When Nintendo announced the release of the SNES Classic Mini it took me straight back to the day I played my first console. I was five when my dad brought home a SNES, and as soon as I entered the world of Hyrule and played my first Zelda game, I was hooked.
Retro gaming is having something of a revival as of late, as remastered versions of games and nostalgia filled consoles a re-released back into the wild. It’s as good a chance as ever to show the younger generation just how good games were back in our day. They may silently mock you, or they may say it straight to your face, either way, you know they’ll never know the true cartridge blowing power you once had.
When is it out?
The SNES mini is due to release on September 29th and comes with an impressive 21 games included. Twenty years after its original release demand is still high for this legendary console and this was proven when Nintendo released the NES classic recently. The NES sold out almost instantly and this is probably my biggest concern with Nintendo’s second entry to a classic console re-release. There just wasn’t enough NES’s to go around eBay quickly filled up with overpriced ones for those desperate enough to pay the premium. Hopefully, due to the high demand of the NES, Nintendo will manufacture a sustainable amount to go around.
Price point
The price point of the SNES mini, in all honesty, surprised me. I expected this to be a rather expensive endeavour, but Nintendo has priced the console reasonably at around $80 – that’s like two PS4 games!
Not only is the console reasonably priced, but also comes with two controllers and an HDMI input. It’s the perfect party gift – just think of the fun to be had racing your friends on Super Mario Kart once again.
We all knew this console was coming at some point and after the successful launch of the NES, I had a sneaking suspicion that Nintendo’s next classic console would be way over priced. I’m happy to say now, that this is far from over priced.
With retro gaming once again on the rise, it would have been easy for Nintendo to over price this console, so they deserve credit where its due.
What’s included?
So we know that there are 21 games included in the console, but what are these games? Well, the full list is just below, but there’s also a surprise or two within that list.
The previously unreleased Star Fox 2 has been included and is likely to increase those pre-orders dramatically. Star Fox is a game series that has really struggled since its first incarnation. It’s a classic in its own right, but the subsequent releases just haven’t lived up to the lasting impression the first game left.
Hopefully, that wait is now over as fans of the series finally get their hands on Star Fox 2, the way it was meant to be played.
If you’re not a fan of Frogs and Foxes who fly spaceships around the galaxy, then any of the other 20 games listed below might just peak your interest:
• Contra III: The Alien Wars™
• Donkey Kong Country™
• EarthBound™
• Final Fantasy III
• F-ZERO™
• Kirby™ Super Star
• Kirby’s Dream Course™
• The Legend of Zelda™: A Link to the Past™
• Mega Man® X
• Secret of Mana
• Star Fox™
• Star Fox™ 2
• Street Fighter® II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
• Super Castlevania IV™
• Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts®
• Super Mario Kart™
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars™
• Super Mario World™
• Super Metroid™
• Super Punch-Out!!™
• Yoshi’s Island™
There’s a lot of games for your money here and whether you grew up with this console or not, you can’t argue that there are some real classics here. All the games are pre-installed on the console, which I’m not sure if I’m happy about. I mean come on, no cartridge blowing?
This begs the question as to whether further games will be released and if so how can they be input on the console? There’s no talk of any Internet connections or online store to speak of. Seeing as this wasn’t included in the NES, I can’t see it being present in the SNES classic either.
It’s more than likely that they won’t re-release any more games and what you’re given is what you get. It’s a pity, but at least the games you do get include some real classics.
Hopefully, Nintendo has learnt a few things from the release of the NES and implemented the concerns raised by their customers. The NES had a ridiculously and annoying short controller cable, which at times could make it awkward to place. Although the controllers were comfortable and paid great attention to detail to the classic ones, the 2.5ft cable length just wasn’t enough.
This could all be resolved with the inclusion of wireless controllers, but as of yet, we have no confirmation of that. Hopefully, these concerns can be rectified in the SNES release.
A promising addition was the old school menu interface that looked great on the NES and I hope something similar makes its way to the SNES. The classic 8bit style interface worked extremely well and lovingly captured the look of 90s style icons.
There’s so much content for a reasonable premium here, and with pre-orders already sold out in most places you look, the SNES classic is sure to be another hit for Nintendo. Get ready for some good old-fashioned 16bit goodness once again my friends, as we dive into the sea of nostalgia once more. See you in Hyrule.
