Nintendo seized control of the otherwise slow summer news period following E3 by announcing the SNES Classic Edition, following up on the explosive success of its predecessor, the NES Classic Edition. This plug-and-play retro mini console will come loaded with 21 classic titles, covering a lot of the platform’s essentials. What counts as essential will vary depending on who you ask, however, and Nintendo has taken that into account regionally, since the Japanese version (the Super Famicom Mini) comes with a slightly different lineup of games, including Panel de Pon (known here as Tetris Attack) and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
In addition to those two, the Super Famicom Mini also adds The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, and Super Formation Soccer. Apart from Fire Emblem, the other three titles were all released in the United States as well. In order to maintain the cap of 21 games, however, sacrifices had to be made. From the western version, but not included in the Super Famicom Mini, are Super Castlevania IV, Super Punch-Out, Kirby’s Dream Course, and EarthBound.
These differences will no doubt send some dedicated non-Japanese fans down an online rabbit hole searching for the Japanese version. Tetris Attack and the prospect of a new (to us) Fire Emblem game are certainly tempting — Tetris Attack is actually included on our list of titles we wish were added to the list. By our estimation, however, the four titles missing from the Japanese version would be more sorely missed. Regardless of which region you buy your retro console in, one of the main draws for all versions is the never-released Star Fox 2, which unlocks after users beat the first level of the original Star Fox.
The SNES Classic Edition will launch on September 29 in the United States for $80 (or whatever exorbitant price you manage to find it for on eBay subsequently). It will be produced in a limited run, though Nintendo promises to do so at higher volumes than the NES Classic, which has been notoriously difficult to find. It also comes with two wired controllers instead of one, which will sport five-foot cables instead of the stumpy three-foot ones on the NES Classic’s controller.
