Nintendo Classic Mini: NES - Review

It's going to be a relatively quiet Christmas by Nintendo's usual standards, what with the Wii U coming to the end of its life and with the Switch on the horizon. That, however, doesn't mean that the House of Mario is completely silent, because they're actually releasing a USB-powered mini-console that will no doubt appear under the tree of many a retro game enthusiast in late December.

It's a neat little device. Small in form and low in weight, but stored away on its hard drive is no less than thirty classic Nintendo titles, and some of the biggest games to grace the NES have found their way onto this lovely little device. If, growing up, you had the original console and remembering days spent playing Mario and Zelda and Castlevania brings a smile to your face, then you should absolutely consider asking Santa for a Nintendo Classic Mini this Christmas.

While it's undeniably cool in many respects, it's not all perfection. Our biggest issue with it is the cables, which in all cases are far too short. The controllers in particular are tethered so closely to the console that you'll either have to sit really close to the screen, or you'll have to get a costly HDMI extension cable (and probably a longer micro USB cable too). We found that it worked great as a little toy placed on the desk, wired up to the monitor, powered by our USB tower, and close enough that we didn't have to worry about the cables linking the controller (which, by the way, has been built with the same attention to detail as everything else). If you don't have a spare plug socket nearby you'll also need to ensure that your television has a USB port, or that there's a device that has a spare one that you can utilise (we powered ours using a PS4 when testing in the living room, for example).

Before we move onto what comes pre-loaded on the console, there's some features to tell you about. Along the top bar of the homescreen there's a few decisions to make. Most notably there's three display options. The insta-choice for long-time fans will probably be the CRT filter; the grainy finish is nice and only adds to the sense of nostalgia. Otherwise you're choosing between the 4:3 aspect ratio or a "Pixel Perfect" option that serves up the action as it was when it was first presented, but without the visual tweak offered by the CRT filter. What we will say, these games look better than when emulated on a Wii U, which will no doubt be music to the ears of fans who've been playing golden oldies on their home console.

You can also change language, tweak a few system settings, and reset the whole thing back to its factory settings. Finally, another nice touch comes in the form of the "Suspend Points", which should help us complete a couple of those games that eluded us back in the day.

When it comes to the games, there's a decent selection. Perhaps there could have been more, because for us the strange decision is that each Classic Mini has been locked down in terms of playable games. If you're favourite title isn't there, then it's tough luck we're afraid. That is, of course, unless we get updated models with new games added, or special editions themed more closely around a genre or collection of characters. Of course that'll require additional investment. Still, what's there is varied in terms of style and content, and the chances are that there's going to be several games on there that you fondly remember.

Of course the little red plumber takes centre stage with three Super Mario Bros. games, plus there's Donkey Kong, the original Mario Bros., and the excellent Dr Mario (plus a couple more). If you're a fan then there's several good reasons to revisit this classic era. However, the lineup goes beyond stomping on goombas and hopping over barrels. You can see the dawn of the metroidvania genre by sampling the original versions of both Castlevania and Metroid, and there's the first Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda titles in there too. Pac-Man is present, as is Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man 2, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Galaga, Gradius, Ghost 'n Goblins, and Double Dragon II. Phew. Throw in a handful of quirky lesser known titles and a couple of sequels, and you've got a really healthy selection to choose from.

What's nice about the games is that you can see a steady evolution in terms of quality and game design. The frightfully basic games from the early '80s are fun on their own terms, but they also serve to highlight the much more visually stimulating and accomplished titles that were made towards the end of the decade. It's great to see how developers mastered the hardware and managed to make the most out of its ageing circuitry come the end of the generation.

All told there's a lot here to keep you occupied, and retro fans in particular will enjoy revisiting some of the all-time classics. Nintendo single-handed revived the console industry following the collapse of Atari, and when you look at the lineup of titles included on the Classic Mini, it's easy to see why. It was a great machine that boasted some fantastic games. With that in mind it's nice to be given the chance to look at them again, and the hardware they're presented on here is a cute little thing that looks great and feels like it was made with love and care. Thus, with so many good things going for it, we're all the more confused by Nintendo's decision to lock down the console (ok, we're not hugely confused about this, perhaps disappointed would be more accurate), and then serve it up with cables that are far too short.

The Nintendo Classic Mini is going to be getting a lot of love come the holidays, and with good reason. We're not too keen on a couple of the fundamental design decisions made by Nintendo, but even with a couple of negatives against it, this is still a great little toy that offers a lot of fun and an enjoyable trip down memory lane. Not only does it look and feel good, but it contains a library of iconic games that'll keep both retro enthusiasts and casual gamers happy. It's not perfect, but Nintendo has done a good enough job that we'd be happy if Santa left one of these under our tree come late December.