Welcome to... not VC Weekly, but instead N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System. Written by Dennis Tummers with images and formatting by Sam C Gittins

Earlier this month Nintendo went and released small console which has been causing quite a big stir! It's based on their first home console the NES, has thirty classic games and is smaller than most modern game controllers. Anyway enough from me and on with the NES games! 

If you are fortunate enough to nab one of these little guys at release, lucky you! If not, this write-up may convince you not to cancel your pre-order for wave 2. N-Europe HQ (well not that we have a HQ, but figuratively speaking) has had the pleasure to get going with the NES Classic Mini for the past week or so. Our verdict can be found below!

Who would have thought a little device like the NES Classic Mini could drop such a bombshell? Well it did, and after its announcement in July it quickly became the most sought after piece of gaming hardware in the world. Eat that, Playstation VR! About a week ago the machine finally hit the shelves (and was sold out in a flash), and I managed to get my retro-craving hands on one.

In the small box (about the size of the New Nintendo 3DS box) you can find your NES Classic Mini, a controller, a HDMI cable and a micro-USB cable (minus the power plug). To me the lack of a power plug is not a big issue, since I have plenty from various phones and tablets. Plus, I can handily plug it into a USB port on my TV which delivers enough power. It is just one of Nintendo’s way of cutting the costs, like they do with the 3DS chargers not being bundled anymore.

The console, controller and that glorious retro-styled packaging!

The NES Classic Mini itself is cute as a button. It is small, light but the detail of the product is great, mimicking the classic Nintendo Entertainment System almost perfectly. On the front two controller inputs can be found, as well as the Power and Reset button. If you flip it around you will find the micro USB port for power and the HDMI out for video. If you would open it up, you would find a small single-board system, similar to for example a Raspberry Pi.

Controllers are connected to the NES Classic Mini with the same plug as the Wii uses. This has two advantages. First you can use the controller to play your NES games on the Wii and WiiU Virtual Console by plugging them into your Wiimote. Second, you can use your Wii Classic Controller as a surrogate. Since I missed out on a second controller (forgot to pre-order that one…), I could still enjoy the 2P games. An added bonus is that the Home button functions as the Reset button on the NES Classic Mini (a button which you may need to press quite often, but more on that later).

The set comes with one controller, which also is a near-perfect clone of the original NES controller. The buttons are a bit smoother and the plug is different, but it maintains that slightly uncomfortable but oh so familiar rectangle shape. Playing it is a breeze. And as an added bonus, it lets you sit close to the screen so you won’t miss any of the action! This is because the cable is less than a meter long. It did bring back memories of myself with my nose almost against the screen playing the Super Nintendo many years ago. But in this age of wall-filling TVs, you want to get some distance between you and the action. It can all be fixed with longer HDMI and power cables or extension cords, but this is a mistake Nintendo should not have made.

The mini console in all its aesthetically pleasing form factor.

Setting up the little bugger is easy, and you are in business in a blitz. This throws you right into the game selection screen, where you have the chance to play 30 original NES titles. The featured games are a great mix of what the original NES had to offer. There are platformers, sports titles, adventure games, shoot-em-ups, single-player and two-player games. Even if you just want to sample all the games a bit, it will probably keep you busy for hours. But chances are you will waste many hours (re)playing evergreens like Kirby’s Adventure or Mario Bros. 3. My biggest enjoyment was playing games I have never played before, like Punch Out!!, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus and StarTropics. If you are a Super Smash Bros. player but not a retro gamer, this little device can teach you a lot about how these characters started their career!

Thirty games is all you will get since no new games can be added. The system is locked tight and lacks internet access. Nintendo could have included it, but not doing so adds to the easy pick up, set up and play experience.

If you are done playing one game, you can hit the reset button (or Home if you use the Wii Classic Controller) to return to the home screen. Here you can choose another game, or save your progress for later. Every single game has 4 save slots. There is even a protection against overwriting your files, since it needs you to hold the A button for a while.

And the lovely controller with its almost non-existent lead!

If you are not in-game, the home screen helps extend the retro vibe with fitting graphics and music. In it you can sort your games in a various of ways such as release date, number of players, alphabetical et cetera. It also lets you adjust the screen with 3 options. 4:3 Is the standard option, but for a more retro feel you can add scan lines to get that blurry CRT screen vibe. Finally pixel perfect shows a crisp clear picture, for retro gaming with a modern twist.

The menu also gives access to the game manuals. Well, it gives you a QR code to access them with your smart device. It would be easier if it would be viewable on the NES Classic Mini itself. However, it is cool that the website lets you view both the original scanned manual as well as a modern, easier to navigate version.

Skipping from game to game, accessing the menu, saving and loading, it all goes fluently on this machine. Not surprising if you compare the computing power of the four Cortex A7 processor cores the NES Classic Mini has with the 1,79MHz single-core of the original NES. It is safe to say that it is the best NES emulation on a Nintendo device yet. News around the web is that in game players are experience some input lag (something you don't want playing games such as Gradius!). However, Nintendo already responded with the tip of putting your TV in game mode. I played it that way and did not experience any lag whatsoever.

Such a wonderful menu, the future of VC releases on the Switch hopefully.

So, is the NES Classic Mini worth its price of 4 amiibo's (5 if you throw in a second controller)? For me, a very big YES! Not only is it a great retro experience, it is also a cool collectible, and the price is fair if you consider that you pay about double if you want all games on the Virtual Console. With some great hardware as a bonus.

Of course, if you already bought a number of games on VC it may feel cheap of Nintendo to charge you again. On the one hand this is true, but on the other hand is this a great way to get new people involved with Nintendo at an entry level price. Or get the older generation in touch with Nintendo again (followed by a Nintendo game on iOS, followed by a new console. You start to think someone at Nintendo knows what he is doing). It would have been nice if Nintendo would offer the games at reduced price on VC though. And for the price of a current-gen Playstation or XBox title, you can play 30 games in perfect emulation on a unique piece of hardware. 30 Nintendo games on a fully licensed product! I can't wait to spend some more cold winter days basking in retro gaming goodness! 

You might have played Super Mario Bros. 3 before, but not quite like this.

From the perspective of having played many NES games on the Virtual Console across various formats over the years, I have to say that the emulation employed by Nintendo European Research and Development (NERD) is nothing short of spectacular! Then again we should expect nothing less from the same team who are responsible for bringing us the DS VC emulator on the Wii U alongside other technical innovations, because it has been done with such aplomb though this certainly now creates a gulf in quality between the games emulated on this new micro console and the previously available VC releases. 

Personally if I had to pick between playing one of the thirty games available on a format of my choice then this would surely be it, I had the pleasure of playing through Super Mario Bros. 3 in its entirety over the course of MadDog Marathon and what I experienced can only be described as the most enjoyable time I've ever spent with the game, I'd even go as far to say that it was better than playing the versions which were included in Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES or even the GBA remake even though they have their own worthy enhancements. If you want to experience many classic NES games in the most authentic and user-friendly way possible with all the modern comforts such as save-states at the touch of a button then this is without a doubt the best way to do so.

Indeed with the Nintendo Switch on the horizon for early next year, it raises some rather important questions towards what the future of the Virtual Console might be. Naturally I would expect the existing library which has already been amassed on the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Console libraries to become available when the service hopefully launches on Nintendo's conceptually promising new machine. However if we are to now go on to expect to see at least NES games emulated at the same quality as on this Classic Mini console then are we to assume that a SNES version will be next? Regardless if this is a one-off success story or a potential glimpse into the future of playing digital Nintendo games, we can safely say that this is a machine worth purchasing right now... just as soon as stocks are hopefully replenished rather quickly; who'd have thought it, Nintendo might well have a home console that they need to keep manufacturing well into 2017 afterall!   

Verdict: Well worth the price for what is currently the best way to experience some truly classic NES games.

That's it for this special insight into Nintendo's latest Classic Mini console which might return again should we see any other machines released. So until then, enjoy the rest of the year and Game On!