Collection essentials #215: Mario Paint (SNES)

This is a rather unorthodox idea for an early-’90s game. It almost feels weird calling Mario Paint a game, because it’s more like art software. This game shipped with the “SNES Mouse” which is needed to control the mouse cursor on screen, and this plays more like an application you’d find on a computer rather than a Super Nintendo game. 

Mario Paint, as you might guess from the name, functions as art software. The primary activity in the game is to draw stuff. And the game provides many tools and templates to facilitate this. The game also features a music creator which lets users write their own music which can be played back, and it’s pretty sophisticated. And the most “game” feature of this cartridge is the Fly Swatter game, where you control a hand holding a fly swatter and you must kill insects and avoid their attacks for as long as you can. 

By today’s standards, Mario Paint is pretty outdated. You can do much more than what’s here on any modern computer or phone. But what makes it stand out is the charm. This game is loaded with personality. This is apparent right from the title screen, when you can click on any of the letters of “Mario Paint” to make something amusing and unexpected happen. Sound is a big part of the game’s identity, with the main background music instantly recognizable to anyone who’s played it, and lots of cartoony sound effects being present for the various actions in the game. Mario Paint is very beloved by creative types who grew up with it. Lots of people enjoy trying to get the most out of the music creator, and basically any kind of popular song you can think of has a Mario Paint version on YouTube somewhere.

Sadly, I did not grow up with Mario Paint. But I do remember seeing it once or twice at other people’s houses, and it definitely left an impression. It’s the type of game that’s memorable even if you only had minimal exposure to it as a kid. It’s not something I’m likely to spend a lot of time with in my life, but it’s one of those things that just has to be a collection essential.