NES Remix

NES Remix
Logo
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Koichi Hayashida
Producer(s)	Yoshiaki Koizumi
Programmer(s)	Koichi Hayashida
Composer(s)	Toshiyuki Sudo
Platform(s)	Wii U,Nintendo 3DS
Release	December 18, 2013 NES Remix NA/EU:December 18, 2013 JP:December 19, 2013 NES Remix 2 JP:April 24, 2014 NA/EU:April 25, 2014 NES Remix Pack JP:April 24, 2014 NA:December 5, 2014 Ultimate NES Remix EU:November 7, 2014 AU:November 8, 2014 NA:December 5, 2014 JP:August 27, 2015
Genre(s)	Action,arcade
Mode(s)	Single-player,multiplayer

NES Remixis a compilation video game series developed and published byNintendofor theWii U.The first and eponymous game was simultaneously announced and released on December 18, 2013, on theNintendo eShopfollowing aNintendo Directpresentation. A second game,NES Remix 2,was released on April 25, 2014. A retail edition consisting of both games, titledNES Remix Pack,was released on April 24, 2014, in Japanand December 5 in North America. Another title,Ultimate NES RemixforNintendo 3DS,was released on November 7–8, 2014 in Europe and Australia, December 5 in North America and August 27, 2015, in Japan.

The first game in the series,NES Remix,is composed of 16 vintageNintendo Entertainment Systemgames with a total of 204 challenges throughout; the second game,NES Remix 2,features 12 additional NES games with a further 169 challenges. Mostly composed of vintage excerpts from games, these compilations also present special categories of stages called remixes to additionally concoct unique challenges not possible in the original games. The purchase of bothNES RemixandNES Remix 2unlocks Championship Mode in the latter, sporting an onlineleaderboardssystem.

Gameplay

Screenshot of NES Remix gameplay

Most challenges are simply excerpts from vintage games, involving timed tasks such asspeedrunning,clearing an area without dying, or defeating a certain number of enemies while utilizing a given power-up.

The remix categories are additionally based on the fundamental reshaping or combination of games, sometimes by blending in more modern graphical features of the Wii U, for a new experience that may even be technologically impossible on the vintageNES.For example: completing a darkened level which is lit only by a spotlight superimposed over the player's character; navigating upon disappearing platforms inSuper Mario Bros.;or playing aDonkey Kongstage asLinkinstead ofMario,challenged by Link's inability to jump.

NES Remix 2contains two particularly substantial remixes. Reminiscent of 1990'sNintendo World Championshipstour across America, theNintendo World Championships Remixis unlocked ifNES Remixis also purchased and its save file is present. This remix pushes players through three successive challenges inSuper Mario Bros.,Super Mario Bros. 3,andDr. Mario,in order to achieve a ranking score on its new onlineleaderboards.Super Luigi Bros.is aLuigithemed remix of the entireSuper Mario Bros.game which is now played reverse-mirrored from right to left. It features Luigi's higher jumping ability which had not been originally introduced until the 1986 Japanese sequelSuper Mario Bros. 2.

Ultimate NES Remixis a Nintendo 3DS game featuring a select compilation of games and challenges from the first two Wii U releases. It uniquely featuresSpeed Mario Bros.,which is the entirety of the originalSuper Mario Bros.running at a much faster speed.Ultimate NES Remixalso has a new mode known asFamicom Remix,which is unlocked by getting all the stars from the original missions. It has all the missions from the original mode, but all the games featured runs on the original Famicom hardware.

Aside fromNintendo World Championships Remix's online leaderboards, a good performance will reward players with stars and points. These accumulate to unlock new challenge stages and collectible stamps. These stamped graphical icons, along withNES Remix 2's support for video recording, can add flair toMiiverseposts.Off-TV Playis supported.

Games

Title	NES/FC release	NES Remix	NES Remix 2	Ultimate NES Remix
Balloon Fight	1985	Yes	No	Yes
Baseball	1983	Yes	No	No
Clu Clu Land	1984	Yes	No	No
Donkey Kong	1983	Yes	No	Yes
Donkey Kong Jr.	1983	Yes	No	Yes
Donkey Kong 3	1984	Yes	No	No
Dr. Mario	1990	No	Yes	Yes
Excitebike	1984	Yes	No	Yes
Golf	1984	Yes	No	No
Ice Climber	1985	Yes	No	No
Ice Hockey	1988	No	Yes	No
Kid Icarus	1987	No	Yes	Yes
Kirby's Adventure	1993	No	Yes	Yes
Mario Bros.	1983	Yes	No	Yes
Metroid	1987	No	Yes	Yes
NES Open Tournament Golf	1991	No	Yes	No
Pinball	1984	Yes	No	No
Punch-Out!!	1987	No	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros.	1985	Yes	No	Yes
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels	1986	No	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros. 2	1988	No	Yes	Yes
Super Mario Bros. 3	1988	No	Yes	Yes
Tennis	1984	Yes	No	No
The Legend of Zelda	1987	Yes	No	Yes
Urban Champion	1984	Yes	No	No
Wario's Woods	1994	No	Yes	No
Wrecking Crew	1985	Yes	No	No
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	1988	No	Yes	Yes

Development

NES Remix Packcompilation box art (left) andUltimate NES Remixbox art

According to anIGNinterview, the game started as a pet project byNintendo EAD Tokyo'sKoichi Hayashida,after having directedSuper Mario 3D Land.With approval from group manager and producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, Hayashida developed the first 100 challenges ofNES Remixby himself. Also co-directingSuper Mario 3D Worldat the time, Hayashida was later assisted by three additional members of EAD Tokyo. Nintendo additionally hiredIndieszeroto help finish the game.

Hayashida stated that he designedNES Remixpartly out of desire to play NES games at work; he did not get to play many of these games as a child, and he considered the game an opportunity to make up for lost time. Hayashida was also inspired to break the games up into minigames for similar reasons, because as an adult he did not have as much time as he did as a child, but he still wanted to play later "scenes" in the games.

Hayashida expressed his belief thatNES Remixshould be completely authentic to its vintage roots. To this end, the compilation is based entirely on accurate emulation of the NES's hardware and on the original game software. This includes hardwareglitchessuch as frame rate slowdown when too many characters are on the screen, andsoftware bugs.Hayashida explained that these were intricate parts of the original and directly affect the difficulty and so they were not changed. Hayashida also spoke similarly about the controls; even if they were not considered ideal, he understood that they had been conceived that way for a reason and so they were unaltered forNES Remix.

In an interview with gaming websiteIGN,Hayashida revealed thatNES Remixwould have been more difficult to develop for theNintendo 3DShandheld system, adding that the development team required "some more machine power" in order to achieve the desired result at that time. Hayashida also noted that his familiarity with the Wii U architecture, having resulted from his work onSuper Mario 3D World,lent itself well to the early development ofNES Remix.However, a version of the game for the Nintendo 3DS, known asUltimate NES Remix,was eventually announced.

Reception

NES Remix

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	71/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	7.5/10
Edge	6/10
Eurogamer	7/10
Game Informer	6.5/10
GameRevolution	3.5/5
GameSpot	6/10
GamesTM	7/10
IGN	8/10
Joystiq
Nintendo Life	Pack:
Nintendo World Report	9/10
Official Nintendo Magazine	74%
Polygon	8/10
USgamer	4.5/5

NES Remix 2

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	73/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	8/10
Edge	7/10
Game Informer	7/10
GameRevolution	4/5
GameSpot	7/10
GamesTM	7/10
IGN	7.7/10
Joystiq
Nintendo Life	Pack:
Nintendo World Report	8.5/10
Official Nintendo Magazine	82%
Polygon	8/10
Shacknews	7/10
USgamer	4/5

Ultimate NES Remix

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	69/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
GameSpot	7/10
Nintendo Life
Nintendo World Report	7.5/10
Pocket Gamer

IGNratedNES Remixat 8.0 out of 10.0. While they did find this first compilation enjoyable, they criticized the lack of multiplayer functionality and onlineleaderboardsas a "startling oversight", and wished that a greater quantity and quality of titles had been included. They suggested that Nintendo could have more fundamentally altered certain vintage games, such as by improving upon the "frustrating" play control of the vintageIce Climber,Tennis,orClu Clu Land,or by makingPinballmore "fun".

IGN'sfollow-up review forNES Remix 2is also overall positive, rating it at 7.7 out of 10.0. While noting this sequel's fulfillment of their original request for leaderboards and for a superior selection of games,IGNsays about the remix portion of the collection that "better games don't necessarily make for better remixes". They specifically commend Nintendo's "great job of revealing the overlooked, clever design" of the JapaneseSuper Mario Bros. 2,and summarily praise the overall collection by "officially demanding more".GameSpotassigns a 7.0 out of 10.0, callingNES Remix 2"a delightful experience" with "more than enough content to keep you busy... for a good while".

Successor

Main article:Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition

On July 18, 2024,Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition,which features similar gameplay, was released.

External links

• Official Japanese site ofFamicom Remix
• Official Japanese site ofFamicom Remix 2
• Official USA site ofNES Remix
• Official USA site ofNES Remix 2