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Super Mario Maker 2 creator releases ‘Super Mario Bros. 5’ after 7 years of work

Project pitched as ‘a classic Mario game that plays as if Nintendo created it themselves’

Artwork of Mario and Luigi building a stage from Super Mario Maker 2 Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Ryan Gilliam (he/him) has worked at Polygon for nearly seven years. He primarily spends his time writing guides for massively popular games like Diablo 4 & Destiny 2.

It finally happened, “Super Mario Bros. 5” is here! And by “here” we actually mean “fully realized and created inside Super Mario Maker 2 by a fan, not Nintendo.”

It’s been 32 years since Nintendo launched Super Mario World — the last truly classic Mario Bros. platformer before the modern era — in Japan. Since then we’ve gotten numerous 3D Mario games, modern 2D “New” Super Mario Bros. games, and even Mario games where you can make other Mario games.

But many fans have wondered over the years: Will Nintendo ever return to the classic era and give us one more great platformer in the style of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World? The answer to that question is clearly a resounding “no,” but Super Mario Maker 2 level creator and Twitter user Metroid Mike 64 has given us the next best thing.

After what they describe as seven years of work, Metroid Mike 64 (aka Mikey_Mike on Switch Online) has built a spiritual successor to the original Mario tetralogy, boldly titled Super Mario Bros. 5.

Metroid Mike’s Super Mario Bros. 5 contains 40 courses and eight full worlds. They use a wide variety of game styles in the levels too, with Super Mario World making up 24 courses, Super Mario Bros. 3 making up 14, and the final two courses made in the original Super Mario Bros. style. (Metroid Mike 64 says that the Super Mario Bros. 2 mushroom also makes an appearance in the game).

Metroid Mike 64 insists that his Super Mario Bros. 5 isn’t full of your standard Super Mario Maker trolls or goofs, like so many other Super Mario Maker 2 projects. In other words, it isn’t a labyrinthian nightmare designed to infuriate you, it’s measured and beatable. “I’m trying to provide you with something Nintendo should’ve done already, make a full Mario game within Super Mario Maker 2,” Metroid Mike 64 tweeted.

On their Twitter account, Metroid Mike 64 showed off numerous worlds and screenshots — including boss fights with the various Koopalings. There are even puzzle levels similar to the old Boo Houses in the classic Mario games.

If you want to check out the game for yourself, you can find it by searching Metroid Mike 64’s Maker ID code on Super Mario Maker 2: OG9-XN4-FNF.

And if you don’t have a copy of Super Mario Maker 2 on hand, you can watch a full playthrough of Super Mario Bros. 5 in this GameXplain video (that runs nearly four hours).

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

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