Classic NES Series

Classic NES Series
The Famicom Mini (left) and Classic NES Series (right) packaging of Super Mario Bros.
Genre(s)	Various
Developer(s)	Nintendo[a]
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
First release	Super Mario Bros. February 14, 2004
Latest release	Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Taisen December 16, 2004

The Classic NES Series, known as the Famicom Mini^[b] series in Japan^[1] and NES Classics in Europe and Australia,^[2] is a line of emulated Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom Disk System games, published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2004 to commemorate the NES's 20th anniversary. In Japan, the series was released in three "volumes" of ten games, plus two additional games available in limited quantities as raffle prizes. A smaller selection of these games were released in Western territories, split between two waves of releases. The games received mixed reviews, with critics praising how enjoyable most of the games remained to play after 20 years, but criticizing the high price point of each game.

The Family Computer, commonly shortened to Famicom, was Nintendo's first cartridge-based home video game console, originally released in Japan in 1983.^[3] The system would later be redesigned for Western markets as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was released in North America in 1985 and Europe in 1986.^[3] The Classic NES Series was developed to celebrate the collective 20th anniversary of these systems' launches.^[4] Each game was priced at ¥2,000 in Japan, US$20 in North America, and £15 in Europe.^[2][5][6]

The Classic NES Series games are largely unchanged from their original releases, though some games have received minor modifications, such as an updated translation in The Legend of Zelda and a new autofire function in Xevious.^[7][8] Due to having to fit the GBA's lower screen resolution, the games are not displayed in their original aspect ratio.^[1] All games in the series include a sleep mode feature to temporarily suspend play.^[4] The games also allow data to be saved to the cartridge, such as high scores or game progress, a feature not present in many of the original Famicom and NES releases.^[4] Games with multiplayer functionality support single cartridge multiplayer using the Game Link Cable or the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter.^[9][10]

In Japan, the Famicom Mini series was targeted at collectors.^[5] Games were individually numbered and sold in clear packaging with cartridge-sized cardboard sleeves that resembled miniature versions of the games' original Famicom box art.^[1][5] The cartridges in the first two volumes were colored red and white to match the Famicom console,^[4] while the cartridges in the third volume, dubbed the Disk System Selection, were colored yellow to match the Famicom Disk System's disks.^[11] The Famicom Mini games' availability was limited, with each volume's games being discontinued after three months.^[5][11] Members of the Japanese Club Nintendo rewards program could register the serial numbers for all ten games in a single volume to receive a free collector's box in which to store them.^[12] In the West, the games used standard GBA packaging designed after their original NES box art, and were released on light gray cartridges based on the default color of NES cartridges.^[1]

A special edition Game Boy Advance SP in Famicom colors was released in Japan alongside the series, while Western regions received a system patterned to resemble a NES console and controller.^[1] The Game Boy Micro was also made available in Famicom colors when it launched in September 2005; a 20th anniversary reissue of Famicom Mini: Super Mario Bros. was released alongside it.^[13]

A total of 32 games were developed, only 12 of which saw release outside of Japan.

Upon launch of the Famicom Mini series in Japan, 1 million units were sold within eight days.^[30] The re-release of Super Mario Bros. went on to become the 13th best selling Game Boy Advance game, selling over 2.2 million copies.^[31]

The Classic NES Series garnered mixed critical reception. While most reviewers found that the games were still enjoyable to play, the cost was a common point of criticism. Many believed that the price for a single game compared unfavorably to that of contemporary video game compilations, which often featured multiple games from the same era.^[32][33] Craig Harris of IGN noted that several of the available games were already playable on the Game Boy Advance in less expensive formats, such as via cards for the Nintendo e-Reader and as unlockables in Animal Crossing.^{[16][17][18][32]} Metroid's inclusion in the series was considered redundant by Bob Colayco of GameSpot, since it was already included as an unlockable extra in its GBA remake, Metroid: Zero Mission.^[27] Both GameSpot and IGN noted that Nintendo had recently given away The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for free in the Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition bonus disc for GameCube, although they conceded that the Classic NES Series version was portable.^[34][35] Reviewers generally believed that while some games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania were potentially worth their asking price, others like Ice Climber, Donkey Kong, and Dr. Mario did not offer enough gameplay to justify the high cost of the cartridge.^{[33][36][37][38][39]}

Some critics were annoyed by the games' altered screen ratio, which caused odd graphical artifacts.^[1][40][41] Reviewers additionally noted that because the games were based on their NES releases, some games were missing features present in other versions. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot said of Bomberman that "a Bomberman game without multiplayer is hardly a Bomberman game at all."^[42] Similarly, reviewers lamented a missing level in Donkey Kong, which was present in its original arcade version but removed from the NES release.^[16][36][43] Harris also felt that the new autofire function in Xevious removed much of the game's challenge.^[7]

• Official website (in Japanese)