The Super Nintendo is arguably one of the best video game platforms of all time with a vast library of games that still hold up to this day. Some of my earliest gaming memories come from the SNES, from finding Lugia on Pokemon Silver through the Super Game Boy to learning of a secret area in Super Mario World 15 years after its release. There is still much to love on the SNES and both the Wii and Wii U had downloadable titles to enjoy. After downloading a few of these games on the Wii U, I always thought it’d be cool to have them on the 3DS.
After a traditional Nintendo Direct today, SNES games will be purchasable on the E-Shop for all “New” 3DS systems. Note that this does exclude the 2DS and the earlier 3DS systems. This also means that Super Nintendo games will be released in spurts over time, like many Nintendo classics were released on the Wii U platform.
Nintendo did reveal what titles are available right now and their plans for the next few months. Starting off, Super Mario World, Pilotwings, and F-Zero are now available. It would be hard to make this sort of announcement without including the phenomenal Mario World, a game packaged with the original system in America. Each of these titles can be bought for $7.99, a price that may seem a bit high, but doesn’t break the pattern Nintendo has already established with their past titles. Each game will also feature a Pixel Perfect mode to put them in the original aspect ratio, which is a nice touch for retro enthusiasts.
Other titles planned on the E-Shop include some of the best games of the SNES library. On March 24th, Earthbound, Super Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong Country will be available. Here’s hoping Mario Kart and Donkey Kong support multiplayer via infrared. Come April 14th, players will be able to purchase Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. Prices will presumably be similar to the $7.99 price tag.
Awesome to see this on a handheld, but where is Mother 3?
While this isn’t the greatest news for those already owning these games on the Wii U, this does give hope for more titles on the 3DS E-Shop. Maybe now the “New” 3DS is powerful enough for Gameboy Advanced games or even N64 titles. The prospects are interesting and I hope to see more in the future. Maybe after that we could get even more Gamecube games on the Wii U or even translations of games that were never localized.
In the meantime, I’ll be dropping Yoshi to his death for an extra jump.
