When Nintendo released the NES Classic in 2016 and the SNES Classic in 2017, I stubbornly abstained. After all, I’d already played most of the games on both miniature systems countless times, and I still own both of the full-sized game consoles on which they were based. Simply as nostalgia acts, the systems didn’t really appeal to me.
[Photo: courtesy of Nintendo]But something about the newly announcedGame & Watch: Super Mario Bros.is different. The handheld gaming system, which will launch on November 13 for $50, is modeled after theGame & WatchLCD handhelds that Nintendo started making in 1980, before it entered the home console business. But instead of just running crude monochrome games, it’ll play the originalSuper Mario Bros., along with the much harderSuper Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which was known asSuper Mario Bros. 2in Japan. (It will, however, include a version of the oldGame & Watch: BallLCD game, starring Mario instead ofMr. Game & Watch.) The handheld will also offer a digital clock mode, with occasional animations of Mario in action.
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[Photo: courtesy of Nintendo]Nintendo is announcing this now as part of a 35th-anniversary celebration for Mario. The celebration will also include aremastered package of 3D Mario gamesfor the Nintendo Switch and a “Deluxe” Switch version ofSuper Mario 3D World, which originally launched on Nintendo’s failedWii U console.
Why is Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. scratching an itch for me that Nintendo’s other miniature gaming tchotchkes haven’t? Maybe because it feels more exceptional than just a shrunken-down home console, or because it makes Mario even more accessible than a system you have to plug into your TV. Or maybe I just like the idea of propping up a Mario-themed digital clock on my desk. In any case, Nintendo’s appeals to nostalgia finally got me, sight unseen. The only question is when the company will start taking pre-orders on the thing.
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