Remember LittleBigPlanet? Back when the game first launched, you’d see a lot of community levels that were designed to provide immediate access to certain trophies. Sometimes, they were a means to collect instant content. There was no challenge to it, and it was all about instant gratification. Well, it’s already happened with Super Mario Maker.
One of the first features that unlocks in Super Mario Maker is Course World, which lets you see levels people have played online. You can do so one by one in the Courses or Maker section, or 8 in a row in 100 Mario Challenge.
I first realized people would be searching for favorites with Costume Mario fashion shows while trying 100 Mario Challenge. In this mode, a player gets 100 lives and must complete eight user-created levels, with the ability to choose Easy or Normal difficulty and even save your progress to resume it later. During my first run, I came across two different levels that contained a row of Question Blocks, all containing costumes.
They all had similar names, these Costume Mario amiibo levels. One was "amiibo showcase." Another was "Amiibo Power-up Party." Though I was disappointed in "ammibo costume party"’s spelling error, at least it attempted to offer an actual level, rather than a line of Question Blocks with amiibo costumes within. I can’t forget "Amiibo Costume PartySpoilers!!!!" either!
It’s a sight I knew I’d see when I’d start searching for Super Mario Maker levels, but I didn’t expect there to be so many. I thought there would be more diversity, but I suppose the ability to share supersedes creativity. Fortunately, there are a number of early themed levels that not only show off Costume amiibo, but provide an apt setting inspired by the game. "A Whole Lot of Moles" is my favorite, starring plenty of iconic Nintendo moles, since it’s a legitimately challenging gimmick level. "MiniMetroid" is another, and stands out especially since it manages to feel like Metroid before the creator, Rafa, inserted a giant Metroid made of blocks.
I guess what I’m saying is this: if you’re picking up Super Mario Maker when it comes out on September 11, expect to see a lot of early "amiibo Party" and "amiibo Costume Party" levels the first weekend as people show off their collections and attempt to place on the Star Ranking leaderboard.
