Howdy folks. Sorry this Making It Rainfall is a bit later than expected, but it’s been a whirlwind month for me. So even with the welcome help from Font and Ken, I personally didn’t have any levels ready til just a day or two ago. Which is somewhat unusual. But hopefully this will be worth the wait! The latest in our Super Mario Maker 2 themed levels is all about going fast (I swear this wasn’t inspired by the Sonic movie). Originally I had thought that would mean tons of go-kart levels, but honestly I think what we came up with was more creative. While there is one go-kart level by yours truly, the majority of these Making It Rainfall levels are all about dealing with speed in different ways. Some involve hunting for coins, others just have you racing for your life or even slaying dangerous skeletons. Let’s start as always with some great levels courtesy of Michael Fontanini.
Font’s Levels
Level 1 – Coin Runner
Course ID – 7FQ-BKQ-SWF
Mario meets Lode Runner: The Legend Returns. The timer adds a bit of tension to the level. Mario must collect all 55 coins before he can finish this stage. He can recover from a few mistakes, but time is limited. There are a few hiding 1-Ups that can be found as well.
I really liked the design for this particular Making It Rainfall level. Though I didn’t personally see the connection to Lode Runner, I did like how tight and well crafted it was. It felt tense without being overwhelming, and it was a lot of fun racing the clock to get all 55 coins. Not too tough, a good middle of the road sort of challenge.
Level 2 – Crazy Clown Car Pac Maze
Course ID – CPK-4D8-NWG
Mario somehow finds himself in a crazy clown car pac maze! He must collect all of the coins and reach the goal flag before time runs out. There are obstacles waiting for him, and enemies. He can use powerups to neutralize those that get in his way. Trying to go to fast will cause him to bounce off the walls, so Mario must be a bit more careful to save time.
While the last level’s inspiration wasn’t immediately clear to me, this one very much was. Though by contrast, this level is much harder. You have a lot more coins to collect, and you’re stuck doing so in a tight cavern in a clown car. It’s very easy to bounce a bit too much and lose precious time, and if you get sidetracked you’re also in trouble. This one took me a couple tries, but once I got the timing down and remembered to grab the stars, I didn’t have too much trouble. Good for those looking for a tense trial.
Level 3 – The Stalfos Dungeon
Course ID – RTL-RR3-18G
Link must enter the Stalfos dungeon and defeat all of the enemies before it is too late! Fortunately, a Stalfos is no match for his legendary sword! He’ll also need to use his trusty bow and a few bombs along the way. A few 1-Ups are hiding around the level, but Link can’t dawdle too much if he wants to reach the goal in time!
This is my favorite of Font’s Making It Rainfall contributions this week. It’s clever, it’s expansive, challenging and well designed. It’s also quite tough if you’re a goofball like me and forget how to use some of Link’s tools. That said, there’s not a lot of time to get lost, so you’ll probably be going through this a few times before you find success. Make Hyrule proud and defeat all the nasty Stalfos!
Josh’s Levels
Level 4 – Kart Chaos
Course ID – G4N-6BW-8MG
Race the clock in your speeding go kart or get scrapped!
Not only is this the solo go-kart level this week, but it’s also my very first. So apologies if it felt a bit rushed (pun intended). This one isn’t too long or too tough, so long as you time your jumps right and avoid the spike traps and Thwomps. Just remember, you don’t need to do anything extra to make those springs work after you land on them, cause I may have forgotten that a half dozen times as I was testing this level…
Level 5 – Cave Dash
Course ID – SYD-WW1-45G
One mushroom, 50 seconds. Run like the wind!
I’m kind of proud of my work on this Making It Rainfall level. It’s really simple, and I feel it’s well executed. You only have 50 seconds to get through the cave, but you’ll need to stay as big Mario to escape. You’ll need his spin jump to break those yellow blocks, cause that’s the only way to progress. There’s a few traps and baddies along the way, but overall this one is short and sweet.
Level 6 – Beetle Voyage
Course ID – LNY-WQB-RFG
Collect at least 130 coins in a little more than a min. Grab the big coins!
I also had fun here. It’s technically the longest of these levels, but it’s also quite tense and risky. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds to collect at least 130 coins. Sounds simple. The complexity is you’ll have to do so while airborne on beetle backs, and avoid leaping Piranha Plants in the process. It’s easy to fall to your death, so try and hold onto your Fire Flower to singe those Piranha Plants, and do your best to jump carefully!
Ken’s Levels
Level 7 – Mario.Trip.Runner
Course ID – SC9-6W7-7NF
No need to hold right, jump is all you need in this fast auto-runner.
I adore the design for this level, and found it a great example of this month’s theme. Much like the game that inspired it, you only need to jump as Mario auto-races to the finish line. You’ll have a few enemies and traps to avoid, but it’s pretty linear and enjoyable. Just so long as you don’t make any silly mistakes.
Level 8 – A Hot Dash
Course ID – 8Y2-4WY-2KF
Run! Run quickly to avoid the lava and get ready to dash.
This Making It Rainfall level gave me some trouble. I like the idea, but the execution was much more challenging. I can’t count how many times I died due to lava related scenarios. Thankfully, if you stick with it, you’ll get the timing down and make all the death defying jumps. Or you’ll sizzle and expire. Up to you!
Level 9 – 10 Second Dash
Course ID – 64G-NYB-9WF
The Thwomp wants a sprint race? Nothing will slow him down. Watch his dash.
This one is summed up well by the title. It’s super fast, and super easy. At least as long as you beat Thwomp to the finish line. If not, shouldn’t take too long to get the timing down.
All in all, another fun collection of stages for Making It Rainfall. Thanks as usual for joining us here at oprainfall for your dose of Mario fun, and be sure to tune in next time!
