Mario Maker 2, the story mode is actually a hidden masterclass in level design. It shows you how to use single items in multiple ways. Pay attention to how they use "On/Off" switches to change the environment.
- Stick to One Theme. Don't mix desert, snow, and forest elements in a way that feels messy. Pick a theme and a game style (like Super Mario World) and master its specific physics. New Super Mario Bros. U allows for wall jumping; Super Mario Bros. 3 does not. This changes everything about your layout.
- The "Clear Check" is Your Friend. If you find yourself frustrated while trying to upload your own level, it’s probably too hard or poorly paced. If you can't beat it three times in a row without failing, the average player won't beat it at all.
- Watch the Heatmap. After you upload, look at where people are dying. If 90% of players die at the first jump, you’ve made a "bottleneck." Smooth it out. You want players to see your whole creation, not just the first ten feet.
- Engage With the Community. Join Discord servers like "The Maker's Guild." Share your level codes and ask for "feedback," not just "plays." Real critique is the only way to get better.
The era of the Wii U might be over, but the philosophy of the maker is just getting started. It’s a transition from being a consumer of art to being a creator of experiences. Whether you're building a cruel gauntlet of fire or a musical tribute to a pop song, you're participating in a digital legacy that has permanently changed how we think about Mario. And honestly? That's pretty cool.