While the Switch won’t be coming out until March of 2017, Nintendo will be releasing another system for this holiday season. The NES Classic Edition is a miniature console based on the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you are planning to pick up this retro console, there are a few other products we recommend checking out as well.
Below, you can find our buying guide for the best NES Classic Edition accessories and other complementary products to check out on Black Friday and/or during the rest of this holiday season.
About NES Classic Edition
Before we look at the accessories, let’s take a look at the NES Classic Edition. As we stated above, the retro console is designed to look like a smaller version of the Nintendo Entertainment System that came out in the 1980s.
The hardware comes preloaded with 30 NES games. The notable releases include Bubble Bobble, Final Fantasy, Kirby’s Adventure, Metroid, Pac-Man, Castlevania series, Super Mario Bros. series and The Legend of Zelda series.
What makes the NES Classic Edition so appealing when compared to the Virtual Console releases on the 3DS, Wii and Wii U are the various visual effects. Players will be able to change how the games are display via the CRT filter, which emulates the scan lines and other visual quirks from older television screens, and Pixel Perfect, which makes the pixels exact matches of the original graphical design.
Last but not least, gamers can also take advantage of four suspend point slots, letting them saving at any point during a game session.
As you can see above, the NES Classic Edition is built for those who enjoy playing retro games as the way they were.
RDS Industries NES Classic Edition Carrying Case
If you are planning to carry the NES Classic Edition with you on your travels, you might want to check out the RDS Industries NES Classic Edition Carrying Case. This product comes with a soft foam insert that will hold the NES Classic System, its AC adaptor as well as two controllers. Also included is a mesh pocket to hold the HDMI cable, USB cables as well as other accessories. Last but not least, it comes with a hard outer shell case and carrying handle.
The RDS Industries NES Classic Edition Carrying Case is available for purchase with this link on Amazon.
Official NES Classic Controller
The NES Classic Edition comes with one NES Classic Controller. In order to play two-player games such as the aforementioned Bubble Bobble, you will need to purchase a second controller. You can do so via this page.
What’s neat about the gamepad is that it can also be used to play NES Virtual Console games on the Nintendo Wii U and/or Nintendo Wii. To do so, you have to attach the NES Classic Controller to the Wii Remote, which you can purchase here if you don’t have one already.
EMiO The Edge NES Gamepad
There are also third-party NES Classic Edition accessories available. The first of which is the EMiO The Edge NES Gamepad, which comes with turbo functionality that can be activated for either the A or B buttons. Also included is a “B+A” button, which is made for players who are having a hard time pressing both buttons simultaneously. One last notable feature is a 9-foot long wired cable, which should give you plenty of space.
EMiO The Edge NES Gamepad is available for purchase with this link.
There are also several other third-party controllers worth checking out. You can check out the other options with the pages below:
Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro
NES Classic Edition also supports the Nintendo Wii’s Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro. The former is designed with an oval shape, similar to the Super NES gamepad. You can purchase the Classic Controller here.
The Classic Controller Pro is the better ergonomic choice as it comes with handles. If you are interested, you can buy the pro version with this link.
Both the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro can also be used with supported games for the Wii and Wii U. Thus, you will be able use these gamepads with multiple systems.
Famicom Classic Edition
The Japanese equivalent to the NES Classic Edition is the Famicom Classic Edition. This retro console is designed based on the original Famicom, which is what the Nintendo Entertainment System looked like in Japan when it launched in the 1980s.
Famicom Classic Edition comes with several games, such as Final Fantasy, not found in NES Classic Edition. It also comes with two controllers as opposed to one.
So, if you would like to complement the NES Classic Edition, you can buy the Famicom Classic Edition here. You should also purchase the AC Adaptor, which is required but sold separately, with this page.
Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics
If you are getting the new retro console for nostalgic reasons, then you might want to check out the Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics book as well. This product features retrospectives, including complete walkthroughs, of 17 NES games such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda. Also include are commentary from Nintendo personnel, an inside look at the Nintendo Entertainment System and the gamepaks as well as plenty of other contents. You can purchase the paperback version with this link.
The hardcover edition is designed to look like a new gamepak:
If you like the way it looks, then you can buy the Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics Hardcover Edition via this page.
So, if you are picking up NES Classic Edition on Black Friday 2016 or any time during this holiday season, make sure you check out the accessories and complementary products we mentioned above in our buying guide.