I’ll admit when I first saw the announcement for the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. With Nintendo’s consistent packaging and repackaging of NES games—between the multiple releases on the various eShops to the NES Remix games themselves—that yet another version of “remixed nostalgia” made the cynic in me shadow all other feelings.
And then I played Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition and was immediately whisked back to my youth. I was a literal baby when the first Nintendo World Championships took place, but I could only imagine the fervour that must have swept the nation for gamers. A little me could have only dreamed of a chance to show off my gamer skills in a proper competition—the closest being a now impossible-to-find episode of Video & Arcade Top 10.
Nowadays, competitive gaming is a huge, legitimate space, and it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in it—whether enjoying it from the sidelines or making legitimate attempts to join. But what I love about Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is how it feels less like an attempt to offer something that could be considered a competitive test of skill and more like a celebration of the glory days of gaming competition, focusing on the fun as much as a challenge.
While the original Nintendo World Championships consisted of a selection of challenges between Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is comprised of a whole host of classic NES games, ranging from the original three Super Mario Bros. to Metroid, Kirby’s Adventure, Kid Icarus, and more.
In the same spirit as the original competition, players are given a variety of challenges to complete as quickly as possible, which is actually a lot more challenging than it seems. In quite a few ways, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition feels like a sincere love letter to the art and community of speedrunning.
There’s not a whole lot to say about the gameplay in Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition because it’s all so incredibly straightforward. If you’ve played any of the Nintendo games that are on offer, you’ll have a pretty clear idea of what to do. But it’s the little touches that really make the whole experience stand out.
One of the first ways it achieves this is by balancing its difficulty to ease players into the concept of speedrunning. Since every game has different controls and a very different game feel, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition starts players off with basic challenges that can almost seem trivial.
One of the first challenges in the original Donkey Kong is to climb the first ladder. It’s a simple enough challenge that modern players who may have never experienced the classics can get a concrete understanding of how the game feels and plays, while veteran players will be looking for any way they can start climbing the ladder within a fraction of a second.
Once you’ve become familiarized with the controls and games, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition starts throwing genuinely intense challenges at you that test your every gaming ability—like needing to clear Super Mario Bros. World 1-4 in the fastest time possible. This is added by the raw speed of the game, allowing you to quickly restart a challenge if you make a mistake.
“While it may seem inconsequential, it’s that little bit of extra information that helps players ascertain when and where they need to make specific inputs in order to get the best times.”
However, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition also provides players with a lot of useful information to improve their speedrunning ability. This is done primarily with its side-by-side screens. After clearing any challenge, players can try again for a better time with their previous attempt playing simultaneously beside the current one.
It’s an incredibly effective way for players to practice their speedrunning. They always place their previous best attempt in their periphery, constantly looking for any potential shortcut or small ways they can maximize their time. Adding to this is the way a controller is always displayed on screen, with every button press illuminated during play.
While it may seem inconsequential, that little bit of extra information helps players ascertain when and where they need to make specific inputs to get the best times. This is especially helpful when watching a replay of your best time, which also records all the button presses during a run.
But Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition isn’t just a training ground for improving your speedrunning skills. Naturally, the competitive nature of a tournament means it’s best enjoyed with other players, and I gotta say this is where the game really shines. Since this was an early review copy, I was unable to test the game’s online modes. However, I was able to test the local co-op with some friends, and it was an absolute blast.
Much like with Mario Kart, up to eight players can choose between doing a collection of five challenges or picking them individually. Also, like Mario Kart, playing the five-set Challenge Packs will reward players with points based on their position, whereas selecting individually will just give players individual “wins.”
Even when playing with friends, there’s an exhilarating rush to complete these challenges faster than anyone else, and seeing everyone else screen alongside you only adds to the tension. What’s more, thanks to the game’s brilliant design, players are given ample opportunity to understand the rules of each game before diving into a competition—with every game’s button function on screen at all times, and even allowing players to practice before starting a round.
It creates a perfectly level playing field, where no player is held back by that one friend who never explains the rules or who never grew up playing these classic games. Every player can easily understand how to play each of these very different games, and all that’s left is their raw skill. And even that is balanced, as you’re naturally in a rush to beat the best time, so you’re prone to making mistakes, but it’s never so unbalanced that people can’t have fun.
“Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition feels like a loving tribute to the early era of gaming, specifically Nintendo gaming.”
The last thing I wanted to mention in this review is just how much Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition feels like a loving tribute to the early era of gaming, specifically Nintendo gaming. It started when I booted the game up. The game provided a little explanation about what the Nintendo World Championships were (also making a little joke about how some players probably weren’t even born when they were happening).
But it went even further in the profile-making section, asking me to choose my favourite NES game from a list of EVERY game released on the NES. And I don’t mean every mainline Nintendo game; every game from Friday the 13th to Batman The Video Game was on this list. It immediately brought me back to my youth, scrolling through to see all the—in retrospect—terrible games I loved playing back in the early 90s.
And even on a functional level, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition feels like a love letter to that era of games. While the game is perfectly serviceable while playing with Joy-Cons or even the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, it feels particularly well-designed for the Nintendo Online NES controllers.
If players make it to the “Legend” challenges, they’re provided with helpful tips from the “Classified Information” page ripped straight from the issues of Nintendo Power. Even the retro 80s soundtrack and overall aesthetic give the game an old-school vibe that feels incredibly appropriate—as opposed to games that just reference the 80s without really capturing what made that era so special for nerds and gamers alike.
I genuinely didn’t think I’d have a lot to say about Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, but it really got its hooks in me. Outside of its deliberate nostalgic trappings, it is an incredibly designed and surprisingly fun game for serious players and groups looking for a fun time. If you grew up with the classics or even want to experience them in a new, exciting way, then you’ll definitely find something to love here.
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition can be pre-purchased for $29.99 USD/$39.99 CAD.
