Over a decade ago I found myself thinking about the Super Mario Bros. series. It had been a long time since we had seen a new Mario side scrolling adventure, and I thought that gameplay still held up incredibly well. I said to myself, "Why don't they release Mario games in the old 8-bit style but do crazy things since they have far more RAM and less limitations to work with." Is Super Mario Maker the game I've been dreaming about for years?

The Super Mario Maker E3 demo is crammed full of stages. Their difficulty varies dramatically from level to level. Part of this is due to the fact that some courses are pre-made while others are "fan made." I played through several stages available in the demo, and they are fun regardless of which style of Mario game you are playing within Super Mario Maker.

The Nintendo World Championships 2015 courses are also available to play and I made it through the final New Super Mario Bros. style stage on my first try. If you watched the tournament a few days ago you will know that this is an extremely challenging level. The good news, for hardcore nuts like myself, is that the stages get way worse. There can be many unforgiving moments found within custom stages. However, those players who like a lighter Super Mario Bros. experience can have fun too since everything is customizable.

It appears as though a player can, at any time, choose to edit a course. That means players who are having too hard a time making it to the end can simply make the game a little easier and still experience points found further in the level. It's a winning situation for everyone.

One of the biggest strengths of Super Mario Maker is the fact that, for gamers, it uses several familiar elements from across the Super Mario Bros. series in new and exciting ways. This gives the game a familiar but fresh feeling that's hard for other titles to match.

With that said there are still currently some flaws. I checked out the level designer and talked with a Nintendo rep. There are some design elements that are currently absent from Super Mario Maker. For one, it's not possible to create the creeping wall from the original Super Mario Bros. that prevents players from returning to the left. The mid-level check points that were featured in Super Mario World are also absent from the current build of Mario Maker. It's a shame since both of these elements, and a few others, could be used to create even more interesting levels.

The good news is that, despite lacking some cool design elements found in the original titles, Mario Maker will probably continue to give players fresh and fun levels as long as the online designing community stays on top of things. Only time will tell if this really works out in the long run, but I am very hopeful.

So is Super Mario Maker the title I dreamed about all those years ago? Simply put, no. It's something far better than I ever imagined. I know it's a bit early, but I can see wanting to come back to Super Mario Maker for the rest of my life due to the interesting and fresh experiences that can continually be created by Mario fans from around the world. If you have any interest in the Super Mario Bros. series this will be a game you want to keep your eyes on.