Mario Paint (SNES)

Mario Paint is a game released by Nintendo to coincide with the sale of the SNES Mouse accessory (which apparently must have been used for some other game).

Just like many of my classic games, I have no ideas how I got this one. However, it still works and the Mouse attachment is working well, and it actually functions pretty perfectly. In case you're wondering, there's no way of getting out of using the Mouse; the game is controlled with it. However, the good news is that the mouse controls are that awkward with a little practice, and then the game becomes fun.

At first glance, you would absolutely assume this game to be stupid, but it's actually pretty diverse. Mainly, it's a painting simulator. You can draw cute pictures with the mouse, with a surprisingly enormous variety of options, and you can even generate animations using the pictures you draw. I've even heard that the first concept for Homestar Runner was made using animation in Mario Paint. I'm inherently pretty clumsy in my use of painting programs, because they feel really uncomfortable to me, but there are other things in the game that can be done with the Mouse.

One of my favorite things in this game is the minigame "Coffee Break," or as it's sometimes called, "Gnat Attack." Basically, you play as a gloved hand with a fly swatter that's controlled with the mouse. Then, a bunch of flies fly across the screen and you swat as many as you can. However, you have to avoid getting hit with the fireballs that some of the flies will shoot, or otherwise you take damage. At the end of the game, there's an irresponsibly enormous fly that comes in and you have to swat it until it's dead, while still staying alive. This is a great game, although I can't imagine the circumstances under which someone would actually take on these disgusting things himself.

Here's probably my favorite function in the game: the music composer. You can go into a mode and use different types of sounds and notes to make tunes or chords, and it's a way to put together a cute little bit of music that can be either played once or in a loop. It's really pretty amazing the things you can put together with this thing; they include a sample piece of the Mario theme song that is very precise and fun to listen to.

Actually, the only thing I can say I didn't like too much about the game is the music that kept playing over and over. Apparently it's some special tune, but it will drive you crazy after awhile.

Overall, this is a neat little game. Sure, you shouldn't go far out of your way to get it, but you should play around with it if you can. If you're a fan of painting programs, you'll love this game.