The original Legend of Zelda was a game I got hooked on too, and when I couldn’t figure out how to beat Ganon in the end, to my surprise, it was my late grandmother who taught me how to get the Silver Arrow. I can still recall how she could easily navigate the complex final stage from memory, at 70-plus years old.
Indeed, the NES is a console very close to my heart. As a man born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s, how could it not be?
Twenty-plus years later, the classic NES games are making a comeback, and I daresay, to any one in my generation who owns a 3DS, the Ultimate NES Remix is a must-buy.
An Overview
Ultimate NES Remix contains bit-sized stages from different NES hits – sort of like a sampler, but with a twist. Thinking of it as a sampler was initially a turn-off for me, that’s why I hesitated on getting the original version (NES Remix for Wii U) back when I still had a Wii U.
But being a sampler in this case is actually a good thing. You don’t have to go through the earlier, easier stages of a game before you reach the popular or exciting ones. For instance, one “remix” (also in the video below), is Mario stage 3-3, probably my favorite stage from this game, and it is easily accessible early in the game.
Let me contradict myself a little bit here. In Ultimate NES Remix, most games and stages are locked at the start. You have to earn stars by completing unlocked stages to unlock new games and/or new stages. Still, whatever’s available at the start are usually the good ones, so there’s really no downtime.
It Guides You, Not Spoon-feed You
A classic characteristic of older games is that it just throws you right into the action without any sort of hints. It’s up to you to figure out everything – your goal, how to fight or avoid enemies, and even the controls! I love this setup, especially as opposed to more recent games that tell you everything you need to know at the start, even the super obvious ones.
In NES Remix, you sometimes start in the middle of a stage of a game you’ve never played. So it’s only natural that you would need a few hints, and the game delivers admirably. When you start a stage, it gives you a task; usually something simple like get the hammer, and it’s still up to you to figure out how to reach it – sure it’s by jumping, but how do you jump?
These tasks even teaches you new things, like how to one-punch knockdown some opponents in Punch Out!!, some of which were unknown to me before playing this game.
Other Features
I haven’t unlocked all the games yet, so I’ll refer to Wikipedia on this one. According to the site, the game includes 16 NES hits ranging from Mario 1-3 to Zelda 2.
Unfortunately, this does not include a favorite of mine, Urban Champion, but UC is in the original NES Remix game (I’ll definitely get this if ever I get another Wii U). It does include Punch-out!! though, so as far as punching another guy, I’m good.
For each stage, you can also view the regional rankings based on stage completion time and get an idea on what the absolute best time for a stage is and how it can be done by using the Replay option
.
I’ve only gotten first place in two stages so far. One was easy enough that 50 people were tied for first. The second one was a bit harder as there were only 5 of us in the end, but it involved Mario stage 3-3, which as I mentioned before, was my favorite stage in this game.
I was so happy to finish it quickly that I took a recording of the Replay and posted it to Facebook, so I’m posting it here too. I don’t have a way to capture 3DS gameplay, so I’m just video-ing my 3DS here. Sorry.
Yay! Number One!
Conclusion
As I said, if you’re in my generation and you own a 3DS, you have to buy this game.
I’m actually looking forward to a sequel already. And though I don’t have immediate plans of buying another Wii U, I know that if someday I do, I have 3 NES remix games I can look forward to playing.
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