Episode 29: Mario Maker – the Hammer Brother Horde

Episode 29:  Mario Maker – the Hammer Brother Horde
Platform: Wii U
Release Date:  September 2015
Difficulty: Making levels is easy. Making good levels and playing the ones that other people have made…that varies.
Pricing: Amazon $59.99

Podcast: Download, iTunes, PodOmatic

Terra’s Review

Look at the smiles on those little assholes.

The Good

• Ever get sick of That One Enemy and wish there was a level where you could just slaughter them? Want more of a challenge than you can get from regular Mario games? Want to be able to just kick back and relax while you enjoy the pixelated scenery? If you’re willing to do some searching, you can probably find a player created level that fits the bill. And if you can’t, you can make it yourself!
• Making levels and playing around with the different design options. Using the tools to build your own levels is pretty intuitive and easy to catch on to. This is also a game that really benefits from the Wii U gamepad. It would be possible to play this game and build levels with a traditional controller, but it would be more frustrating. Although I do recommend using a stylus for better precision if you have adult sized hands.
• Seeing the levels that other people have made. Some are extremely challenging (Panga!) while others are more about using the Mario Maker tools to create intricate pixel art that you can play through.
• Making levels dedicated to killing mass amounts of Hammer Brothers. It was cathartic.

The Bad 

• I would have liked to get access to all the building options from the start, instead of having them portioned out. 
• People’s comments and drawings showing up on levels while you’re trying to play them. It gets annoying fast. They distract from actually playing the level and can block items (or enemies) that you really do need to be able to see. Google tells me that there is a way to turn this off, but Nintendo didn’t make it easy to figure out how.
• The annoying sound the eraser makes.

The Ugly

• The hammer brothers.

The Lowdown: This game appeals to the same part of me that can spend hours building houses in Sims. If you’re a fan of Mario and building things—or if you just want more levels to play—this is the game for you.
  
Music Credits
RPG Roundup Theme Song: “Video Game Theme,” J. Arthur Keenes Band. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Mario OST