Nintendo Switch Online gets an iconic SNES game that requires a mouse
It's time to show off your artistic talent on the Nintendo Switch 2
🙌 Mario Paint, a 1992 SNES game requiring mouse controls, is now available on Nintendo Switch Online
🎨 The game features drawing, animation, music composition, and a fly-swatting minigame called Gnat Attack
🐭 On Nintendo Switch 2, Joy-Con 2 controllers can be used as a mouse, while USB-A mice work on the original Switch
👉 Other SNES games with mouse support, like Nobunaga's Ambition and Super Mario Picross, have also been updated
Nintendo Switch Online members can now enjoy a new SNES game as part of their subscription – and it takes full advantage of Nintendo Switch 2's mouse controls.
Mario Paint, a game released alongside the Super NES mouse peripheral, is now available. Released in 1992, Mario Paint lets you draw and paint using a variety of tools, create frame-by-frame animations, compose music, and enjoy a fly-swatting minigame called Gnat Attack.
Mario Paint was surprisingly successful, selling over 2.3 million copies, making it one of the best-selling SNES games. However, its addition to the Nintendo Switch Online library seemed impossible, due to its strict reliance on mouse controls.
Thankfully, Nintendo Switch 2 means Mario Paint is no longer locked away on original hardware, as either the left or right Joy-Con 2 controller can be used as a mouse.
Mario Paint is also playable on Nintendo Switch, though you'll need to plug in a USB-A mouse into the Switch's dock.
Interestingly, Mario Paint isn't the only SNES title that supports mouse controls. Nobunaga's Ambition and Super Mario Picross can also be played using a mouse, and we should see other titles add the control scheme in the future.
The SNES Mouse was supported by around 86 titles, which represents roughly 5% of the SNES's library. Other mouse controlled games include Civilization and Cannon Fodder.
Nintendo could also add light gun games like Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, and Tin Star to Nintendo Switch Online in the future. The mouse can be used as a pseudo light gun – similar to how Wii games used the IR pointer in the Wii Remote – but we’ll have to wait to see whether Nintendo can make that work.
Along with adding Mario Paint to Switch Online, the game's soundtrack is also available on Nintendo Music. Nintendo recently added a slew of NES games as well as Mario Kart 64’s OST to its growing music streaming service.
Up next: Nintendo Switch 2 mouse mode games: get an extra level of control in these titles
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.