Mario Paint is the latest Nintendo game to be added to the Nintendo Switch Online library.
A SNES classic, Mario Paint encourages all forms of creativity, including art, music, and animation, and — up until now, anyway — was entirely unplayable for anyone who didn’t have the game and the console system from the first time around.
Interestingly, the 1992 OG release permitted players to plug in a mouse controller, which could be why Nintendo has chosen to resurrect the long-lost classic; one of Nintendo Switch 2‘s most hyped features was its new mouse controls, making this a natural, and exciting, game to add to the NSO library.
Nintendo says that Nintendo Switch players who’ve yet to upgrade to the new system can also get involved if they have an OG Switch and “a compatible USB mouse (sold separately).”
Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription-based online gaming service for the Nintendo Switch gaming platform. Memberships include online functionality, allowing you to compete or cooperate with friends, as well as a collection of classic Nintendo games spanning four decades, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and, most recently, the new GameCube library. A free seven-day trial is also available.
The GameCube library currently includes The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soulcalibur 2. Further titles thought to be joining the service include Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and more. Most recently, Super Mario Strikers was added to the library of GameCube classics.
Nintendo Switch 2 is off to a strong start, with 3.5 million consoles sold, but an analysis on the console’s launch week sales paints a mixed picture of how well games not made by Nintendo are now selling.
“The Nintendo Switch 2 is a vital upgrade over the original Switch if that’s the only way you’ve been able to play games for the last eight years,” we wrote in IGN’s Nintendo Switch 2 review, awarding it 7/10, “but improvements that are mostly playing catch-up and a big price jump make this sequel system about as exciting as a long-overdue phone upgrade in the larger scheme of things.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
