FEATURING A 'NEW' STAR FOX GAME
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​Are you one of the lucky few who managed to snag an NES Classic last year in spite of Nintendo's bizarre choice to only make, like, three of them total? Did you say "screw it, I'll make one myself?" However you did or didn't resolve your desire for some retro fun, Nintendo's giving you another chance to relive the glory days of gaming with the newly announced Super NES Classic Edition.

After Nintendo suddenly (and by most accounts prematurely) axed production of the NES Classic in April, today's announcement might seem like a head scratcher, especially after a strong showing for the Nintendo Switch and a new Super Mario title at this year's E3 — but industry analysis isn't what you're here for. Let's dive into what you will and won't get out of a Super NES Classic Edition:

It Comes With 21 Games, Including The Previously Unreleased 'Star Fox 2'

The line-up of games pre-loaded onto the Super NES includes nearly every must-play title the '90s console was home to — though you're getting 9 fewer games than the NES Classic came with. Some notable omissions include "Final Fantasy VI" (we get "III" instead), "Pilotwings," "Chrono Trigger," "Tetris Attack" and "NBA Jam" (though that may be due to thorny NBA licensing issues). And would it have killed them to at least include "Super Mario All Stars," which would've tacked on the NES "Super Mario" games in 16-bit color?

  • 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 II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
  • Super Castlevania IV
  • 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

The big shocker on the list is "Star Fox 2," which never actually got released. Nintendo canceled development of the game when it was nearly complete (an early "we hate money" move, like killing the NES Classic). Nearly finished builds of the game have been floating around illegally for ages, but the Super NES Classic Edition will mark its first proper release. 

Heads up: "Star Fox 2" is the only game that won't be available to play when you initially boot up the console. First, you'll need to beat the introductory level of "Star Fox" to get access (okay, fair enough).

You'll Get Two Controllers This Time, Thank Goodness

One annoying thing about the NES Classic was that it only came with one controller. You could buy a second one, but those were hard to find. With multiplayer games like "Super Mario Kart" and "Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting" on the new SNES, having a second controller right out of the gate is a must. They're still wired controllers (no word if the wires are as shrimpy as NES Classic's cables were).

 Nintendo

The Super NES Classic Edition also comes packaged with an HDMI cable and a USB charging cable plus AC adapter.

It Comes Out On September 29 And Will Cost $79.99

Now ask yourself, "Are 21 Super NES games really worth $80?" Some of these games are really, really good (I'm looking at you, "Super Metroid"), but Nintendo's been rereleasing old hits for a while now. If you bought any of these games on the Wii or Wii U Virtual Console platforms, it's not like you'll get a discount on a new Super NES Classic. 

This thing will probably be about as easy to hack and add games to as the NES Classic is, so that might sweeten the deal if you're sitting an old hard drive full of emulators and ROMs from Zophar's Domain.

The retro controllers and plug-and-play simplicity might be big pluses, but I bet new Switch owners out there are wondering why they can't take their favorite retro games on the go yet. Hopefully Nintendo will announce its plan for Super NES games on the Switch before everyone rushes out to buy one of these. Hopefully.

<p>Mathew Olson is an Associate Editor at Digg.</p>

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