In the last couple days, I've started playing NSMBW again. Trying to get all 5 stars beside my save file. I want to avoid using online walkthroughs as much as posible, so I'm using the unlockable hint videos a lot. Watching the 'Super Skills' videos just blows my mind! Watching the players glide through the levels like it's second nature is mezmorizing. I'm sure a lot of people asume that Nintedo just slaps these levels together whilly-nilley, but it's so far from that. The levels are like art. I wonder if part of the reason for including those hint videos was to show haters how much love they put into every single detail.

ooo yes watching the hint and super skills videos were awesome..especially the 4 player cooperative ones.

Yeah the levels are really more thought out than a lot of people think. You can't just put a flat ground and slap a bunch of random platforms and enemies random places. There's more to it than that.

I went back recently to get some of the coins I missed so I can unlock more of those secret levels. Only have 3 of them unlocked so far. The design for the secret stages are awesome, but man are they hard! Especially when trying to get 3 coins in them!

True that. I don't think people give Nintendo enough credit for how much time and effort it takes to craft and design such intricate levels such that they can be played as they are. Designing platformers just isn't about slapping random slabs in places, as making a great one requires precision and deep thought of how the whole level will flow as a single entity.

This is what amazes me so much about mario platformers because everything is just so carefully constructed that it's almost down to a science no one else knows about haha. Haha but I wish I could play them like they were intended to be in those super skills videos but I don't have the skillz haha.

The level design in Mario games has always been amazing. I don't see NSMBW as having superior level design to any of Mario's other outings. That may just be me but I actually think Galaxy 1+2 have way more intricate level designs. But then again the 3D Mario games levels have to be more intricate then the 2D ones because of that third dimension!

Oh yeah, those were the best. My favorite sofar is the one where the 3 Yoshi players juggle Luigi through the whole level, and get a billion 1-ups because Luigi never touches the ground.

Those super skills vids were certainly a great inclusion in the game and part of what made me keep going until I had found every last secret. I mean if those guys can play the game with such effortless skill and style I should be able to finish the stage and find a few coins.

My favourite is the one in the snow stage with mini-mario not touching the ground the whole way through. It just sickens me how good the guy who did that must be.

I loved the levels in NSMBWii! they were fun as hell, beat a bunch of times and had fun all the way! :D

Any person that even remotely tried programming in his life, sees the amount of work put behind level design in Mario games. The ''hardcores'' and the gaming ''journalists'' are clueless.