Following the wild success of their NES Classic Mini console last Christmas, rumours have swirled ever since that Nintendo planned to launch a mini version of (arguably) their most popular console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Today, the Big N have made the console’s existence official.
While no Australian details have been confirmed at the time of writing, Nintendo of America have indicated that the console will launch September 29 in the US and Europe, and will retail for $79.99 USD. This, its worth noting, is ten dollars dearer than the NES Classic was on launch, but it may be because of what’s in the box.
The full list of games included with the console are:
- Contra III: The Alien Wars
- Donkey Kong Country
- Earthbound
- F-Zero
- Final Fantasy III
- Kirby’s Dream Course
- Kirby Superstar
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Megaman X
- Secret of Mana
- StarFox
- Super Castlevania III
- Super Ghouls and Ghosts
- Super Mario Kart
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- Super Mario World
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- Super Metroid
- Super Punch Out!!
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo
An embarrassment of riches, we think you’ll agree. There’s one more title in this collection that’s not on the list, however, because it deserves a special mention of its own. StarFox 2 is something of a holy grail for fans of the sci-fi shooter series. Production began on the game in 1994 but it was never completed. The project floundered, was later cancelled and the game never launched. While there’s been a ROM version of the game floating around for many years, the SNES Classic will become the first time Nintendo has ever officially released the game to the public. You’ll have to work for it if you want to play it, however. The game will only become available after completing certain actions in the original StarFox.
Additionally, in a change over the NES Classic, the SNES Classic will ship with two controllers in the box. The NES Classic shipped with one controller but a spare could be picked up for $10 USD. This may account for the jump in the SNES Classic’s overall price.
Nintendo have also promised that they will be making adjustments to their production plans for the SNES Classic. Stock shortages plagued the NES Classic’s short lifecycle and Nintendo aren’t looking to run into the same issues again. That said (and despite The Iris’ longstanding policy of urging you not to preorder things) if you want one, preordering is going to be your best bet. You know and we know damned well that these things are going to sell out.
We’ll update this story when Australian pricing and launch details come to hand.
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