NES Remix 2

Genre: Minigame Collection

Players: 1

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Review:

NES Remix 2, released on the Wii U in 2014, is a reimagining of minigames based on a variety of games released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, following the first NES Remix released on the Wii U the year prior. After the first game felt more like Nintendo-themed exercises than an actual game, Remix 2 tweaks the formula a bit to address some of the issues I had with that game.

The minigames in NES Remix are based on 12 games all released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. That’s 4 fewer than the first game’s 16 (though some of those 16 games were only lightly touched on), however I think it’s fair to say that the games getting the spotlight here are a much better group than those in the first game. Minigames featured here are based on Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Dr. Mario, Kirby’s Adventure, Punch-Out!!, Wario’s Woods, Kid Icarus, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Metroid, and Ice Hockey.

Early on, one of the clearest improvements here is that game progression is much faster – you unlock access to these games much more quickly than you did in the first NES Remix. What’s more, the challenges are overall more fun. The goals are similar – kill X number of enemies, get to the goal, collect X coins, that sort of thing. And once again, for some of the included games, these minigames even act as a primer of sorts for how to play the game in question effectively, essentially acting as a long-winded tutorial of sorts. However, the goal structure feels a bit less rigid this time around, allowing players to actually play the game rather than just performing the tasks they’re told. It still feels more like playing small pieces of games you might prefer to play in full, but it’s an improvement nonetheless.

One other improvement is that the highly-touted “Remix” mode gets to the good stuff much more quickly this time around – playing Toad in a Kirby level, playing Kirby in a Mario level, and so on. The game still mixes these sorts of challenges with the prior game’s featured “play this level with the lights off” or “play this level without using the A button” sort of challenges, but it’s a little more even-handed this time around. Still, even with this improvement, I feel like this should be the biggest part of the game, and it’s still delegated to being more of an extra.

In addition to the standard challenge, there’s a “Championship” mode that allows you to compete for a high score in three games (a nice extra, but not one you’re likely to spend too long with), as well as “Super Luigi Bros.”, a version of Super Mario Bros. with reversed levels where you play as Luigi who controls much as he did in The Lost Levels. It’s an odd but welcome addition, likely intended for 2013’s “Year of Luigi” event, but missing it by a few months.

When it comes to the visuals and sound… well, these are Nintendo Entertainment System games, so what did you expect? It’s all pixel art visuals and chiptune sounds, of course, wrapped up in a clean interface with a boxing ring bell sound when you complete a challenge. Remix mode brings in some nice-looking alternate backgrounds, but otherwise this is a pretty no-frills representation of the games in question. At the very least this time the games featured include some of the best-looking games on the NES.

NES Remix 2 still doesn’t live up to its full potential – the mix-and-match Remix content that’s the best part of this game is still a pretty minor part of it. However, in many ways this is a marked improvement over the first NES Remix – the featured games are much better, the challenges feel less like homework and more like gameplay, unlocking the game’s content happens much more quickly, and there’s even a few extras here that are nice. If the concept of NES Remix appeals to you, start with this game, as it’s the better of the two by far.

tl;dr – NES Remix 2 is a Minigame Collection based on twelve classic games from the Nintendo Entertainment System. While it still doesn’t live up to its potential, this sequel is an all-around better game – the featured NES games are better, progression is better-paced, the minigames themselves are more fun, and there’s even a few nice extras here. It’s still frustrating that this game doesn’t focus more on the mix-and-match “Remix” challenges, but it’s still overall a fun nostalgia trip through some of Nintendo’s best early games.

Grade: B-

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