Mario Paint
A Mario-themed creation suite for the Super NES.
Mario Paint is a 1992 art creation game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. It was sold bundled with the Super NES Mouse, a peripheral required to use its features. The software includes a raster graphics editor, an animation tool, a music composer, and a point-and-click minigame. True to its name, the game has a Mario theme, using sprites and sound effects that come from or resemble those in Super Mario World.
The game sold well after launch, moving over 2.3 million copies and becoming one of the best-selling SNES titles. Contemporary critics gave it fairly positive reviews, praising its accessibility, features, innovative design, and educational value, though they noted that limitations on creation made it unsuitable for serious work. Retrospective reviews have been more favorable, calling it "memorable," "addictive," "unique," and "ingenious," and it is often ranked among the best SNES games. Its music composer has been especially popular for making original songs, covers, and remixes using the game's sounds and constraints.
A successor, Mario no Photopi, was released for the Nintendo 64 in Japan in 1998, followed by the Mario Artist series for the 64DD peripheral starting in 1999. Only four Mario Artist titles came out in Japan before the next game was canceled by 2000. Later Nintendo titles like WarioWare D.I.Y., Super Mario Maker, and Super Mario Maker 2 include features and references to Mario Paint; Super Mario Maker was originally planned as a Mario Paint sequel for the Wii U. As of now, the game has not received an official re-release on any modern Nintendo service.
- Release year
- 1992
- Developer
- Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1) and Intelligent Systems
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Platform
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Copies sold
- Over 2.3 million
- Peripheral
- Super NES Mouse
- First official re-release
- None as of current knowledge
Lore & Background
Mario Paint was released in the United States on August 17, 1992. The game includes a drawing board with 15 colors and 75 patterns, a coloring book with four pre-made drawings, an animation tool called Animation Land for creating four-, six-, or nine-frame animations, and a music composer with 15 instrument samples. The composer restricts notes to the C major/A minor scale, with no flats or sharps, and allows only quarter notes, a maximum of three notes per beat, and song lengths of 24 or 32 bars depending on time signature. The game also features a fly-swatting minigame, 'Gnat Attack', where the player swats 100 insects before fighting a boss named King Watinga, with three levels that repeat at faster speeds.
Reader's Guide
Mario Paint sold very well following its release and is one of the best-selling SNES games, with over 2.3 million copies sold. Contemporaneous reviews highlighted its accessibility, features, innovative design, and educational potential, but criticized limitations on creation that rendered it unviable for serious work. Retrospective reviews have been more positive, praising the game as 'memorable', 'addictive', 'unique', and 'ingenious', and it has been deemed one of the best SNES games of all time. Its music composer in particular has been used to create original songs, covers, and remixes. The game received a Parents' Choice Award and a platinum award at the 1994 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards. A successor, Mario no Photopi for the Nintendo 64, was released in Japan in 1998, followed by the Mario Artist series for the 64DD starting in 1999, though only four titles were released in Japan before cancellation. Later Nintendo titles such as WarioWare D.I.Y., Super Mario Maker, and Super Mario Maker 2 include features from and references to Mario Paint; Super Mario Maker was originally envisioned as a Mario Paint sequel for the Wii U. The game received its first official re-release on the Nintendo Classics service on July 29, 2025.
Did You Know?
- Mario Paint was packaged and sold with the Super NES Mouse peripheral.
- The music composer restricts notes to the C major/A minor scale, with no flats or sharps.
- The fly-swatting minigame 'Gnat Attack' includes a boss named King Watinga.
- Super Mario Maker was originally envisioned as a Mario Paint sequel for the Wii U.
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