‘Super Mario Maker 2’ Craze: These 4 Game Franchises Should Build on the Trend

Sonic Mania was clear proof that the Blue Blur’s rabid fan base could create a quality 2-D Sonic game. The updated version of that passion project offered even more goodies for longtime fans, like the return of two obscure series characters and newly reworked stages. We’d love to see this whole “fan-made Sonic project” concept expanded upon with a custom game creation engine from Sega and Sonic Team.

Sonic the Hedgehog games have adopted 2-D sprites and 3-D visuals, plus they’ve introduced a swath of characters, catchy music, power-ups and boss scenarios. Getting access to the best of Sega’s platforming series and having the ability to produce our own side-scrolling adventures would be a smash hit. The possibilities are endless when the topic of a Sonic maker game comes to mind. It makes a whole lot of sense for Mario’s one-time rival to get a piece of the game creation pie.

Anyone remember Mega Man Universe? If your memory is a bit fuzzy on this topic, allow us to bring you up to speed. Back in 2010, Capcom announced its plans to release a new Mega Man game. The biggest draw of this title was its custom creation mechanics that allowed fans to craft custom stages. Besides Mega Man himself, the game promised a roster full of other Capcom idols such as Ryu from Street Fighter and Arthur from Ghosts ‘n Goblins. But once 2011 rolled around, news of Mega Man Universe’s cancelation arrived and greatly disappointed fans.

Ever since Mega Man 11 came out, it seems as though the Blue Bomber is back in the good graces of the company that birthed him. Now is the perfect opportunity to return to the Mega Man Universe concept and revive it for a modern audience. The art style for that game was admittedly ugly, so it’d make sense for Capcom to allow would-be stage creators to choose from a variety of art styles attached to the Mega Man franchise. It’d be even cooler if this dream game allowed fans to develop their own Robot Masters, which would be the ultimate icing on this Mega Man game creator cake.

The art of bombing other players while navigating maze-based stages has been mastered by Konami’s Bomberman franchise. The cutesy bomber who represents the series is a gaming icon, so it’s about time that he got to run around in his own game creator. The simple joys Bomberman is known for could get even better if they were placed in the hands of home game creators.

Producing our own custom mazes, utilizing 8-bit and 16-bit art styles and playing around with the whole Bomberman gang sounds so enticing. And who knows? Maybe there’s someone out there who can play around with the series’ main concept and create other game types within it. Could Bomberman find himself competing in a custom-created sport? Or quite possibly be placed within a side-scrolling setup? And how about access to the 3-D world exploration featured in Bomberman 64?

How has this game creator idea not come to fruition yet? It’s pretty evident that The Legend of Zelda fan base is chomping at the bit for such a release—just take a look at the finely crafted levels within Super Mario Maker 2 that are inspired by the classic dungeon crawler. Sooner rather than later, Nintendo needs to tap into the enduring legacy of its green-tunic-wearing hero and give him the game creator treatment. 

This dream game creator would come with everything you’d expect: access to dungeon creation tools and the series’ massive collection of characters, weapons and music. The Legend of Zelda has several fan favorite visual styles to choose from. We’d be more than happy to see the visual styles of the original game, A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening and A Link Between Worlds get represented by a Zelda game creator. A bonus theme in the graphical style used for the Link’s Awakening remake may be asking for too much, but we’ll throw it out there anyway. Hope you’re listening, Nintendo.

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