The SNES Classic!
Look what arrived on my doorstep today! This little beauty was waiting patiently for me to get home all wrapped up in a massively oversized bubble envelope. I dropped my stuff off at the door, kicked my shoes off into the closet (or at least near enough that Mrs-Soup won't give me too much crap) and ripped that envelope open!
We have all heard by now that Nintendo will be making more SNES Classics than the NES Classics last year. So far that hasn't seemed to translate into many people getting a hold of one. I was in the right place at the right time and Amazon came through for me once again!
Many of you might have had this as your first or second console and you probably loved it like no other! Truth be told, I never actually owned an SNES but I did play my fair share. My first console, and I am really dating myself here, was actually the Atari Video Pinball machine.
That unit lasted a number of years before my parents drew a winning pay and pull ticket from my hockey team. We all put ideas in a hat and mine was drawn much to my mothers dismay. A few days later I was a proud owner of an Atari 2600. That console served me well for many years until my dad bought a PC. I admit I became a PC gamer almost right away after that but bought myself an NES when I was about 17. I had 60+ games for the 2600 but I can only remember having maybe 4 or 5 of my own for the NES. A few friends of mine back then would trade back and forth but while I participated I mostly stuck to my dad's PC.
It was around 1992 and I had moved in with a couple of roommates and bought the first PC I could call my own from Radio Shack. I was playing Red Baron day and night until my one roommate came home with a SNES and Super Mario World. It was all we played and my PC became neglected. We then took a crap load of cans back and pooled some tips from work and bought Super Mario Kart. We did the same with Legend of Zelda taking turns playing. It all came to an end when he moved out of the house and took his SNES with him. I let him have the games and turned back to my PC. My next console would be the OG Xbox with the span inbetween solely on PC.
Why am I telling you this? Nostalgia is a powerful tool and I'll be damned if Nintendo hasn't tapped directly into my nostalgia vein. I had good times with the SNES even though I never owned it. I know I will never get to truly relive the fun I had but if I can escape and be 22 again for maybe an hour here or there that is good enough for me!
So here it is the SNES Classic unboxing!
There are maybe two lessons Nintendo learned from the NES Classic besides the demand: 1) Add a second controller! 2) Give those controllers longer cables!
I could tell right away that the controller cable was longer right away even without unpacking it. It looped over more than once in it's little baggie! I tried to stretch them out to see and the SNES cable is a much healthier length measuring around 5'.
As I unpacked the SNES Classic from its little foam baggie I was taken aback once again at how small it actually is. It is shoter than the NES classic and just a tad longer.However unlike the NES classic the controller ports on the SNES are just for show. 
The SNES controllers actually sport the exact same connection as their NES counterparts. The controller ports are put of a little door that swings down and open to allow for the controllers to be plugged in.
Plugging in the supplied MicroUSB cable and transformer I hooked the output up via the included HDMI cable and 1992 came back alive!
Just like its predecessor, teh SNES menus allows you to come back to it and save the game you were previously playing. The controllers, what can I say about them? Back then the shoulder buttons, the round corners, double the face buttons! Our minds were blown! Sure Sega had like 6 buttons on their controller but the SNES controller felt like a warm bun in your hand. Soft and smooth, easy to hold and press all the buttons, tapered towards the front just perfectly. It was controller perfection back then! You can hate on me all you want but I would still take the SNES controller over any of the PS iterations anytime.
Nintendo basically did a copy paste with pretty much everything about the interface as well. The Display option gives you the eyeball bleeding CRT filter, a standard 4:3 SD like quality and then the 4:3 Pixel perfect option. I am not a purist so I stick with the Pixel Perfect option. Less eyeball bleedyness that way.
Here is an example of Super Mario Kart on the CRT Filter. yes I know they are moving and it looks blurry but trust me it looks blurry even if there is no movement on the screen.
Why do you hate our eyes Nintendo?!?! Seriously, who uses this option? Someone with a CRT? Nostalgia is great but there is nostalgia and then there is punishment...the CRT Filter, on both the classic consoles, is the latter. Here is the Pixel Perfect version. Now this option automatically doesn't make it HD quality, it just smooths out the jaggies...a bit. Enough that I don't' have to put band aids on my eyeballs and that is a good thing!
That's it! The SNES Classic has a home in the house o' soup. Let me know if you manage to get one this holiday season and whether nostalgia is as powerful for you as it is for me.
When is that Atari box launching again?
