Create Super Mario Maker–style levels in these Android games

Creating levels for video games is the dream of lots of gamers who’ve filled notebooks with doodles for game ideas or actually expressed their creativity with one of the tons of different game editor programs. While it might seem complicated to a lot of people, the advent of Super Mario Maker helped a lot of gamers make their own levels in a fun and intuitive way. The problem, though, is that you need a Wii U to be able to use it… Or not, as today we’ve found a couple of games for you that are similar to Super Mario Maker to play on your Android devices.

Sam’s Level Maker

With a look halfway between Super Mario Bros and the indie gem Fez, Sam’s Level Maker works like a comprehensive level editor where you can make almost anything you can think of thanks to the huge number of items available. After picking the size of your level you’ll get to work creating the full screen. Several types of tiles are available to create the platform base and there are lots of enemies, blocks, and decorations available to finish the level off with your favorite flourishes. Let’s be honest: nobody can complain about the variety here.

At any moment you can check the stability of the level and do a test run to see if you need to add more stuff to make it more fun – or save it and upload it to the Internet so everybody can enjoy it. Once that’s done you’ll get a code to share it with other people and you can also try out levels from other gamers if you’ve got the codes for those. The only annoying thing here is how agonizing it is to add items on Androids with smaller screens. Though luckily the gridded interface is helpful for those of us with fat fingers. In short, the level editor’s got lovely graphics and promises lots of forthcoming updates with seductive new features. [Download]

Mr Maker

Though the Mr Maker graphic interface is too busy, don’t be fooled by this default, as this is still a super-complete platform level editor that also serves as a more than respectable video game. Though you can start editing levels from the moment you start the app, Mr Maker lets you discover its possibilities with a default set of 50 levels to showcase the unique features and special powers this platformer has got under its belt.

While playing the levels is fun in itself, the best bit is when you roll up your sleeves and start making your own. The possibilities are endless, plus there are several tutorials to speed up the learning process. Its similarity to Super Mario Maker here is noteworthy, as it is with its system for sharing levels with codes or battling it out to get the best run on the levels created by other users. This game’s got more of a cartoony look and unique details that make it stand out a bit from the oldest-school platformers like Miyamoto’s masterworks. [Download]