Genre: 2d platformer
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

On first glance, Super Mario Maker is rather striking, in that the outer parts of the screen-- the toolbox on the top of the screen, the icons along the sides-- are super high resolution, while the middle of the screen-- the actual game engine-- is like a remastered rendition of the classic Mario titles. Tapping or dragging on just about anything results in well designed visual cues and cute animations, and it is this level of polish that makes Super Mario Maker really stand out.

Super Mario Maker's work flow involves constantly leaping in and out of "play" and "edit" modes. During "play", the game sounds like, from music to sound effects, whichever Mario title one's stage is configured to emulate. During the transition to "edit" mode the music morphs, in stride, into orchestral remixes-- for instance, Super Mario Bros. 3's first world song becomes a Jamaican-style reggae tune. Original sound effects permeate the user interface itself, and they are all of high quality.

Older gamers will remember making Wolfenstein 3D maps in the early 90s, and level editors probably even predate that era. Super Mario Maker isn't particularly deeper than editors from those days, but it does bring drag and drop mechanics to the table. And the best part about it is that jumping between editing and playing involves merely tapping an icon. It also has lots of neat Nintendo touches, like clever sound effects, and items that animation as they are dragged.

Super Mario Maker is a drag-and-drop style level editor with a bare-bones "upload and share" system. Another way to look at it, is that it's a less flexible, but more accessible, alternative to LittleBigPlanet. It also manages to cash in on decades of Mario-related nostalgia to great effect. As a rapid prototyping tool, or as an "introduction to level design" gizmo, or merely as a way to relax and let one's imagination go wild, Super Mario Maker is an excellent title. As a very basic editor however, it lacks the robustness and scripting abilities of competing tools.