Platform: Wii U

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

Release Date (NA): December 18, 2013

Genre: Compilation

Nerd Rating: 7.5/10

Reviewed by: InfiniteKnife

Game compilations are a great way to improve the bang for your buck when buying games. In the gaming world, we’ve seen others in the past, such as the Genesis 6-PAK and Super Mario All-Stars, among many others. They include multiple, full versions of games in one convenient place, saving us money and the strenuous task of standing up, walking ALL THE WAY to the TV, and switching games. A pretty solid idea, especially now that the classic games of the ’80s and ’90s are getting farther and farther from us.

NES Remix, however, works a little bit differently. In it are several classic NES games, broken down into short segments that require you to complete a specific task, kind of like a mini game. For example, in the Legend of Zelda section, one task may have you simply defeat the Level 1 dungeon boss, Aquamentus the dragon. Doing so within a certain amount of time will get you a higher star rating out of 3. Typically, defeating one of these short segments in under 30 seconds will get you a 3 star rating. If you beat a predetermined best time, you’ll get a 3 star rating bordered by rainbows.

So colorful……..

In addition to the star rating, each challenge completed gets you points that unlock 8-bit stamps that you can post to the Mii-verse outside the game. More points are earned for completing the challenge on your first attempt and without losing any hearts. You also get points for the time taken to complete it. Each time you load up the game, one of the games will have a 2x point bonus, but toward the end, the points really don’t matter unless you’re trying to unlock all the stamps. Personally, I didn’t really mess with it, but it was neat to look at the collection as I completed it.

As you can imagine, each of the challenges get progressively more difficult and some even include multiple tasks, like defeating several bosses consecutively, keeping Legend of Zelda as an example. Most give you 3 chances, indicated by hearts on the right side of the screen, but some of the tougher ones give you up to 6.

I got this!

In addition to the individual games, which include Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Balloon Fight, Mario Bros, Excitebike, and several others, there are Bonus Remix levels that add a funky twist to the classics. For example, one challenge has you playing the iconic first level of Donkey Kong as Link from Legend of Zelda, but here’s the catch: you have to get from the top to the bottom and Link can’t jump, so you can only use the ladders to avoid the onslaught of barrels that A-hole ape throws your way with no sword. That one may or may not have taken upwards of 30 minutes to beat and I may or may not be a little bitter.

Go the hell back to Hyrule!

The other remix games mix several different games into a series of consecutive tasks, getting to a point where you have to do as many as 10 – 15 having either 3 – 6 tries. As one final “Beat this, buddy!” moment, the very last one in the game is a 44 part gauntlet of Super Mario Bros that is cruel to say the least. Many an obscenity were exclaimed toward the direction of my TV the times when I got to the 41^st or 42^nd part and lose my last life. It was frustrating but fun when I finally beat it.

One thing I liked about this game was that I got a chance to check out parts of NES games I had never really played before. A prime example would be Wrecking Crew. Not only had I never played it, but I had never even really heard of it. On the more negative side, I was reminded how much I dislike Clu Clu Land because the later challenges were a major pain. If it wasn’t for the cost of replacement, my game pad may not have made it all the way through my playthrough.

I also didn’t mention how much I despise Ice Climbers

NES Remix doesn’t completely lack replayablity, but it really only lies in trying to beat your best time. For me, I got all 612 stars and said to myself “Well, guess I’m done with this game” and was ok with it. I consider myself good at video games, especially classic NES, so it felt good to meet the challenge and get 100% completion. If you’re a completionist, you may find the $15 price point worth it, but be prepared to be pretty much done with it afterward.

Enjoy!