90s Nintendo classic Mario Paint is now on Switch 2 with mouse controls

Even if you don’t own a Nintendo Switch 2 yet, you can still access a surprise retro re-release of Mario Paint on Nintendo Switch Online.

When Nintendo announced Donkey Kong Bananza would come with a separate DK Artist mode, where you can use the Nintendo Switch 2’s mouse controls to carve and decorate sculptures, everyone was immediately reminded of 1992’s Mario Paint for the SNES.

Mario Paint wasn’t a game but a 2D art package, that came bundled with its own mouse, that was also used in a few other games such as SimCity. It’s never had a modern equivalent, beyond DK Artist, but now the original game is available again on Switch 1 and 2.

It’s obviously been kept back to till now to show off the mouse functionality of the Switch 2’s new Joy-Cons, which allow you to use Mario Paint as it was originally intended.

Mario Paint is far more in-depth than DK Artist, as not only can you draw and paint your own pictures, but you can also make music and even animate your creations.

Modern Nintendo fans may recognise some elements of Mario Paint from the WarioWare series, which has often referenced Mario Paint through some of its microgames.

For example, one microgame is a truncated version of the fly swatting minigame from Mario Paint. The fly swatter also appears as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Nintendo made the announcement through a charming new trailer, showcasing all the different features and confirming the game’s compatibility with the Switch 2’s mouse controls, which we’ve tested ourselves and can corroborate.

We did have some trouble trying to access the SNES Classics app though, if it wasn’t already downloaded, but hopefully that’s just a temporary problem.

Since Mario Paint is part of the Nintendo Classics SNES library, you do need an online subscription to play it, but it’s fortunately not a Switch 2 exclusive and thus accessible on Switch 1 as well.

You may wonder how that’s possible when the Switch 1 lacks mouse controls (which are mandatory for playing Mario Paint), but you can plug a compatible USB mouse into the console and use that.

A quick glance at social media shows plenty of Nintendo fans are thrilled to see Mario Paint return and have already put together some impressive art pieces.

To coincide with the release, Nintendo has also added the Mario Paint soundtrack to its Nintendo Music app. It’s not an especially large soundtrack though, at only 19 songs.

With any luck, Mario Paint’s addition will lead to Nintendo adding more mouse compatible games to its retro library, especially strategy games and first person shooters – and perhaps more productivity software.

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