Nintendo Switch 2’s Reported Mouse Functionality Could Give Some Forgotten Mario Classics New Life

Remember Mario Paint? As I was recently looking back at the Mario games that still aren’t on Nintendo Switch Online, that one stuck out to me. It was an important classic that inspired a generation of children to be creative, but it has never been re-released because it relied on the Super NES Mouse. Meanwhile, Mario & Wario is a fascinating game that has been forgotten because it also requires mouse functionality and has never been launched in North America. While the Super NES Mouse feels like a forgotten part of Nintendo history, the storied Japanese company has a chance to give it new life with Nintendo Switch 2.

Rumors suggest that the Nintendo Switch 2 has some mouse functionality. While we’ve yet to see many games for the console in action, the Switch 2 reveal trailer shows two Joy-Cons racing in a mouse-like fashion. At this point, I think it’s very safe to assume that the Switch 2 will have some form of funky mouse functionality. That gives Nintendo a perfect excuse to revisit games like Mario Paint on its newer consoles, whether that’s done through emulation, remakes, or spiritual successors.

In 1992, Nintendo introduced the Super NES Mouse by packaging it with Mario Paint. This is an early example of how Nintendo loved to explore new ways to get players to interact with its games and provide experiences that might not align with your typical console game. Mario Paint was as much of a creation tool as it was a video game and likely helped many people who grew up with an SNES learn that they wanted to pursue art or music composition.

The Super NES Mouse would go on to support several other games, such as Mario & Wario, the educational Mario’s Early Years titles, early console ports of simulation games like Sid Meier’s Civilization and SimAnt, and more. As the Super NES Mouse wasn’t compatible with actual PCs and its library of games was limited, it faded into obscurity over time. Still, the connective tissue can be seen between this hardware and later Nintendo efforts, like the Wii’s pointer-based motion controls and the interactive touch screens of the DS, 3DS, and Wii U.

Now, it seems that Nintendo has come full circle and is giving Switch 2 Joy-Cons the capability of functioning like a computer mouse. As such, I think the company needs to actively revisit some of its efforts with the Super NES Mouse. The most straightforward way to do this is through emulation. If Nintendo can find a way to make this mouse functionality work with its SNES emulator for Nintendo Online, that opens the door for games like Mario Paint and Mario & Wario to come to the retro game catalog.

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Nintendo could also fully remake these games for the new system as well. Mario & Wario only ever came out in Japan, so a remade version of that game would feel like a brand-new release to most of the world. Mario Paint could also see a new iteration, allowing players to create even more complex art and music. Mario Paint’s remake prospects get murkier though when you consider the Super Mario Maker series.

The Super Mario Maker games reference Mario Paint and can largely be seen as a spiritual successor that also inspires creativity. Now that the Switch 2 appears to have mouse support, I believe that opens the door for more Super NES Mouse game spiritual successors. I’d love to see a Super Mario Maker 3 that lets players create their own music and artwork for the stages they create.

At the very least, now that Nintendo is adding mouse functionality back to one of its consoles, its legacy with this technology becomes harder to ignore. That legacy is closely tied to Mario, the company’s main mascot, so I’m thinking about this on Mario Day. If nothing else, this speculation proves how excited I am about the potential of Nintendo Switch 2, as we still don’t quite know everything Nintendo plans to do with its next gaming platform.

That April Nintendo Switch 2 Direct can’t come soon enough.