Demo of the first world is finally out! Download link in the "Demo" section
It's finally happening! After 10 years of lurking around and cancelling projects I wasn't satisfied with, I'd finally like to present my current project to you.
Why I am doing this
Have you ever played through an episode and were frustrated you couldn't grab a powerup because you were already at max state with an item in the reserve box? But later you needed to come back to this stage just to collect it so you can advance in a much harder level? That's at least where I get annoyed pretty fast. And then I'm always wondering what 1-Ups are even useful for. Either you can farm an unlimited amount of them so they become meaningless and/or checkpoints are so rare that losing a life or getting a game over doesn't even make a huge difference. Circumstances like these even destroyed Mario games with the best level design for me.
So what I wanted was an episode in which I can experience that dopamine kick from old Mario Bros games again when finding a 1-Up or rare powerup that I actually need. At the same time, while the editor became more and more powerful, I simply couldn't resist the urge to put all the amazing features into an episode anymore. These are the reasons I created Super Mario Bros POWER UP.
Item Inventory
As you probably already have guessed, the main feature of Super Mario Bros POWER UP is the in-level item inventory which can store up to 20 NPCs. Powerups, wearables, throwable blocks, enemies; everything is possible! But at the same time, each item can only be collected once. That way, farming an unlimited amount of items isn't possible anymore.
Game Over = Starting the World over
Yes, that's correct. This roguelite element from older Super Mario Bros titles is back and will make you appreciate extra lifes a lot more. But also think about the feeling of success when you beat the world and unlock new content!
Randomness
Finally, I thought that playing a world multiple times (unless you are a pro gamer and beat it first try) can get a bit dull. Therefore, there needs to be at least some randomness so each playthrough feels a little different. Most of the items contained in ?-mark blocks are random. Additionally, you might sometimes encounter an enemy who wasn't there before.
Apart from that, there will be many other surprises like self-scripted features and custom bosses you can look forward to!
Peach, Toadsworth and the Mario Brothers are playing a round of their favorite party game, as suddenly a mysterious pipe appears out of nowhere. The princess immediately senses the danger, but it's already too late. Without any chance to fight back, Toadsworth gets sucked into the pipe and disappears. This has to be another evil plan by Bowser … right? There are only two heroes who can rescue Toadsworth and save the mushroom kingdom!
Other Sprites: BMatSantos, Guss, Black Squirrel (MFGG), Eman, Sonikku, NO Body the Dragon (MFGG), Squishy Rex, SemiJuggalo, Spinda, DMZapp, h2643, PROX
Last edited by Suecra on Thu Jul 31, 2025 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Very interesting, but Mario does look a little funky.
For now, it is just a recolor of the default sprite. Perhaps I need to use the NPC palette to fit him more into the overall style of the game, but it might change to a custom sprite in the future anyway.
Also a question how many worlds will there be in this episode?
Thanks! I hope playing it will also be an unique experience . About your question: Currently, there are 8 worlds planned with an average of 7 levels per world.
. About your question: Currently, there are 8 worlds planned with an average of 7 levels per world.
