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Nintendo World Championships reborn this July, with an impressive collector’s edition for Switch

If you remember the excitement surrounding the Nintendo World Championships way back in 1990, this one’s for you.

A real Wizard

The Nintendo World Championship from back in 1990 was quite the happening. Not only did the competition take place during a time when the NES was red-hot, but it also played into the launch of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Fred Savage-starring film, The Wizard. And while the Championships did return a few more times, if you remember that original era fondly, then Nintendo has a real treat for you this summer.

Just revealed today, the company has taken the wraps off of Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. the box will include a bundle of physical goodies, packed in with a Switch cart that includes special speedrun editions of thirteen NES titles.

Those include:

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

As mentioned, these are not vanilla ports of the originals either. The games are all crafted towards speed-running, loaded up with “over 150 speedrun challenges”, for up to eight players locally. And while it looks like there’s no online multiplay, fans will still be able to upload their times, and post them to the global leaderboards. So even though there’s no online play, there still kind of is.

For the collectors

Even if you’re not into the speed-running challenges on the cart, you still might want to grab a physical boxed copy of Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition. That’s because there’s no plain version of the game that’ll be sent to retail shelves (though it will be on the eShop). Instead, Nintendo will be shipping the default as a pretty impressive collector’s set dubbed Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition  Deluxe Set.

And if you buy into that, then you’re in for some slick collectibles you won’t find elsewhere.

This special-edition bundle includes a physical version of the game, a set of 5 collectible pins, 13 art cards commemorating each of the featured NES classics, and a replica of the fabled gold-colored NES Game Pak (for display only, stand included) to commemorate the original 1990 Nintendo World Championships event. Perfect for collectors, and for raising above your head in victory!

Nintendo press release

The digital version of the game will run you $29.99 USD, while the above Deluxe Set will be priced in at $59.99 USD. Not a bad price tag at all from where we sit, especially when you consider the goodies included. “Best Buy, GameStop, Target and other select retailers” will be carrying the Deluxe, which will land along with the eShop digital version on July 18th, 2024.

Right now it looks like pre-orders are yet to go live, but stay tuned. Once those do activate, it’s likely that the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition – Deluxe Set will likely sell out pretty darn fast.

About Jason Micciche

Jason's been knee deep in videogames since he was but a lad. Cutting his teeth on the pixely glory that was the Atari 2600, he's been hack'n'slashing and shoot'em'uping ever since. Mainly an FPS and action guy, Jason enjoys the occasional well crafted title from every genre.

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