Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: Donkey Kong Country, HRL, NES, nes classic, SNES, snes classic, starfox, starfox 2, Super Mario World, super punchout

SNES Classic Review: Well Worth The Money; Hopefully You Found One!

SNES Classic comes hot on the heels today after last years mega-popular NES classic. What basically boiled down to a emulator in a mini-Nintendo house caused quite the stir — sell-outs, ridiculous prices on the after-market, and angry customers demanding that Nintendo answer for making such a short supply. While they are in fact making more, one question was on most people's minds: would they make any other systems? I know the first thing I said to myself when I saw the NES last year was "That's cool. Now make an SNES one."

And hey, they listened! Releasing today, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition is the same idea as the other one. Put a bunch of classic games on an emulator and house it in a mini-replica of the Nintendo system we all loved in the '90s. I have been enjoying mine for a couple days now and wanted to take some time to talk about it.

The Box

Perfect execution here. It looks enough like the classic box I remember getting for Christmas all those years ago. Like the NES, we get the game boxes and list on the back. I love the little " Now you're playing with super power!!" on the box flap, as well.

The SNES Classic

The system itself is so tiny. The controllers are almost as big as the system itself, which is hilarious when you remove everything from the box. Inside, you will find the system, two controllers, an HDMI cord, and the USB power supply. The controllers plug into the front of the system buy pulling a panel down on the front of the SNES Classic.

Sadly, while the controllers do have longer cords this time, they're still not going to get too far away from your television. There are plenty of third party wireless options, sold separately. That might be the way to go, depending on how much you want to invest in this system. I will say, though: it is kinda cool having to sit on the floor, close to the system like back in the day. The best part was that the setup took about five minutes and we were playing near-instantly.

The Games

The UI when you turn on the system is pretty much exactly like the NES Classic. All of the games are there on the main menu with box art, you choose the game, and go. I immediately played Super Mario World for a little while. And then decided to unlock the never-before released Starfox 2. I forgot how much I loved the original. Flying those polygons around was a highlight of my childhood; it was great to play this again. I will also say: I have not held a SNES controller for decades, and it was like I never stopped. The controls for each game flooded right back to me.

Once you complete Level 1 on the original, 2 is unlocked on the game selection screen. This one is quite a bit like the original. Same jagged polygon animation, same 3D shooting, fast-paced gameplay. It only takes about an hour and some change to play through the entire thing. But Starfox fans will cherish getting their hands on this one.

Overall, the 16-bit still works for the most part. I was a little worried that it would not age well, I guess. The only game that looked muddled and not so hot was Donkey Kong Country. This was another favorite of mine when younger. But after about 20 minutes, the screen became a blurry mess during Level 2 in the dark and rain and it became hard to focus. I will have to mess with the TV settings a bit see if I can clear it up.

Overall

Look — I know that people will just say that they will play their emulators and such and avoid this thing and its $80 price tag. I, for one, do not know how any of that works. It may be easy, it may not be. All I know is that I got this and sat with my 5-year-old daughter and played Super Nintendo with her like my brother and I did when he was her age. She beat me in Street Fighter. She got mad trying to figure out Mario Kart. She fell in love with Yoshi. That right there was worth the price alone.

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