Everything you need to know about the Super NES Classic Edition

Doing a full review of a piece of hardware like the Super NES Classic Edition is kind of an odd concept. The $80/£80 system itself is really just a vessel to transmit a handful of well-remembered classic games from Nintendo's glorious 16-bit console past. To do that job adequately, all the system has to do is produce a more-or-less accurate emulation of the decades-old Super NES hardware (it does) with graphics that look properly scaled on an HDTV (they are) and two included controllers that have a responsive and authentic feel (they do).

Beyond that, any review of the Super NES Classic is just re-evaluating a bunch of decades-old games to see if they stand the test of time (and the newly released Star Fox 2, which we'll review in more detail later in the week). And while we'd love to see a few more obscure cult classics on the list of included titles (Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Tetris Attack, Ogre Battle, etc. etc.), it's hard to find fault with the selection of 20 varied and well-remembered games Nintendo has put together here.

Rather than belabor those basic and unremarkable points, we've put together the following selection of lesser-known facts and observations about the system gleaned from a weekend of nostalgic play. Consider this our attempt to provide you with everything you need to know (and some things you probably don't) about the Super NES Classic Edition before you go out hunting for the hardware that goes on sale this weekend.

Performance and Features

• Just like the NES Classic Edition, you can save progress for any game at any point by tapping the reset button and storing the game state in one of four "Suspend Point" slots. But the Super NES Classic Edition also supports the in-game save features originally included in 15 of the included games. This means things like game progress, unlocked levels, high scores, etc. can be stored using the same process the original game makers intended, even if you don't start from an existing Suspend Point.
• The Super NES Classic Edition sports a "rewind" feature that lets you revert a game to the state it was in a few seconds before. The feature isn't exactly easy to use, though. First, you have to hit reset on the system itself to go to the system menu, then tap down to the Suspend Point and tap X to enter a rewind menu (you can also choose to rewind from previously saved Suspend Points). There, you can choose to go back up to roughly 40 or 50 seconds—the exact length seems to vary depending on the complexity of the inputs and game scenes. The L and R buttons can jump back and forth through the rewind menu at 10-second intervals, but more accuracy than that requires letting the recording play out in real time. Once you've chosen the point to resume, though, it takes only a second to jump right back into the gameplay from that moment.
• The Classic includes the option to use your own gameplay footage as a screensaver. If you leave the system on for a few minutes, an animated Mario figure will replay footage recorded in the last minute or so before one of the saved "Suspend Points." The screensaver can also play the standard attract modes/title screens included in the original game cartridges themselves.
• The system's included "CRT filter," which tries to replicate the lower resolution and scanlines of an old tube TV, is much more subtle than it was on the NES Classic Edition. Much less "fuzz" blurs the square edges of the individual pixels, and there's a finer gradation of color in the simulated scanlines. This could come down to a difference in the internal resolutions of the original systems, but it seems more like a deliberate change that softens the overall effect.
• Even though the Super NES Classic Edition is rated for five watts, it only draws 2.3W from the provided USB adapter. The USB Micro power cord can be plugged in to any sufficiently powerful source, including a laptop or the USB power outputs on many modern TVs.
• The Super NES Classic Edition controllers are backward compatible with the NES Classic Edition, which is convenient if you never invested in a second controller for the previous system. The d-pad, Select, Start, and B and A buttons are mapped correctly, while the Y button maps to A and the X button maps to B on the NES Classic (L and R do nothing). The old NES Classic controllers are also forward compatible to the Super NES Classic, but the missing face and shoulder buttons make this a nearly useless feature. Both controllers seem to work for classic games on the Wii and Wii U as well.
• It takes about seven seconds after turning the system on for the menu to appear on screen. After turning the system off, the screen displays a "Shutting Down" message for about three seconds before going black.

Style

• The Super NES Classic Edition improves on the NES Classic edition's three-foot controller cords with wired controllers that reach about five feet (still shorter than the eight feet of a classic Super NES controller, though). You might want to invest in longer USB and HDMI cables if you're planning to sit far away from your big-screen TV, though; the included cables measure roughly five feet each.
• The black box that surrounded the gameplay on the NES Classic Edition has been replaced with a selection of 11 colorful borders on the Super NES Classic Edition. I particularly like the laser grid, which slowly changes colors and pulsates depending on the state of the game screen.
• The Super NES Classic Edition menu is an odd mix of pixellated borders and sharper box art and lettering that's a bit off-putting. The design seems to overuse color gradients on the Super NES' limited palette to try for a more robust look, but it ends up just looking muddy in a lot of places (including the Super Nintendo logo along the bottom). The more limited colors and sharper pixel lines on the NES Classic Edition menu were much easier on the eyes.
• The games menu can be sorted by title, two-player functionality, most recently played, total number of times played, release date, and publisher. The last of these is not particularly useful, as 14 of the 21 games were published by Nintendo and the other seven by only three other publishers. Sorting games by "two-player" functionality also doesn't differentiate between games with simultaneous and alternating multiplayer capabilities.
• The controller ports are hidden behind a small facade to preserve the look of the miniature replica when the controller isn't plugged in.
• The "eject" button on top of the system is completely ornamental and doesn't even depress.

Other

• You can't just dive into Star Fox 2 the moment you turn on the Super NES Classic Edition. The never-before-released game has to be unlocked by beating the first level of the original Star Fox, which I guess serves as a control tutorial of sorts for the sequel. Still, it seems odd to hide the game behind a small wall when nothing else on the system is similarly limited.
• The six included games released since 1995 have the outdated ESRB rating of "K-A" listed on their menu icons. The Super NES Classic Edition itself, though, is rated "T for Teen," likely due to the inclusion of Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Earthbound, which have received those ratings in past re-releases.
• The menu icon for Star Fox 2 includes a small, official box art image that doesn't seem to exist in larger form anywhere online as of this writing. The box doesn't include an ESRB rating or the "Only for Nintendo" branding that was popular late in the Super NES' life. But it does include the familiar Nintendo Seal of Quality and the Super FX chip logo. Star Fox 2 also includes some teaser text that's barely readable at the menu's scale: "Pilot Cutting Edge Ships Alongside New Crewmates to Defend the Lylat System."
• Of the 21 included games, there are five standouts that Nintendo seems the most intent on promoting, with each getting logos featured on the front of the box, screenshots on the back of the box, and call-outs on the included poster: Super Mario World, F-Zero, Link to the Past, Super Mario Kart, and Star Fox/Star Fox 2. Super Metroid and Donkey Kong Country also appear on at least one of these prominent promotional spots.
• Much like the NES Classic Edition, the back of the quick start instructions has a poster, this time showing screenshots from selected games. The poster says A Link to the Past is "sure to be a chart-topping hit," suggesting Nintendo either reused some old marketing copy or is really committed to its blast-from-the-past styling.
• The Super NES Classic Edition sports the same GNU GPL 2.1 license that the NES Classic Edition used for its open source emulation software.

• Written instructions for the Super NES Classic Edition games are not included in the box or on the system itself, but scans of the original manuals will soon be posted online as they were for the NES Classic Edition.
• The copy on the box promises "over 20 pre-installed games," which is a technically correct description of the 21 included games. The box's description of the controller refers to "special L and R buttons" which haven't really been all that special for decades now. The A, B, X, and Y buttons are also described as enabling "rapid-fire action," which is technically true, we suppose.
• Yoshi's Island throws out the "Super Mario World 2" prefix in all promotional copy and the in-menu alphabetical ordering.