Mario Artist is a series of four games for the Nintendo 64DD and the spiritual successor of Mario Paint released in Japan only. Originally, eight games in total were announced, but half of them were cancelled due to the failure of the 64DD.
Games
Mario Artist: Paint Studio
Mario Artist: Paint Studio (rel. Dec 11, 1999) is similar to Mario Paint, but with more features. It was one of only two launch titles for the 64DD. Images could be imported from an RCA source using the capture cartridge or a Game Boy Camera. It also came with a unique four-player drawing mode where four players could collaborate to make one drawing together.
This game often came bundled with the Nintendo 64 Mouse.
Mario Artist: Talent Studio
Mario Artist: Talent Studio (rel. Feb. 23, 2000) allows users to insert pictures from cameras and videos onto 3-dimensional models, and then animate the models. Also, using the Capture Cartridge, which this game was bundled with, movies could be recorded by running a video camera through the Capture Cartridge. Also, the concept of a personal avatar creator app as is seen in today's Mii, is seen in Mario Artist: Talent Studio. Those avatars (called Talents) can be imported into the completely separate 64DD game, SimCity 64. Nintendo designer Yamashita Takayuki attributes his work on Talent Studio as having been foundational to his eventual work on the Mii.
Mario Artist: Communication Kit
Mario Artist: Communication Kit (rel. June 29, 2000) was an accessory to the other Mario Artist games. It allowed users to connect to Randnet's Net Studio, so users could share their creations in the other Mario Artist games with others. The RandNet only ran for little over a year.
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio (rel. Aug. 29, 2000, in collaboration with Nichimen Graphics) allows users to construct and render 3-dimensional polygons, as the name suggests. This was the last Mario Artist game released. The game includes a special mode called Sound Bomber (サウンド ボンバ－ Saundo Bonbā), where the player has to win as many microgames as possible, all of them featuring the player's polygon model in some way. This mode is the precursor to the WarioWare series.
Cancelled games
- Mario Artist: Game Maker
- Mario Artist: Graphical Message Maker
- Mario Artist: Sound Maker
- Mario Artist: Video Jockey Maker
References to other games
- Super Mario Bros.: The sound effects from this game can be used in Talent Studio.
- Mario Paint: Mario Artist: Paint Studio has many references to Mario Paint primarily because both are Mario painting games. The two man doing sit-up appear after pressing start in the title screen. Also, the Undodog reappears with the same function. The Rocket eraser is also one of the options in the eraser tool.
- Super Mario 64: Artwork from the game is included as character stamps and backgrounds.
- Mario Kart 64: The game also includes artwork from Mario Kart 64 as backgrounds and characters stamps.
- Yoshi's Story: Artwork from this game is also included as character stamps and backgrounds.
- Animal Forest: an early Villager character swims in Dolphin Town or Seaworld in "Explore Worlds and take photos" mode. The player must choose "explore" mode once they are in the scene.
References in later games
- WarioWare series: Sound Bomber mode of Polygon Studio is the precursor to this series.
- Super Mario Odyssey: Mario can unlock an outfit in this game based on his Mario Artist appearance.
Gallery
Mario Artist: Communication Kit
Mario Artist: Paint Studio
Mario Artist: Talent Studio
Mario Artist: Paint Studio with mouse bundle.
Mario Artist: Talent Studio with cartridge bundle.
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio
