From Famicom to NES, and NES to Famicom
It’s been a couple of months since Nintendo made the surprising announcement of the NES Classic Edition, a miniature Nintendo Entertainment System with 30 games preloaded via flash memory. While these systems are nothing new, given previous Sega and Atari efforts (if you want to call them that), it’s a significant step forward for Nintendo. This was a company more content with rereleasing their old games through the Virtual Console on their platforms, where they undoubtedly made a profit by charging $5 for each game. But here, we have a package that will include 30 games for $60, a far better deal. This miniature console is also smart because it will appeal to many with nostalgia for the original system, including those who don’t buy Nintendo consoles these days, or left “traditional” video gaming altogether.
Given the overwhelmingly positive response from western territories, as shown by how its preorders sold out at multiple online retailers hours after it was made available, Nintendo has unsurprisingly announced Japan’s equivalent. They’ll receive the Famicom Mini, a small version of their old “Family Computer” console, designed just like the older model. The design, however, isn’t the only key difference with this iteration.
You can see from the promo pictures that this version will include two controllers, rather than one like the NES version. But that’s not too bad considering extra controllers can be purchased for a mere $10, and that other Nintendo controllers like the Wii Remote, Classic Controller or Wii U Pro Controller can also be used. It appears they won’t be options with the Famicom iteration, as its controllers can’t be detached. The controllers also appear to be smaller than ours, perhaps making them more suitable for smaller Japanese hands — or Donald Trump’s. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
In exchange for the extra cost we’ll have to pay for the controller, the Japanese package won’t include an AC Adapter, similar to Nintendo handhelds sold there. It can still be powered via a USB port, but seriously nostalgic folks will want to plug it in through an outlet for a more authentic experience.
While both systems will come with 30 games on board, the Famicom Mini exchanges some games for others. You can only get titles like Yie Air Kung-Fu, River City Ransom, Final Fantasy III, and Mario Club Golf through Japan’s iteration, but the western version will have Castlevania II, Final Fantasy I, Punch Out!!, and Startropics. Not every game considered a classic in western territories was one in Japan, and vice versa. Curiously, the Japanese version won’t include any Dragon Quest games, despite the franchise’s overwhelming popularity in the country. Given how no older DQ games are available on digital platforms for any other gaming system, the blame lies on DQ’s handlers.
The Famicom Mini will release on November 10th, one day before the western version on the 11th. It’s nice that they can already preorder theirs from Amazon, while they still haven’t given us the option to do so here in America.
Meanwhile, some members of the press were able to go hands on with the western edition, and provided detailed impressions. As some older videos showed, they confirmed that the emulation here is far better than what’s offered through the Wii U Virtual Console. Even better is how it offers four different display options, each of which are adjusted to the player’s preferences. There’s the standard 4:3 mode, a Pixel Perfect mode which, well, displays every pixel perfectly, and a CRT mode to emulate the feeling of playing games on an old CRT TV — scanlines and all. The system will also allow for four Suspend Points (or “Save States,” if you prefer) per game.
However, many of them didn’t hesitate to mention how it’s a very basic package, despite being worth its value. In other words, it’s definitely aimed towards the general audience, and not gaming enthusiasts. Nintendo’s intended audience was clear when they confirmed the system wouldn’t allow for additional software downloads, and that’s further proven by the lack of a dedicated section for instruction manuals. Instead, the “Manuals” option takes users to a website with scanned versions of them. It would have been nice for them to implement a dedicated app, but this won’t matter for most who purchase it — or connoisseurs who simply want to have 30 well-emulated NES games in one place.
Nintendo is likely already calling this a success, given how it’s already sold out in western territories at the moment. Along with replenishing their stock sometime in the near future (ideally before Christmas, but don’t count on that), I’d like for them to move forward with more classic systems, like a SNES/Super Famicom version. Of course, this should happen after they reveal the NX, which is long overdue.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
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I think this is pretty cool, actually. A simple, easy way to get a bunch of classics at once. So long as the emulation is quality, it should be great. I’m a little unsure about those pint-sized controllers though. =/
If this does well, I too would be interested in seeing more classic consoles get the same treatment. (Including the Megadrive, which apparently has something similar already, but apparently wasn’t any good.) It’d be fun, seeing a bunch of tiny consoles sitting around the TV.
Yeah, I agree. I also really like the aesthetics of the Japanese system, much more than the American one (though I like the NES-2 and controller we received but no one remembers). But those controllers look super-uncomfortable, and it’s a shame if it really doesn’t allow for other controller options.
Oh, I’m really hoping Sega releases a Genesis/Mega Drive they handle themselves with M2 handling the emulation, instead of outsourcing everything to ATGames. But that’s assuming they care.