Ever since Nintendo revealed the NES Classic Edition couple months ago, all of my retro gaming friends have been in a tizzy. They can’t wait for this mini NES to drop, even though they’ve likely been playing plenty of Castlevania and Metroid through emulators already. But it’s not all coming up rainbows in this minified version of the Mushroom Kingdom.

USGamer editor Bob Mackey was lucky enough to have some hands on time with the new mini NES and while the nostalgia factor is high, he did notice several downsides. Reading through his impressions, I really get the sense of just how spoiled all of us have become in our modern age of technology. He points out the “startlingly barebones experience” with the lack of physical game manuals. You just scan a QR code to view the manuals on Nintendo’s website.

There’s also no online functionality, both in terms of gameplay and in terms of getting more games. You know, like how the original NES was. The classically-styled controllers are wired, so you can’t sit 30 feet away in your expansive living room. You just have to put up with short cords… which might not be so bad considering that some wireless controllers just plain suck.

If you want to change games, you actually have to get up off your butt and hit the physical reset button on the console. There’s no “home” button on the controller. If you want to access one of the four save states in any of the 30 games, you also have to press the reset button. Remember that many classic NES games didn’t even have save slots and even if they did, they had pre-determined save points. We’re spoiled with “save whenever you want,” even if you have to press the reset button to get at them.

But perhaps it’s not fair to compare the NES Classic Edition with the original on which it is based. Then again, is the mini NES really competing against the iPhone App Store and the PlayStation 4? Or is it in a market segment all its own? The new trailer is below. Look for the mini NES to ship November 11 for $60.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62bI0zItF6g]

Via USGamer

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