Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition has been built on nostalgia but at the same time, Nintendo wants fans to experience what it might be like to speedrun through game content. Essentially, the package is a collection of 13 classic games chopped up into tiny segments where you have to complete the set objective as fast as humanly possible.

“As fast as humanly possible” is the big selling point here because these segments can literally go down to the very last millisecond which determines whether or not you get an “S”, “A++” or a lower grade. Of course, you want the best grade possible so the game’s repetitive nature comes into play here.

Some challenges last only 3 seconds. There’s only so much time you can shave off a speedrun that allows for 3 seconds of game time. So it is only natural that you end up repeating the exact same 3-second challenge a few hundred times over to try and get the lowest possible time.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

While this might not sound very exciting, it is actually quite entertaining. So much so that I spent many nights in bed sorting through already-completed challenges to try and best my time – even by 1 millisecond. The quick nature of these challenges means they fly by and there’s virtually no load time so jumping into a new challenge or repeating the existing one is seamless.

It also helps that Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition revolves around the NEX games we all love. Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Balloon Fight and more. Each game is divided into these challenges with the first few very simple and straightforward.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

For example, the very first challenge the game threw at me was from Super Mario Bros. I had to run through the first level’s opening, smash the “?” block and collect the mushroom. Again, this might now sound like a lot of fun but once I tried this a few dozen times, I sort of became addicted to the notion of improving my time.

Every hair-splitting second counted towards my end grade. So I had to figure out how I could shave time off my score across the 150+ challenges. It also helps that once you complete a challenge, there’s ghost data visible on the screen throughout future runs. This shows the best time you have obtained. So after a while, I could gauge whether or not I was actually going to beat my score.

It becomes a case of “one more time” but over and over again. I would sit for hours redoing the same challenge just to drop my time by 0.01. I became obsessed with being the best and getting an “S” rank on every possible challenge. It is easier said than done though. The games start out straightforward and easy. However, later on down the line, I found myself speedrunning through entire levels taken directly from these NES games.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

If you haven’t played these games, this means you’ll need to master the controls and mechanics. This makes the experience even more unforgiving. But in the end, the real joy comes from seeing those few seconds drop lower and lower as you complete the challenges. I felt like a professional speedrunner. Meanwhile, I was just a tired games writer at 3 am freezing his hands off in the middle of winter while trying to pop a balloon faster than my earlier-that-evening self.

The wide variety of challenges is what makes this experience pure gold. Some are so incredibly simple. Super Mario Bros. 2, for example, saw me run to a patch of grass and pull up a turnip. The Legend of Zelda had me walk into a cave, advance dialogue and pick up an item.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

These challenges take seconds so there’s no real way to “master” them besides counting the pixels between you and the goal. The Legend of Zelda had me perfectly aligning Link with the door so when I walked in, I didn’t need to move. It saved that 0.001 second but hey, I beat my time.

Only a few challenges in the game actually last longer than a minute. These are unlocked much later in the game by purchasing them using points you rack up by simply playing other games. But the game relies on you repeating the past games to earn points.

There are also cool pins you can earn by playing the games. These are earned by reaching specific milestones and times. You can then pin these to your profile and show them off to other players online when you participate in the network modes. I didn’t get to test any of these online modes given the review environment but I kind of can’t wait to see the real hardcore speedrunners enter the leaderboards.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

Nintendo has done a good job with this online system. The leaderboards can be sorted into age groups so you can compare your score to those gamers who are the same age. Perhaps, those who have been gaming since 1995 like me. It will be interesting to see where I land among my fellow Gen Xers.

Then there’s also a local party mode where eight players can complete across a series of challenges. It might be a struggle to get eight people who enjoy these classics to sit mindlessly for an hour replaying the same game over and over again. But the mode is there if you want it. I honestly don’t think anyone around me is as big of a nerd to appreciate this package as much as I do.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

The Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is also a stylish package with a clear retro feel. The music selection and 90s pop art design is like a trip to the arcade. Not to mention the games remain untouched so you’ll be humming along to Super Mario Bros. music in no time.

I enjoyed the sound effects and even the small details such as a crowd cheer made me feel triumphant in my speedrun. There’s even a “Classified Information” tips and tricks menu that reads like an old-school cheat sheet. Here, the guide tells you how to perform certain actions across the more challenging tests.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Makes Speedrunning Mainstream

There’s a lot to enjoy in Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition but I kind of did hope for a bit more. There are only 13 games here and yes, they come with over a dozen challenges. However, I feel like it is missing out on some great games. Where is Dr. Mario and Punch-Out!!? I hope Nintendo updates the game with a content pack to expand the offerings here.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition makes for a good time. The package is well-presented and the experience will test your reflexes. Nintendo has found a clever way to reintroduce these classic games to new players while also offering great fun for older gamers.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition

Summary

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition turns the Switch into a retro speedrunning tournament with a decent selection of games and nail-biting challenges that will keep you repeating the same thing over and over again.

Overall
8/10
8/10
Marco is the owner and founder of GLITCHED. South Africa’s largest gaming and pop culture website. GLITCHED quickly established itself with tech and gaming enthusiasts with on-point opinions, quick coverage of breaking events and unbiased reviews across its website, social platforms, and YouTube channel.

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