Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS Reviews

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
7.2 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

The core idea behind Super Mario Maker is the ability to create, play, and share your creation, but the 3DS drops the ball on the last part of that credo. It’s worth noting that designing stages is as easy at it is convenient on the portable 3DS, but not having a larger platform to showcase unique creations will left me wondering what the point is. It’s still an excellent way to play a bottomless pit of classic-style 2D Mario, though, and that makes it worth keeping in your pocket.

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Nov 30, 2016

Nintendo's port of Super Mario Maker is a great distraction for those that missed out on the Wii U installment, but it is lacking when compared to the console iteration.

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Nov 30, 2016

Still a magical creative toolkit with an outstanding interface

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7.8 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

Mario Maker 3DS is missing some core features from its Wii U counterpart, but it absolutely works as a portable Mario creation suite

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Unscored
Nov 30, 2016

Buy it for the excellent collection of built-in Nintendo-made levels. Get the Wii U version if you want to actually make your own.

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9 / 10
Nov 30, 2016

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS doesn't match the Wii U original in terms of visual polish or amiibo support, nor does it have the vibrant online scene that defined that title. Despite this, there are smart design choices that compensate for these inevitable shortcomings, with additions that enable quicker and more educated level design, along with Super Mario Challenge, a large set of official levels that's more structured and enjoyable than equivalent modes in the HD iteration.For those without a Wii U, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is a no-brainer, as it's a lot of Mario on one cartridge and a terrific creative toolset. For those with a Wii U it's a tougher call, as the HD original offers smart online features and sharing, even though the portable iteration offers a strong offline and solo playing experience. On its own merits, however, avoiding those comparisons, this 3DS version of an elite Wii U title deserves plenty of credit - it's a big success for small screens.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

A good Mario game with a fun single player, but one that lacks the tools to make it fully worthwhile from a creation point of view.

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VideoGamer
Top Critic
8 / 10
Nov 30, 2016

Super Mario Maker for 3DS is a perfect fit for the handheld, with loads of content and excellent creation tools, but why can't you share levels online? That decision is baffling.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

With all that said, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is still a great holiday buy for gamers that only own a Nintendo 3DS. The game acts like a quick Super Mario campaign with an accompanying endless collection of levels — and endless Super Mario levels is never a bad thing. Despite a fantastic new delivery system found in Super Mario Challenge, too may of the downgrades strip the components of Super Mario Maker that made it a breakaway success on Wii U.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

The infinite Super Mario that was Super Mario Maker on Wii U is quite limited in this portable version.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

18 worlds full of beautiful levels, pure Nintendo quality, with interesting achievements, are the main selling point of the game. The editor is nice, but it's crippled by the limited sharing options.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Dec 14, 2016

We loved the original Super Mario Maker last year, and, in many ways, this is a seamless port, with a fantastic, complete 2D Mario game thrown in to boot. However, the gutted online capabilities cut this port off from a lot of what makes the game special, leaving the 3DS version in an odd position.

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6 / 10.0
Dec 13, 2016

On the other hand, the 100 included levels from Nintendo aren't to be missed if you want some of the best Super Mario Bros. levels released to date; they just aren't worth the $40 price tag alone. Super Mario Maker for 3DS isn't a bad game or even a bad creation tool, but without its online heart continuously pumping life into it, it feels more like a useless skeleton, and nobody likes skeletons. NOBODY.

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7 / 10
Nov 30, 2016

Worth picking up for fans of Mario games, but there are too many jarring limitations that I really hope Nintendo see fit to address.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Nov 30, 2016

Some of the best 2D Mario levels in years, but the lack of online options means the construction aspect is unnecessarily limited.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2016

Nintendo's brilliant course creator is ready to come to a 3DS near you, but with a couple of notable limitations

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Nov 30, 2016

If you’re looking for endless side-scrolling action on a handheld, you aren’t going to do better than Super Mario Maker on 3DS. It’s the most Super Mario we’ve seen packed into the handheld to date with a seemingly endless number of levels to tackle that will keep you busy as long as you let it.

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80 / 100
Nov 30, 2016

Super Mario Maker for 3DS is a great addition to the 3DS library.

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M3
Top Critic
6 / 10
Dec 1, 2016

Super Mario Maker For Nintendo 3DS is a good recreation of the Wii U classic, but the lackluster online capabilities makes this conversion severely inferior to its console counterpart.

Review in Swedish | Read full review

GameMAG
ASarafanov
Top Critic
8 / 10
Feb 6, 2017

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is a great game for platformer fans thanks to an interesting set of episodes and a deep level editor. Test of Super Mario Mode will be the outlet for the hardcore audience. Besides, the game is just perfect in order to pass the time in between daily activities and trips.

Review in Russian | Read full review