SNES Classic Edition Is Finally Here

After a long wait, a lot of anticipation, a pre-order mishap, and tons of excitement from the gaming community, Nintendo finally unleashed the SNES Classic Edition out onto the world and gamers are picking up the mini-console for just $80, featuring 21 different games on the system.

Gamespot is reporting that the SNES Classic Edition is currently available for $80. The console comes with 21 different games, including the highly anticipated Star Fox 2. The game was completed way back in the 1990s but it never made it to full release on the SNES. Nintendo had already put the game through quality assurance testing and finished it up right proper, but due to the original SNES not having enough horsepower to run the game adequately, Nintendo decided to scrap the game's outing for the 16-bit system and decided to instead work on Star Fox 64 for the 64-bit game console, the N64.

Star Fox 2 isn't the only high-profile game to make the cut. The SNES Classic Edition is also chock full of classics, such as the original Star Fox, which helped introduce the vector-based gameplay to the 16-bit consoles, alongside Virtua Racing for the Sega Genesis. There's also Super Mario World and Super Mario Kart, as both titles were defining cornerstones of the SNES library.

Classics such as Super Metroid, which was one-half of the games that helped spawn the Metroidvania sub-genre, is also part of the line-up along with Super Castlevania IV, which is the other game franchise that helped create the Metroidvania sub-genre.

Of course, what would a SNES Classic Edition library be without The Legend of Zelda? The 16-bit outing of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past has made the cut, giving Zelda fans a second outing to experience from the franchise after Breath of the Wild launched earlier this year.

Other defining games of the 16-bit era such as Mega Man X, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and Super Punch-Out are included, too.

And even though Nintendo has basically abandoned the F-Zero franchise, with the last game having come out years ago on the Nintendo GameCube, fans of the series can experience the original SNES outing as part of the SNES Classic Edition line-up.

Two of my all-time favorites also managed to make the cut in the form of Final Fantasy III (better known as Final Fantasy VI in Japan) and Secret of Mana are included. Both games will provide you with tens of hours worth of gameplay, and not only did they have fantastic depth to their mechanics, but they both had great stories that really helped engage players.

But how can we talk about RPGs without talking about Earthbound? It was easily one of the strangest and most endearing games to come out back in the day, and it's ripe and ready for an all-new audience of gamers this generation.

It's a shame that classics like Super Double Dragon and Chrono Trigger didn't make the cut, just the same that Super Battletoads and Earthworm Jim were also left off the docket, but at least Nintendo managed to select 21 worthwhile titles for the mini-console's debut, which you can pick up right now from participating e-tailers and retailers alike.