A team of fans have finally beaten every player-made level for Super Mario Maker after thousands of attempts.

Super Mario Maker was released in 2015 for the Wii U and allowed fans to upload player-made levels to an online hub for others to beat, as long as they could actually be completed without mods. A sequel followed in 2019 but in 2020, Nintendo confirmed it would be winding down support for the games, with the online hub closing on April 8 2024.

A group known as ‘The 0%ers’ had been trying to complete every level of Super Mario Maker since 2017, but the news of the shutdown gave them a deadline to reach, with hundreds taking part in the challenge. According to the creators of the community (via IGN), “When the shutdown was announced there were almost 26,000 levels still uncleared.

At the start of March 2024, the team had just 347 levels to go and on Friday (March 22) they finally beat the last one.

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The finale wasn’t without a touch of drama though. On March 15, Yamada beat The Final Dance level, leaving just Trimming the Herbs to complete. However, after thousands of failed attempts to pull off the 18 frame-perfect jumps (and one successful hacked attempt), the creator admitted that the level was impossible to beat and had been uploaded to the online servers using a video of a tool-assisted speedrun. It was then ruled that The Last Dance was the final level in The 0%ers quest to beat Super Mario Maker.

“I will not deny Team 0%ers their victory,” Trimming The Herbs creator wrote in a statement, admitting they only made the level in 2017 to cause a “ruckus” and weren’t expecting it to have gone under the radar for as long as it did.

WE DID IT! SUPER MARIO MAKER 1 IS COMPLETED! ‘The Last Dance’ was the final level, beaten by @Yamada_SMM2.

Much love to everyone who supported us on this journey. GG!

We kindly ask you not to harass anyone over the situation. … https://t.co/GNZfTzCrkY

— Team 0% (@Team0Percent) March 22, 2024

“WE DID IT! Super Mario Maker is completed. Much love to everyone who supported us on this journey,” wrote Team 0%ers on social media. “Even though Trimming The Herbs was TAS’d, some people will still keep grinding it for eternal glory until the service ends. Please keep supporting their dedication!“

Once the servers for Super Mario Maker are taken offline, players will still be able to tackle any levels they’ve previously downloaded, but they won’t be able to access new ones.

In 2021, non-profit organisation The Video Game History Organisation said Nintendo’s approach to game preservation was “actively destructive”.

In other news, the release date for Final Fantasy 14 expansion Dawntrail has been confirmed, coming one week after Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree launches.