How To Make Your Levels Look BETTER In Super Mario Maker 2!

Super mario maker 2 features a ton of great and creative levels. However, many of those levels don't look that good so today I wanted to go over some tips, tricks, and ideas on how to maker your super mario maker 2 levels look good! This video will cover the basics as once you know those then it's easy to expand upon them.
Twitter: / odyssey_central
Discord: / discord
Maker ID: VPB-NM9-KLF
(Dry bones for smash no matter what ConJakPre says)

[@vrek_]

Quick important tip : when you place a semi-solid, always put it one block in the walls or floors!!!

[@PackerFanGamer]

Not always. Mario 3 semi-solids look best floating in the air, as they are "bolted" to the background.

[@oh_tassos]

@@PackerFanGamer mario u semisolids should always be covered up both ways imo though

[@jerq887]

what? whaddya mean?

[@somekinnn]

@@jerq887 A lot of semisolids when used to make rooms look like they're inside have obvious air space at the edge, which breaks the illusion if placed at the exact size the room is. The commenter is suggesting to make them one block bigger in all dimensions than the room you're using it for, so there's no gaps and it looks as good as possible.

[@jerq887]

@@somekinnn i wish there wasn't a gap when stretching a semisolid to its max to begin with, so that you could seamlessly add another right next to it

[@Chipfoxxo]

6:26 "Four iron blocks" Looks like *someone's* played too much Minecraft.

[@holyroller67]

Alex the 9: *YOU CAN NEVER PLAY TOO MUCH MINECRAFT*

[@carsongodwin]

They are also a common name for those blocks

[@thewarden3227]

@@carsongodwin when i was a child i called them chocolate blocks... To this day they still remind me of chocolate...

[@carsongodwin]

@@thewarden3227 nice

[@superyoshiverde7911]

With Doors, I always put a semisolid behind it. I just hate how the doors look without it (and unfortunately, in the 3D World theme, you can't put semisolids behind doors)

[@Odyssey_Central]

yeah it so frustrating you can't put doors on semi solids there

[@jjbirb9596]

And a diferent block under

[@theakiwar9118]

I was hyped for the 3D World style at first, but after seeing how much content was cut, I began hating it with a passion. I just don’t like it.

[@_smugmaster_4553]

@@theakiwar9118 I still love it personally, but yeah, there is still a lot of stuff that they could've done, but just didn't.

[@kparkmd]

I honestly hate *most* of the semi solids in 3D world. The desert theme, overworld, and Ghost house semi solids are fine, but the rest are just boring old fences.

[@guynamedrick4419]

They should add more semi-solids and ones with unique properties, like a waterfall.

[@Arrowstotle]

Guy named Rick That would be amazing. Or even add a whole decoration tab like they have the sound effects tab!

[@pepearown4968]

If they ever add an SMB2 theme, we should definitely have waterfalls. They’d be like semisolids, only completely passable and animated. They’d be great in the other styles too, but they’d look hideous in NSMBU and 3D World. (Just look at the waterfalls the Newer Team tried to make in Newer Wii. Their colors are too dull, and their flow is far too choppy).

[@shelledguy5587]

@@pepearown4968 Look at the Newer Wii Plus waterfalls.

[@pepearown4968]

Paper Spike They’re improved, but they’re not THAT much improved.

[@swaggasaurus4837]

@@pepearown4968 Semi-solids aren't good anyways in 3d world. They're only sort of useful with the Cat suit, and aside from that they're not even aesthetically pleasing.

[@wariolandgoldpiramid]

6:32 and yet, this wrong design is exactly what Nintendo did in the latest Ninji Speedrun level

[@think_of_a_storyboard3635]

Probably because they're trying to mimic the original super Mario bros' approach to pipes like those. Seriously, look at a smb longplay and see for yourself.

[@bruhhhsmm2615]

Odyssey Central: How to make your levels not look like a child made it. Level creators: That sign can't stop me because I can't read!

[@zaydew]

😂

[@oliverquast1232]

Hey bruhhhhh you make awesome levels!

[@nathanjohnpalaogaming4872]

Oh imma make mm2 levels as child

[@want-diversecontent3887]

bruhhh SMM2 I am a child

[@sirk603]

Cries in I’m 11 but my levels look a lot better than levels made by others my age

[@pepearown4968]

6:33 That would be a viable option... *IF THEY DID NOT REMOVE PIPE STACKING*

[@Odyssey_Central]

Lifeform Lover we shall never forget it, truly a sad loss

[@speddoellol1199]

late response but hey, you can put some blocks to "connect" the pipes

[@graygravity3856]

@@speddoellol1199 thats the point... of the tip? that's literally the tip they timestamped.

[@tuckerbetz9585]

lol

[@jamietriden2678]

Rip

[@PalmTreeTV]

The ground decor that pops up inside the terrain in New Soup can look really bad if left untamed, especially in the Underground theme when the pebbles repeat. Make sure you pay close attention to your ground when making a big piece of it!!

[@thefinchbird9353]

I totally agree! When I make underground New Soup courses I always make sure to get rid of any and all different terrain. Same with the desert except at night. The skulls fit nicely there.

[@Stinker0610]

New soup.

[@pepearown4968]

Also, in the airship theme for any game style, do not have a bunch of windows placed willy nilly all over the ship(s). After all, they are manmade structures, not imperfect natural terrain. Things need to be consistent in some way. Consequently, you should only keep the windows in a straight line directly below the upper deck or something like that. Just don’t have them thrown in haphazardly throughout the world.

[@notjebbutstillakerbal]

S O U P

[@_peepee_]

good soup

[@_armoricat_]

Another tip: When you activate P-Switch, frozen coins become frozen bricks, wich look cool

[@braydenhall1446]

Him In The Past:What? Those Things Aren't In MM2! Him In The Present:Now I See! He Made This Vid Before That Update!

[@ninfan6434]

It's only temporary though since it's locked behind a P-Switch.

[@rowboat10]

@@braydenhall1446 what?

[@catsdogswoof3968]

​@@braydenhall1446 you know no one could play that

[@charliechimento852]

9:45 he tried so many times I’m suffering…

[@andreaallen6374]

Same

[@brikfanz]

Same

[@wool578]

Tf

[@Gamer-GuyGG64]

One thing you didn't mention is combining the aesthetic with the gameplay for example, designing a level based on objects of a certain color or using ice blocks as indicators for speed runs.

[@Dannyboy-vh3hu]

I actually did make a level based on blue objects once.

[@lisalanik2526]

And have a main element

[@kutura_P]

7:24 I BELIEVE I CAN FLYYY!!

[@kutura_P]

Wow I have heart and 4 likes :D

[@kapitanbach7411]

@@kutura_P 5 now :)

[@alzinasexywillis8615]

@@kapitanbach7411 8 now (;

[@funnytoad31]

joy con drift 19 Now

[@funnytoad31]

J ch 20 Now

[@Reecee]

Nice, your “tips and tricks” videos are actually really good and I would like to see more of them

[@thischannelisdead4363]

Your the guy he collabed with 😱

[@Reecee]

Wagnarok Playz Yep

[@lazarstankovic2505]

Hope there is part 2...

[@quisimon181]

Another good tip, not mentioned in the video, is replacing a few ground blocks with others, like hard blocks or ice. It looks much more interesting than just a big, plain chunk of ground. Although it looks good only in smb1 and maybe 3, still worth keeping in mind.

[@kampfhund2871]

I literally searched for this comment. Also, it can look really nice in SMW too. But that's probably depending on the theme you use.

[@_smugmaster_4553]

I actually think it looks good in New Supe, but it looks even better if you just use the ice blocks and no ground tiles

[@PhilippHorwat]

Another way is cutting out part of the big chunk of ground and let some semi-solid shine through. This also works in NSMBU.

[@soulsaregreat5272]

Dangit, i just wrote the longest comment about block design and now i just found this.. Although i do want to say block design can look really good in nsmbu and sometimes mario world!

[@catsdogswoof3968]

Idk all themes look too fancy and pandering

[@hamstergod402]

If it’s too over kill don’t do it, you don’t need to spend a lot of time doing detail for a transition, make sure to put lots of detail in places where detail is needed

[@Gabriss32]

I created the "Trust Coins and Ignore Arrows" speedrun level, and I am going into rank #1 maker weekly.

[@catsdogswoof3968]

Huh

[@evadecaptcha]

One thing to keep in mind, from my experience playing, with the vines: I use a controller with a d-pad, and the vine decorations are a huge pain in speed running areas, because if I'm barely tilted upward while holding right, Mario stops to grab onto them.

[@zName1]

This is why I only put them on a tall ceiling.

[@Caleb_Benjamin]

I just finished an extremely hard underground level where you jump across vines and dodge enemies. Since it is so hard I am having a lot of trouble uploading it. But I found out that if you use the gem semi solids in random holes on walls in the underground theme it looked like ores are in the cave or buried in stone.

[@mr_6954]

That’s kinda cool!

[@hexolotl8032]

Here’s another one. If you have a big area of ground, you can replace some of the ground blocks with iron or brick blocks. I sometimes use these in my levels and they make them look a lot better.

[@arttukettunen5757]

Well, if you don't have a level with 100s of likes, if you really tried you can be happy that it's better than 90% of all levels. After all the popularity of levels when the level is better from the majority's perspective rises exponentially, not linearly.

[@thefinchbird9353]

I love decorating my levels and I have some tips to add. When you said that in certain themes you can have decoration in the ground, you're wrong. Every theme has them but many VERY closely resemble the other blocks (only in New Soup). One thing to note is that the NSMBU ground tiles in the underground theme are pretty ugly so don't over use them. I like to use them in the underwater theme and use them to make stars and fish in the ground. My favorite theme is SMB1. This is because it's so easy to decorate in it. I was inspired by a MM1 maker. He created a series called Super Peachy World. Even though it's SMM1 I still highly recommend it. I don't have the course IDs but you can find videos on KZbin.

[@Odyssey_Central]

The reason I said certain themes was because of smb1 ground and such, unless those change which I didn’t know lol

[@thefinchbird9353]

@@Odyssey_Central I believe it's only in New Soup for every theme. Other themes have it in their airship themes. The only exception is 3D World which has its elements based on tile placement when editing. This makes 3D World decoration very hard.

[@soomyboomy4951]

@@thefinchbird9353 That and how semisolids work in 3DW piss me off...

[@thefinchbird9353]

@OdysseyCentral The specific ground pieces are also in SMW. The rest of the themes have them only in the airship theme. 3D World has randomized ones for castle and airship. SMWs are much less noticeable, but are there in every theme.

[@SWatch2021]

Dry bones for smash!

[@ponkypink3389]

And waliugi

[@renatenucum884]

YEE!

[@PETERWOJDYLO]

Noooooooooo Bomb-omb for smash

[@stitches_73]

sadly didnt become a reality

[@Blapze]

By the way, here’s a tip that drastically helps for scroll stop: Instead of adding 1 layer of blocks, add 2 or 3. In styles where when blocks connect and their textures change then it doesn’t look very nice, for example nsmbu desert theme, you can actually see the other side of the scroll stop just slightly and it doesn’t look very good. Hope that helped someone lol

[@catsdogswoof3968]

I hope it did because it's ugly

[@Human0987]

I did that always because when test8ng I tried to see the outside and it always worked. 😅

[@marky3307]

I have never met someone else who wants dry bones in smash desperately

[@anonunya]

I usually finish the level design before I add decorations, just so I don’t screw up the ELB limit

[@b33fybruh54]

I like to erase bits of the ground and adding semisolids to give a small hole/cave design

[@Arrowstotle]

Blocky Boy adding ice or other things inside of the ground blocks looks great!

[@izzy-artmusicvlogs1234]

Uhh...what is a sekisolid?

[@b33fybruh54]

@@izzy-artmusicvlogs1234 semisolids misspelled

[@Gamer-3458]

Good idea: put ancient ice block with coin into the ground in the snow theme

[@Arrowstotle]

Nice video! I think visuals play a huge part in the perception of your levels, thanks for putting this together!

[@Danielle-nh8hf]

Congrats on getting past 11k subscribers! I remember watching your videos at 600, It’s amazing to see how far you’ve come!

[@KFam19]

WOW. this is so very useful. i had absolutely no idea how to use any ground decor or vines or semisolids or any other decorations. Time to go make some good-looking levels!

[@shelledguy5587]

Mind if I share a tip? :) When using scroll stop, have the ground be at least 2 tiles thick (vertically and horizontally). Some themes, including almost every SMB1 theme, are exceptions. Also, nice profile pic change.

[@mineplayer05yt4]

Thanks a lot, Odyssey! I was waiting for this video for a long time!

[@flaflagerumpth]

Thx for the vid odyssey, i really needed help on decoration

[@Sam-ze8uo]

This is a fantastic video. I do most of these things but I still learnt some new stuff. It really helps your level look real using your tips, and makes me want to go back and tweak mine! Something I think is worth noting is that it can be cool to use multiple semisolids on top of each other, either for further decoration or to make a new semisolid (e.g. in SMW castle I love combining the metallic diamond fence and black wall semisolids). I also think it’s worth noting symmetry is a useful thing to consider. It really makes levels look much nicer. And I love the aesthetic like your example at the end, but if you make the semisolid one block narrower on each side to create a ledge effect.

[@Arch25436]

Dude your levels look amazing!! Keep up the good work! Btw these ideas are amazing!!

[@lordroy88]

The ground decorations look awesome!

[@EgamerX14]

I used dotted-P-blocks for decoration in my levels, especially forest theme.

[@bowserwithagun7338]

3:21 Ceave: laughs in surprisingly simple

[@julijaramsa8960]

This advice will be useful for me in the future. Thanks for the good advice!

[@emyhR]

This was an awesome and extremely helpful video! Definitely make this a series bro

[@TEBEnthusiast]

Thank you! Your tips made my levels soooooo much better! I even went to my old level to make it better!

[@bfrxcrpgfhanzux]

this has been helpful, because i have been getting as much stuff in my head as i can about mm2 before christmas

[@foxygamingknuck3610]

You are helping me so much making my levels intresting.THANKS!

[@nomeca961]

I been subscribed to you since you had 800 subs you grew a lot good job

[@rowlet342]

6:05 subtitles say don’t cover pipes

[@ronster.]

Too much people needed this video, thanks for making it!

[@jeffersonivanjimenezconcep3373]

I needed this video, thank you!

[@reachgd6769]

Please make a part two this was awesome!

[@mrpostman533]

You're tips are great and I will be sure to use them 👍

[@coolcoco6479]

All of these are helpful, thanks.

[@ericachappelear2762]

Loved the video thanks it really helped me!

[@emiljoan-anthony4004]

very, very helpful for a newbie at mm2 like me! i love your channel, just subscribed

[@kaitlinhein5986]

New tip:This only works in under ground and desert in certain styles but you can use a certain semi solid (the like wood one) instead of mushroom Platforms.

[@Brik2246]

Please Make another one of these vids i love them They are fun to watch ;)

[@jucom756]

I've alraedy watched a video on this before mm2 came out, and I think I'm already pretty good, but your videos are good quality so why not?

[@Melanie-bk5qj]

I made two levels with these tips: 1. The jungle adventure (3NV-D0X-DRG) 2.FIGHTNIGHT (JH2-MBQ-KYF) I hope you enjoy my levels :)

[@legostopmotionbuddys8479]

I played both levels and they are so fun to play en they look so nice!

[@Melanie-bk5qj]

Thank you :)

[@OrangeStaringCat]

I played both levels too! They were fun to play. I liked ur level and gave a comment

[@EtnaBoy666]

Thanks for the tips! I will have to remember these when I do my Super World courses! ^_^

[@FeddytheReal]

Nice video! I really didn’t know about most of these tricks. If I had Mario Maker 2, I would 100% use these. You get a like from me!

[@michaelw3774]

What a great video! Thank you!

[@imamonster3667]

Thanks this helped me decorate my new level alot

[@ferretwithacathat292]

I really like putting a gentle slope on each end of a steep slope. It makes a nice hill shape

[@drinkspartypack]

Yes! I need this so much!

[@JacobGforce]

Your levels look fun and appealing. I'll have to try them out when I get MM2 soon.

[@thuyh9028]

Here is a small little tip in case you did not know: Semisolids can layer on each other, can you can make good bg design. What I mean is, if you put a small semi solid, say for example a 3x3 semisolid, onto a larger semi solid that outweighs it in height, then the smaller one will layer over the bigger one. What you can do with this is prettier backgrounds, for example you can have a scaffold holding up the tunnel walls in a small tunnel.

[@brikfanz]

Yeah! I used that in my latest level. Thanls for the tip!

[@hellothere2297]

Thanks for the tips my levels looks way better now Also another tip if you used a pipe for a secret room, use the colours for the theme so if it was a frozen night snow level then blue would be good and if it was a castle level then you could use red

[@legostopmotionbuddys8479]

Please make a part two, It wil make the mario maker world some better

[@oh_tassos]

you don't need to use semi-solids as background semi-solids (some ends of which are visible) can be used in the ceiling of levels to make them feel somewhat older.

[@ElemonAdventures]

I love your videos and your tips have helped me in so many ways. Thank you for everything and keep up the good work! :) Here’s a level I made with tons of decorations and has some of the tips 22K-GMF-WKF Mario Goes to the Moon One small step for Mario, one giant leap for Nintendo Kind My 4 rules for my levels are this: 1: Treat the player fairly- No trolls unless it’s a troll level, if that’s the case the troll level should be about figuring out what to do, not where to go. 2: Add decoration- Every single level I’ve made I have decorations. In the super Mario world theme for the ground, there’s 2 different ground tiles. On that has flat grass and one that has pointy grass. Decoration is important 3: Use checkpoints if the level is long, especially before or after a hard part 4: Have a theme, idea, or a purpose for the level. I’m making a level called ThE NiGhTmArE, which is a horror level that preys on everyone’s most common fears. Thank you again! Your videos are always so helpful and I click on it right when I get He notification. Keep up the awesome work and have an awesome day! :)

[@tshizzleplays2372]

I am proud of the first level I used these tips for. It is called Old Wiggler Maze (V1M-TL7-6QF). It has a final boss, which you CAN make easier with the vines, but that is intentional. If you want to, go and play it! I would really appreciate it.

[@catsdogswoof3968]

Wow

[@mattmanmariosagadx3775]

That was some perfect tips and tricks. Mr. Saga DX loves it.

[@niromr5613]

2:34 i agree. I use it a lot. For exemple: DBW-LC5-3DG

[@talannoel447]

Love your content

[@smoothytoastyweapon]

This video wil come in handy it’s too good you will deserve a like 😃

[@Davidisaname]

This helped a lot!

[@janolechan4392]

Thank you for the Inspiration and buildinghacks

[@THElessgo123]

Thank you for this I'm still new to playing Mario Maker 2!

[@lubnaghazwi]

when i make houses in my levels, i use mario world because one of the overworld semisolids looks like a mushroom, i use mushroom platforms for the roof and add a pipe to look like a chimney, i add some flowers and bushes to make look nicer its very effective if youre trying to make a house

[@jessieminnery5915]

I actually do something similar!

[@virginiamoreno2145]

DUDE this helped me alot

[@daffierdragon15]

This is actually a really good vid

[@KirbyMaster]

Love the new icon!

[@MrAlex-vm4gf]

I just made a room based Level and I'm so happy I already knew all of These.

[@hye-gyeongha8754]

Very useful thanks!

[@athena5873]

Something to note with vine cheese is that if it just lets you cheese one simple or easy jump where it would be easier just to do the level right, it can be ok since the player doesn't really gain any benefits for using the vines. You can also add a 10 coin or perhaps a secret to the vine if you notice vine cheese instead of just removing the vine to integrate it into the gameplay.

[@Naniblocks]

At 3:29, I know you said "In some themes", but 1 block thick ground looks awesome in Mario World sky theme

[@thealientree3821]

And the Mario 3 forest theme.

[@Naniblocks]

@@thealientree3821 yeah that's right

[@pepearown4968]

Xalaikhan Master Or desert (Since they become purple pipes)

[@Naniblocks]

@@pepearown4968 yeah right too

[@browniex5120]

True....

[@alexsc7505]

I will soon get the Nintendo Switch with SMM2 and I´m sure this will help me A LOT. Thanks!

[@TEBEnthusiast]

I played some of you levels odyssey I like them!

[@pointpoint8445]

Honestly random ground decor can look nice. Like, in forests and grasslands, flowers don’t normally go together but they can appear here, there, and everywhere! As long as it’s not bunched up rapidly (like half the flat ground has a bunch of flowers and the other half has nothing), where it shows that the creator just placed blocks one by one. I just don’t like them too much when they’re all together in one place rather than spread a little here and there.

[@elihacks4942]

Thanks this was helpful

[@reid.lawson]

I really thought (and hoped) you would talk about how amazing hard blocks look scattered through the ground in the Mario World underground theme. Might also be good in other themes such as NSMBU ghost house, but I'm not sure.

[@donovanrxg9440]

Here’s a tip for the semisolids I use in my levels! (this won’t work for ALL semisolids) if you combine semisolids, like in SMW,Underground’s bone and that one without holes, they will look VERY good! I also put skull platforms at the top, too. (I mostly use them for 4 unit semisolids)

[@TheTurnipKing]

I tend to use the one block design when I'm roughing out a stage, the cosmetics are usually the final consideration.

[@RJIS]

I’ve been making a remake of Champion’s Road. I watched this and thankfully it’s better now

[@angelicamutisayala5312]

Gimme dem ID

[@erichart2756]

Thanks for the look friend

[@IlgaXe]

man you made amazing ty

[@gagehailer8058]

Every time I see the old mario I can't help but think how far video games have come and just technology in general.

[@soulsaregreat5272]

This may not be a good tip for everyone, but i think its better if you add block deco to large chunks of ground blocks, or even small chunks of ground, it looks much better. Incase you dont know how to add block deco, its basically just changing some blocks from ground, to whatever else matches. I suggest adding breakable bricks to desert levels, hard bricks to castles and or airships, clouds to sky or night and so on. Just make sure you dont add too much different blocks or it may look cluttered. Also, adding ice blocks as a replacement to water works really well, you can even make a beach theme! Heres how: (This one is only for nsmbu, however feel free to try it on other styles) Change the level theme to sky, as i think the backround works really well and the ground blocks match the beach ground blocks from nsmb. No real block deco so just make sure the terrain isnt just one huge clump of ground, feel free to experiment though, Make sure to place ice blocks wherever water would so that it actually looks like a beach. I recomend placing it in small holes and make sure its not just a straight line. You can also add frozen coin blocks to lead to secrets Also, add vines, but refrain from placing them on the ground or it may get somewhat annoying. I recommend using goombrats, koopas, fishyboobkins (spikes) and any underwater type enemy, just be carefull as there's no actual water in this level. And voila, a beach theme! Edit: Twisters work really well too! Also to clarify by block deco i mean block design, as in not just being all ground blocks but with other blocks that fit the theme aswell.

[@ryankramer8779]

Well I'm glad I saw the tip with the pipes. Wasn't sure how to make 90 degree pipes look good

[@victorsanchez59]

Thanks! I was able to make a new level I am working on "Underwater Adventure 1-2" :)

[@tecno-killer7702]

Veins works really good in the underwater theme.

[@carlelliston3365]

Your tips have inspired me. One day we can make a collaboration series when me and you make an entire level