The best Super Mario Maker 2 levels made by actual game developers

The thrill of Super Mario Maker 2 for many is to create gameplay for the first time. Nintendo has created a simple tool that just about anyone can use. Not only that, the developers have set it within a game world that that vast majority of players are intimately familiar with. This extends far beyond mere players to the designers of some of the finest indie games around. What could they make when they have the same options that Nintendo’s team has? Thanks to the magic of the internet and Nintendo’s archaic code system, we can find out. Here are a few of the best Mario Maker 2 levels designed by professional game developers.

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | Mario: Splatformer Edition

Level Code: TK3-1YK-SQG

While you’d think it would be more common, this first stage has a lot in common with the developer’s most famous game. Super Slime-san Bros. takes some familiar mechanics from indie splatformer Slime-san: Superslime Edition and adds them to Mario. Developer Fabraz created the short and sweet stage, which requires you to grab four coins on the way to the goal. Your only obstacle (besides an angry wiggler boss) are on/off switches that make the path to victory pretty obscure. If you don’t mind spoilers, you can see the entire world record run of the stage below and get a taste.

World record get! 19,195s @Fabrazz 😛

Level: TK3-1YX-SQG pic.twitter.com/hwDBe5Kjn4

— Charlotte・nitro (@chrrynobaka) July 4, 2019

ALSO: Mario Maker 2 and other great level editors

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | UF(Mari)O

Level Code: RCY-MCD-48G

Paul Hubans, one of the six developers behind the upcoming UFO 50 has made quite a few fun Mario stages. You can see the game within game inspirations most prominently in his latest level, Midnight Mushroom Madness. Taking advantage of the weird properties of the Moon, this level is all about escaping evil mushrooms that want you dead. You can avoid summoning them for a bit, but when they start crawling out of every nook and cranny, you’ll be on the run.

Okay, here's one more #SuperMarioMaker2 level before Dragon Quest Builders 2 comes out and takes up most of my gaming time!

RCY-MCD-48G pic.twitter.com/4KYKnOSoBN

— Paul ⚔️ Hubans (@phubans) July 11, 2019

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | Flinthook meets Mario

Level Code: QC9-W2C-2PG

Of course Flinthook designer Dominique Ferland would create a puzzling pirate ship in Mario Maker. An Elementary Puzzle (on a ship) is an intricate machine of a level with lots of random elements that lead to seeming dead ends. The use of sound effects is fantastic here trying to point you in the right direction. It may seem impossible, but at least 38 other people have solved the riddle. Maybe you can too. And maybe you can out Flinthook too since it’s one of those underrated indies that everybody should play.

Another puzzle level? This one's slightly brain-wrenching, gotta figure out how this machine works to get the key coins! No platforming skills required!

QC9-W2C-2PG#mariomaker2 pic.twitter.com/PVWf1HkcuW

— Dom2D ♠️ (@dom2d) July 6, 2019

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | Commander Keen‘s creator creates a Mario stage

Level Code: LYC-C09-MRF

You can see a tiny bit of old school platforming design in Calling All Marios!, one of the levels created by Commander Keen designer Tom Hall. Challenges escalate in a series of contained rooms, each with their own theme and distinct enemies. 1-Up Mushrooms hide around every corner, even sometimes in plain sight. Plus the level features Boos in the Super Mario Bros. style, which are still some of the most adorable ghosts that Nintendo has ever produced.

Folks with #SuperMarioMaker2 , my maker ID is 9X4-916-XMG ! No courses there yet… but stayed tuned… pic.twitter.com/D6GEcSpaHI

— • 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 • (@ThatTomHall) July 3, 2019

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | Mario in the lens of Sonic-like Freedom Planet

Level Code: MSN-TVT-48G

You’d think that levels created by the creator of the Sonic-inspired Freedom Planet would be all about speed. While there are a few uploaded that would fit that bill, this one is noteworthy since it is one of his first uploads. It basically takes the last stage of any classic Super Mario Bros. world but flips it. You sneak past Bowser at the start and then try to navigate around traps and jump around corners the wrong way. It’s not a wholly original theme but it is a very cool iteration on the idea that is hilarious all the way through.

Here's my first serious level submission, "Bowser's Castle But In Reverse". #SuperMarioMaker2 #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/e9T9he4SU1

— 🦇 Sabrina DiDuro 🦇 (@SDiDuro) June 28, 2019

Best Super Mario Maker 2 Levels From Developers | Quest of Dungeons designer designs a Mario level

Run it’s lava! is a pretty apt description for this level from David Amador, the designer of indie roguelike Quest of Dungeons. There’s a single path forward that has single blocks with crawling Spike Tops rotating around them. You have to hop from block to block to beat not only the 60-second timer but also the rising lava in the pool below. Now that is a simple concept done right, which is what you want to see in Super Mario Maker 2. Also, thanks to Twitter linking, you can see David’s first level as well. Two for the price of one!