Super Mario Bros 5 Review

Infuriating, frustrating, and unfair are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of the community created levels in Super Mario Maker 2. But what if someone spent over 7 years developing a Super Mario adventure that tries to pick up where Super Mario World left off in the early 90’s?

This is what MetroidMike64 wanted to know as his labor of love that spans 8 worlds, 40 levels, different themes, hidden secrets, ghost houses mini bosses and of course, the Bowser battle. This creation is called Super Mikey World or as it has been affectionately titled, Super Mario Bros 5 as it intends to emulate the Nintendo charm. Unlike most creations in Super Mario Maker that are pure nightmares, Super Mario Bros 5 slowly ascends the difficulty and challenge.

It should go without saying but you do need to own Super Mario Maker 2 and you also need to be subscribed to the minimum tier of Nintendo Switch Online.

Super Waiting Game

Fans of Super Mario have been waiting since 2017 for a new adventure, which is the longest gap between franchise entires and with nothing official on the books for 2023, Super Mario Bros 5 fills the gap much better than expected.

There is no getting away from how SMB5 feels as if it was crafted by Nintendo. Most of the levels are easy enough for a four year old to complete but tough enough for an adult to find everything and master.  Secrets are hidden in plain sight and it’s loaded with that Nintendo charm.

One of the aspects of being built in Mario Maker 2 is that the levels are constantly changing between 8 and 16 bit, both of which are a joy to play in full 16:9, unlike the retro titles on Nintendo Switch Online. The 16 bit levels are prominent, accounting for 24 of the levels and the 8 bit account for the remaining 16.

At the end of the level, your completion time is displayed along with the record holder for that level, which builds in a speed run replay factor incentive. Each level takes around 5 minutes on a successful run with just a couple being very difficult, not unfair, just difficult. Luckily, if you bang your head around for too long, you can turn the comments on and get some help but off is the recommended option for obvious reasons.

The gripe list is minor, I wish more of the levels used the Super Mario World template but that is purely a preference as I prefer the 16 bit era. There is also a small shortage of mushrooms and with the way that Super Mario Bros 5 ramps up the difficultly towards the end, you will find yourself playing as mini Mario quite frequently. This can lead to plenty of deaths but fortunately, there is an abundance of coins and 1UP mushrooms, which helps alleviate this issue.

Verdict

To put it into perspective about how good this creation is, playing SMB5 has been the most time that I have spent in Super Mario Maker 2 since buying on launch day.  The campaign didn’t hook me in and the community creations just felt mostly unfair as creators were always trying to push the envelope for near impossible levels. It became more frustration than fun. SMB5 is an absolute joy to play and is a great way to pass the time before the next official Super Mario adventure.

8/10

Game Code

0G9 XN4 FNF