NES Edition Is the Closest We’re Getting to a New NES Remix

As Nintendo is gearing up for the release of its next console, 2024 has been a somewhat slow year for the publisher. Buoyed mostly by nostalgic re-releases of classic titles, Nintendo has kept their Switch output relatively light for this year, presumably to save its biggest new titles for the next system. This is a common practice that Nintendo has gone through even on its strongest systems, and it seems like the Switch is just another example of Nintendo’s long-running ideology.

It hasn’t been all dull news, though, as Nintendo has recently announced a new game called Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition for the Switch. A bit of a nostalgic throwback to the old-school Nintendo tournament from 1990, this game offers players the ability to complete speedrunning challenges for classic NES games. Beyond being a fun, small-scale idea for the Switch, this game’s release should help satiate the desires of Nintendo fans who have been hoping for a return of one of the publisher’s more unheralded Wii U titles.

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An Intro To NES Remix

What may surprise you is that Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition isn’t Nintendo’s first go-around with a game like this. Previously, the publisher released the NES Remix duology on the Wii U in 2013 and 2014, alongside the Ultimate NES Remix compilation on the Nintendo 3DS in the latter year. Exactly as the title will tell you, this is a game where you play a variety of NES titles in the form of bite-sized challenges, such as beating a level in a given time, getting through without dying, or defeating a certain number of enemies with certain power-ups.

NES Remix also featured some “remixed” challenges that tasked players with completing challenges that would not have been possible in the original NES versions of the games. This includes completing a darkened level or beating sections of games with characters from completely different titles, complete with the gameplay style of their title of origin. One notable example of this included a remix where you were tasked with completing a level from the original Donkey Kong with Link from The Legend of Zelda, who notably can’t jump and has to find his own way to avoid Donkey Kong’s barrels.

Despite being a very small title – and being restricted to a console with a low install base – NES Remix maintained a passionate following from loyal Nintendo fans who have no doubt been hoping for a new entry of some kind. It especially helps that NES Remix is one of the few major Wii U titles that was not brought over to the Switch, a system that has given many Wii U titles a brand new lease on life. With its bite-sized nature, NES Remix could have been the kind of game Nintendo left in the past, stuck on the Wii U with the few titles that could struggle to exist without the use of the Wii U GamePad.

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NES Remix 3 Exists…Sort Of

The surprise announcement of Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition gives fans something akin to what they would’ve expected a hypothetical NES Remix 3 to be. Similar to that title, this new entry focuses on bite-sized challenges across a variety of classic NES games. The digital version sells for a cool $30 price tag on the Nintendo eShop, though it’ll set you back $60 if you choose to buy the physical edition, which comes with a replica gold NES cartridge reminiscent of the old prize from the 1990 tournament.

It may be easy to look at this and think of it as just another NES Remix title, but Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition does offer some differences from NES Remix to stand as its own thing. Compared to that title, the challenges featured in this one are largely focused on speedrunning. In-game challenges will require players to complete objectives in different levels as fast as possible, earning coins as they go. Using these coins, players will be able to unlock even more challenges, several of which range in difficulty and number of coins one can earn.

There’s also a proper World Championships mode, where players can go online and complete a set of five challenges that change every week. Players accumulate points based on how fast they are able to complete these challenges, and those point tallies are placed on a global leaderboard. It’s really awesome to see Nintendo add something like this, as it plays nicely to the more competitive aspect of the old-school tournaments and allows gamers to engage in these competitions online. Hopefully, with this feature, Nintendo themselves can even revive the Nintendo World Championships through online events.

Nintendo World Championships NES Edition Special Edition

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition does not feature the remixed challenges of the previous NES Remix titles, but in its stead, it features something the NES Remix titles failed to include: multiplayer. Beyond the online competitions, this new title features a local multiplayer mode known as Party Mode. In it, up to eight players can compete in challenges, and a winner is determined by a point system. Multiplayer was a feature that was sorely missed in NES Remix, as the only way to experience something akin to it was by passing off the controller. Now, players can finally see who is truly the king of their classic games, and perhaps even host tournaments of their own.

The original NES Remix duology was almost emblematic of where Nintendo was when it lived through the Wii U cycle. It was experimental, bite-sized, and may not have reached a massive following but it certainly had its devoted fans. In the years since its release, questions have arisen as to whether Nintendo would ever attempt to do something like it ever again, and whether NES Remix 3 was even remotely possible. With Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, the longtime fans have had their wish largely granted, and it’ll be nice to see a game like this get a chance on a system with a high install base.

All this said, if this becomes successful enough for Nintendo to continue it into the future, please do more than just NES games in future entries. After three (or four, if you count the 3DS compilation) titles centered around the NES, it would be nice to see Nintendo try something similar with other systems. Sure, the NES has the nostalgia factor – and the tie-in to the Nintendo World Championships – but there’s a great opportunity for expansion if Nintendo chooses to make an SNES Edition or even a Nintendo 64 Edition. Here’s hoping this title is just the beginning, and Nintendo’s got even more unique ideas up its sleeve for the next platform.