Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS Reviews

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
games(TM)
games™ Team
Top Critic
8 / 10
Feb 7, 2017

Missing features, but not missing class

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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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jan 24, 2017

Easy to use, versatile level-creator with some content-sharing limitations. Solid platformer.

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5 / 10.0
Jan 12, 2017

At the end of the day, Super Mario Maker 3DS excels at the level editing the Wii U game was known for. Sadly, that was only a fraction of the full Wii U package. While the game does boast to have a hundred built in levels, I feel like that they should have just taken those and repacked the game as New Super Mario Bros 3, as the sheer lack of online functionalities makes this game very hard to recommend. If you can still find a Wii U, or already have one and are debating on whether or not you should pick up this game, I would say just get it on Wii U.

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3.5 / 5.0
Jan 7, 2017

Following 2015’s excellent Wii U version, Super Mario Maker 3DS takes the fun of Mario level design on the go. The portable version brings the fun of the original’s creation tools as well as modes like the 100-course and 100-Mario challenges. Although the visual downgrade is expected, however, the limited level-sharing options are more surprising and take out the teeth from an otherwise solid game that’s centered on creation.

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Yes
Jan 5, 2017

No one needs an online community when you can build Mario levels at the laundromat.

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Wait for Sale
Jan 1, 2017

Mario Maker is an excellent concept that, in my opinion, suffers from a few issues in execution on both platforms. For the Wii U, the way course elements unlocked felt like a drag, having to play the waiting game before you could play the game you actually wanted to. The way they’ve addressed this in the 3DS version is technically faster but feels like a complete slog just to unlock everything. Some features have been taken out when they could easily have been left in, and there are a lot of missed opportunities with what they did introduce. If you’re the kind of person that only owns a 3DS, and never plans to buy a Nintendo console (weirdo), then Mario Maker 3DS is still worth picking up just to experience the game. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting for the inevitable Switch release, when Nintendo will no doubt take a second swing at making some improvements.

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7.8 / 10.0
Dec 31, 2016

The fact that players cannot share and play others' courses on the 3DS through a complete course browser is the single thing that holds this version back. With the Super Mario Challenge and the fluid mechanics intact, we still have a solid product in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS.

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8 / 10
Dec 15, 2016

Super Mario Maker 3DS isn’t definitive, but the exhilaration of making a Mario level wherever you are in the world is a pretty amazing thing, as is one of the best 2D Mario experiences in recent memory.

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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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Dec 14, 2016

It is unfortunately hampered by its limitations on this platform. While its social elements are severely lacking, the act of playing, and most importantly, creating a level from your own mind is still really fun. If you find yourself not able to be creative, the 100 Mario Challenge and Super Mario Challenge provide the inspiration you’ll need to make fantastic levels and share them for the world to play.

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8 / 10.0
Dec 13, 2016

Super Mario Maker for the 3DS is enjoyable but it has its drawbacks.  While the 100 Mario Challenge and Super Mario Challenge are both fun to play through, the lackluster search function of the Recommended Courses, having to go through the Super Mario Challenge to unlock most of the stuff for stage creation, and the quizzical lack of ability to upload courses and share them with the world outside of locally and via StreetPass make this a hard game to recommend at $40 for a lot of people.

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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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GamingBolt
Top Critic
4 / 10.0
Dec 13, 2016

Super Mario Maker is a thoroughly self defeating product in every sense of the word, and as it exists, it simply should not have been pushed out to the market.

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85 / 100
Dec 12, 2016

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is a great game, and possibly the best 2D Mario available on the system. The creative mentality seems to unlock the developers from holding true to past level designs, and allows creators to toy with the varied elements of a Mario level to really create something special.

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3 / 5.0
Dec 12, 2016

If you don’t have a Wii U, Super Mario Maker on 3DS is still a great way to get a never ending stream of interesting Mario levels. If you do have a Wii U, however, you might be better off just sticking with the console version.

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3.6 / 5.0
Dec 9, 2016

Super Mario Maker 3DS is a fun game on this console that offers some really fun gameplay and more importantly, the ability to create your own 2D arcade worlds with an intuitive creation system. However the downside of this title is the lack of sharing your creations with other players from the around the world and if this was included in Super Mario Maker 3DS, it would have been a fantastic game on this console. It’s still a fun game but is missing that final piece of the gaming puzzle!

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Dec 9, 2016

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS is in almost every way a better quality release to the already-superb Wii U game. A better introduction and tutorial, and the superb Super Mario Challenge mode show that there’s been significant work done to this version to improve it over the Wii U title. However, the inability to upload and share levels that you’ve created is unforgivable. It rips the soul of the original Mario Maker right out of the game, leaving a shell of a game that does very little to encourage you to make interesting courses

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Marooners' Rock
Marooners' Rock Writer
7 / 10.0
Dec 8, 2016

This is one scenario where Nintendo should have been generous, instead of making players work for everything. You can tell that it’s just not the playground it used to be, despite some options still being present.

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Stevivor
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Dec 7, 2016

Ultimately, Super Mario Maker is paired down on 3DS, but not to ridiculous levels. Editing is as easy on a 3DS touchscreen as a Wii U touchpad — though decidedly easier on a 3DS XL than a 3DS — and gameplay is largely the same. If you own a copy on Wii U, it’s probably better to stick with that. For most of us — who either don’t own a Wii U or who mothballed it a while ago — this entry’s a great little package to pick up for Christmas.

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