Nintendo has always been a bit more than a games company, often FORCING young minds to indulge in creative pursuits.

This was evident with its fun Nintendo Labo cardboard concept in 2018. And other stuff like the Game Boy Camera (1998) and this oddity from the SNES.

The History of Mario Paint

Right, the game launched in 1992 on the SNES and came with a mouse peripheral.

Nintendo developed the idea with a Japanese developer called Intelligent Systems.

We’ll put out right away we were well aware of this thing at the time, but we’re not artists. So never did end up buying or play the thing.

But the idea is simple enough. Gamers in 1992 who bought the thing could paint stuff, compose music, and engage in some daft mini-games. One involves fly-swatting.

The painting side of it all is what matters, of course! And this thing was surprisingly detailed and allowed for some epic drawings, yo.

As the player, you had access to a digital drawing board with 15 colours and 75 patterns.

It works like Microsoft Paint—you picky your colour, select your pen, and then go for it. Complementing that, 120 stamps let you spice up your creation.

YouTube channel Blue Television Games is very active on Mario Paint. Its videos show off what you could do with the thing. Here it is in action.

The game is still popular, but mainly with YouTube composers. If you search for some on the streaming service, there are loads of renditions of popular songs.

Pop songs mainly, but some renditions of classical music and the like.

Players could create compositions in common or triple time. And there are 15 available instruments for them to pick from.

This includes the likes of a piano, horn, guitar, organ, percussion, and wooden block.

But as an example, here’s the Toto classic Africa in all its glory. Good, eh?

Reviews at the time were largely positive, with most media publications in the early 1990s rating the Mario Paint experience.

It did very well, too, shifting over two million copies.

This is in stark comparison to some other Nintendo curiosities from the SNES era, such as Yoshi’s Safari. The light gun game failed dismally.

But the interesting thing about Mario Paint is it seems to have a half-life of a million years! Contemporary reviews continue to pour praise onto the title.

And, indeed, it was a pretty ingenious concept in 1992. And one Nintendo advanced further with the 64DD later in the decade.

By all accounts, Mario Paint was smart, fun, and engaging. And it shows to this day, with lots of gamers still willing to thump their time into it.