NES Classic Review

I did it! I played the long game and finally got an NES Classic Edition for retail price, about a year and a half too late. I'd grabbed a few of the games on cartridges in the interim due to some lucky local craigslist deals, so the little console wasn't quite as much of a value to me as it would have been when I'd originally wanted it. But it's still an adorable little machine, and chopped off several games from my list, so I'm generally very pleased. Here's a quick review on the hardware and software included, and I'll be reviewing my first completed game on the next What I'm Playing!

The packaging is very appealing, and the console comes with a delightful little pack-in featuring R.O.B. and Nintendo's "Now you're playing with power" slogan. It's a nice little throwback, and I'm definitely going to hang it up somewhere.

The console's physical appearance nearly made me squeal. It's so adorable I just can't handle it! It comes with functioning power and reset buttons, and looks identical to the original toaster version of the NES (far superior to the top loader). It would have been a nice touch to make the hinge function, but we can't have everything, and keeping it simple certainly kept manufacturing costs lower, allowing the superb price point.

Speaking of price point, this thing is a phenomenal value for people who don't have existing NES collections, and merely a pretty good value even for existing collectors like myself. It comes with at least 15 core, must own NES games (more on this later), and 5 additional very good games, with 10 filler games you may play once. For collectors, simply having officially licensed copies of a game like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Ninja Gaiden that feature the ability to save is invaluable. Clearing out all 8 worlds of SMB 3 without the ability to save is really very difficult, but having these emulated versions actually improves the quality of an already superb game, as owners of SMB 3 on the Game Boy Advance or purchasers of the various virtual console versions of the game know. This makes it so that you don't always have to rush through the game by warping to World 8 as fast as possible, and lets you explore a bit more at your leisure. You can also plug these into an HD TV with less lag than you'd get from plugging an NES into one (although there's always a slight bit of lag with emulation). On net, I'd recommend the console as a value for just about anyone who loves NES games, but for the casual person looking to have a weekend full of nostalgia for the price of taking your family to the movies, this is an unbelievable value.

The console comes with all the cords and accessories you will need to get it up and running in a few minutes, doesn't take any technical know how at all, and is extremely user friendly. The controller feels identical to the original NES, and is excellent in quality. The controller cord is, as other reviewers have noted, extremely short. Picture what you think of as a very short controller cord and then cut it in half, and you'll get the idea. This didn't have to be a huge weakness, as you'll need to keep the console close to you to hit the reset button frequently, as this is the way to access save states, as well as the easiest way to quickly switch games. The HDMI cord is, however, not very long either, making it my recommendation to either get a longer HDMI cord or buy one of the extension cords for your controller. Apparently Amazon has two packs of extension cords for $10, so even if you cough up the extra money, it's still a very good deal.

The UI is very intuitive, and also very similar to the SNES Classic Edition, which is also excellent. The home screen has a catchy song to go with it, but the SNES Classic's song is better. It comes with a standard amount of options, including putting your games in standard mode, pixel perfect mode, or CRT mode.

All of this pretty packaging does nothing without some quality games, so let's go through them one by one, rating them on a 1-10 scale. These numbers aren't necessarily an evaluation of the game, but simply how important it was for Nintendo to include the game on the console. I'll judge these based on quality of the game, whether or not it's an iconic NES title, how difficult it would have been to get the license, and whether or not there was a more appropriate title to fill one of the 30 slots. It's nice that they got 30 titles on here, compared to the 21 for the SNES Classic, so I'll give them credit even if the list isn't quite as well curated as the SNES Classic.

Balloon Fight-9/10-Nintendo property, very fun game, representative of the earliest Nintendo era

Bubble Bobble-9/10-Iconic NES game, nice license get from Taito, and very fun


Castlevania-10/10-Fantastic game, extremely iconic NES game, an absolute must have

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest-4/10-Give me Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse! This one makes little sense to me.


Donkey Kong-9/10-This is a very good game, a very good arcade port, and an iconic Nintendo property that didn't need licensing. No brainer.

Donkey Kong Jr.-9/10-This is actually better than Donkey Kong and fills one of the 30 slots with a Nintendo license. Pretty easy choice, despite not being as well known.


Double Dragon II: The Revenge-9/10-The best iteration of one of the more iconic NES series. Probably need have to have one of the Double Dragon's here, and this is the best choice, even if there are better beat em ups on the console.

Dr. Mario-10/10-This is a little console with a lot of platformers so the genre diversity is nice. Plus this is a fantastic puzzler and a Nintendo license, so it has to be included.

Excitebike-9/10-A limited game but an iconic Nintendo license, I put this on the same tier as Balloon Fight.

Final Fantasy-7/10-I know this is the first of one of my top three game series of all time (Mario, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, btw), but if I'm being honest, It think that one of the four Dragon Warrior games is a better fit here. Dragon Warrior was far more common in America due to the Nintendo Power giveaway, and each of the 4 games released in the U.S. was better than Final Fantasy, despite the Final Fantasy series lapping Dragon Quest/Warrior in popularity here today. But they probably made the right choice just in terms of marketing this thing.

Galaga-8/10-If I was making a list of the best NES games, Galaga wouldn't be on it. But this is brilliant marketing to include a few smash arcade hits here, and it's a pretty good port, so I have no quibbles with this.

Ghosts 'n Goblins-8/10-This is an iconic NES game, but it's not very good. It's a one of the most overrated arcade games ever, and the port is poor.

Gradius-7/10-The port is pretty poor here, and there are better shooters on the console, including another Konami license that would have been better in Life Force. But it's a pretty iconic NES game, so I'll pass it.

Ice Climber-6/10-This game sucks, and it's only a mid-tier Nintendo license. This box needed no extra platformers, and this one is terrible.

Kid Icarus-7/10-This is a little better than Ice Climber, but similar in terms of its level of license. You probably include it, though.

Kirby's Adventure-10/10-Fantastic game, top tier early Nintendo license, no brainer.

Mario Bros.-6/10-I really don't like this game! Donkey Kong is much better.

Mega Man 2-10/10-This is an iconic NES license and a fantastic game as well. You can quibble about which of 2 or 3 is better, but you really can't argue that 2 is more iconic, and very deserving of a place here.

Metroid-10/10-Absolutely iconic and a fantastic game. Must include

Ninja Gaiden-10/10-One of the 3 truly iconic and excellent NES 3rd party series (along with Castlevania and Mega Man), and while Ninja Gaiden II is better by a hair, you really can't complain about this gem

Pac-Man-9/10-It's the most iconic arcade game ever, and has a pretty good NES port. I wouldn't have done this, similar to Galaga, but after thinking about it it makes all the sense in the world.

Punch-Out!!-9/10-Don't get me wrong. This is as iconic as it gets, and it's a fantastic game. But the slight emulation lag makes beating higher level bosses very difficult, so the product is a bit less shiny than an original cart. You still have to include it, though.

StarTropics-8/10-It's a nice little game and adds a longer adventure game to the mix, plus it's a Nintendo property. Pretty good choice.

Super C-6/10-You skipped the absolutely iconic Contra for it's inferior sequel? WHY???

Super Mario Bros.-10/10-Duh
Super Mario Bros. 2-10/10-Duh
Super Mario Bros. 3-10/10-Duh

Tecmo Bowl-8/10-I understand you can't get Tecmo Super Bowl because of the NFL license. But gosh does this hurt.

The Legend of Zelda-10/10-The only series that you absolutely can't miss on beside Super Mario Bros.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link-9/10-Iconic series, inferior game to the original.

Here are a few ideas for swapping games that I'd propose:

Yoshi's Cookie for Ice Climber-This is a fun puzzler and adds a little diversity
DuckTales for Ghosts 'n Goblins-This is the superior Capcom game they should have gone for, despite not being as iconic.
Mega Man 3/Castlevania III for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest-Either choice is great!
Contra for Super C-Easiest swap on the whole console
Tetris for...something-You have to have Tetris! Come on! I'm fine with cutting Gradius, but that leaves us with 0 side scrolling shooters, which seems like a mistake. I'd also be fine with cutting Kid Icarus or Mario Bros., but that cuts into Nintendo's profits. 31 games?

All in all, I'd highly recommend the NES Classic Edition. I prefer the SNES Classic, but that may be due to my preference for the SNES over the NES in general. It's not perfect, but it's a pretty good slice of Nintendo's offerings from the NES' run, and will definitely give you your bang for your buck, particularly if you don't have an existing NES collection. Enjoy!