Here you can find my reviews of user-created content for game creation applications and custom map-making features in various releases on the Nintendo Switch, as well as some of my own creations for you to judge!
A note about the creators whose works are featured here – don’t take a poor grade as a knock at their skill or the effort they put into making these games. An artisan is only as good as their tools, and in many cases these creators are limited by the content creation tools they have at their disposal. Trust me, even the low grades here often still represent an impressive effort, and are only intended to inform prospective players about how likely they are to enjoy these works.
If you’re looking for a general overview on my thoughts regarding these various content creation applications, you can find that overview here!
- Fuze 4
- Game Builder Garage
- N++
- RPG Maker MV / RPG Maker MV Player
- SmileBasic 4
- Super Mario Maker 2 (Levels)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Stages)
- Ultimate Chicken Horse
Fuze 4
(Note – these games are only playable through the full version of Fuze 4, they are not playable on the Fuze 4 Player. To enter a code, go to the Programs menu and press “Y”. You can find additional game codes here)
| Game Name | Genre | Creator | Project ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing Pains of Senorita Space Worm | Arcade | Vinicity | NXMND9ND5C | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis is a great spin on the classic Arcade-style game Snake, with players’ growing tail not being fatal, but acting as a score multiplier, giving the game a risk-reward element as you weigh dodging the fatal triangles while trying to keep growing your tail. Simple, but compelling. | |||||
| Clean-Cut Heroes | Match-3 Puzzle | Vinicity | D8AK3MND5C | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThis is an inspired take on the Bejeweled-style Match-3 Puzzle, and it even features good optional touchscreen controls! Unfortunately, the heroes you’re matching often look far too similar to one-another to distinguish them apart, and there’s not enough variety to hold your interest very long. | |||||
| Dino Arena | First-Person Shooter / Arcade | Unknown | FFN63MNDDV | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThe arena in this arena-based Arcade-style First-Person Shooter is too small, and the lack of level geometry and the simple AI of the dinosaurs you’re shooting makes the strategy devolve into “run backwards in a circle a lot”. There’s a little simple fun to be had here, but not much before you decide to move on. | |||||
| Fuzeotron 2020 With Scoreboard | 2-Stick Shooter / Arcade | SteveZX81 / joshthegamer | NXMND9ND5C | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThis 2-Stick Shooter moves a bit too quickly, has levels that are over too quickly, and the top scores page takes frustratingly long to clear. | |||||
| Taxi Transport | Arcade / Driving | Unknown | HZV73MND5K | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThis is a really well-done take on a concept of a top-down Crazy Taxi-style game. Unfortunately, the lack of sound, the finite play time (without new pickups giving you more time), and lack of options really limit how much enjoyment you’ll get out of it. It’s a shame too, because with more work, this could be a really fantastic game. | |||||
| The Longest Drive | Arcade / Racing | joyrider3774 | NXKZ1BR7XD | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThis is a simple Arcade-style racing game where players avoid traffic and collect gas cans to try to keep going as long as they can. Simple, repetitive, and over quickly, but it functionally works. | |||||
| Minigame Mash-Up | Arcade | Unknown | LXK73YVY2K | 02/02/22 | D+ |
tl;drThis is a poor-man’s WarioWare, with extremely simple visuals, no sound, no options, and only a half-dozen or so “microgames”. It’s a solid proof-of-concept, but it needs much more development to be a full-fledged game. | |||||
| Station Z-52 | 2D Space Shooter / Graphic Adventure | Dinocoder | NXVGKGMD9F | 02/02/22 | D+ |
tl;drThis game starts out as a simple 2D Space Shooter with stiff controls, and then adds in a Graphic Adventure with awkward controls and ponderously slow movement. It feels like there were interesting ideas at work here, but they’re poorly-implemented. | |||||
| Tycoon Dizzy | Platformer / Graphic Adventure | Unknown | NRZXVMNDXH | 02/02/22 | D |
tl;drThis game combines Platformer mechanics with elements of a Graphic Adventure. The Graphic Adventure elements are decent enough, but the platforming is atrocious. | |||||
| Parker Pumpkin’s 115th Dream | Arcade | Vinicity | 2TK734DT2C | 02/02/22 | F |
tl;drThis is a great take on the “Avoid-’em-Up” that has you moving a pumpkin to collect hearts while avoiding ghosts, with the catch being that you do so via motion controls. Unfortunately, the motion controls are outright broken, making this game virtually unplayable. | |||||
Game Builder Garage
| Game Name | Genre | Creator | Project ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball | Arcade | Nathan | P 008 W5L GBY | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drA really well-crafted recreation of the classic Game and Watch game of the same name. There’s little flaw I can find with this version of the game, save for the flaw of the game it’s trying to recreate – it’s extremely simple. | |||||
| Doom Eternal Garage Teaser | First-Person Shooter | MrTiffles! | G 000 2HV VLG | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drThis is a fantastic proof-of-concept for a First-Person Shooter, with some particularly great movement that’s more fun than some full-release First-Person Shooters I’ve played. Unfortunately, it’s not much more than a proof-of-concept – you die when you take one hit, the enemy AI is pretty dumb, and there’s only a half-dozen or so enemies in one area. If this were developed into a bigger game, it could be fantastic, but as-is, it’s something that will make you say “wow, cool!”, and then probably never play it again. | |||||
| F-Zero | Futuristic Racing | ZeldaBoi | P 000 C9K GH4 | 02/03/22 | C- |
tl;drI absolutely applaud this creator for building something that visually looks like classic F-Zero. Having said that, the track is too confining, there’s no timer or opponents to race against, and the physics for bumping into walls feels… off. This is a fantastic foundation to build on, but it’s incomplete. | |||||
| Waluigi’s Crazy Pinball | Platformer | S.Mario.UG | P 002 23P XY1 | 02/03/22 | C- |
tl;drA lot of effort has clearly gone into this one, it’s just a shame that the Platforming is broken, with wonky physics and your character sometimes jumping without you inputting anything. | |||||
| Nintendogs + Garage [Japanese Characters] | Simulation | [Japanese Characters] | P 006 MR1 KX6 | 02/03/22 | D+ |
tl;drThe idea of using Game Builder Garage to create a poor-man’s Nintendogs is a clever one, using motion control to move the cursor/hand is a decent idea, but beyond grabbing the ball and playing “fetch”, there’s nothing to do here. | |||||
| GTA Garage Edition | Action / Puzzle | Shuggy | P 000 YWK N48 | 02/03/22 | D |
tl;drA bit buggy, and only recreates in extreme broad strokes the idea of a Grand Theft Auto game, but making a puzzle out of finding all the hidden cash bundles was a good idea. | |||||
| Hit the Targets | First-Person Arcade | LazyProto | P 008 CHD DFY | 02/03/22 | D |
tl;drA decent physics-based ball-tossing game, but unfortunately it’s difficult to judge the distance of the targets against the strength of your throw, and the margin for error is extremely slim. It is also a very simple game. | |||||
| WarioWare: Metroid | Arcade | Slactro | P 004 X20 3V0 | 02/03/22 | D |
tl;drThis is a nearly-perfect recreation of WarioWare’s simplified “microgame” based on the original Metroid. The only problem? That microgame was exceptionally simple and lasted a few seconds, as does this game. An excellent accomplishment, but not a great game. | |||||
| P.T. | First-Person Horror | DigiGee | P 002 NL8 NVW | 02/03/22 | D- |
tl;drThis is a surprisingly good recreation of the general feeling of the P.T. Demo, without really capturing that infamous game’s nuance. There also doesn’t appear to be much to see past the first few loops. | |||||
| Robot Factory | Action | taw.moe | G 000 736 3MY | 02/03/22 | D- |
tl;drShort, with enemies that don’t move and don’t damage you, and the only real challenge is walking along a narrow path without falling off. | |||||
| Sonic Green Hill 2.0 | 3D Platformer | AliVe | P 003 77N KWP | 02/03/22 | D- |
tl;drAnother game that does a superb job capturing the look of the game it’s based on, but unfortunately the controls here are terrible and there isn’t much to actually do. | |||||
| Tomb of the Bittersweet Fruit | Arcade | linkuigi | G 005 PKK V3Y | 02/03/22 | D- |
tl;drA short obstacle course where one hit kills you. Randomizing which path you take is an interesting idea, but none of the actual gameplay here is compelling. | |||||
| Trash Bandicoot | Platformer | tallez | P 001 MCH 85X | 02/03/22 | D- |
tl;drA simple, short Platformer with frustrating physics and unforgiving level design. | |||||
| Dodgy Dave in Canonball Cave | Arcade | CaspianX | G 002 PM7 TRD | 02/03/22 | N/A |
tl;drA simple Arcade-style game where players must dodge canonballs tossed at them from every direction. | |||||
N++
| Level Name | Level Type | Creator | Last Checked Availability | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38-4: Pit of Despair | Theme Level | 7656119840242710 | 02/02/22 | B+ | |
tl;drThis level is split into halves, and while the first half seems to be the tougher of the two, there’s actually a trick to it involving the way you jump off of the sliding blocks that makes it easier than it seems, leaving only the second half, riding down the loose blocks while dodging missiles. Solid level overall. | |||||
| Jagged Shards | Theme Level | 7656119805541800 | 02/02/22 | B+ | |
tl;drAnother level that looks cool and initially seems harder than it actually is – there are four keys, but you only need one, and much of the level is little more than a distraction. | |||||
| Give Me the Night | Theme Level | 7656119803947400 | 02/02/22 | B+ | |
tl;drAnother level with a cool-looking design and it’s also pretty fun to play, too, with a few challenging sections to get past, but overall without a challenge level that’s insurmountable. | |||||
| Hypnos | Theme Level | 2533274974930660 | 02/02/22 | B | |
tl;drThis level provides no challenge, but it’s not about that, it’s about the interesting visual you create as you progress through the level. | |||||
RPG Maker MV / RPG Maker MV Player
| Level Name | RPG Type | Creator | Game ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What Now! | Visual Novel | MelAlmazan | 382 | 02/01/22 | A- |
tl;drThis game starts at the end of a typical RPG quest, with the heroes defeating the demonic villain and reclaiming the world-ending relic to save the kingdom… but in the story that follows, we see that neither the heroes, the demon, the relic, or the kingdom are what they appear to be. This story is exquisitely well-written, with delightful characters, a fantastic sense of humor, and a surprising amount of heart. If your interest in RPG Maker is to enjoy a good story, What Now! Is an absolute must. | |||||
| Kingdom of Neandria | RPG | S.R.S. | 405 | 02/01/22 | B |
tl;drI am honestly floored at the amount of effort that must have gone into making this game. S.R.S. Seems to have made it a point not to take the easy path for anything this game does, and the dedication shows. This game is still bound by the limitations of RPG Maker, and it’s not going to revolutionize the genre, but as a traditional RPG this is a solid work. Excellent writing, likable characters, engrossing story, and detailed environments (again, for RPG Maker). Its AP-building combat system is unfortunately too sluggish to feel very useful, but that aside, this is an absolute must-play game if you have RPG Maker MV Player, and if you don’t it might be worth it to download the player just to play this game, at least if you’re a fan of old-school RPGs. | |||||
| When He Shall Die [0.3] | Graphic Adventure | Xavior | 192 | 02/01/22 | B- |
tl;drThis story, inspired by The Walking Dead, is impeccably well-designed, with great characters and atmosphere. It’s short and incomplete, but the little taste this version provides definitely makes this one I’ll want to return to later to see the story’s continuation. | |||||
| XenoTale (Demo) | RPG | UserName | 362 | 02/01/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis is a well put-together RPG, with good writing, and its creator seems to have really put a lot of love into crafting this game’s world. Unfortunately, we’re never properly introduced to the world, the characters, or the gameplay mechanics at work here. This is still an enjoyable RPG, but be prepared to constantly feel like you missed the first few chapters of a story and now have no clue what’s going on. | |||||
| Roulette of Nations | RPG | Handinabag | 103 | 02/01/22 | C |
tl;drRoulette of Nations is kinda’ a strange “three in one” game with three different “games” contained within the framing device of a bald kid playing on his computer. One of these three even has a fun “monster collecting” mechanic that’s really inspired. Unfortunately, all of the RPGs contained within are pretty poorly-written, feature poor signposting, and have unbalanced difficulty that makes it far too easy for enemies to kill you. This is a promising start to something really original, but it needs a lot of work. | |||||
| Décalage | RPG | DickieDangling | 197 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drDecalage is a mostly decent but fairly standard RPG that, after a seemingly unrelated introduction, has you surviving a shipwreck and fighting to gather materials to escape your island and return to civilization. There’s decent story potential here, but the enemies you fight are unbalanced, with most standard enemies being far too easy, and bosses being the only real challenge. | |||||
| Erebus | RPG | Mr Shimonzu | 251 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drThis game has an interesting hook of a story where a man is looking for his missing wife and kids, but unfortunately the combat is unbalanced. | |||||
| myth’s and monster’s | RPG | ANDROMEDA GAMES | 772 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drThis RPG works mechanically, and is reasonably well put together. It even plays around with different weapons having different attack speeds. Unfortunately, it is very, very difficult to appreciate any of that when the writing in this game is some of the worst I have seen on RPG Maker, with the English language being broken, tortured, and its crippled remains placed on display as if they’re a point of pride. It also doesn’t help that the first house copies RPG Maker MV’s tutorial house. And just to tie a bow on everything here, it uses the terrible default noises. There may be some fun to be had with this one, but you have to look past some major flaws to get to it. | |||||
| Serpentwood Chronicles | RPG | Pocketmole | 230 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drThis RPG starts off well, with clever character creator section, and subsequently becomes a competent but somewhat unoriginal and unimaginative RPG. Not bad, but nothing special. | |||||
| The Dream of Allansia | RPG | donkeyrol | 771 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drThis is a largely generic RPG, and the few elements that do something unique don’t work well. There’s an interesting bartering system, but it just makes getting the item you want more time-consuming and labor-intensive. There are also a wide variety of different types of environments in close proximity, which seems inexplicable. And the mazelike dungeons aren’t clever or engaging, they’re just tedious and frustrating. All things considered, this isn’t a horrible RPG, but it’s not a very good one either. Also, it uses the terrible default noises. | |||||
| The Last Male (Part 1) | Graphic Adventure | HurricaneENT | 325 | 02/01/22 | C- |
tl;drWhile there are certainly stories about post-apocalyptic futures where only one man is still alive in a world of women, I don’t think I’ve seen it depicted in a videogame before. Still, the novelty of the story premise only goes so far, and it’s heavily undermined by terrible writing with broken English that has been butchered even further by RPG Maker’s overly-aggressive swear filter. The result is a game that, while still amusing for how absurd and cringe-worthy it is, is probably not something most players will enjoy un-ironically. | |||||
| Nerdberg 1 | Test RPG | Elinzia | 77 | 02/01/22 | D+ |
tl;drApparently, this game was made as a part of a review for SwitchRPG.com (which you’re reminded of repeatedly). However, it has your characters responding appropriately to various things in the environment (with some funny comments that genuinely made me laugh, no less), and there’s a rudimentary battle system in place, which makes this ahead of the pack for day-one releases on RPG Maker MV. | |||||
| The Backlog Odyssey | Test Graphic Adventure | Backlog Odyssey | 72 | 02/01/22 | D+ |
tl;drIt looks like this submission was also made for a review site (BacklogOdyssey.com). There’s no combat here, and just a few rooms, but it at least has a basic story premise (a father and husband getting ready for celebrating Dirty Magazine Day), and some funny dialogue. Oh, and bonus points to this creator for changing the default horrible menu sounds to something more tolerable. | |||||
| -Last Fight- | RPG | Kim | 104 | 02/01/22 | D |
tl;drThis RPG is painfully generic, with pretty poor grammar. It also uses the ear-piecing default “confirm” sound, and I don’t know if this is this game’s fault or RPG Maker’s fault, but the controls seem broken and unresponsive. In any case, this was not an enjoyable experience. | |||||
| Evolution of a Hero | Graphic Adventure | RPG | 525 | 02/01/22 | D |
tl;drThis is an exceedingly simple RPG that’s poorly-written and not very compelling. | |||||
| Mei King Warrior EX! | Graphic Adventure | NhlTrev | 789 | 02/01/22 | D |
tl;drThis would be a fairly generic RPG if it wasn’t for the bugs, the lacking signposting, and the atrociously bad English. Also, it uses the terrible default noises. | |||||
| RPG-Scape V 1.3 | Test RPG | GhostK Games | 85 | 02/01/22 | D |
tl;drHey, I played this one last time! Well, the game’s “tutorial” has been expanded some, and it looks like the game’s creator is trying to build on what they started. It’s still really rough, and has a long way to go before it’s anything worth playing. | |||||
| Wrath of the Vampire Lord | Story Introduction | Lilithrazor | 81 | 02/01/22 | D |
tl;drUnlike many of the other early efforts here, this one feels like its creator has some sort of vision for what they want to do with it, even if the story seems to be setting up to be a copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s. The little bits of level design you see here are also decent, and have some personality to them. Unfortunately, there’s no gameplay yet, and the dialogue is seriously in need of some heavy editing for spelling and grammar. | |||||
| Blips n Pips Adventure | Test RPG | Blips n Pips | 75 | 02/01/22 | D- |
tl;drThis is just one overworld area, one small castle area, and one small cave with one single monster you can fight. | |||||
| Fantasy Unleashed | Test RPG | Isak | 267 | 02/01/22 | D- |
tl;drThis game features a pretty large opening area… with virtually nothing to do in it, aside from going to the neighboring area to fight overpowered monsters. Add in some pretty poor grammar, and you have a mess that needs a lot of work to turn it into something worthwhile. | |||||
| I Love Monkey! | Test RPG | MikeyBee | 87 | 02/01/22 | F |
tl;drThere’s a working chest, two characters with a brief snippet of generic dialogue, and a one-room house you can enter, and thus far that’s about it. Clearly this was uploaded to early. | |||||
| Sleepy Saturday | Test RPG | RyanDJ | 76 | 02/01/22 | F |
tl;drThis is just a string of four characters moving on a featureless screen of grass. That’s it. | |||||
SmileBasic 4
| Game Name | Genre | Creator | Public Key | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyburst | Bullet Hell Shmup | ToT_k | 4D34X333J | 02/03/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is an outstanding Shmup with trippy backgrounds and inventive bosses. The upgrade system takes a bit of figuring out (especially because most of the game’s text is in Japanese), but it’s well worth it – if you enjoy Shmups and have SmileBasic, you absolutely must play this game. | |||||
| Speedrungeon | 2-Stick Shooter | Kantack | 4EKXNQ4SF | 02/03/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is a delightfully refreshing take on the 2-Stick Shooter that challenges players not to defeat the most enemies, but to hoof it from one room to the next as fast as possible. Great sense of humor, excellent variety, good 2-player support, and a fantastic “Let me try just one more run…” quality that makes this a must-play on SmileBasic 4. Also, just to make things a little more fun and silly, the game has a dedicated “scream” button. | |||||
| Celeste Classic | Platformer | [Japanese Characters] | 45KYV334J | 02/03/22 | B |
tl;drThis is evidently a port of the PICO-8 version of Celeste, which apparently plays like the more challenging retro-style levels in the game of the same name. I’m not sure if this is, well, legal… but it’s good! | |||||
| Givers P3D [Japanese Characters] | Shmup | Bugtaro | 3948417 | 02/03/22 | B |
tl;drA solid Shmup with simple polygonal 3D visuals. | |||||
| Solid Soldier Collection | Compilation / Shmup | [Japanese Characters] | 444S5EEF3 | 02/03/22 | B |
tl;drThis is a Compilation of 4 variations on the same core Shmup gameplay, with that core gameplay being a superb take on the genre. | |||||
| Rally500 Para4 | Arcade Racing | Hanzo | 4N3S33EXY | 02/03/22 | B |
tl;drAn excellent Classic Arcade-style Racing Game in the vein of Sega’s classic Outrun. This one is a bit repetitive (as was Outrun), but otherwise it plays wonderfully. | |||||
| [Japanese Characters] ~Pac-Pac Slime~ | Arcade | [Japanese Characters] | 4KKQXSS | 02/03/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis game is clearly copying Pac-Man and has no shame about it, even copying the visual style and level layout. But it also adds in some interesting elements, like a boost, a jump ability, and various other surprises. It’s a shame all the text is in Japanese so it’s not clear how all of this works, but it’s fun nevertheless. | |||||
| Randomaze Shooter | 2-Stick Shooter | [Japanese Characters] | 4NKPQV344 | 02/03/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis is a pretty fun 2-Stick Shooter despite its simplicity, although it is a bit repetitive. In this game, you wander randomly-generated mazelike corridors while shooting enemies, looking for the exit. Really good use of rumble in this one. | |||||
| Reflection Force | Bullet Hell Shmup | kt. | 4EKE334XF | 02/03/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis Bullet Hell Shmup is visually-striking, but that’s kinda’ a problem – with all the motion going on in the background and all the action in the foreground, it is very easy to miss a projectile that will kill you. It’s a pity, because this game makes use of a clever shield system that would otherwise be a great way to add a little forgiveness into the typically-punishing difficulty of Bullet Hell Shmups. | |||||
| Jig Scene | Puzzle | JNK | 48KJXY3DJ | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drThis is a Puzzle game in the “fit the different-shaped blocks in the bigger shape” vein. It’s lacking music, and it does nothing that hasn’t been done countless times in other games, but it nevertheless succeeds at what it’s trying to do. | |||||
| Lights Out | Puzzle | JNK | 4QJ4DD4V3 | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drThis game is only playable in handheld mode using the touchscreen. This is one of those “tap the square to turn on/off all adjacent squares”-style Puzzle games. It works, but doesn’t do anything truly extraordinary. | |||||
| Solid Gunner Vertika | Shmup | kt. | 4EKE334XF | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drThis Shmup has a great feel to it and makes excellent use of rumble to enhance the experience, but it’s just too easy and repetitive to hold your attention for long. | |||||
| Zodiac_Force | Shmup | [Japanese Characters] | 4NK4XW3DJ | 02/03/22 | C |
tl;drThis Shmup doesn’t do too much out of the norm for the genre, and it’s a tad on the simple and difficult side of things. | |||||
| [Japanese Characters] (Arcanum Stone) | Fighting | Sou51 | 4N32NQPPY | 02/03/22 | C- |
tl;drThis Fighting game has a simple pixel art style, choppy animations, and doesn’t seem as snappy or responsive as we’ve come to expect from games in the genre over the last few decades. | |||||
| Versus Buffalo | Arcade | Kantack | 483XE43N4 | 02/03/22 | C- |
tl;drThis WarioWare-style microgame medley with a “Simon” color-coded theme has great music and a cute presentation, but it is so punishingly difficult that most players won’t stick with it for long. | |||||
Super Mario Maker 2 (Levels)
| Level Name | Level Type | Creator | Course ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Heights | Theme Level | *Vaporeon* | 07W-J4D-6SG | 02/02/22 | A |
tl;drThis is a level that takes multiple great concepts and combines them well in a challenging level that’s polished and a blast to play. I especially like that the auto-scrolling stops in sections where players must jump on a series of platforms on rails for a bit before continuing. Just really well-done. | |||||
| Into the Galaxy [Japanese Characters] | Theme Level | Gysan | K0R-4GG-VVG | 02/02/22 | A |
tl;drThis is an inspired take on the opening to Super Mario Galaxy, and although I lost track of what it was trying to recreate after the attack on the castle (brilliantly done, by the way), it was still a very fun level I thoroughly enjoyed. | |||||
| SM64: Cool Cool Mountain | Theme Level | SeanDreyer | QSH-HK4-92G | 02/02/22 | A |
tl;drSeanDreyer has actually recreated all of Super Mario 64 in Super Mario Maker 2, but I’m just going to include a few of the highlights here. This is a great level that catches all of the beats of the level it’s imitating, and it even finds a clever way to reproduce the “bring the baby penguin to mama” bit. Definitely worth a look. | |||||
| [Japanese Characters] Mysterious Swamp [Japanese Characters] Ver | Theme Level | [Japanese Characters] | SFV-MC3-9NG | 02/02/22 | A- |
tl;drThis level has a great concept that uses rising acid to “screen wipe” between multiple one-screen sections. It’s brilliant, and sadly too damn short – I want more! | |||||
| Bros. N’ Battlefields | Theme Level | Kasiu | 9VD-51S-3QG | 02/02/22 | A- |
tl;drThis level includes an area that is a great homage to Super Mario 64’s Bob-Omb Battlefield, but there’s more going on here than that, culminating in one of the more difficult (but still fair) Bowser fights I’ve encountered. Definitely worth checking out. | |||||
| Playable Mushroom | Unique Gameplay | Mr.Elliott | 1QR-32B-WDG | 02/02/22 | A- |
tl;drLike the level name says, this level has you actually playing as a mushroom. I am genuinely stunned by this level. I don’t know how it was even done. My only criticism here is that this level is far too short – I would totally love to play more of this. | |||||
| SM64: Bob-Omb Battlefield | Theme Level | SeanDreyer | XKB-929-QCG | 02/02/22 | A- |
tl;drYet another SeanDreyer level, and another take on Bob-Omb Battlefield. This is an excellent recreation of the N64 level that really does a good job of recreating the feel of climbing up the mountain to challenge King Bob-Omb | |||||
| SM64: Whomp’s Fortress | Theme Level | SeanDreyer | XC9-N33-C1H | 02/02/22 | A- |
tl;drOkay, last SeanDreyer level, I promise (seriously, check out all of his Super Mario 64 levels, they’re fantastic). SeanDreyer has done a fantastic job recreating Whomp’s Fortress in this level, capturing many of that level’s best moments. It’s just a shame it’s so short, but then so is the level it’s based on. | |||||
| 1-1 Under ALIEN INVASION | Story Level / Theme Level | Goosichka | XR6-M7B-8KF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is a level that does an amazing job telling a story, with multiple moments throughout it that had me laughing. | |||||
| Auto-Switch Castle | Speed Run / Theme Level | TeeTurtle | 29K-YJL-9JF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis level not only has a great, interesting concept (switch blocks that automatically change just when you need them to), but it incorporates it well, and in a way that actually makes the player think about the level differently. | |||||
| Celestial Sprint Speedrun [20s] | Speed Run | Dynasteel | 7N1-MVB-WKF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drAs of this writing, this is currently the highest-rated Super Mario Maker 2 level of all-time, and for good reason. This short level is challenging but not unfair, and clever in how it has you timing jumps to hit switches while constantly running forward, while infusing a lot of variety into this simple concept in its short run time. | |||||
| Logical Solutions [Japanese Characters] | Puzzle Level | Icelavia | 1WN-BXB-5MF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is a really clever Rube Goldberg machine with so many moving parts I don’t think I quite understand it all. It must have taken forever to put together, and it’s impressive just to see it work. | |||||
| Fun in Cloudy Kingdom | Theme Level | Vaclav | JFJ-7Q0-88G | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis level does a great job of presenting a fully-realized Mario level as its own little area, and it feels fairly unique as well. There’s a decent little puzzle about midway through, and even a nice boss battle (though the presence of power-up pipes makes it overly easy). This is all-around a solid level. | |||||
| *LONG SPEED RUN* 雪原で長~いスピードラン (Looong speed run in the snow plains) | Speed Run | f_ * パステル * f_(Pastel) | XRS-GXS-4GF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drAs speed run courses go, this one is fairly fun and breezy, with a lot of nice touches throughout. | |||||
| MarioKart Faithful Fields | Theme Level / Unique Gameplay / Multiplayer Level | Jackateyou | 0QB-65R-BVG | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is a really inspired concept that reimagines Super Mario World’s P-Balloon to turn the game into a top-down racing game. Very clever. | |||||
| Mario Sunshine Bianco Hills | Theme Level | nabuz | 4NN-SXL-QMG | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drAnother great recreation of a classic level, culminating in a nice homage to the boss fight with Petey Pirannha. | |||||
| Mysterious Mansion | Puzzle Level | Alfa/あるふぁ (Alfa) | 6XG-FVV-41H | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis level is all about using tricks to make for fun visual trickery that does odd things with the level’s pieces that don’t work how they normally should. It’s a clever manipulation of the game’s engine. | |||||
| SM64: Tick Tock Clock | Theme Level | Ω-Phoenix | P7K-2WY-MVG | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drI’m not sure how much this level reminds me of Tick-Tock Clock, but I definitely get the general feeling of that level coming through, with lots of movement and activity, with plenty of opportunities to fall and have to work your way back up again. And even without the similarity, this is an overall pretty good level. | |||||
| Super Mario Sunshine’s Sand Bird | Theme Level | Taumi | 6DK-1JL-L5G | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is already a great reference to a memorable part of Super Mario Sunshine, but it’s made better by incorporating it into some decent level design. I’d really like to see this idea taken even further. | |||||
| Switch x Switch | Theme Level | Nore139 | DRC-S88-TDF | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drThis is a level that does a good job sticking to its core theme of gameplay surrounding switch blocks, and builds a solid, albeit brief, level around the concept. | |||||
| 1-1 BUT THE FLOOR IS LAVA | Theme Level | V&V | V4Y-925-Y2G | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drExactly what it claims to be, this is a re-imagining of the first level of Super Mario Bros. with the ground made (almost) entirely of lava. I really appreciate this clever twist on an old classic. | |||||
| Delfino Island | Theme Level | SubBean64 | P58-N04-HLF | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis level was technically made by a user going by Kylo Ren on Super Mario Maker for 3DS and brought over to Super Mario Maker 2 by SubBean64, who gives the original creator credit. This is a decent recreation of Delfino plaza, with a bit extra on the end. | |||||
| Dungeon: Link Edition | Link Level | Lori-_- | DYP-1GP-G0H | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis Link Level is a bit on the difficult side, but overall it’s a solid level that makes good use of Link. | |||||
| Honeyhive Galaxy [SMG Remake] | Theme Level | Toadfan | KVN-SGY-JTG | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drYou have to really look for it to see the resemblance between this and the Super Mario Galaxy level it’s imitating, but it’s there. However, it’s helped by being an all-around decent level. | |||||
| Lifetime of Koopa | Story Level / Unique Gameplay | arnnar | 1XY-PHH-CHF | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis is a cute level that has you using a switch to help a Koopa Troopa progress through a short “story”. Nothing too noteworthy here, but I liked the “ending”. | |||||
| One Screen Missions | Puzzle Level | km(°w°)もやし (Moyashi) | BJT-QG2-M0G | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis is a short but sweet series of challenges to complete before getting to the exit. Nothing too elaborate, but good while it lasts. | |||||
| SM64: Peach’s Castle | Theme Level | Arceveti | GK8-LH3-3HF | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis level is a fantastic tour through all of Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64 that plays out like a puzzle. It’s cleverly made, and very evocative of the game it’s imitating, but it’s spoiled a bit by a final battle with Bowser that’s way too hard for its own good. | |||||
| Super Mario Galaxy 1 Boss #1 | Theme Level | Pi/Rem | XN2-VPB-HJG | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis level starts out with a great reproduction of the beginning of Good Egg Galaxy before jumping into a boss rush for the earlier bosses of Super Mario Galaxy. Some of these are pretty clever – I particularly like how Dino Pirannha was recreated. That said, this is a pretty hard level, so not for everyone. | |||||
| #Find the Error in the picture!# | Puzzle Level | Err:510 | R66-231-GGG | 02/02/22 | B- |
tl;drThis is a cute “Spot the difference” puzzle, and it’s pretty well done. Be sure to turn comments off before playing it though – they ruin the experience. | |||||
| Fiendish Fire | Theme Level | agent 3_ | JYN-MYV-CRG | 02/02/22 | B- |
tl;drThis is a solid, albeit a bit short, castle level. Not too much to say about this one. | |||||
| Good Egg Galaxy-Dino Piranha- | Theme Level | Jigwabo | 2KK-HNR-9DF | 02/02/22 | B- |
tl;drThis level doesn’t bear any resemblance to the Super Mario Galaxy level it’s named after as far as I can tell, but it is the one Super Mario Galaxy-themed level I tried that actually used Super Mario Maker’s gravity-altering variants, and it’s a decent level besides, so it gets a pass from me on that first count. | |||||
| すべってゆきやまのスライダー (Completely snow mountain slider) Snowy Slide | Theme Level | きさらぎ (Kisaragi) | R8R-RV9-PJG | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis level repeatedly has you doing the slide maneuver on slopes before jumping. Not bad, but there’s nothing too inventive or original here. | |||||
| CK’s Crazy Jumps | Theme Level | H3B | 3TL-XD5-QHG | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drA decent challenging level with a mostly consistent theme. I didn’t care for the part near the end where you have to race on conveyors against rising acid, though – it didn’t really fit the theme of the level, and it wasn’t fun. | |||||
| Don’t Lose to Thwomp! | Speed Run | xxNNiixx | KW5-XS4-6BG | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis is a decent but somewhat unimaginative quick level that has you racing against thwomps before they can hit a switch block. | |||||
| Hot Hot Speedrun | Speed Run | ミズマリリンちゃん (Miss Marilyn-chan) | HMW-YWS-06G | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis level is super-difficult, and you’ll need every last microsecond to make it to the ending in 10 seconds (I died just on the edge of grabbing the axe about a dozen times), but it’s certainly a good feeling when you finish it… if you can finish it. | |||||
| Scary Blue Platforming | Speed Run | d101 | D1T-B6R-5JG | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis level isn’t long, but is fun enough while it lasts, combining two distinct sections. Frankly, I would suggest developing each of the two halves of this level into a fuller, separate level. | |||||
| Sky Lift Shift | Theme Level | leuanYin | CJX-4LP-1YF | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis is a fairly ordinary lift level, but it gets bonus props from me for hiding a few secrets Donkey Kong Country-style. | |||||
| W1-1 | Multiplayer Level | [Japanese characters]0303 | 0XF-N4M-YDG | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis level has zero challenge, and seems to be designed to just shower the player with power-ups and coins, but one thing it does very well is present a striking, colorful visual design, and for that alone it’s worth giving a look. | |||||
| Table Tennis in SMM2! [HARD] | Unique Gameplay | Davii | 55S-BS4-Y1G | 02/02/22 | C |
tl;drThis is a decent concept, but it’s not especially fun to play, and it doesn’t really feel much like actually playing table tennis. | |||||
| Bowser’s Dashnum Opus | Challenge Level | [Queue] | V6Q-5VR-WTF | 02/02/22 | C- |
tl;drThis level, which focuses on dash blocks and precision jumping, is a great idea spoiled by a high challenge level and a lack of checkpoints. | |||||
| Bob-Omb Battlefield | Theme Level | Starfy | 5KL-0DY-S6G | 02/02/22 | D |
tl;drWhile I see hints of Bob-Omb Battlefield here, for the most part this doesn’t seem too similar to that level, and even beyond that, this level is confusing and doesn’t really indicate where you’re supposed to go. | |||||
| Dustin’ Off Old Tick Tock Clock | Theme Level | BretCamp | W4T-TB7-G6G | D- | |
tl;drI don’t really see much resemblance between this level and Tick Tock Clock at all, but even beyond that, this level is punishingly hard in a way that just isn’t fun. | |||||
| Fuel Issues | Troll Level | RedFox801 | 8Y4-BPG-TPG | 02/02/22 | D- |
tl;drThis level requires you to beat it wearing a bullet bill mask, but doesn’t indicate where said mask is. The only saving grace here is that it’s not too difficult to figure out with a little experimentation, but even so, this level isn’t really fun in any way. | |||||
| DK’s Doppelganger | Theme Level | CaspianX | 4PH-34Y-3YF | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drThis started with me wondering how close I could get a Mario Maker level to the original Donkey Kong (the answer is “not very”), but it kinda’ evolved from there… | |||||
| Spike Balls ‘N Switches | Theme Level | CaspianX | S5G-BF8-JSF | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drWhile it’s not the first level I’ve ever made, this is the first level I’ve ever uploaded. I tried to create something that would seem like the sort of level Nintendo’s designers might make, incorporating two thematic elements and trying to play with how they work together. | |||||
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Stages)
| Stage Name | Creator | Stage ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector Z 64 | Yamazaru | 0JF3DC7Z | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drOne of the first things I did when Stage Builder got added was seek out replacements for the few stages that didn’t make it into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. I found a pretty good one early on, but this one is also pretty excellent, and looks fantastic to boot. Really, the only issue I have with it is that you can’t walk on the laser turret like you could in the original, but I suppose if they did that, it would make the level less practical as a stage. | ||||
| Snake Man | Miggy | FH1MBN3H | 02/02/22 | B+ |
tl;drI have tried and failed to do what this stage pulls off, recreating the movement of the mechanical snakes from Mega Man 3. While the stage is a bit sparse otherwise, I give it massive credit for what it accomplishes here. | ||||
| Airship (SMB3) | CaspianX | GRR3516W | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drI am super-proud of this stage, which took a lot of trial and error to get things right. Players can enter the warp pipe at the right to be blasted out of the cannon on the left. | ||||
| Clock Room | CaspianX | 1F3VMXCT | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drThis was probably the stage that took me the longest to build. It’s copying the room at the center of the map in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (seriously, why is that game not on Switch yet?), complete with a floor that closes in the beginning of the match, and sections blocking off upper areas that gradually open up as the match progresses. I just wish this level let me make its upper “killzone” match the spot where the platforms end. | ||||
| Coffee Break | CaspianX | 98RX6QB7 | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drThis stage was inspired by the minigame in Mario Paint. It’s mostly a walk-off stage, but every now and then the bug boss flies down into the action to cause trouble. | ||||
| Rainbow Road | CaspianX | B2C70MN7 | 02/02/22 | N/A |
tl;drI actually wanted to put far more on this stage, but this was all the memory limits would allow, apparently. I tried to do a bit of an optical illusion of sorts here – this is basically a Final Destination stage with fake platforms to the left and the right to give it an illusion that there’s more here than there actually is. | ||||
Ultimate Chicken Horse
| Level Name | Level Type | Creator | Level ID | Last Checked Availability | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ebb and Flow (take your time) | Theme Level | maildropfolder | 38GC-536D | 02/02/22 | A |
tl;drThis is a cleverly-constructed level that has two massive structures moving through each other, tasking the player with finding their way through the constantly-shifting maze without getting crushed. This is currently the best-ranked original level in the game, and for good reason – it is extremely well-made and original. | |||||
| Highest Gravity Ever | Theme Level | xDarKevin_du_27x | 0NVG-YW6J | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drThis level re-imagines the game with super-high gravity, making what was previously simple and easy a great deal harder. A clever approach to level design. | |||||
| Tumblemaze (1) | Theme Level / Speed Run | maildropfolder | S1M0-CEJY | 02/02/22 | B |
tl;drUser maildropfolder makes it onto my list a second time with this spinning maze, which is short but sweet, and a nice speed run challenge too. | |||||
| It’s Raining traps | Theme Level | SlitheryPoppy4 | UZ6J-WYBM | 02/02/22 | C+ |
tl;drThis level is super-fast, but I appreciate the concept of a ceiling being worn thin by traps. | |||||
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