Following the success of Nintendo’s foray into retro re-releases of their popular consoles it looks like they’re gearing up for another nostalgia-hype-fest with an N64 Classic Mini edition.
Retro seems to be all the rage right now thanks to Nintendo taking gaming back to a much simpler time before DLCs and the shenanigans of micro-transactions. Their NES and SNES Classic Mini have successfully sold-out on release dates and it looks like they’re going to up the ante with a re-release of the much loved N64.
While Nintendo are yet to officially confirm an N64 Classic Mini is in development, a hint on their official website points to a possible release coming soon.
On the official Nintendo website you can download PDF manuals for a list of classic N64 games including Star Fox 64, Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.
The discovery was made on a Nintendo-dedicated Reddit thread which of course got gamers very excited. Nintendo’s list featured 19 online manuals for their classic N64 games, which is around the same number of titles currently on the NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini.
This discovery has many wondering if, and when, Nintendo will be announcing a release for an N64 Classic Mini – while it is only speculation right now one Reddit user thinks the list ‘Looks pretty legit’.
Here’s A List Of The Downloadable N64 Game Manuals
1080° Snowboarding
Bomberman™ 64
Donkey Kong 64
Excitebike 64
F-Zero X
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Mario Golf
Mario Kart 64
Mario Party 2
Mario Tennis
Paper Mario
Pokémon Snap
Sin and Punishment
While many agree it is a pretty solid list, for those who grew up in that era of gaming there are a few timeless classics notably missing such as; Golden Eye, Perfect Dark and WWF No Mercy.
This year saw the highly anticipated release of SNES Mini Classic which came with an array of timeless gems from yesteryear including; Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Mario Kart and Street Fighter II.
Internet pre-orders for the 16-bit machine sold out within minutes in stores like Game and Argos.
The Nintendo 64 was first sold in North America on September 26, 1996, a few months after its Japanese debut, and was met with critical acclaim, it also marked a new era in the console wars. Old rivals SEGA were no longer the competition, instead it came in form of current top-dogs Sony and the release in 1994 of the revolutionary PlayStation.
At the time of the N64’s launch the Los Angeles Times said it was:
… quite simply, the fastest, most graceful game machine on the market… built for heavy play by kids…
At this point a release for an N64 Classic Mini isn’t about ‘if’, more to do with ‘when’, however while still in its early stages we hope they work out a deal to get the rights to classic games such the aforementioned Goldeneye which is pretty much synonymous with the much-loved console.
