Following recent discussions regarding the 35th anniversary of the Super Nintendo, interest has resurfaced in Mario Paint, the 1992 creative suite that sold nearly 2.5 million copies. Despite its historical popularity and status as a top-20 best-selling SNES title, Nintendo has not announced plans for a modern Mario Paint reboot or sequel for the Switch 2.
While a new iteration remains speculative, players currently have access to the original experience. The game is included in the Nintendo Switch Online SNES games library. According to recent reports, this version is compatible with Switch mouse controls, allowing for a similar experience to the original hardware setup that required a bundled mouse and plastic mousepad.
Creative Spinoffs in the Mario Series
While Mario Paint never received a direct sequel outside of Japan—where the N64 title Mario no Photopi launched in 1998—Nintendo has explored creative toolkits in other franchises:
- WarioWare DIY (2010): Released for the DS, this title allowed players to create art, animations, music, and simple minigames.
- Super Mario Maker (2015): Launching on the Wii U, this platformer creator focused on level design and became a significant entry in the community-driven Kaizo scene.
- Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream: This title shares some customization DNA with Mario Paint, though its character and item management systems are more complex.
The original Mario Paint remains a point of interest for its low-stakes, approachable design, which contrasts with the more demanding platforming titles typically associated with the plumber. For those looking to revisit the title, it is available now for all subscribers to the Nintendo Switch Online service.