The recent preview of a new Zelda and the surprise remaster of Metroid Prime might have gotten most headlines at Nintendo’s latest direct conference, but it’s the Gameboy Advance (GBA) emulation that stole the show for classic fans.
With this announcement, Nintendo states that they’re bringing six classic GBA titles to the Switch, including The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and WarioWare Inc.
Since these games were released for a handheld platform originally, the re-arrival of these games marks an important step for Nintendo in what many are hoping could become a new normal.
Classics No Matter the Age
There’s a common belief in gaming that retro games only appeal to older players, but this isn’t really the case. According to recent surveys including this one from ExpressVPN, 79% of respondents play retro games, including gamers from Gen Z. Within this survey, the most popular games include Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda, and Tetris. In fact, only 38% of the people in this survey said nostalgia was a driving force behind the love of these games, some of which are older than the people surveyed. So, why do they still stand out?
The basic answer is that these retro titles are perfect fits for the on-the-go approach to gaming that is popular today – with around 70% of gamers using mobile phones. But phones aren’t a great fit for all types of games, as the limitation of touchscreen controls, as detailed at TechCrunch, is offered as a primary reason for certain types of games not working.
Simply put, if you don’t have tactile feedback, precise controls in complex games are difficult and even frustrating. The more streamlined a title is, the easier its controls to navigate, the better it works on mobile, and the easier it is to jump into overall.
Super Mario Kart might be dated compared to Mario Kart 8, but it can also be picked up and understood within seconds. While reviews by publications like The Guardian state the newer entry is the most versatile, versatility can also come at the cost of purity. The same could be said for The Minish Cap versus Breath of the Wild, where the different eras represent vastly different ends on the approachability spectrum.
This Town is Big Enough
With Nintendo throwing focus on the Switch through the GBA emulations of older titles, it accomplished more than just widening a library – it creates a scenario that covers all types of players. From hardcore modern fans to what grandpa vaguely remembers playing decades ago, the already family-friendly nature of the Switch is raised to even greater heights.
It also helps with the Switch recently taking third place on the podium of the best-selling video game consoles of all time, according to ArsTechnica stats, now only behind the DS and PlayStation 2. With the inevitable announcement of a new Switch system still some time away, continuing to pay reverence to Nintendo’s long legacy is a great way for the platform to continue to close the sales gap.
For newcomers or true nostalgia buffs, it’s great to see Nintendo move back into the titles which made their early handhelds such hits. Let’s just hope they keep it up, and that lower-quality efforts like their N64 port of GoldenEye 007 become more the exception than the rule.
