Game Boy Advance NES Classic

[smerlus]

Classic NES vs. Famicom Mini
The two territories duke it out for the coolest retro collection. Fight!
 
June 04, 2004 - As soon as Nintendo revealed its Famicom Mini series back at the beginning of this year, I placed my preorder with an import house. I'm a huge retrogamer, probably the biggest at IGN, and I'm all for companies delving into their backlog of games for collections on current generation systems.

As a retrogaming fan, though, I personally think it's just a bit much to charge gamers a twenty dollar price tag for a single, emulated version of a 20 year old game. The games have recouped its development cost and then some back in the day, and the cost of getting these games onto a GBA cartridge are nearly non-existent since they reuse the same emulation code across each and every Classic NES Series/Famicom Mini game. And the minimum size of a GBA cartridge, four megabytes, can store more than a dozen standard-size NES cartridges without even breaking a sweat.
When the Famicom Mini series hit the scene, with each game retailing for 2200 yen, I thought that there'd be no way that Nintendo could get away with a similar pricing in the US. But I was proven wrong when March rolled around and Nintendo of America revealed the Classic NES Series and its $19.99 MSRP.

Looking at it from a business model, though, Nintendo's going to clean up with the Classic NES Series...just as it had in Japan with the Famicom Mini. Even though $20 is a bit on the high side for what people get, at least compared to what they used to get as a retro purchase, that $20 is the "impulse" pricepoint for videogames. People are more willing to fork over that 19.99 since its price is significantly below what's expected in the videogame market. And, admittedly, at least two of the games in the Classic NES Series trounce what some third-party publishers put out on the GBA at the same pricepoint. The Famicom Mini series is already in its second volume thanks to the incredible success it's having in Japan. Though Nintendo of America hasn't come out and officially said it, the future of the Classic NES Series depends on how well the first batch is adopted. And I'll put my money down right now that the series won't end here...and I'll go even further and say that by Christmas next year, the majority of GBA games released will be a part of the Classic NES Series.

But with the Famicom Mini series thriving in Japan, and the Classic NES Series starting in the US, which territory's getting the better package? I thought it'd be a good idea, now that both collections are available, to pick the side who's tops in the retrogaming department

 
Both the Famicom Mini series and the Classic NES Series are separated into two parts: system and games.

To kick off the collections of Famicom Mini and Classic NES series, Nintendo released, for each territory, a special edition Game Boy Advance system: the Famicom Color Game Boy Advance SP for Japan audiences, and the Classic NES Limited Edition Game Boy Advance for the US market.
Both systems are, internally, identical to every other special edition Game Boy Advance SP system, featuring the same system hardware, button configuration, front light...everything that makes a GBA SP what it is. It may sound silly to mention it, but it has to be said: these retro-designed systems play all games written for the Game Boy Advance, not just the classic games made for the series. You'd be surprised how many people have asked that.

The differences between the Famicom Color GBA SP and the Classic NES Limited Edition GBA SP are purely cosmetic. Their looks are targetted specifically to the consumers out there that remember the original console from the 1980s, constructed to tickle the gamers' nostalgia.

Both the Famicom Color GBA SP and the Classic NES Limited Edition GBA SP are packaged to the standards of how past GBASP systems shipped in the territories:
 
The Famicom Color Game Boy Advance SP, released in March with the first batch of Famicom Mini games, shipped in a really cool mini-box that targeted the Super Mario Bros. fan. The entire box is wrapped in the same sky-blue color and Super Mario sprites, definitely giving the system an old-school appearance.

For the Classic NES Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo of America uses the same bigger, flatter box design, but the graphic artists went to town with a layout that mirrors the font and look of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Sweet.

But you know, I've always loved the tiny Japanese Game Boy Advance SP boxes ever since the system debuted in early 2003. We can understand the whole American "bigger is better" thing, especially when retailers don't want the systems to be "five-finger discounted." But since most US stores lock their systems behind the counter to deter such things anyway, the larger packaging that we get in the states seems a bit overkill.

Winner: Famicom Color GBA SP
The System
   
The Famicom Color GBA SP wasn't the first "Famicom" style GBA SP released in Japan. Nintendo actually gave away Special Edition Famicom systems in a contest, featuring the colorscheme of the system controllers, right down to the gold trim around the buttons and D-Pad. For the follow-up, Nintendo made a system that was "less special", focusing on the red and white colors of the Famicom console system.

Nintendo of America, however, went all out with the Classic NES Limited Edition GBA SP system. Closed, the unit looks like an NES system. Open, it features the same color scheme and texture of an NES controller.

Hands down, we're going with the Classic NES Limited Edition GBA SP. As cool as the Famicom Color system looked when it shipped, it just can't come anywhere near the coolness factor of this North American retro system.


Winner: Classic NES GBA SP

 
Maybe you have no need for another Game Boy Advance SP. That's cool. Save your money and use it to buy the games included in the series. There's a lot to choose from. In Japan, each game in the Famicom Mini series retailed for 2200 yen, about 20 bucks when you take into account the exchange rate. For the Classic NES series, surprise-surprise, the games retail for 19.99. Not much difference there.

Because the Game Boy Advance has no territory lock-out, Famicom Mini games and Classic NES Series games -- like every game in the GBA library available in any country -- plays on any Game Boy Advance system. No ifs, ands, or Steve Butts.
Since each of the games in the series run on the exact same NES emulator, games will have identical features. First of all, they run exactly as they would as if the game was running on actual hardware -- the GBA has enough power to perfectly emulate the 8-bit system. Any two player game will have link cable and Wireless Adapter support so that players can compete or cooperate in specific games, and only one copy of the game is necessary for the network; the file will be transferred to the empty system in the chain. There's also sleep mode so players can shut down their system whenever they want, as well as a "high score save" so players can, you know, save their high scores to the cartridge's SRAM.

As good as the emulation software is in these games, the resolution's the problem area. The horizontal resolution of the GBA is nearly identical, but the vertical resolution can't handle NES games without slight modifications. The emulator on the GBA will remove vertical lines to make the games fit from top to bottom on the GBA screen, but this will cause two issues. Expect a squished aspect ratio, much like watching a standard broadcast television show stretched in a wide-screen monitor. You'll also notice missing display lines that make some sprites seem a little odd; Mario's mustache will disappear from his face if you watch it closely. But after a few minutes of play, only nitpickers will care that the games don't look ABSOLUTELY perfect on a GBA. In my opinion, the system does a damn fine job representing the NES library.

The Games  
 
For the first round of Famicom Mini games, Nintendo released ten games: Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Ice Climber The Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, Mappy, Xevious, Bomberman and Star Soldier.

In the US, we got all but two of these games: Mappy and Star Soldier were left out of the batch. We can live without Star Soldier, but that mouse cop had himself a fun little game. We're told that these two games weren't available in the US, which is why they weren't included in the Classic NES Series. Still, I miss Mappy.

Winner: Famicom Mini

The Game Packaging  

 
 
This is where the Famicom Mini series really shines. The premium 2200 yen price tag isn't just to get the games, it's also to get the awesome collectible packaging. Each game in the Famicom Mini series comes in a generic, clear plastic box...and inside the box comes a game-specific cardboard tray that holds a miniature version of the original Famicom game box...and that's where the cartridge sits.

For the Classic NES Series, Nintendo played it safe and offered the same cardboard box, same exact layout template, and simply used the old-school artwork for each of the games. And as retro as they look, they just don't hold the same collectible status as the Famicom Mini series...especially since the North American GBA boxes crush easily.

Winner: Famicom Mini

The Cartridge  

 
 
Each Famicom Mini game is housed in a cartridge with a red and beige color scheme exactly like the Famicom Color GBA SP system and original Famicom console system. The label is based upon the original artwork on the Famicom cartridges.

The Classic NES Series games are on cartridges that are lighter in gray than the standard GBA carts, but still much, much darker gray than the cartridge color used for the Game Boy Advance Video cartridges. This color mirrors the shade of plastic used for the original NES cartridges. Sorry, folks...the Legend of Zelda isn't on a Gold Cartridge. The label is much more simplistic, with the text logo and the red Classic NES Series branding bar. It may look cheaper, but in the long run, it's a lot easier to spot a Classic NES Series game in a bin of other titles.

This one's a toss-up. It's obviously a matter of personal preference from game to game...and while I appreciate the detailed graphics on the Famicom Mini carts, I'm going with the simpler Classic NES Series on this one. It's just more...classic.

Winner: Classic NES Series

The Inserts  
 
Inside the box itself, Famicom Mini owners will find a single folded-up sheet of paper that acts as the instruction manual...in single color printing. Legend of Zelda also offers a thicker folded sheet for the quest's map. Also included in each game is a Club Nintendo sheet so owners can type in the Product Identification Number into Nintendo's website to register their product. This will reward that player with points that can be spent on special promotional items. Nintendo gave away a collector's box for those who entered a PIN from each of the ten games in the series. Now that's a premium.

In Classic NES Series games, Nintendo offers a full color manual cover, with black and white pages for the game instructions. There's also the US equivalent of the Club Nintendo sheet to register the product, but as of right now registers will not get ANY premium for entering in PINs...apart from "special" downloads that just don't compete with what Nintendo's doing in Japan. I want Mario goodies, dammit.

So, we get a better manual, at the cost of Japan getting better premiums. I'll take the premiums.

Winner: Famicom Mini

Conclusion
I'm always going to express my disappointment for having to shell out twenty beans per game in this series, especially since past retro collections gave you far more bang for the buck. That extra cash should go somewhere, and at the very least Nintendo's giving gamers something extra with not just the cool Famicom Mini collectible packaging, but also the premiums that gamers can score by using those Club Nintendo PIN codes to accumulate points for products. We don't get that in the US, and that's a damn shame.

Nintendo of America does make up for it (a bit) with a far, far superior Special Edition Game Boy Advance SP system. The system is, without a doubt in my mind, the coolest looking SP system to date...but I'm biased because I have a soft spot in my heart for the Classic Nintendo Entertainment System. I had a lot of good times with that system.

But the system is a single purchase. The games are an on-going expense, and it's clear that Japan's not just going for the impulse buyer with the Famicom Mini series...it's targeting the collector along side of the consumers who will only buy the one or two games for their system. We have those people here, too, Nintendo. And while the retro-style packaging for the Classic NES Series will distinguish those games against other GBA titles, the series would have had a much bigger impact with a more collectible presentation.

Winner: Famicom Mini Series (Japan)