Why the SNES Classic Mini is the most exciting games console of 2017

If the recent response to Microsoft’s Xbox One X has taught us anything it’s that games sell consoles, not hardware specs. That machine may be a 4K-capable behemoth that can deliver unparalleled graphical fidelity, but does it allow you to you play as a babysitting dinosaur and wander around a crayon-drawn world collecting smiley flowers? No, because Yoshi’s Island is a SNES game. As are Mario Kart, Super Castlevania IV and EarthBound.

Once you have that calibre of catalogue to hand, it doesn’t matter how powerful your console is; people are going to buy it anyway. That’s why the SNES sold more than the Sega Mega Drive way back in the ’90s, and it’s why everyone still got excited about the Nintendo Switch earlier this year.

If the NES was the machine that first brought Nintendo to public prominence then it was the SNES that established Mario, Zelda and Metroid as franchises that would endure for decades. Case in point: have you ever gone back and played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Of course you haven’t, because it’s rubbish. Have you ever gone back and played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? Why the hell not? It’s still amazing.

Look, we’re not fools. We know the SNES Classic Mini is an exercise in nostalgia, pure and simple.

But whereas we can count the number of times we actually plugged last year’s NES Classic Mini into our TV before sticking it on a shelf at home, the same thing isn’t going to happen again with this new machine. Of its 21 games, at least half are still an absolute blast to revisit, and we know that because we’ve dug into them again on a proper SNES. If you’ve ever tried picking up an old copy of Super Metroid, then you’ll know that it is both a difficult and expensive task. Mainly because it’s still a ridiculously popular title.

Not only did the SNES’ leap from a 8-bit to 16-bit architecture allow Nintendo to make games with added graphical panache, but it also allowed them to try out totally new concepts, such as riding a kart, spaceship or even a dinosaur. What can we say? We really love Yoshi.

The only inevitable shame with the SNES Classic Mini is the games that are missing from it. That means no Super Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time or Chrono Trigger. Even if this tiny SNES serves up fewer games than the 30-strong catalogue on the NES Classic Mini and does so for more money at US$80, it’s still a good deal. The games you do get are absolute belters.

That said, we’d be more than happy if Nintendo learnt a few lessons from the NES Classic Mini with its latest retro revival. First up, the controller leads for the NES were only 30 inches long, so you were forced to either sit on the floor or push your sofa halfway across your living room in order to play the thing. As you can probably guess, both of those options were immensely annoying. Still, at least you do get two controllers in the box this time round…

While making controllers with longer cables seems like an easy fix for the SNES Classic Mini, we’re less sure it’ll get internet connectivity. Not for online multiplayer – as cool as that would be – but for access to Nintendo’s Virtual Console store. Because how awesome would it be to download Donkey Kong Country 2 after you’re done with the first game? Or Pilotwings, Harvest Moon or Super R-Type, for that matter. Nintendo already has this functionality baked into its Wii and Wii U consoles; surely recreating it for the SNES Classic Mini wouldn’t be too much of an ask? Just take our money, guys.

Either way, we’re unfathomably excited to reacquaint ourselves with so many solid gold hits when the SNES Classic Mini launches on September 29, about a month before the Xbox One X. Which console are you more hyped to get your hands on? Trick question. This isn’t even a debate.