News – Nintendo Reveals SNES Mini, Including Never Released Star Fox 2

Its time for 16-bit fans to rejoice. As, in what has to have been considered a complete no brainer given the resounding success of the NES Classic Mini, Nintendo has now decided to now take us back to the 90s. Yes, that’s right, Nintendo has officially confirmed the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES Mini for short.

If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a NES Classic Mini, then you’ll prob know what to expect from Nintendo’s hugely popular Mini range of retro consoles. Coming on September 29th 2017, and priced at $79.99, the SNES Mini will not only include 21 pre-loaded games, but it’s even coming in two different flavours, just as the original console did all those years ago.

SNES Mini Boxes
European and American box art showing the different designs.

 

As such, if you live in Japan or Europe, you can expect the lovely multicoloured, round-angled Super Famicom design. If you’re based in America though, you’ve unfortunately got the off purple and grey square design awaiting you. There’s nothing stopping you grabbing one from a different region though if you prefer a specific design, as the console itself works in all regions, and even requires you to supply your own AC adaptor just like the NES Classic Mini.

Of course, for many the design is a minor issue compared with which games are included, and this time Nintendo really have brought the star power to the table. In fact, the console really has all the major hits, with only a few notable absences, such as Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3, and Chrono Trigger. Just take a look at the 21 games to see for yourself:

  • Contra III: The Alien Wars
  • Donkey Kong Country
  • EarthBound
  • Final Fantasy III
  • F-ZERO
  • Kirby Super Star
  • Kirby’s Dream Course
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • Mega Man X
  • Secret of Mana
  • Star Fox
  • Star Fox 2
  • Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting
  • Super Castlevania 4
  • Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
  • Super Mario Kart
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
  • Super Mario World
  • Super Metroid
  • Super Punch-Out!!
  • Yoshi’s Island
SNES Mini Star Fox 2
The SNES Mini will see the release of the cancelled 16-bit Star Fox 2, for the first time ever.

Most interesting of all these titles though, is understandably Star Fox 2. Originally scheduled for a Summer 1995 release, Star Fox 2 was set to continue the story set about in the original SNES classic with Fox, Falco, Slippy and Peppy reunited in order to once again stop Emperor Andross’ quest to conquer the Lylat system. Despite being near enough finished though, the game sadly never saw an official release, and up until now has largely only been available on the ROM black market.

In fact, given this announcement, we’ll actually be taking a more in depth look at the mysterious Star Fox 2, and its cancellation, in a special RetroVision later in the week. However for now, it would be an understatement to say that having an unreleased title like Star Fox 2, one that fans have been clamouring after for 22 years, is a massive draw for the SNES Mini. And all this is ignoring not only the quality of the other 20 games on the machine, but also the overall popularity of both the Super Nintendo, and the 16-bit era in general.

SNES Mini Controllers
According to rumours, the cable length will be 5 feet. The NES Classic Mini’s controllers are 3 feet.

Hopefully the SNES Mini is given a much higher production run than the NES Classic Mini when it arrives on September 29th. However, if you want to guarantee one for yourself, or as a gift for Christmas, then you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for pre-orders as these are expected to go thick and fast. We certainly don’t expect the 16-bit celebratory console to stay on the shelves for long, and that’s if any even make it to shelves after the pre-orders are fulfilled.

Whilst expected, this is massive announcement from Nintendo, and one that just continues the momentum that the Kyoto based company has been riding ever since both the NES Classic Mini and Switch were released. It’s also an announcement that just continues to reinforce Nintendo’s commitment to retro gaming, and this is something we can all get on board with. Finally, lets hope that this commitment to these mini retro consoles may even hint at a return to production for the incredibly popular NES Classic Mini.

For now though, bring on September 29th, or 1990 as I like to look at it as. Oh and good luck to all looking for a pre-order!

Sophia Aubrey Drake

A lifelong gamer with a fanatical love of all things Nintendo and Japan. So much so that she's written a thesis on one and lived in the other. Currently on a quest to catch every last Pokémon. Follow me on twitter via @DivaXChill or @RingsandCoins.

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