Even though I’ve been playing Super Mario Maker nearly every day for more than two months now, I’m constantly surprised by what players have come up with. My latest discovery? Forcing Mario through a version of Guitar Hero to escape.
With Giant Bomb editor Dan Ryckert currently in hiding, I’ve taken up a new challenge in Super Mario Maker: trying to beat the 100 Mario Challenge on expert. It’s a total rollercoaster; you’re constantly thrown into ridiculous stages that most sane people would happily skip by. Not me, though—I try to take them on.
Enter Goomba Hero (Goomba Hero: 0E75-0000-0062-35A9) by Jeremy.
There’s nothing happening...at first. Mario appears trapped. Soon, though, goombas start falling from the sky. Confused by my dillema, I quickly died.
But wait, this looks familiar...
Given the name Goomba Hero, it was clear players are supposed to make this connection. Thinking of the stage as a note chart, it now made sense: hit the bricks to defeat goombas, like one would hit a note during a Guitar Hero track.
Very clever.
You’ll notice the bob-ombs on the right, as well. In order to make it through Goomba Hero, you must “play” the whole “song” by hitting goombas long enough for the bob-bombs to clear a path to the other side. The timing of the goomba drops isn’t the same every time, making the stage a little frustrating and luck-driven, but eventually I managed to get into a rhythm and pull it off.
What a fun stage. More of that, Super Mario Maker! The website to find and share good levels—which hopefully trickles into the game—can’t come soon enough.
You can watch me play this level and others right here:
You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.