Super Dungeon Maker (Nintendo Switch) Review
Release Date: May 3, 2023
Publisher/Developer: Rokaplay/FIRECHICK
Platform: Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), Steam
Price: $19.99
Ever since the release of Super Mario Maker, we’ve heard people clamor for other makers of classic Nintendo franchises. Who wouldn’t want a Metroid or Zelda maker, or to craft your own boxing opponents in Punch Out!? Zelda, however, remains solid at the top of a list like this. While an amazing game easily worth the affordable $19.99 entry fee, I can see why Nintendo hasn’t done it yet: pulling off a satisfactory “Zelda” maker is HARD. FIRECHICK and Rokaplay provide an amazing attempt that is a lot of fun, but left me wanting a bit more and hoping that there will be plenty of updates in the future.
Super Dungeon Maker is exactly what it is, a Dungeon Maker. Anyone who wants to create an epic storyline with multiple dungeons will have to rely on pen and paper to tell a story between dungeons you create and select on a menu. You can create multitiered dungeons, even falling through cracks and holes to go between them, and have some genuinely fun puzzle elements. There are plenty of nonlicensed knockoffs of famous Zelda weapons. Don’t call it a hookshot, but it’s a hookshot. There are plenty of obstacles only certain weapons or pickups can pass, allowing you to create that Metroidvania attitude that you find in certain Zelda dungeons where you cannot go further until you find a particular item, however like I said there’s no progression between dungeons so you have to create one large sprawling world if you want to integrate them all. My 12 year old son is an epic Zelda fan, and wanted to create an Ultimate Dungeon. He shared it with me and it took me near on a half hour to complete, which is rather extensive for a classic 2D Zelda dungeon. But part of the fun is getting these items that one time in a Zelda game, then finding a bunch of secrets in the overworld that make you feel smart with your new toy. Here, each item is, for lack of a better word, another key.
Controls are intuitive and the menus work just fine. It’s easy to set up the dungeon of your dreams. Much like Mario Maker, there are a limited number of enemies and the challenge for combat is creating unique levels that the average grunt can prove a challenge in. There are a scant few bosses that have the traditional Zelda-esque weaknesses. If you just slap them in a square room you’ll get bored quickly, but change the shape, or add multiple bosses in one room you can increase the challenge. People have created insane bosses by cobbling together enemies and items inside of Mario Maker, but Super Dungeon Maker shows the limitations of a 2D dungeon. There’s only so much mixing up you can do before it’s more of the same. Maybe I’m wrong, and the online community will prove me wrong, but I feel the “creativity ceiling” will be hit quicker in Super Dungeon Maker, especially with the lack of story options or character customization. There are a few things that messed with my head though: for all the Zelda cloning we are doing, when an enemy throws a spear at an angle it just feels wrong, as I’m used to using oldschool Zelda logic and just staying out of straight orthagonal lines as I approach an enemy.
At $19.99, I feel any Zelda fan will be able to tinker with Super Dungeon Maker and have a blast, but eventually be mildly disappointed as it’s not “Super Zelda Maker with full Overworld, linked dungeons, final bosses, and customizable story.” It’s absolutely perfect for some “What If” and imaginative levels: my son made the Pac-Man map with cloud covered hallways and roaming enemies, with keys to unlock the next room where the power pellets would be. I’m sure more creativity is just waiting in the throngs of Zelda fans who have ever said “I could make one of those!”
Pros:
-Enemies mimic Zelda style
-Easily customizable levels
-Many themes to choose from
-Budget priced
Cons:
-No real way to create a full “Zelda” story
-Enemies and weapons mimic Zelda so closely you miss the ones that aren’t there
-Give me some updates!
Special thanks to Rokaplay/FIRECHICK for providing a code for review!