Nintendo Mini NES is an 80s themed throw back. It’s for anyone who wants to play 30 of the best games for the console. It’s a truck load of classic NES games like Super Mario Bros 3, Legend of Zelda and Castlevania. Overall it’s an impressively light weight system that outputs significantly better video quality than the Wii U virtual console. However, it has a major flaw that could also explain the pricing as well.
Mini NES doesn’t use wireless controllers and that could be a game breaker
The system appears to be short in one area. In what appears to be a design decision to keep costs low or appeal to the retro consumer by recreating the original NES wholesale, Nintendo decided to go with wired controller cords for the Mini NES. This makes sense in some way because you will need to hit the restart on the console to get to the menu screen.
However, today’s gamers are completely unfamiliar with wired controllers even if they grew up playing on consoles that used them. So, this can definitely be troublesome. Plus the cord is quite short too which means you will have to drag your couch or chair very close to the system and the screen.
In today’s wireless tech world this feels like an odd design choice. We understand the need to appeal to retro gaming but we think this is one feature that doesn’t deserve a comeback. The need to implement CRT monitor look is understandable but literally no one finds wired controllers appealing anymore.
If you have a big TV or home theater set up, your best bet is to consider picking up a long HDMI cord just so you can keep the Mini NES within reach. However, we still think this wouldn’t turn off the gamers too much and the constantly vanishing pre-order stocks for the console on sites like Amazon is evidence of that.