Classic NES Series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Classic NES Series
The original box art is used with the title, Classic NES Series, on the top
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Various
Series	Classic NES Series
Release date(s)	2004-2005 (various)
Genre(s)	Various
Mode(s)	Various
Rating(s)	ESRB: E
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Media	catridges

The Classic NES Series in North America (Famicom Mini Series in Japan and NES Classics in Europe) are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom and Famicom Disk System emulated on the Game Boy Advance. A special edition Game Boy Advance SP, which has a similar color pattern to a NES/Famicom controller, was released to go along with these games. The color of the cartridges match the color of the original NES carts.

All of these games were released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Famicom in Japan.

1 List of games
- 1.1 Famicom Mini
- 1.2 International release
  - 1.2.1 Series 1
  - 1.2.2 Series 2
2 Comparison between the regions
3 Reception
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 English
- 5.2 Japanese

[edit] List of games

[edit] Famicom Mini

The Famicom Mini Series was released in Japan.

[edit] Series 1

In Japan, Famicom mini games featured replicas of the original boxes, suspended in plastic.

Those who bought all the games in one series could order a special collection box from Club Nintendo.

Games displayed in the special collection box

Released on February 14, 2004:

Vol. #01 - Super Mario Bros.
Vol. #02 - Donkey Kong
Vol. #03 - Ice Climber
Vol. #04 - Excitebike
Vol. #05 - Zelda no Densetsu
Vol. #06 - Pac-Man
Vol. #07 - Xevious
Vol. #08 - Mappy
Vol. #09 - Bomberman
Vol. #10 - Star Soldier

[edit] Series 2

Released May 21, 2004:

Vol. #11 - Mario Bros.
Vol. #12 - Clu Clu Land
Vol. #13 - Balloon Fight
Vol. #14 - Wrecking Crew
Vol. #15 - Dr. Mario
Vol. #16 - Dig Dug
Vol. #17 - Takahashi Meijin Bouken Shima
Vol. #18 - Makaimura
Vol. #19 - Twinbee
Vol. #20 - Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu

[edit] Series 3

Released on August 10, 2004:

Vol. #21 - Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese version)
Vol. #22 - The Mysterious Castle of Murasame
Vol. #23 - Metroid
Vol. #24 - Kid Icarus
Vol. #25 - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Vol. #26 - Shin Oni Ga Shima (New Ogre Island)
Vol. #27 - Famicom Detective Club
Vol. #28 - Famicom Detective Club Part II
Vol. #29 - Akumajou Dracula (a part of the Castlevania series)
Vol. #30 - SD Gundam World: Scramble Wars

In addition, Super Robot Wars 2 was released as a promotional item alongside Super Robot Wars GC.

[edit] International release

The Famicom Mini Series was retitled the Classic NES Series (in North America) and NES Classics (in Europe).

[edit] Series 1

North America: June 7, 2004
Europe: July 9, 2004

[edit] Series 2

North America: October 25, 2004
Europe: January 7, 2005

[edit] Comparison between the regions

The Classic NES Series consists of less than half as many games as the Famicom series. If the Japanese and international Castlevania series games are considered equivalents, then the international series consists of 40% of what the Japanese received.
Some highly popular games were left off the Classic NES Series. Some of these were released on the GBA in another form, such as Tetris (as Tetris Worlds), Super Mario Bros. 2 (as Super Mario Advance), and Super Mario Bros. 3 (as Super Mario Advance 4). Even so, a few games that are not associated with the NES, such as Pac-Man, are available. However, Super Mario Bros. 2 was released for the Famicom series.
The Japanese release of Ice Climber features the seal Topis while the international copy reflects its remade characters including the yeti Topis.

[edit] Reception

Bomberman - Jeff Gerstmann complained that a Bomberman without multiplayer is "hardly a Bomberman at all." ^[1]
Metroid - Seen as redundant, since it already included as an unlockable extra in the remake Metroid: Zero Mission as well as in Metroid Prime.^[2].
Pac-Man - Previously released on Pac-Man Collection, which included Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, and Pac-Man Arrangement for no additional charge.^{[citation needed]} It was also released on the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Edition, although the latter collections featured the arcade version rather than the NES version which was modified to fit a typical television screen.^{[citation needed]}
Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda - Game and Watch versions were already released as part of Game and Watch Gallery 4 which also included Donkey Kong Junior and Donkey Kong 3. However, the Game & Watch versions of these games are completely different from the NES games.

Some revieweres were annoyed that the Classic NES Series versions featured differences from the original. For example, Craig Harris complained that Xevious had an automatic firing setting, which destroyed the difficulty of the original.^[3] Reviewers also complained about the lack of the pie/cement level in Donkey Kong.^[4]^[5] In Super Mario Bros., the screen ratio aspect was altered, causing odd graphical appearances.^[6]^[7]

The prices of the Classic NES Series and previous rereleases were also criticized. Many revieweres noted that $20 was a high price for one game.^[8]^[5] Both GameSpot and IGN noted that Nintendo had given away The Legend of Zelda for free in the Collector's Edition bonus disc, although they noted that the Classic NES Series version was portable.^[9]^[10] However, reviewers consistently hailed The Legend of zelda as one of the games worth the cost of the cartridge.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] The Classic NES Series games Excitebike, Donkey Kong, and Ice Climber has also been previously released on the e-Reader at a fraction of the cartridge cost.