Robot (Mario Paint)
- This article is about the character from Mario Paint. For other uses, see Robot.
| Robot | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot from Mario Paint | |
| Appears in | Mario Paint (1992) |
The robot[1][2] is a character used to save and load the player's creations in Mario Paint. It is accessed through an icon of the robot's head called the Save・Load Icon[1] that is positioned between the Music and Music Select icons on the Command Toolbox. Like other characters and visual elements of the game, the robot caricatures and contextualizes the user-interface of Mario Paint. Its appearance is invocative of the Japanese tin robots produced by Metal House and competing toy companies in the twentieth century. Two similar but distinct robots appear on the Animation menu, and a third one appears to the left of the Music Select menu options.
Three options are available through the robot icon: Save, Load, and Coloring Book. Only the first two involve the robot. The Save option stores a single canvas to the robot and this is the only way to retain the player's work on the original Mario Paint cartridge released for the Super Family Computer and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The canvas can consist of custom stamps, animated frames and pathways for those animations, fully illustrated backgrounds, and music compositions. This allows the player to save their progress as they make additional revisions, or access it during a subsequent play sessions. An icon of Mario appears above the robot once a canvas has been successfully saved. The Load option brings it back onto the canvas. In the Satellaview version Mario Paint Yūshō Naizō Ban, accessing this option uniquely loads「月を夢見て」(Tsuki o Yumemite, "Dreaming of the Moon"), a piece by the winner of a Mario Paint contest named Mizota Hiroko. In the 2025 rerelease of Mario Paint on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, the player can save up to four of their creations without using the robot through the built-in functions of Super NES - Nintendo Classics, as noted in the game's trailer.[2]
If the player fills up both canvases in the Art and Animation modes, the resulting work is too large to compress down to fit into the cartridge's 32kb SRAM. Attempting to save it returns the "DATA OVER FLOW" error, along with a unique animation of smoke emitting from the sides of the robot's head. This error is easily replicable by using the spray tool with every available color.[3]
Though unique to this title, the robot is the conceptual predecessor to similar characters that appear in games heavily influenced by Mario Paint. In the Mario Artist series released on the 64DD, kawaii box-like characters appear that the player can save their creations to and load from. A tin robot named Coursebot appears in Super Mario Maker that is visually and mechanically reminiscent to the one from Mario Paint. It allows player to save and load up to 120 individual courses. Coursebot subsequently appears in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS and Super Mario Maker 2. The latter title includes Worldbot in a post-release update, who is also comparable to the original robot from Mario Paint.
Multimedia[edit]
- Main article: Save & Load
 "Save & Load" - Composition from Mario Paint. It plays as the player accesses the robot. | File info |
This piece plays on the screen as the robot saves or loads a piece. The composition subsequently appears on the equivalent menu of the Mario Artist series and is also affiliated with Coursebot and Worldbot of the Super Mario Maker games.
Gallery[edit]
Save・Load Icon
Screenshot of the robot
Screenshot of the robot during the "DATA OVER FLOW" error
Screenshot of the Command Toolbox that features the Save・Load Icon
Naming[edit]
Unlike its localized equivalencies, the robot is not referred to by a distinct name in the Japanese instruction booklet for Mario Paint, nor in the Shogakukan guidebook released for the game.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | セーブ・ロード[4][5] Sēbu・Rōdo |
Save & Load | |
| Dutch | Robot[6] | - | |
| French (Europe) | Robot[7] | - | |
| German | Roboter[8][9] | Robot | |
| Italian | Robot[10] | - | |
| Portuguese (Europe) | Robô[11] | Robot | |
| Spanish | Robot[12][13][14] | - |
References[edit]
- ^ a b 1992. Mario Paint Instruction Booklet. Redmond: Nintendo of America. Page 26.
- ^ a b Nintendo of America (28 July 2025). Mario Paint - Super NES – Nintendo Classics. YouTube.
- ^ NovaSquirrel (17 Dec. 2020). Mario Paint "Data Over Flow" error. YouTube. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ 1992. 『マリオペイント 取扱説明書』. Kyoto: Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Japanese). Page 35. (Archived 9 Aug. 2025 via ジャッカル佐崎.)
- ^ Itoi, Shigesato, Takashi Watanabe (APE), Noriko Okeya (KINOKILI), Kaori Oshimi, Kumiko Takahashi, Shigeo Tanabe, and Naomaru Asao, editors (1992). 『任天堂公式ガイドブック マリオペイント』. Tokyo: Shogakukan (Japanese). ISBN 4-09-104187-6. Page 13.
- ^ Nintendo Nederland (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 Tijd voor creativiteit in Mario Paint met Nintendo Switch Online!. YouTube (Dutch).
- ^ Nintendo France (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 Libérez votre créativité dans Mario Paint via Nintendo Switch Online !. YouTube (French).
- ^ 1992. Mario Paint Spielanleitung. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 26–27.
- ^ Nintendo DE (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 Kreiert Kreationen in Mario Paint mit Nintendo Switch Online!. YouTube (German).
- ^ NintendoItalia (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 Mostra il tuo lato artistico in Mario Paint con Nintendo Switch Online!. YouTube (Italian).
- ^ Nintendo Portugal (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 Mario Paint chega ao Nintendo Switch Online!. YouTube (European Portuguese).
- ^ 1992. Mario Paint Manual de Instrucciones. Madrid: Nintendo (European Spanish). Page 26–27.
- ^ Rodriguez, Gustavo, and José Sierra, editors (June 1997). "Mario Paint" in Club Nintendo 6 (no. 6). Latin American Spanish. Page 58.
- ^ Nintendo España (3 Aug. 2025). 🎨 ¡Dad unas buenas pinceladas en Mario Paint con Nintendo Switch Online!. YouTube (European Spanish).
| Mario Paint | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Baby • Mario • Mr. Crayon • Robot • Udetate and Banzāi • Undodog | |
| Gnat Attack | Fly • Fly (big) • Fly Bomb • Fly Child • Fly Parent • King Watinga | |
| Music | "Drawing Board 1" • "Gnat Attack: Level 1" • "Title Theme 2" • "Save & Load" | |
| Other | Gallery • Mario Artist series • Mario Paint BS Ban • Mario Paint Yūshō Naizō Ban • Multimedia • Nintendo Music (soundtrack) • Reset Rocket • Staff | |
