NES Classic Mini Review

[Merc]

I'll start by saying that the review starts further down.

First part is story time of me ending up buying one. You can skip it if you want, I noted where the review actually starts.

>>>>> STORY TIME <<<<<<

When the news of this product first came out, I thought it was neat but wasn't exactly planning on picking it up. I've gotten used to playing NES roms if I feel like looking back at old games, and I own a few on the Wii Virtual Console as well.

Flash forward a few weeks, and I mention it off-hand to my sister.

I am literally floored by how EXCITED she is and interested. She has never been that much of an avid gamer, but we do both have 'fond' memories of fighting for control of Player 1 and 2 in the NES. I clearly underestimated how much the nostalgia would hit her.

We stopped by a Gamestop to try and do a pre-order, only to find out that it wasn't going to do pre-orders, and that no place really was any more as those that did had stopped very quickly after the news broke out. Oh well.

Come this week, I happen to have Friday off from work. Didn't even recall that this was coming out. My sister on the other hand?

Well, let's just say that bright early morning I went out hunting while she went to work.

I get to Target at around 7:40am, see a line of 40+ people, and without even parking go 'Nope' and turn around. I imagine everywhere else has similar lines, I go do some stuff at Home Depot, and then plan to head home...except I pass a Best Buy and see there's only two people at the door. Okay, -that- has potential.

Cue an hour and a half of waiting, making conversation with other people in line as they come, and some hilarious situations, Best Buy opens at 10am and I come out with an NES Classic Mini, two extension cords, a second controller and an Edge Joystick/Turbo Pad. I am promptly labelled the "BEST BROTHER EVER", and my sister has her early Christmas present.

"Purchase Photos": ShowHide

I set it up in her home, but didn't actually turn it on since she asked me to wait for her to come from work, and it's her present, so sure, why not? Evening eventually comes, we sit down, press the Power mode, and spend the rest of the evening drowning in nostalgia.


>>>>> REVIEW START <<<<<<

Alright, I'm not gonna go over the selection of games, everyone has their own opinions on that and I can see that they were just trying to make sure everyone had at least a few games they'd have liked if they picked it up. I'm more interested in discussing the hardware, the menu, options and 3rd party items.

In order, I'll cover: Edge Joystick, NES Controllers, Extension cords, Console, Menu/Functionality/Options

EMiO Edge Joystick
A 3rd party device for $24.99, it comes with a joystick (duh), A/B/Select/Start buttons (duh), turbo on/off buttons, turbo dials, slow button, and an A+B button.

It is garbage and does not work.

...okay, that's harsh.

It actually works with the Wii Virtual Console, but it was promoted as a 3rd party accessory for the NES Classic Mini.

So the harshness IS deserved.

I'm just going to copy/paste my Amazon review in a spoiler box:

"EMiO's rebranding failure - Why it could have been great": ShowHide

Everyone else has covered the important part - This does not work with the NES Classic Mini, which is what this product was promoted to work for.

Why it's an unfortunate rebranding effort: It does actually work...when used with the Wii Virtual Console. An entirely DIFFERENT product's service.

More's the shame, because this product has otherwise fantastic production value (minus one thing mentioned later).

It feels every bit what I expected it to feel like, and messing with the turbo dials and the on/off buttons (which did light up) made me feel pumped to try it out. It LOOKS and FEELS awesome.

That's what made it so much worse when I plugged it in and got no response on my NES Classic Mini.

Plugging it in Player 1 slot does not work. Player 2 does not work. Having it connected when the hardware was powered off or powered on does not work. Switching into it from a normal controller once you enter a game does not work. It is not a game specific tool. It just does NOT work.

Not unless, as stated earlier, you use it with a different product, highlighting that this was a hastily rebranded product.

And it's disappointing because the device itself provides a long player cord (I didn't measure it, but it was around the length of the controller+expansion cord, so it'd be 8-9 ft. Box claims 9 ft too) and it comes with a beautiful Tips/Trick/Cheats book accompanying it that covered all of the games included that feels right out of a Nintendo Power magazine. It's frankly also hilarious that it's so much bigger than the NES mini console.

If it actually worked with the NES mini console?

The only fault I would have found with it then would have been that the joystick, rather than having that white ring around the model photos that's built into the frame, we get a loose plastic black ring that's covering up four screws underneath it in the white frame. It makes it look just a tad cheaper when compared to the model photos which look much sleeker. Attached photos of the box and product, along with NES mini for comparison (and for gloating naturally; "I got one! I got one! Mwahahaha!" okay, gloating done).

I honestly want to hate the joystick (1 star), but it had so much potential that I feel more disappointed than anything. Using the joystick where it does work, with the Wii Virtual Console, shows how much potential it actually had.

But...unfortunately, that's not what I bought it for use with. And I don't want to keep a faulty product that by all rights should get fixed.

So I can only say that "I don't like it" (2 stars), return the product, and hope that it gets fixed down the line.

If EMiO puts out a product that actually works with the NES Classic Mini? You can bet that I'd easily rebuy it and give them a better rating then.

But no matter how good they get it afterwards, they're just never gonna earn themselves a 5 stars though, due to this screw up.

They did a ton of things right. But the most important one? Making sure it was actually compatible? Miserable failure.

I hope they fix it.


NES Controllers
One comes with the hardware, the second can be bought for $9.99.

It feels small, but my hands ARE about twice the size of when I last used an NES.

I can only say the same thing everyone else does: The controller is wired and the cable is only 30" long, but the console was designed to go with new TVs...which you certainly don't want to sit 30" away from.


Extension Cable
For $9.99, add an extra 6ft of length to a controller cable.

Lots of options for this, Best Buy's Insignia brand is what I got, but I think the options are pretty much the same regardless of you getting them from Nyko or whomever else.

The one oddity is that the extension cables feel like they were made for the Wii and have the safety strap lock plastic. You need to remove the one on the Player 1 extension cable to get a second controller connected. Not a big issue as long as you have a small head screwdriver, but it is something to be aware of.

At the very least both Nyko and Insignia versions have this. Not sure about other versions.

"Safety strap": ShowHide

The Console
It's adorably tiny bundled for $59.99. Obviously.

That's really all I have to say on hardware... So on to menu and options.

(I'll add photos when I visit my sister again this evening, I forgot to take photos of that last night)

Hitting the Power button, first option you get is selecting one of 8 language options for the menu (but not for the games, which are always english or presumably whatever language is in the area you buy it).

You then go to the main menu where you have the games in alphabetical order, though you can press select to organize them differently (2 player games, alphabetical, release order, most played, last played). A cute little theme song plays while you browse through games. There's also some options above the game list (Display, Options, Language, Legal Notice, and Manuals).

If you let the system idle, you'll start a screensaver window with Mario and Luigi, or a demo mode of games in the console. There's an auto-shutdown option that you can toggle on/off and is on by default. Not sure what the time is on that.

Games look fantastic in Pixel Perfect mode. By default, games will show up in a 4:3 window mode, though you can switch to Pixel Perfect or CRT Filter. CRT Filter is neat in a nostalgia sense, but too disorienting to use I think. My sister and I quickly swapped to Pixel Perfect and kept it there.

The manuals option is a disappointment, as all it gives is a link and QRT code for scans of the manual, rather than actually having the manuals as part of the device. Oh well.

The really big gripe I have is how save states work. While it's neat that Nintendo included them, it wasn't implemented in a very convinient manner.

While playing a game, if you want to create a save state, of which you can create 4 at a time per game, you have to physically go up to the console and hit the reset button. This brings you back to the main menu, where you can create a save state, or switch to another game. If you switch to another game, you lose out on your progress in the previous game if you didn't create a save state first.

Considering the point of getting extension cables is to not be close to the TV and console? Having to get up to press the reset button seems an odd design choice.


Final Thoughts
Would I buy it for myself? Don't plan to.

It's a fun gift, one that my sister seems extremely happy with, and I can mooch off if I feel like playing those games or want to borrow the controllers for use with games in the Wii Virtual Console.

If I did buy it though (can't see myself doing so, but if I did)... I think for myself I would buy a USB extension cord and HDMI extension cord, and extend the console rather than the controllers.

It's a bit of a bother to scootch up to the reset button to use the save state option, and not sure why they didn't program an option where you press the select+start+A+B buttons together or input the konami code.

My sister laughed when I tried both options, but seriously, that should have been an option. I'm lazy, I don't want to move from the couch.

Extending the console rather than the controllers and having the tiny adorable machine next to me seems more reasonable.

[Dracos]

I ...still have the original, so perhaps don't get it.  Neat hearing some really got it though :)

[Anastasia]

Likewise. I want it myself, but I don't have the disposable income right now.