This article is about the Game Boy Advance series. For the NES marketing label, see Classic Series (NES). For the emulated games service, see Nintendo Classics.
"Famicom Mini" redirects here. For the microconsole, see NES Classic Edition.
Video game series
Classic NES Series
The Famicom Mini (left) and Classic NES Series (right) packaging of Super Mario Bros.
The Classic NES Series, known as the Famicom Mini[b] series in Japan[1] and the NES Classics series in Europe and Australia,[2] is a line of emulated Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom Disk System games, published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2004 to commemorate the NES's 20th anniversary. In Japan, the series was released in three "volumes" of ten games, plus two additional games available in limited quantities as raffle prizes. A smaller selection of these games were released in Western territories, split between two waves of releases. The games received mixed reviews, with critics praising how enjoyable most of the games remained to play after 20 years, but criticizing the high price point of each game.
Three special collection boxes could be obtained from Club Nintendo by purchasing all of the Famicom Mini games.
The Family Computer, commonly shortened to Famicom, was Nintendo's first cartridge-based home video game console, originally released in Japan in 1983.[3] The system would later be redesigned for Western markets as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was released in North America in 1985 and Europe in 1986.[3] The Classic NES Series was developed to celebrate the collective 20th anniversary of these systems' launches.[4][5] Each game was priced at ¥2,000 in Japan, US$20 in North America, and £15 in the United Kingdom.[2][6][7]
The Classic NES Series games run through emulation and are largely unchanged from their original releases, though some games have received minor modifications, such as an updated translation in The Legend of Zelda and a new autofire function in Xevious.[8][9] Due to having to fit the GBA's lower screen resolution, the games are not displayed in their original aspect ratio, and have been modified to fill the screen.[1][10] The emulator includes a sleep mode feature to temporarily suspend play.[4] The games also allow data to be saved to the cartridge, such as high scores or game progress, a feature not present in many of the original Famicom and NES releases.[4] Games with multiplayer functionality support single-cartridge multiplayer using the Game Link Cable or the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter.[11][12]
In Japan, the Famicom Mini series was targeted at collectors.[6] Games were individually numbered and sold in clear packaging with cartridge-sized cardboard sleeves that resembled miniature versions of the games' original Famicom box art.[1][6] The cartridges in the first two volumes were colored red and white to match the Famicom console,[4] while the cartridges in the third volume, dubbed the Disk System Selection, were colored yellow to match the Famicom Disk System's disks.[13] The Famicom Mini games' availability was limited, with each volume's games being discontinued after three months.[6][13] Members of the Japanese Club Nintendo rewards program could register the serial numbers for all ten games in each volume to receive a free collector's box in which to store them.[14] In the West, the games used standard GBA packaging designed after their original NES box art, and were released on light gray cartridges based on the default color of NES cartridges.[1]
A special edition Game Boy Advance SP in Famicom colors was released in Japan alongside the series, while Western regions received a system patterned to resemble a NES console and controller.[1] A Game Boy Micro variant designed to resemble the Famicom controller was also available when the system launched in September 2005, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Super Mario franchise; a reissue of Famicom Mini: Super Mario Bros. was released alongside it.[15][16]
List of games
A total of 32 games were released, only 12 of which saw distribution outside of Japan.
The Classic NES Series garnered mixed critical reception. While most reviewers found that the games were still enjoyable to play, the cost was a common point of criticism. Many believed that the price for a single game compared unfavorably to that of contemporary video game compilations, which often featured multiple games from the same era.[35][36] Craig Harris of IGN noted that several of the available games were already playable on the Game Boy Advance in less expensive formats, such as via cards for the Nintendo e-Reader and as unlockables in Animal Crossing.[19][21][20][35]Metroid's inclusion in the series was considered redundant by Bob Colayco of GameSpot, since it was already included as an unlockable extra in its GBA remake, Metroid: Zero Mission.[30] Both GameSpot and IGN noted that Nintendo had recently given away The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for free in the Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition bonus disc for GameCube, although they conceded that the Classic NES Series versions were portable.[37][38] Reviewers generally believed that while some games like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania were potentially worth their asking price, others like Ice Climber, Donkey Kong, and Dr. Mario did not offer enough gameplay to justify the high cost of the cartridge.[36][39][40][41][42]
Some critics were annoyed by the games' altered screen ratio, which caused odd graphical artifacts.[1][10][43] Reviewers additionally noted that because the games were based on their NES releases, some games were missing features present in other versions. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot said of Bomberman that "a Bomberman game without multiplayer is hardly a Bomberman game at all."[44] Similarly, reviewers lamented a missing level in Donkey Kong, which was present in its original arcade version but removed from the NES release.[19][39][45] Harris also felt that the new autofire function in Xevious removed much of the game's challenge.[8]
↑ 佐伯憲司 (April 14, 2004). "任天堂、ファミコンソフトを再現した GBA用「ファミコンミニ」第2弾発売決定"[Nintendo to release second edition of "Famicom Mini" for GBA, a reproduction of Famicom software]. Game Watch (in Japanese). インプレス. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
↑ "「ゲームボーイミクロ」の発売日＆価格が決定！9月13日に12,000円で販売開始"[The release date and price of the Game Boy Micro have been decided! It will go on sale on September 13th for 12,000 yen.]. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). July 29, 2005. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
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