How an ambitious fan initiative evolved into a stepping stone toward “serious” game development. Super Mario Maker 2 user MetroidMike64 spent over seven years developing this unofficial sequel. He originally started making it on the initial round of Super Mario Maker for Wii U.
What began as an academic exercise is now a fully-fledged Super Mario game that can hold its own against Nintendo’s greatest. There are forty courses in total, and they’re spread out across eight different planets; each one is designed in the same vein as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
When compared to other levels made in Super Mario Maker 2, Metroid Mike’s Super Mario Bros. 5 isn’t purposefully challenging and doesn’t necessitate pixel-perfect precision to complete.
This Super World features 40 full courses spread across 8 worlds. 24 courses from Super Mario World, 14 from SMB3 and 2 courses from SMB. There are no courses from NSMBU or SM3DW, only the classics. So if NES/SNES 2D Mario is your jam, this game is for you. pic.twitter.com/y1hFPXhRW5
— Metroid Mike 64 (@MetroidMike64) September 25, 2022
The absence of a Super Mario Bros. 5 game was glaring in Nintendo’s otherwise extensive portfolio. Not many 2D Mario games have been released recently, despite the widespread fondness for them. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, released in 2019, was the last mainstream 2D game in the series. It was originally released for the Wii U in 2012.
As MetroidMike64 explains to Inverse, he became a maker and maybe even a real game designer thanks to Super Mario Maker 2.
Mike tells Inverse, “I’m interested in learning how to code and attempting something different. Thomas Happ’s success in creating Axiom Verge on his own has been an inspiration to me. A lot of skill is required for that. I aspire to be as accomplished as he is.
Final Words
Nintendo’s mascot Mario stars in the Super Mario platform game series. The Mario series, sometimes known as the Super Mario Bros. series or just Mario, is the flagship series of the Mario franchise as a whole. At the very least, a Super Mario game can be found on every single one of Nintendo’s home video game consoles.