REVIEW: Mario and Wario 1993 SNES
	By: Nintendo Type: Puzzle Players: 1 Difficulty: Normal

IBy: Nintendo

Year: 1992

System: Super NES

Type: Paint package

Players: 1

Difficulty: does not apply

Long-term interest: hour-5, day-5, week-4, month-4, year-1

Breakdown: graphics: ??% (you create them, so a rating doesn't really apply here), sounds: 80%, gameplay: 84%, lastability: 67%, overall: 69%

Overview: The title screen immediately sets the mood for this program. By clicking on the letters of the bland-looking "Mario Paint" logo, you can generate all sort of
strange effects on an otherwise blank screen. The actual program follows this trend: it's one big hunk of surreal bizarrity, where your own imagination and taste for
creative sillyness determine exactly how lively things will get.

Of course, the concept of a SNES paint program sort of seems doomed from the start, but still, let's not be too gloomy. After all, it's obvious that this is a quality
piece of software, designed with perfect ease of use in mind, and it works. Within a few short moments, all the painting options will be second nature to you. The
drawback is that they're quite limited, and don't allow for the finesse needed to create some truly complex and impressive pictures. There is one feature, however,
that stands out. The "stamp" option is very clever indeed. It allows you to pick one icon or graphic and paste it wherever you like on the screen. And with a
pixel-manipulating tool, it's even possible to create your own stamps. Add to this stamps that come straight from the graphics of Super Mario World, and within
minutes, you'll be stamping away at your own Mario scenes and have a pretty good time as well.

It's not just painting, however. There's an option to compose music as well. Once again, it's quite limited, but very amusing, due to it's taste for mischievous oddness.
Apart from your standard drums and trumpets, you can also choose to add yelping cats, grunting pigs and bizarre moans to your compositions. It's all up to you:
either you piece together something of Beethoven standards, or you just don't take it seriously and jumble together a dissonnante that makes the spice girls sound
soothing. Either way, it's fun to do.

Add to this a limited, but pleasingly intuitive animation tool and some other simple and fun options, and you have the gist of Mario Paint. There's one more thing that
deserves special mention: a small sub-game where you swat incoming flies with your cursor. It's basically one of those "click the target" games you get on so many
cheapo shareware CDs, but on turbo-charged acid. And it's actually quite good fun: different kinds of insects attack in different patterns and require a tactic of their
own to get by safely. Plus there are bosses and a steadily rising challenge, making this a very pleasing little bonus indeed.

But now, alas, the whole thing falls to pieces. Because Mario Paint, as likeable as though it may be is utterly pointless. What limited drawings you -can- create can't
be printed or sent around to other terminals, and it's a major bummer that you can only save one single drawing (and it shockingly takes ages to do so). Even worse:
why should you bother hunting down a hard-to-find and probably quite expensive SNES program when you can just download the latest PC drawing program for
free, which gives you a wealth of options infiniely superior to that of Mario Paint? All of this is really a crying shame. Mario Paint tries so very hard, and yet it's all in
vain, as it simply can't cut it compared to more recent painting tools. But still, it's an intriguing curiousity, I've had hysterics on several occasions while messing about
with it, and there's quite a lot to like. So it may be worth picking up from a bargain bin, should you be so fortunate. Just don't expect a serious, high-tech painting tool
from it. It almost seems as if Mario Paint was never meant to be taken seriously. - Toasty 69%

[Key to the reviewing system]

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