Nintendo Systems Summary

By Foxx

Nintendo Entertainment System

The original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System was released in the United States in August, 1985. The NES hosted many legendary titles including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. Its release was a big leap for the gaming industry, with graphics that were far superior to previous consoles. The NES currently has around 700 titles (no new titles in production) that are still played and collected by gamers everywhere.

Game Boy

The original Game Boy was released in 1989 and allowed gamers to play just about anywhere. It is still ranked the world’s best selling video game system of all time, having shipped over 100 million worldwide. This 8-bit “Boy Wonder” released over 700 pocket sized titles including Tetris and Super Mario Land. The Game Boy has since changed sporting new colors and a smaller size (Game Boy Pocket). The Game Boy Color’s release gave gamers 52 colors and a faster working CPU. Old titles were given a dash of color while Game Boy Color titles were more detailed than ever.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The original Super Nintendo Entertainment System was first released in 1991, supporting stereo sound, twice the internal memory as the competition, a 16-bit CPU, and multiple scrolling backgrounds. Game developers had a whole new world of gaming possibility. The SNES released over 700 titles (no new titles in production) with many continuations of classic games, such as Super Mario World, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, and two installments in the Final Fantasy series. SNES games are still considered some of the best ever created by gamers of its generation.

Nintendo 64 (N64)

The Nintendo 64 was a giant leap from the days of the Super Nintendo. The N64 came complete with 64-bit graphics and CD-quality sound at a blistering 93.75 MHZ. With real-time rendering and awesome anti-aliased graphics, the N64 was the new giant. Over 200 titles, a 14 button controller with a 360 degree control stick, and 7 colors.

Game Boy Advance

The release of the 32-bit Game Boy Advance gave the world the most powerful handheld entertainment system to date. This powerhouse is equipped with sharper graphics and resolution, more memory, added SNES style shoulder buttons, and a wider, larger screen. Currently the GBA has seen many reproductions of old SNES favorites. Handheld gamers can enjoy that familiar Game Boy linked play on many games Old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games can still be played on the GBA. Peripherals, such as the E-Reader add new elements to games. The Game Boy to Game Cube link connects the two systems for even more fun. The future of the GBA looks bright.

Game Cube

Nintendo enters the 128-bit world with the Nintendo Game Cube. An original mini-disc format and smaller system size brings something different to the competition. With so many games on many different platforms, the Game Cube stands out with those supreme quality, first party games everyone has come to love. The Game Cube is home to remakes of many old favorites such as Metroid Prime, Mario Sunshine, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

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