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The Classic NES Series in North America, Famicom Mini Series in Japan, or NES Classics in Europe are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom and Famicom Disk System emulated on the Game Boy Advance. A special edition Game Boy Advance SP, which has a similar colour pattern to a NES/Famicom controller, was released to go along with these games. The color of the cartridges match the color of the original NES carts.
All of these games were released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Famicom in Japan.
List of games
Famicom Mini Series (Japan)
Series 1 (released February 14, 2004)
Vol. #01 - Super Mario Bros.Vol. #02 - Donkey Kong
Vol. #03 - Ice Climber
Vol. #04 - Excitebike
Vol. #05 - Zelda no Densetsu
Vol. #06 - Pac-Man
Vol. #07 - Xevious
Vol. #08 - Mappy
Vol. #09 - Bomberman
Vol. #10 - Star Soldier
Series 2 (released May 21, 2004)
Vol. #11 - Mario Bros.Vol. #12 - Clu Clu Land
Vol. #13 - Balloon Fight
Vol. #14 - Wrecking Crew
Vol. #15 - Dr. Mario
Vol. #16 - Dig Dug
Vol. #17 - Takahashi Meijin Bouken Shima
Vol. #18 - Makaimura
Vol. #19 - Twinbee
Vol. #20 - Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu
Series 3 (released August 10, 2004)
Vol. #21 - The Lost Levels (Japanese version)Vol. #22 - The Mysterious Castle of Murasame
Vol. #23 - Metroid
Vol. #24 - Kid Icarus
Vol. #25 - The Adventure of Link
Vol. #26 - Shin Oni Ga Shima (New Ogre Island)
Vol. #27 - Famicom Detective Club
Vol. #28 - Famicom Detective Club Part II
Vol. #29 - Akumajou Dracula (a part of the Castlevania series)
Vol. #30 - Scramble Wars
In addition, 2nd Super Robot Wars was released as a promotional item alongside Super Robot Wars GC.
Classic NES Series (North America)
Series 1 (released June 7, 2004)
Series 2 (released October 25, 2004)
NES Classics (Europe)
Series 1 (released July 9, 2004)
Same as Series 1 of the Classic NES Series.Series 2 (released January 7, 2005)
Same as Series 2 of the Classic NES Series.Reaction
Criticism
Some gamers have sharply criticized Nintendo for the shoddy North American/European lineup. Many arguments and criticisms have been fired at all of the released games:- Bomberman - Jeff Gerstmann complained that a Bomberman without multiplayer is "hardly a Bomberman at all." Gerstmann, Jeff. GameSpot - Bomberman review. June 8, 2004
- Donkey Kong - The pie/cement factory level from the arcade series was not implemented. Gerstmann, Jeff. GameSpot - Donkey Kong review. June 4, 2004. Although that wouldn't make it "Classic NES," gamers still wanted to play it without having to purchase Donkey Kong '94 for Game Boy. In addition, it was also released on the e-Reader, and the arcade version was included as a minigame in Donkey Kong 64.
- Excitebike - Only one savable track, and it was released for the e-Reader.
- Ice Climber - Not considered by many people to be a true classic NES game; also released on the e-Reader.
- The Legend of Zelda - Gamers were irritated that both games had been included as freebies on the bonus compilation Collector's Edition for the GameCube, while for the Classic NES Series the original and Zelda II were released separately for $20 each.
- Metroid - Seen as redundant, since it already included as an unlockable in both the remake Zero Mission Colayco, Bob. GameSpot - Metroid review. November 3, 2004 or in Metroid Prime by linking it with Metroid Fusion.
- Pac-Man - Previously released on Pac-Man Collection, which included Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, and Pac-Man Arrangement for no additional charge. It was also released on the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Edition.
- Super Mario Bros. - Already included in Super Mario Brothers Deluxe for the Game Boy Color, which had extra modes and the The Lost Levels.
- Xevious - Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot said that this game is a classic 'arcade' game, not a classic NES game.
Many gamers also regard the released games as incomplete. Some of the most requested games include other classic NES games like Nintendo's Kid Icarus and Punch-Out!! and Konami's Contra series and the Castlevania sequels (the most popular and requested). The release of the Nintendo DS diminished any chance that they would ever be released.
Many of the GameSpot reviews complained that the retail price, $20, was too hard to swallow for a bunch of old, short games, even for nostalgia's sake, and that they should have been packaged in a compilation cart for $20 instead of all being individually released for $20 each. The pricing has since fallen to $10.
Some reviewers were also annoyed at small problems in the Series; high scores are not automatically saved, for instance (the player must save it manually), and while Castlevania had a save feature, it was also manual as well. Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot said that when Super Mario Bros. was played on the Game Boy Player, graphical glitches kept the game from "being a pixel-perfect port." Gerstmann, Jeff. GameSpot - Super Mario Bros. review. GameSpot. June 8, 2004 Some other problems are that all of the games have had their graphics scaled down to roughly 75% of their original height and their colours are noticeably different to those used by the NES.
These issues have driven many nostalgic players to questionably legal methods, such as using the PocketNES emulator with infringing copies of games.
Praise
All of the games feature a sleep mode and the ability to save high scores. Multiplayer games can also use the Wireless Adapter (all only need one cart as well) to play, rather than link cables. Many people have enjoyed these features because some previous versions could not save high scores.Some Classic NES Series games had small features that made them better than their predecessors. Super Mario Bros. preserved the Minus world glitch (which was removed from SMB Deluxe). Because the original Castlevania was rarely seen beyond the NES, its Classic NES Series version was praised for being ported over (as well as having a save option). Pac-Man Classic NES Series does have one bonus high score save (which the handheld Namco Museum compilation lacked).
Some games received some major updates. Dr. Mario received a major update from its Game Boy predecessor. The Classic NES Series version features single-pack multiplayer (instead of two carts), Wireless Adapter play, and coloring (rather than tints).
Other collections
In addition to the Classic NES Series, Jaleco, Atlus, and Hudson Soft released their own collections of their old Famicom games. The collections use the PocketNES emulator.
References
External links
English
Japanese
Game Boy Advance games | Nintendo Entertainment System emulators | 1980s retro movement
NES Classics | 패미컴 미니 | ファミコンミニ | NES Classics | NES Classics
"Classic NES Series"