Nintendo’s next game is all about mastering NES classics

The physical version of Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition.
Nintendo

Nintendo has announced Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, a new game coming out this July that tests players’ speedrunning skills in NES classics like Super Mario Bros. and Metroid.

A successor of sorts to the NES Remix games on Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition draws its name from a gaming competition Nintendo held in 1990 and then briefly again in the 2010s. Its reveal trailer features previous Nintendo World Championship contestants musing about the event, only to learn that it’s returning in video game form.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition will include 150 speedrunning challenges spread across the following 13 NES games:

  • Balloon Fight
  • Donkey Kong
  • Excitebike
  • Ice Climber
  • Kid Icarus
  • Kirby’s Adventure
  • Metroid
  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
  • Super Mario Bros. 2
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • The Legend of Zelda
  • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Speedrun Mode tasks players with doing challenges like finding a mushroom in Super Mario Bros. or clearing a screen of Octoroks in The Legend of Zelda as quickly as possible. There will be a World Championship mode with online leaderboards that track which players have the best time, and there’s also a local Party Mode that supports up to eight players.

It will cost $30 digitally, but Nintendo is also releasing a physical Deluxe Set for $60. That comes with a physical cartridge for Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, a golden replica NES cartridge, art cards for each of the included games, and five pins.

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition launches on July 18.

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