The NES Classic Edition is as cute as it is easy to use.
Which is to say, extremely.
You hook it up, power it on, and 30 classic NES titles are available right at your thumb
tips.
And those 30 games include multiple first installments of series that are still relevant
today, like Super Mario Bros, Zelda 1, Castlevania, Metroid, among others.
Yes, the NES Classic indeed earns its classic moniker--even if not every game is a home
run.
I’ll spare you the full list of games, but no matter how you slice it, the collection
is impressive--but certainly not definitive, as there are some notable absences, such as
Metal Gear, Duck Tales, and any Mega Man besides Mega Man 2, among others.
Crystalis anyone?
But seeing as the entire package retails for $60, or $2 per game, that’s pretty understandable.
Now just as important as the selection of games is how well those games run.
And as one who’s generally pretty sensitive to emulator imperfections, I have to say that
this might be Nintendo’s best emulator yet, as the games look, sound, and most importantly,
played almost exactly as I remembered, with no egregious graphical artifacts, sound clipping,
or input latency.
But I then decided to hook up my 30 year old original NES just to be sure...and as it turns
out, although my memory was close, it wasn’t AS close as I remembered, with the NES Classic
generally appearing much sharper and brighter, but also a little washed out when compared
to the original NES, and while the sound was similarly “crisper,” it also sometimes
bordered on being just slightly harsh.
But look I’m not a super technical guy, so I couldn’t say for sure whether these
slight differences are due to the emulation itself, or if it’s simply because the NES
Classics digital HDMI signal is clearer and less muddled than the original NES’s analog
composite setup.
Either way, the differences are subtle and only only really became apparent when played
back to back-- otherwise the games played practically identically.
So just keep in mind that while it may not look and sound EXACTLY as you remember, it’s
pretty darn close.
Now the NES Classic provides 3 different display options to ensure the games look exactly as
you want them to: There’s Pixel Perfect, which displays the games in a narrower aspect
ratio, 4:3 which is the same aspect ratio as the games actually appeared in back in
the day, and finally CRT mode which adds a filter on top of the 4:3 ratio to mimic the
appearance of an old-school TV.
And it’s surprisingly effective, giving the games a softer look, and is closest to
matching my memory of them--even if it does look a little odd at times, such as when scrolling
vertically in Super Mario Bros. 2.
Besides the Display options, the system arguably improves on the original games in one major
way: you can now Save at any time with up 4 Save States per game.
Yeah, that’s pretty huge, considering you couldn’t save at all in most of those games
originally.
And you can even “Lock” those Save States so you don’t accidentally overwrite them.
The presentation in general really couldn’t be much simpler...you choose a game from the
list--which you can sort in all kinds of ways, such as alphabetically, by release order,
or even which games support 2-Players--and then you just--get this--play it!
It’s so simple!
Almost too simple, because there’s little else to the NES Classic beyond the bare necessities.
It would have been nice if there were perhaps bonus features that provided background information
on these games to better contextualize their place in history...but alas, what you see
is what you get.
Now there is one other area that the NES Classic comes up short--literally--and that’s in
the NES Classic controller cord’s length, measuring in at just barely 2 and a half feet.
Which means it’s pretty much impossible to play the system without having the console
sitting on the ground or on a table right next to you.
So you might want to look into either a 3rd party extension cord or getting a really long
HDMI cable--neither of which are ideal options.
Although it does make the fact that there’s no way to switch games without hitting the
Reset button on the console itself a little more palpable--you know, since the system’s
always so closel
One nice perk of the controller though is that since it uses the same connector as the
Classic Controller, you can connect it to a Wii Remote to use on your Wii or Wii U too
with any game that both supports the Classic Controller and can be played with just the
D-Pad and a few buttons.
Overall, the NES Classic Edition is a well made system that comes with some great games
at a reasonable price.
And most importantly, it runs those games well.
The entire package hearkens back to an earlier era--a time before constant system updates
and game patches.
It just feels good to plug in a console and be playing a game in just seconds.
Plus it doesn’t hurt that entire thing is wrapped up in an adorable form factor that’s
small enough to fit in your pocket..
But it’s not perfect, with an absurdly short controller cord, lack of shortcut for switching
games, and an extremely basic presentation with no real Bonus features.
Oh, and there’s no way to download additional games, which would have been a nice addition.
But all in all, I Liked it!
Now would I have bought it myself?
Probably not, considering I already own most of the NES games that I care about in various
forms, including on the original NES, but for those who don’t, or maybe those who
want to experience these classics for the first time, there really isn’t a better
or cheaper option...at least officially.
Plus the thing is so gosh darn cute.
Just look at it!
LOOK AT IT.
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