Mario Maker Update Adding Checkpoints, Progressive Powerups

With 3.3 million levels created globally, Super Mario Maker is a resounding success for Nintendo.

For those looking to add a few relief to the existing Super Mario Maker levels, Nintendo (via Kotaku) will be adding the option for players to insert flag checkpoints into their courses, just as many existing Mario games do.

So if you want to try and complete levels made by people in the industry outside of Nintendo, you’ll get your chance. The first of these will be the victor of Facebook’s recent Hackathon event, a level entitled “Ship Love” from Facebook employees Doug Strait and Roy McElmurry.

They’ll also be adding a section called “Official Makers” that will allow them to send out levels made by Nintendo designers among other VIPs. You’ll gain access to the mid-level checkpoint flag by shaking the arrow sign item from the course parts palette.

Another new feature will be the ability to serve particular power-ups based on Mario’s status – for example, a mushroom if Mario is small, or a Fire Flower if Mario is already big. What? Consider this: in a normal Mario level, you’d grab a power-up mushroom and, on subsequent power-up question mark blocks, you’d be offered a better power-up like a fire flower, a cape, etc. But in “Super Mario Maker“, subsequent question mark blocks with power-ups only contain whatever the level creator put in them.

“The level that was featured in the final round of the Omegathon event at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo event will also be available for players to experience shortly after the update goes live”.

The most welcome new feature is probably the addition of mid-level checkpoints, which let players restart from specific points in a level should they die.

The other major update is the introduction of Event Courses to the game’s Course World online hub.

The Super Mario Maker homages continue to roll in. Sound off in the comments section below.