Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition review

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition review

As a long-time Nintendo fan and someone who grew up playing the NES classics, I’m completely captivated by the release of “Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition.” This new collection is a meticulously crafted nostalgia trip that takes me back to my childhood days spent competing in local video game tournaments and trying to shave seconds off my best times on my favorite games.


As a gamer, I just can’t get enough of the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. It’s like taking a trip down memory lane with all these classic NES games, and the competitive spirit of the original esports event from decades ago really gets me hyped up. I know these titles have been around for a while and have been repackaged before, but I can’t help myself – I’m addicted to this minigame speedrunning challenge. My thumbs are sore, and my work deadlines are piling up, but I just can’t put this game down.

Nintendo’s latest release includes 13 beloved NES games, offered as a progression of tests. The standout feature is the Speedrun Mode, where players are invited to race against the clock in challenges based on titles such as “Super Mario Bros.”, “The Legend of Zelda”, and “Donkey Kong”. In these trials, participants aim to accomplish brief objectives, like grabbing the initial mushroom in “Super Mario Bros.” or finishing a level in “Ice Climber”, as swiftly as they can.

In reality, trimming a mere tenth of a second from your personal best might not seem overly exciting at first glance. However, the experience is surprisingly thrilling. I found myself attempting a specific level in “Super Mario Bros.” over and over again, eventually shaving off 0.13 seconds from my previous score. The “Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition” has me feeling like a genuine speedrunner, despite the absence of extensive practice.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition review

The Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is designed for swiftness in various aspects. Some tasks are completed rapidly, like finishing a Super Mario Bros. 2 challenge with an S-rating in just 1.1 seconds. Additionally, challenges load and reload quickly, allowing you to immediately retry if you make a mistake on a jump by simply pressing two buttons. Most challenges don’t last longer than a minute, except for those that involve extended levels or trials within a game.

The World Championships mode aims to bring back the excitement of the classic Nintendo World Championships competition on a worldwide, online platform. Every week, participants encounter five changing tasks, ranging from easy to challenging to perfect. This week’s tasks are based on games like “Super Mario Bros.”, “The Legend of Zelda”, “Metroid”, and “Super Mario Bros. 2”. Players can keep trying to better their times before the contest ends. My competition so far has only been with others who also have an early version of the game; our scores will likely be outmatched by professional speedrunners once they receive a legitimate copy of “Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition”.

Intelligently, Nintendo caters to its target demographic: millennials and Gen Xers who were raised on the NES. Besides global rankings for World Championships, Nintendo will release age-specific rankings as well. As a result, players can measure their performance against peers of similar age, many of whom share the same declining reflexes and limited spare time.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition review

In Survival Mode, I get the chance to go head-to-head with other players through their “ghost data” – essentially, their past performances at various challenges. It’s a thrilling experience, as if I’m competing in a World Championships event, and I love the idea of earning some in-game trophies and coins as rewards. However, it doesn’t offer much else beyond that.

An extra feature is the Party Mode where as many as eight people can play together on one screen, engaging in themed contests with different levels of complexity. However, I haven’t had the chance to fully experience this mode in its prime. Nonetheless, going head-to-head against my wife in quick challenges has revealed that she prefers playing “Mario Kart 8” (or more accurately, “The Sims 4,” while I assist her with selecting furniture stain treatments).

As a gamer, I can tell you that playing Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition feels like taking a trip down memory lane. The game goes all out in creating an authentic retro experience. For instance, it uses the distinctive typeface treatment from Nintendo Power magazines in its menus. Plus, to help us complete the challenging games in the collection, it brings back the “Classified Information” tips and tricks section. And let me tell you, nothing beats the thrill of competing against other players in the World Championships mode. With the crowd’s cheers layered over the game audio, I really feel like I’m part of a historic Nintendo event!

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition review

I’m disappointed that Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition offers so few games to choose from. With only 13 NES titles available, all published by Nintendo, it falls short of including some notable 8-bit favorites like Punch-Out!!, Dr. Mario, and Donkey Kong Jr.. These games were popular in collections such as NES Remix and the NES Classic Edition. Given that players are asked to select their favorite NES (or Famicom) game from a catalog of hundreds, the current selection seems limited. I hope Nintendo adds more classic NES games and speedrunning challenges to keep the content diverse and engaging in the future.

As a big fan of retro gaming, I must say that the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is an absolute treat. While it may not improve my skills on Nintendo’s classic 8-bit games, the innovative challenges it presents are thoughtfully and neatly crafted. This collection allows me to experience a fresh take on some beloved NES titles, reminding me of their enduring appeal.

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2024-07-17 15:19

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