Super Mario Maker has been quite popular on the Wii U. In fact, it’s the very thing that made me NEED to get a Wii U sooner rather than later. I’ve since acquired the system and the game. Needless to say I’m beyond pleased, but I’ll save all my gushing for the upcoming review. Not too long ago (though perhaps a bit to long at this point to be all that newsworthy), Nintendo announced in their Nintendo Direct that Super Mario Maker would be coming to the Nintendo 3DS. This gave me mixed feelings.

I do think this is a nice way to expand the accessibility of the game. Not everyone has a Wii U and many of the people that DID get the Wii U aren’t going to go rushing out to get a 3DS on top of it anytime soon. It may also lead to a price drop in the old Wii U version or simply act as its own cheaper version as 3DS games tend to skew cheaper. It has also been said that all of the items will be in the handheld port and access to online levels is still there. So it sounds pretty cool, being able to make and play wherever. Maybe you’re more creative in a place that’s not near a TV. Maybe you’re out and about a lot. There are definitely a lot of good things that can come of this, but there are also concerns.

Apparently, some of the Wii U levels might be unplayable, presumably due to technical limitation of the hardware. Also, while playing online levels will be possible, there will be no way to upload your own levels from the 3DS. Instead, you’ll be encouraged to use the Street Pass feature of the 3DS to swap levels with passersby and friends. That’s more social, but more limiting as well. There will most likely be more limitations on the size of levels and number of objects on the 3DS, not to mention it’d make sense to have less memory space for total saved levels due to software and hardware capacity limits. And obviously there will be smaller screens to work with.

I know a lot of the details are up in the air still as I’m sure it’s a work-in-progress, but there are some things I’d like to see. For one, I’d really like the online posting functionality to be in this version as well. It seems a bit discouraging to make levels that will be limited to you and those within passing distance. I mainly would like to see connectivity between both versions. Make it so that you can move levels between the two. It’d be cool to start working on a level at home on Wii U, then decide to move it onto the 3DS so you can keep working on it in your spare time when you need to leave, and put it back to the big screen when you’re back or all done and ready to upload it. Maybe you play a level you really like but would rather play it on the other system, or both. Just make the ability to connect and copy between both versions. And if nothing else, maybe make it a cross platform purchase for those who paid full price for the Wii U version because we didn’t know this was coming and maybe, just maybe, we would’ve waited if we had.

This also leads me to the concern I’ve had with the original form the get-go. Those online servers aren’t going to be around forever. We all saw how prematurely the Wii and DS servers got cut. There are still a few more good years left for the Wii U and 3DS ones, but the days are numbered. In this regard, the ability to still pass around new levels via local wireless sounds like a nice plus to the 3DS version, but without access to those Wii U levels and less general memory space to save levels, it’ll turn these titles into personalized level editing tools only good for your own satisfaction. That’s still awesome, but it will leave a lot of people wanting more and leaving. All I’m asking is for ample notice before such a shutdown so we have time to hunt and gather enough of our favorite levels prior to the end. That’s all.

So, while I’m very skeptical and overly grim about the situation, there’s still plenty of time for these issues to be addressed and fixed before release. Overall, I think it’s really nice that this game is going to become more accessible, especially considering how great it is. I really don’t think it’s going to feel like a downgrade. And to be honest… I’ll probably get it anyway because the idea is just too awesome to pass on. But hey, what are YOUR thoughts on Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS? Tell me in the comments here or, if you don’t have the appropriate type of profile, just swing on over to the YouTube video below and drop a comment to me that way. It’s about the same thing… just in a funnier presentation. Plus, it has a nice little lead-in story. Thanks for reading.