How To Add Secrets Into Your Super Mario Maker 2 Levels | Tips & Tricks

One of my favorite things in not only just super mario maker 2 but video games in general are secrets. These can be small easter eggs or actual rewards to the player and I feel that these greatly expand a games value. This same mentality for me also applies to levels in super mario maker 2. So today I wanted to discuss with you all a few tips, tricks, and Ideas on including secrets in your mario maker 2 levels. These will make your levels much better and fun to explore!
Odyssey Central Twitter: / odyssey_central
Odyssey Central Discord Server: / discord
Odyssey Central Maker ID: VPB-NM9-KLF
0:00 Intro
0:50 What Can Be Secrets
2:28 Where Group 2 Items Can Go
4:32 Invisible Blocks
6:23 Pipes
7:38 Power-Up Secrets
9:51 Item Secrets
10:32 Pink Coins As Secrets
11:05 Outro
Video:
• Video
Thumbnail By: / @shydude2729

[@Brick_Eater_]

7:31 What a clean and sneaky transition.

[@sona_the_persona]

What u doin here

[@nooners4077]

@@sona_the_persona hot dogs, better with Pepsi

[@yellowpowr8455]

And at 0:21

[@slug8039]

0:37 **enters door** **comes out of pipe**

[@sbirk3946]

And somehow he loses weight

[@sona_the_persona]

@@sbirk3946 exercise pipe-door

[@sbirk3946]

@@sona_the_persona makes sense

[@SkipitySkips]

Yes, this totally happened on my cave castle level I made

[@awesomness6775]

I can't believe this came out just now because just earlier today I was building a level based around exploration and secrets.

[@SmallestParticle]

aWESomeness123456789 what is it called?

[@Thatoneperson3307]

@@SmallestParticle you mean "what's the ID?". 🤦

[@Terminatormonke]

Ok

[@SmallestParticle]

Keagan Rogers no i meant what is it called

[@jaysonburke799]

I like how every video has a different background song in the beginning Tried commenting earlier but KZbin said "Comment failed to post"

[@edsoncastillo7357]

The big coins challenge should depend on the value of the big coin. 10-Coin: Easy to find, but hard to get 30-Coin: Hard to find, but easy to get 50-Coin: Hard to find and hard to get

[@drsherifff]

As he said in the video

[@rubyd5907]

Thanks

[@kingofhedgy9421]

regular-coin: easy to find, and easy to get.

[@edsoncastillo7357]

@@kingofhedgy9421 Mind size: Mega

[@Tandwar]

Yeah

[@petery6432]

5:53 Taht look liek a col secrt! Im goig to ptu it in my leevl! -Every little Timmy ever

[@AmyTheMeower]

@Eric Lee it's a child's way of typing and/or speaking mr. smart

[@petery6432]

@Eric Lee I was trying to mimic how a stereotypical little kid would type (since *Little* Timmy would imply a kid)

[@petery6432]

You notice that "Every little Timmy ever" was spelled correctly

[@petery6432]

@Eric Lee It's hyperbole. I know young kids will spell a lot more competently than my initial comment. It's just funnier to think of "Little Timmy" being so little he cannot type very well and messes up something in each word.

[@AmyTheMeower]

@Eric Lee Ok, let's start speaking on your own way, *f R e D e R i C k*

[@davyf33]

I kinda wish there was star coins. The 10 coins are cool but Star coins would be much better.

[@friendlycommenter8505]

Yeah, the star coins can be used in Super Worlds and you can put an amount required for a secret world 9 with some new levels

[@energyshatty9020]

scorpio queen or they can act like green stars or sun stones to affect the worlds directly

[@breadbxsket2]

Star Coins would be amazing to have. Placing one could immediately give you 3 to place in the level, in the same way that placing a door or warp box will give you 2 to place in the level. Bonus points to Nintendo if they could make levels detect how far into the level a star coin is (or a less clean method would be having a 1, 2, and 3 above the respective star coins in the editor)

[@energyshatty9020]

Bread Basket maybe we can manually select the order between star coins

[@friendlycommenter8505]

Star Coins would be good for super worlds if they could unlock a World 9 (up to the creator) because then the super world can have more exploration and give a purpose for the space theme

[@IKnowWhereYouAre68]

8:41 “Same with this garbage as well” *SAD FROG NOISES

[@stylesnivy1839]

It’s very confusing this opinion of his XD

[@stylesnivy1839]

But opinions are opinions

[@americankoopastudios]

Kermit died here

[@americankoopastudios]

Rosalina Mayers yeah I believe that Kermit lives matter though

[@IKnowWhereYouAre68]

Godzilla In a Scarf Productions. The cat suit is better then the frog suit in my opinion,I agree that the frog is better then the star though

[@grotesquenathan2515]

Timmy: Owl of my bestest seecwets are the shiny star in the blokcs that I use to win

[@akcapple6803]

Underrated comment

[@travis.c06]

@@akcapple6803 Underated comment

[@genericchannel4910]

Comedy.

[@Dolph__]

@@travis.c06 underrated comment

[@blayisvelcortorreal9460]

My best is a hidden 1-up

[@AmyTheMeower]

The auto-generated captions haven't generated yet, but I'll came back later to watch the video, I usually use them when I can't use loud audio, so don't worry if there's some bad statistics of leaving the video, I'll watch the whole thing,

[@wackycranberry7755]

I think they got rid of captions from now on. It might not have happened yet, but youtube said

[@AmyTheMeower]

@@wackycranberry7755 that's what someone told me in another video, so I left the video, but then when I came back the captions were there, it's probably something different

[@think_of_a_storyboard3635]

They removed community captions, not all captions

[@AmyTheMeower]

@@think_of_a_storyboard3635 *I. KNOW*

[@dragonispurple6075]

@@wackycranberry7755 community captions got removed, auto-generatrd captions and captions created by the creator of the videos are still there

[@jmschlosar]

For a circumstancial secret, decorate the place it’s in or the route to make it look more like it’s ment for the player

[@breadbxsket2]

10:23, using Pink Coins is definitely my preferred method of recreating star coins rather than using the 10, 30, and 50 coins that a lot of creators use. I feel like they are the best method for rewarding the players, both visually and literally. Pink coins also won't reward the player fully until they find all 3, just as finding star coins don't reward a player with a bonus level until they find all 3 in NSMBW and NSMBU. However, instead of rewarding the player with a bonus level, you can reward them with a bonus room that gives the player a few 1ups (3 is my preference), and some coins. Making sure players don't think they're necessary is a bit more difficult though, and needs some intuition to hide them well enough that by the time they reach the flagpole, they'll notice they're optional since the key door would be right next to the flag. I think most players in levels with key coins tend to play through the level first to see if they need them anyways, and will only typically go for them if they can see them. So by hiding them well enough, you won't put the player into tricky sections that they think is necessary but isn't. They definitely work best in traditional levels, as while you're doing a complicated level, having key coins will usually be seen as something you need that is a part of the challenge of the level, rather than something you can challenge yourself to get for a small reward. At least, that's my take on it. I might be a bit bias though. edit: I should note that if you do use pink coins in your levels of a super world, if you do have a level that requires the coins, make it as obvious as possible from the start that they're required to not cause confusion. You should also use the big coins in any of those levels just so there is still some reward. edit 2: While Pink Coins in my opinion do provide the best method of rewarding the player, the 10, 30, and 50 coins are the best way to represent the order of "star coins", as pink coins just show you how many you've collected, and not in any specific order. Alternatively, you could always just use both in a level.

[@redwoodxdd]

Wow that's a nice 5 page essay you got there. XD

[@BabyMatiny]

I use 10 coins as star coin 1, 30 coins as star coin 2, etc. It’s just a way of letting the player realize if they’ve missed a certain coin. But I do think key coins are best for functionality

[@luigidogxd]

Me and the boys at 3am vibing to Odyssey Central

[@Sick-cada]

That’s because you’re a dog, Luigi Woof

[@Dolph__]

@@Sick-cada woof

[@mreggsplays2080]

Woof

[@yellowpowr8455]

0:21 What an odd transition; love it!

[@superdude11235]

Your transitions between the levels with the pipes and doors are great!

[@sona_the_persona]

Another idea:Use on off switches to change the difficulty:If easy mode is on, some rewards are blocked

[@ecernosoft3096]

Hello OC! At one time, I played mario maker 2 and other mario maker esque games (Including SMM1), but am now a game designer. Your videos have helped me alot! Thanks! (Also, because I love platformers.)

[@danieldavid3766]

7:32 Woah, that transition though

[@Logan-yv7wo]

Your tips are so useful, I really enjoy how you explain things in such specific ways, but still entertaining enough to draw my attention. Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!👍

[@enderman7097]

this was very helpful! I'm in the middle of making my own super world and this was insanely useful for me to hide secrets in my levels!

[@studioarentain3960]

I actually recently got back into mm2, so this was really helpful!

[@TheTomatoWatcher]

The BONK at 9:39 was amazing. Thank you.

[@elesfinter9753]

I think the reward should be higher in less cryptic secrets. People could get confused if they randomly get into a pipe and discover a cape or star for example. But when you know there's a visible secret (like an unreachable block), you might get tempted to get it, so the player is forced to think about how he can reach it and get rewarded by a good power up. And vice versa; jumping randomly into an invisible block should reward you with something less valuable like a 1-up. The secret itself could be cryptic but the solution should be engaging. It's hard for me to explain this... but I hope some can understand xd

[@alexknegtt]

Thank you for the ideas! I have been working on some lately...... And congrats for 50 k that's a huge milestone!!

[@jaidenester8714]

5:54 caught me SO off guard!

[@brikfanz]

Yay! Congrats on 600 videos!!!

[@ilan_profile]

I needed a video like this a long time ago, now I can finally finish my old level xD

[@literallylegendary6594]

7:29 Is nobody going to talk about that perfect cut that makes it look like it's one level in 2 different game styles?

[@brikfanz]

2:22 Put some blocks below that pipe! We! ARRRRGHHHHH

[@derodainfamous]

I love how in the intro you made it look like going through the pipe changed the game theme

[@Cootshk]

using on-off blocks can sometimes work as a secret, as you could give a reward for making it to a point 1st try (put on off blocks and a switch to ensure that the switch is off before entering the main part of the level. When a player dies and goes back to a cp (1 or 2), the switches will be on

[@NoobyNubguy]

In one of my levels, I added a pipe that you can enter with a piranha plant in it, it gives your a 1 up, some coins that shoot out of bullet bills, and most importantly, a fire flower. Later in the level if you fall in a platforming section, before getting on the platform to go back up, there’s a clear pipe with a bob omb and hard blocks blocking the player from just rolling through the gap. This had a 50 coin behind it. If you got the fire flower you could shoot fire into the clear pipe, which would lite the bob omb, and have it explode the hard blocks. Allowing you to roll through to get the 50 coin. Definitely one of my favorite secrets I’ve made.

[@mr.tophat6184]

This was a great vid! Thank you.🙂👍

[@rebornwoshua78]

I want someone to make an "Odyssey Central SMM2 Level Making Playlist" for the process of making levels (mostly traditional). Oh, and also Dry Bones for Smash will never die, huh.

[@catherineling5437]

Dry bones can’t die cause he’s a skeleton GET IT

[@commonsquidtail]

Catherine Ling uhh they said dry bones for smash will never die, not dry bones will never die.

[@rebornwoshua78]

@@commonsquidtail r/woooosh

[@MoundN]

Dry bones will never be in smash.

[@carrott36]

until drybones gets in the next smash game

[@wsla]

0:37 what a nice Smooth Cut I Love it

[@iamerror6546]

7:32 nice pipe transition between game styles

[@Bee77]

DLC can be frustrating in VS mode sometimes. So many times there’s a giant arrow saying “go in this pipe!” It’s so misleading, and instead of it being a fun little secret you think you gotta go in the pipe to beat the level, then it’s all for a 10 coin. Then the exit pipe drops you 1 tile in front of the dlc entry pipe. Very cool. This has happened to me countless times

[@Alex-hg7ek]

dlc?

[@mariomaster101official]

Odyssey Centeral you may not see this but I love your content. Keep it up!!!

[@mariomaster101official]

Yay!!! You hearted it which means you saw it!!!

[@abol6906]

Nice you got hearted

[@llowotv]

@@abol6906 Yeah

[@EagleGamer_]

Thanks for making this video so I can use these in my levels

[@janetteearnheart2544]

0:38; Oh wow! When you go in the door, you go in the SMW theme! Cool! Also, thanks for the tips, Odyssey! I was wondering how to put secrets like you do!

[@janetteearnheart2544]

@Flia. Nicolás Jerez Flia. Nicolás Jerez Lol

[@janetteearnheart2544]

@Flia. Nicolás Jerez Flia. Nicolás Jerez I know

[@michaelwaller6947]

This video is so amazing thank you your my favourite youtuber 👍

[@corn567]

I like how every video has a different background song in the beginning Tried commenting earlier but KZbin said "Comment failed to post"

[@Odyssey_Central]

yeah I may have accidentally made the video private again for like 2 seconds lol, that probably caused the weird comment thing. Also thanks :D

[@mudkip4101]

@@purpleprawler9286 yeah, desbug's Mario 3D All-Stars video

[@QuantumScratcher]

I keep having a problem where a comment I post on a video will show up on a totally different video and the 'clone' cannot be removed. Sometimes it shows up twice on the same video.

[@channeldiscontiniued5537]

Thank you this helped me so much

[@CinmnTstCrnchChrros]

7:31 that was a great edit.

[@obviouslysupersonic3382]

10:50 if you have a boss fight level w/ pink coins you can have a pink coin in a hallway after you've beaten the fire spamming bowser boss fight. Came up with it back in mario maker 1.

[@archerarts4351]

In my levels the way I put my secrets is when I’m testing a jump trying to prevent cheese and if it’s cool enough I’ll put a big coin or a couple of 1-ups depending on the difficulty

[@DavideoGames641]

I have one in an autoscroll level: You are waiting for the camera when you see a Koopa walking, so you take his shell and bring it with you just in case. A few steps later you see a ? block that can't be pushed from below, you hit it with the Koopa shell, it has a vine inside so you clim it and find a big coin and a coin block. This only works in autoscroll leves because when you see the ? block it's too late to come back for the Koopa and if you ground pound it the vine will grow upside down. Oh, and make sure the player can't have power-ups such as tanookis or feathers.

[@Atrex2749]

Ur vids made my levels a lot better

[@GummyGuy-hn4lu]

I always wanted to know how and where to place secrets thank you so much your the best

[@umcorinthianoguitarrista]

7:34: best transition ever

[@superseal9052]

Please could you do a ranking of the enemies in Mario maker 2. I really want to hear your thoughts on ant troopers.

[@thealientree3821]

Hey Odyssey! I have a basic Moveset idea for Dry Bones. I thought the concept of it is ridiculous, like I question if there are enough things for a somewhat specific enemy, admittedly with a lot of mood and cuteness despite its dead nature, to do. Neutral Special: B O N E Dry Bones will throw a bone strightwards. You can angle the bone up or downwards by moving the stick after you pressed B. This move is taken from SMW and Paper Mario Dry Bones. Side Special: Shell The Dry Bones will be in its shell, spinning until it hits anything (a player, a wall, a ledge, etc.), in which case it’ll retract. This is referenced to the Dry Bones Shell, in which you can kick it, but it’ll stop when it collides with anything. This will send Dry Bones to free fall. Up Special: Parabones The Dry Bones will grow wings, and flap them a few times. This obviously references Parabones, seen in 3D World, the Maker games, and Odyssey. This will not send it to freefall, meaning you can use this, then use the shell for a decent (albeit predictable) recovery. Down Special: Play Dead The Dry Bones will be in a super armor state when “dead”. Great for escaping combos that aren’t true. There is however a bit of start and end lag. Dry Bones also cannot move in this state. This references the thing that Dry Bones are most famous for, sort of as well as what Mario can do with the Dry Bones Shell. The joke is running a little dry, like the boney turtle itself. Hey! What’s your second favorite enemy? Maybe I can think of a Moveset based on that.

[@antoinegaming936]

Maker mario

[@stick_guy6420]

Iconic line in almost all of Odyssey Central's videos: *dry bones for smash*

[@koopatroopa7968]

I actually made a traditional style level called propeller mushroom peak with the pink coin strategy. It’s a basic title screen level, but I did change it up a bit, the pink coins I mentioned earlier, adding a 10 coin under the floor, and if you collect all the key coins, A coin heaven area filled with references in the clouds, some examples are a hammer, the whale from Mario Land 2: 6 Golden coins, and a car tire for that promotional deal that Mario kart 8 had. If you don’t collect all the pink coins you’ll still have something interesting; a boss fight with Wendy reminiscent of her boss fight in NSMBU.

[@l3onardohue108]

Man i love your channel

[@Stringz1996]

A good way to use the red coins as a secret would be to have it unlock a short cut but the only problem is conveying that to the player , like say a speedrun type level where if you do the jumps perfectly you will get them or if you go a slightly harder (but still visible) second path to get them then have a hallway with the key door before the last room or something

[@SlopeSlide]

Secret Bosses! *Boss music plays* for example: sledge bro/hammer or fire bro battles from SMB3

[@ThatClamWiam]

i love secrets but i am bad at implementing them so thanks for this vid, now ill go watch lol

[@ThatClamWiam]

@Eric Lee ?

[@ThatClamWiam]

@Eric Lee ????????

[@ThatClamWiam]

@Eric Lee now ill go watch odysseys video? its not that hard to comprehend

[@ThatClamWiam]

@Eric Lee oh wait i see what ur saying now ur such a boomer why would i watch leauge of legends ew i said lol like laugh out loud and no i hadnt watched the vid yet but ik it was gonna be good its odysseys channel

[@ThatClamWiam]

@Eric Lee and just cuz i didnt watch it didnt mean i cant say its good so get out

[@imaginationsquare]

BIG TIP! In my super world I have the rule 'something everywhere, but sometimes skip it' It really works!

[@ShimmeringVapidCoal]

Hello Odyssey Central!!! Since you do so much content on traditional courses, as well as making in general; I was wondering if you could rate traditional courses made by others, and give them feedback. It could broaden the making community and spark some really clever building ideas. Anyway, thank you for making such awesome content and I'll continue to watch your videos!

[@necrozma4029]

9:38 there's an actual bonk sound effect. clever

[@miggyglizzy]

Your so good at making Mario maker two levels. I wish I was like you

[@StardustCookie701]

That was such a good transition Where mega Mario entered the door and then super Mario world Mario came out the pipe

[@captcalvin2293]

Love your channel

[@mappingsworld]

OC, you just got a new sub!

[@Odyssey_Central]

:D

[@dylantherandomkid7398]

A video I need thanks

[@jamesnovotny2991]

Would be cool if you can make secret exits, especially with keys, secret levels and classic secrets such as holding down so mario goes behind the wall to get secret items

[@gameplaygaminggamerofgames2959]

I was just playing Mario maker and now I am gonna make a level based on these!

[@1GodieStan]

nice

[@xzte]

Tbh i used to put ? Blocks and bricks 2 blocks high too but lately i started putting them 3 blocks high, so i suggest everyone does this in their levels, because my levels have gotten so much better eversince i started doing this. Anyways, have a Nice day 😋

[@desexeddoggo2520]

Forgot this game existed..

[@chillymations6766]

Odyssey Central: don't put power-ups in invisible blocks Nintendo near a boss door in NSMBU Deluxe: *ha ha power-ups in invisible blocks go brrr*

[@chillymations6766]

i know, they just do it a lot there

[@vlassispolitis-a]

If you make a boss rush level then you could have a harder type of the boss for an extra power-up.

[@DrRank]

In my Bible-themed Super World, I included a hidden cross in every stage. Most of them are pretty obvious, but some are made of coins and act as a reward for exploration.

[@DrRank]

@@antoinegaming936 WR5-XSK-J1H

[@timealasseigne3294]

LOVE IT

[@croakyvincent]

9:38 ''Bonk'' Died of laughter

[@deedgemaster]

Star coins would really be the star of most levels

[@RandomRodger]

I sometimes like to put secret speedrun strats in my levels, so that if anyone wants to have the record on my level, they probably can.

[@NeonZX69420]

7:56 yes I also am using the super hammer to build crates to get a nice 50 coin

[@iamcoolright7114]

Normally, when I hide a Power-Up in a Hidden Block, I add a Sound Effect to the Hidden Block, normally its the Spark one, so that way a player would think that I intended for it to be found.

[@Cassapphic]

I often put single coins or a small group of coins in an out of the way area underneath a hidden block

[@apaltanea]

for invisible blocks you can put ground decoration that spawns as you put ground

[@user-dh1wn6bj4p]

I personally don't think you should have footage of you entering a door and coming out a pipe or entering a pipe as SMB1 but exiting it as SMW, That could confuse players who didn't buy Mario maker and are willing to buy it. But over all this what as great video ;)

[@sometalentlesscreator1023]

Odyssey Central:*calls the Frog Suit garbage* Me: Every Power-Up should be threated equally

[@plushiebros64]

Two things i think about often when hiding secrets are: 1.) will it help in a speedrun? (Shortcuts) 2.) will it help in endless? (Lives)

[@ZeldaMasterLogan]

I started making a Super World that will use all of the Mario styles (not sure about 3D world tho) and I thought pink coins would be a great secret for those that like to play standard Mario levels. So I made the first world NSMBU because I wanted to hint that every world and its game style has 3 hidden pink coins to find. But then I started the Castle level and I had a difficult time deciding how I should do the pink coins because you get a key for defeating the boss I would have used a clear condition but checkpoints block that so I ended up placing 3 Big Coins as a good alternative for that. If anybody wants to have the Super World ID I would be happy to post it when it's done!

[@Alpha-hr7iu]

“Same with this garbage as well (8:41)”😂

[@Rover-N]

Adding sound effects to invisible blocks will make it seem a bit less like a dev exit

[@Green24152]

Unless it's the laughing one. Then it's probably meant to be a kaizo block.

[@YK1fr]

This is now a thing to hint for the secrets

[@2muchvariety]

5:55 that was so funny lol

[@vipuladitya14]

Everyone:Noting down the points from the video Me:Is that pigstep in the background

[@BabyMatiny]

My super world has the problem of lives really not meaning anything due to me hiding so many of them (but this isn’t really too much of a problem because game overs do nothing) Also whenever I hide a star it almost always has like no purpose in the level. Like maybe to kill a couple enemies (or a star coin) but that’s it, so it doesn’t look to dev-y. And yes it is almost always in a brick block. And when I hide other items, it is typically in an area that is right next to another item spot (with like bricks or something) and this item is usually different than the levels main item. Like instead of a fire flower it’s a nut suit. and while the powerup is useful, it doesn’t guarantee a super easy run

[@thelegendofjet7899]

I suggest a Mario Maker 2 Zelda idea video! :)

[@waynehuttel5905]

I have a question: in mario maker 2 are the powerups successional? Like if youre small mario will a mushroom appear before a flower or acorn when you hit a question block? Or is it the same as MM1 where you don't need a mushroom before getting a better powerup

[@thecupcakehey1608]

You forgot about secret endings which usually lead only to the top of the flagpole in an other wise unreachable golden ball

[@arcticjohn107]

11:01 what i recommend doing is just telling people the pink coins are necessary in the description, its what i would do

[@SquareFoil31362]

In a level I'm making, I hid a room with a lot of coins behind a pipe that was spawning enemies, I think that's a good way of hiding one.

[@tiky1609]

I mostly use pink coins for “Spaghetti Tower” (it’s my mm2 pizza tower ripoff) since it can be like toppins merged with gerome If you want to test it out then I’ll give you the codes at a time where I can give them

[@Brainstormer99]

6:42 Curiosity killed the cat!

[@MarceloPlus]

8:43 *exists Me: HOW COULD U SAY SUCH A THING lol

[@llotusplus9479]

yay pigstep in the background in the group 2 section

[@mnichu201]

8:41 garbage? How dar... Ur right.