Super Mario Maker 3DS Has no Online Level Sharing

In this new 3DS version, players actually have to complete a whopping 18 worlds in the new Super Mario Challenge mode before they have access to every tool there is.

Besides the 100 levels created by Nintendo, a selection of Wii U levels created by users is also accessible on this version of the game if you connect it to the Internet.

Where Super Mario Maker had looked to foster an online community on Wii U, Nintendo has been clear in positioning Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS as an accompanying experience that promotes Local Play. However, not all the levels from the Wii U version will be playable on Nintendo 3DS, and some of the more complicated offerings aren’t compatible with the handheld version. Indeed, it’s obvious by the omission of these features that the 3DS iteration will never be the de facto version of Super Mario Maker – but it’s far from all bad. You can flick between four styles of Mario (Original, 3, World and New) and a variety of backgrounds and stage music. It is said that users may opt to play offline, or go through the original courses in the editor. That means that if you’re in a household with multiple 3DS systems and only one copy of Super Mario Maker, using it on another system will prompt you to completely reset everything back to zero, reinstall the extra data, and erase all saved progress. The upcoming 2D level-editor/platformer hybrid starring Nintendo’s iconic plumber lets players create, edit and play their own Super Mario courses.

And good god Nintendo is great at making Mario levels. Welcome to Nintendo: the best games, and the weirdest decisions. Each level has two challenges, whether it’s collecting all the coins or, more often, something a little more creative, and many of them are secret meaning this could be a Mario game you’re digging away at for some time. Once unlocked they open up in the aforementioned Memobot mode, where you can then play Super Mario Challenge mode levels out of sequence. And for the first time, players can collaborate on creating Mario levels.

That’s not very many people at all, though, and personally I can’t imagine spending very much time on levels that practically no one will ever be able to play.

Within Course World, players can take on the 100 Mario Challenge or choose to play Recommended Courses.

The odd thing about the 3DS version though is that it’s missing a number of features, all seemingly at random. It isn’t long before you are posed with increasingly hard courses that will make you rethink everything you know about Mario’s platforming escapades, while medal challenges make the experience all the more interesting. To get the most out of it, you’ll need to approach it with that mentality.

However, compared to the rather spacious 16:9 Gamepad screen, the touchscreen on the 3DS feels very cramped.

Players familiar with the Wii U version can instantly jump right in and start creating to their heart’s content.

Yet the 3DS version has learnt lessons from the Wii U’s occasional stumbles.

While the future of the handheld console may be uncertain, one thing is certain, Nintendo will always be about bringing the fun and joy of games “directly” to you. But that’s how it works, with the only compensation being that you can now co-operate on building the same stage when playing wirelessly.

But you do have to wonder what the point is to creating on the 3DS. You can’t upload or download 3DS courses either, just swap them locally via wireless mode. Despite the game’s prowess, its commercial success was limited by the amount of Wii Us owned by players. Unlike the Wii U version, Super Mario Maker on 3DS does not feature a course browser. Downloading levels one by one is a bit of a pain, though. But there’s also a far deeper Course World, which taps into hundreds of user-made levels from the Wii U version of Super Mario Maker. 100 stages is a lot, more than you’d find on many actual 2D Mario titles, so the value here can not be understated. The Nintendo 3DS is in far more hands, and the tiny handheld style of the system is a much more flawless match for what Super Mario Maker is: a tiny retro building set. If I had to nitpick, I’d say the smaller screens make you squint while making stages sometimes, and there’s a two to three second black screen when you flick over from creating a stage to playing a stage, but other than that, it’s just like the Wii U version, and just as good. In this classic Nintendo DS strategy game, players lead their new Commanding Officers to fend off the Black Hole Army’s latest invasion.