On November 11, Nintendo is releasing the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System, or Mini-NES for short. It will include 30 pre-loaded games and is has a range of display options that allow you to simulate the experience of playing on a CRT as well as standard HD-resolution output.
The Mini-NES has proved a very popular pre-order, but what you may not know is Nintendo has tweaked the tiny system for its home territory of Japan. Instead of a Mini-NES, Japanese gamers are getting a Mini-Family Computer, and you may want to import this because Nintendo has also tweaked the games line-up slightly.
I’ve put together a comparison of the games on the Mini-NES compared to the Mini-Famicom below and there are some differences. However, before deciding to import remember that the Mini-Famicom games are most likely going to be Japanese-only text and audio, which will render games such as Final Fantasy III unplayable to the majority of Westerners.
Just like the Mini-NES it’s going to cost $60, meaning you should be able to get it imported for less than $100 including shipping and any import duty you end up paying. It also releases the day before the Mini-NES on November 10. Even if you don’t end up playing the games, the Mini-Famicom will look great sitting on a shelf as part of your gaming collection.
The look of the Family Computer is going to be preferable to some gamers, and it will also be a tempting purchase for modders who want to rip out the internals and turn it into a Raspberry Pi-powered emulation box. I doubt it will be long before we see both the Mini-NES and Mini-Famicom appearing with an added USB slot or two for controllers/storage and all released NES games included running through an emulator.
Source: Geek
