Yamamura's Dojo is a new mode in Super Mario Maker 2 that explains the basics of making and playing.
Maker Lessons[]
This section teaches tips on creating levels in Course Maker. The lessons star Nina, a girl, and Yamamura, a bird.
The following tables describe and/or summarize each lesson.
Maker Basics[]
Maker Basics teaches the controls of making levels in Course Maker. It includes using Undodog, Eraser, and Reset Rocket.
Beginner Lessons[]
| Lesson | Description/Summary |
|---|---|
| Intro to Making | Yamamura explains the definition of a "course" in Mario games. He also defines "clearing course". |
| Workflow Basics | Yamamura makes a sample course, which includes ground and enemies. |
| On Inspiration | Yamamura talks about how inspiration can help makers provide layout or tell a story with their courses. Inspiration can also come from focusing on a few course parts. |
| Fixing Mistakes | Yamamura and Nina discuss playtesting as they fix a course. |
| Testing | Yamamura and Nina test a course from the beginning, fix a pipe, and discuss how players can find alternate pathways. |
| Using Parts: Terrain | Yamamura talks about terrain, including ground, bridges, Semisolid Platforms, and mushroom platforms. Nina also encountered a softlock, and Yamamura explains the importance of measuring Mario's jump. |
| Using Parts: Blocks | Yamamura explains the use of blocks, including Brick Blocks and Question Mark Blocks. He also suggests not putting enemies inside Question Mark Blocks (unless there is a fun reason) and ensuring that players wouldn't get softlocked by breaking Brick Blocks. |
| Using Parts: Enemies | Yamamura discusses the importance of understanding enemy behavior. He goes over Goombas, Green Koopa Troopas, and Red Koopa Troopas. He also discourages makers from spamming tons of enemies. |
| Using Parts: Gizmos | Yamamura talks about the properties of gizmos, including lifts, trampolines, and fire bars. |
| Super Mushrooms | Yamamura discusses how the Super Mushroom allows Mario to break Brick Blocks. He also mentions that enemies can revert Super Mario into Small Mario, rendering him unable to break Brick Blocks anymore. |
| Coins | Yamamura talks about the use of Coins to provide players direction (and satisfaction). He recommends makers to not oversaturate the course with coins. |
| Tracks | Yamamura explains the use and features of tracks. |
| Themes | Yamamura suggests providing a theme for a level rather than spamming enemies. |
| On Difficulty | Yamamura offers ways to make levels easier or harder, like changing enemy types/number or widths of platforms. |
| Asking for Feedback | Nina playtests and provides feedback for one of Yamamura's courses. Yamamura explains that others can notice things overlooked, which can help makers improve a course. |
Intermediate Lessons[]
| Lesson | Description/Summary |
|---|---|
| Coin Brainstorm | Yamamura and Nina brainstorm and build ways to get coins on top of a ledge. One of the ways involved wall-jumping. |
| Checkpoint Flags and You | Yamamura talks about the Checkpoint Flag and offers tips for locating the flag, like placing it in a safe area before or after a hard section. |
| Water Level | Yamamura and Nina try out the Forest Theme (water and land gameplay) and Lava Theme (lava gameplay). Nina tries out levels involving rising water and rising lava. |
| Making Vertical Courses | Yamamura and Nina talk about vertical sub-areas. The bird suggests ensuring that players wouldn't run into surprise enemies from above as they travel vertically. |
| Know Your Gizmos | Yamamura describes items in the Gizmos category, including ON/OFF Switches, P Switches, Doors, Warp Pipes. |
| Autoscroll Tips | Yamamura provides tips for making autoscroll levels. These include signaling if an enemy would appear and using coins for direction. |
| Mario's Limitations | Yamamura suggests not placing coins and Question Mark Blocks in areas that Mario can't reach at all. |
| The Key to Success | Yamamura gives advice on placing keys. He suggests ensuring that keys are obtainable and that there are no softlocks. |
| Forgiving Player Mistakes | Yamamura suggests providing players a second chance (like respawning important items in pipes) should they accidentally mess up. |
| Providing Direction | Yamamura discusses the importance of ensuring that players know the next step. He does this by making platforms visible and signaling where to drop. |
| The Power of Power-Ups | Yamamura talks about power-ups, including the Propeller Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star. He recommends accounting for power-ups in level design. |
| All about Timing | Yamamura lists ways to test timing, including enemy placement, lift placement, and hazard placement. He stated that timing challenges can test concentration in courses. |
| Creating Enticing Destinations | Yamamura provides ways to make areas more interesting, including placing Question Mark blocks and making areas unique. |
| On Atmosphere | Yamamura talks about the importance of the look of the course and provides ways to change the atmosphere of the course. In one example, he uses a Semisolid Platform and different platform types for decoration. |
| Treating the Player Fairly | Nina tries out and reacts to a level that involves a Sniper Thwomp and Invisible Blocks in cheap locations (AKA "Kaizo Blocks") to demonstrate the importance of ensuring that a level is fair. In particular, Nina and Yamamura warn players to not use Sniper Thwomps and Kaizo Blocks to create unfair deaths. |
Advanced Lessons[]
| Lesson | Description/Summary |
|---|---|
| Free-Form Making | Nina observes Yamamura practice "free-form making", where he tries adding ideas and experiments with them. He notes that experimentation can also lead to ideas in course creation. |
| Know Your Enemies | Yamamura mentions that defeating enemies in special ways (stomping Goombas without leaving ground, kicking Koopa Shell, etc.) can be satisfying for players. |
| Clear Conditions | Yamamura provides an overview of Clear Conditions. He recommended designing a course around the clear condition. |
| Using Walls to Control Players | Yamamura talks about how scroll-stop (via placing terrain from top to bottom, not placing anything above the vertical halfway mark in horizontal layouts, etc.) can create rooms or hide areas so players don't see sections too early. |
| Does the Way Forward Always Need to Be Clear? | Yamamura notes that sometimes hiding the main route can be fun. He also stated that Hidden Blocks that are essential to progress should have a clear marking. |
| Enemy Appearance | Yamamura mentions that enemy spawning depends on Mario's location. |
| Players Are Unpredictable | Yamamura discusses how different players have different approaches with courses. |
| Watching Others Play Your Course | Yamamura recommends makers ask for specific feedback as others play their courses. He notes that makers can also look for players' expressions or difficulty at sections. |
| Seriously, Treat the Player Fairly | Once again, Yamamura warns makers to not be unfair with course creation. He offers ways for makers to include Sniper Thwomps while ensuring that players have enough time to react. Yamamura also proclaims the course-maker's creed: tough but fair. |
| Getting Creative with Parts | Yamamura mentions that makers can keep levels fresh despite reusing parts by finding new uses of the same parts. |
| All about Pacing | Yamamura recommends players to ensure that each section of a level has a purpose. In particular, some areas can provide breathing room by having little to no action. |
| Creating Satisfying Experiences | Yamamura describes how sections that show off Mario's moves can provide satisfaction. He also emphasizes the importance of indicators like coins. |
| Jotting Down Course Ideas on Paper | Yamamura notes that writing course plans on paper can help makers organize their course. He also recommends testing a section at a time. |
| When You Just Can't Finish a Course | Yamamura recommends players to stick to a theme. He notes that self-made limitations can lead to innovation. |
| How to Be a Better Maker | Yamamura finishes his series of lessons with Power-Up tips. The bird explains how power-ups give Mario extra hit points and change the difficulty, and he recommends placing power-ups sometimes later in case Mario loses them. |
Mario's Moves[]
This section covers Mario's moves and can be accessed while playing a level. The below tables are a consolidated version of the in-game tables. Yamamura and Nina also do a video overview on some of the power-ups (Raccoon Mario, Cape Mario, etc.).
Some of the moves have parentheses—these moves require a power-up in the parentheses to use.
Common Abilities[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Move |  or 
|
| Dash | Hold  while moving
|
| Jump |  —higher jumps can be performed by holding , jumping while dashing, or jumping while stomping on an enemy
|
| Spin Jump |  / on ground Note
|
| Crouch | 
|
| Slide Down Slope | while on slope Note
|
| Ground Pound | while in midair Note
|
| Wall Jump | while touching a wall in midair Note
|
| Wall Slide | Tilt  in direction of wall while touching wall in midair Note
|
| Enter Pipe | Tilt in direction of pipe opening
|
| Swim | while underwater
|
| Climb/Descend Vine |  or while on vine
|
| Enter Door | in front of door
|
| Throw Fireball (Fire Mario) |
|
| Hold Object | while near respective object Note
|
| Throw Object | Release while holding object Note
|
| Drop Object | while releasing and holding object Note
|
| Wear | while holding a Buzzy, Dry Bones or Spiny shell. Note
|
| Shoe, Stiletto, Dry Bones Shell, Lakitu's Cloud, Clown Car, Yoshi | |
| Ride | Land on respective object from above |
| Bail | / while on respective object
|
| Extend Tongue (Yoshi) |
|
| Shoot Fireball (Fire Clown Car) | —Hold to charge fireball
|
Super Mario Bros. Exclusive[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Superball Mario | |
| Throw Superball |
|
| Link | |
| Swing Sword |
|
| Dash Attack | Hold while tilting
|
| Down Thrust | in midair
|
| Shoot Arrow | Hold / and release to shoot (Aim by tilting or )
|
| Ready Bomb | Hold while tilting
|
| Throw Bomb | Release
|
| Place Bomb | Release while tilting
|
| Raise Shield |
|
Super Mario Bros. 3 Exclusive[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Raccoon Mario | |
| Tail Whip |
|
| Fly | Dash until arms extend, then press repeatedly
|
| Descend Slowly | Press repeatedly while falling in midair
|
Super Mario World Exclusive[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Look Up | while on ground
|
| Throw Object Upward | while releasing and holding object
|
| Cape Mario | |
| Cape Attack |
|
| Ascend | Dash until arms extend, then press and hold while holding
|
| Open Cape | Release while ascending
|
| Fly | tilt in opposite direction of movement while cape is open
|
| Dive | pressed and held in direction of movement while flying
|
| Dive Bomb | Collide with enemy while descending |
| Descend | Release while flying
|
| Descend Slowly | Hold while falling in midair
|
New Super Mario Bros. U Exclusive[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Midair Spin | / in midair
|
| Double/Triple Jump | Jump while dashing, then press again immediately after landing
|
| Flutter Jump (Yoshi) | Hold in midair
|
| Propeller Mario | |
| Fly | /
|
| Dive | while flying
|
Super Mario 3D World Exclusive[]
| Ability | Controls |
|---|---|
| Climb/Descend Tree | or while grabbing tree
|
| Spinning Jump | after pressing / while holding
|
| Roll | / while crouching
|
| Long Jump | / while moving
|
| Crouch Jump | while crouching
|
| Crouch and Move |  or 
|
| Honk Horn (Koopa Troopa Car) |
|
| Cat Mario | |
| Climb Wall | towards wall in midair
|
| Scratch |
|
| Slide | / while crouching
|
| Claw Dive | / in midair
|
| Builder Mario | |
| Swing Hammer |
|
| Bring out Builder Box | while holding
|
See Also[]
| v • eSuper Mario Maker 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game Styles |
Super Mario Bros. • Super Mario Bros. 3 • Super Mario World • New Super Mario Bros. U • Super Mario 3D World | |
| Game Modes |
Endless Challenge • Network Play • Ninji Speedruns • Story Mode • Yamamura's Dojo | |
| Transformations |
Big Mario • Builder Mario • Cape Mario • Cat Mario • Fire Mario • Link • Propeller Mario • Raccoon Mario • Small Mario • Super Mario • Superball Mario | |
| Course Elements | Terrain |
? Block • Brick Block • Bridge • Clear Pipe • Cloud Block • Conveyor Belt • Donut Block • Gentle Slope • Empty Block • Ground • Hard Block • Hidden Block • Ice Block • Jelectro • Mushroom Platform • Music Block • Note Block • Pipe • Rotating Block • Sea Urchin • Semisolid Platform • Steep Slope • Spike Block • Spike Trap • Track |
| Items |
1-Up Mushroom • Big Coin • Big Mushroom • Cape Feather • Coin • Fire Flower • Frozen Coin • Pink Coin • Propeller Mushroom • Master Sword • Rotten Mushroom • Shoe Goomba • Stiletto Goomba • Super Bell • Super Hammer • Super Leaf • Super Mushroom • Super Star • Superball Flower • Yoshi Egg | |
| Enemies |
Angry Sun • Ant Trooper (Horned) • Blooper (Nanny) • Bob-omb • Boo (Buddies • Stretch) • Boom Boom (Pom Pom) • Bowser (Jr. • Meowser) • Bully • Buzzy Beetle (Shell) • Chain Chomp • Charvaargh • Cheep Cheep (Blurp • Deep Cheep) • Dry Bones (Shell) • Fire Bro (Heavy) • Fish Bone • Galoomba (Goombud) • Goomba (Goombrat) • Hammer Bro (Sledge Bro) • Hop-Chop • Koopa Clown Car (Fire) • Koopa Troopa (Beach Koopa • Car) • Lakitu (Cloud) • Lava Bubble • Magikoopa • Moon • Monty Mole • Muncher • Piranha Plant (Creeper • Fire • Jumping) • Peepa • Pokey (Snow) • Porcupuffer • Rocky Wrench • Skipsqueak (Spiny) • Spike (Ball • Snowball) • Spike Top • Spiny (Egg • Shell) • Stingby • Thwomp • Wiggler | |
| Gizmos |
! Sign • Arrow Sign • Banzai Bill • Bill Blaster • Blinking Block • Bumper • Burner • Cannon • Checkpoint Flag • Conveyor Belt • Dash Block • Fire Bar • Grinder • Icicle • Key • Lift (Cloud • Flimsy • Lava) • Mushroom Trampoline • ON/OFF Switch (Dotted-Line Block) • One-Way Wall • P Block • P Switch • POW Block • Seesaw • Snake Block • Skewer • Swinging Claw • Tree • Track • Track Block • Twister • Vine • Warp Door • Warp Box | |
| Other | Stone | |