Old SNES Games on the 'cheap'

Serpent

Hi,

What's the best way to set-up my house with the old classic SNES games? (Australia)

Mostly I'm thinking Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Link to the Past. I was thinking maybe I could buy a Wii and get them on the virtual console, but I wasn't sure how much the virtual console is supported on the Wii right now, and whether it still will be.

Are there any problems with buying a used Wii and the account being tied to the console rather than a person?

How does the virtual console then transfer to a Wii U/3DS? Is it a cross platform account ala android/iOs, where I can get the newer device and use all my old games?

Is there some other legitimate way I could get these games? Is it reasonable to find old copies of them -- I have an old SNES in storage across the ocean that I could maybe one day go and grab...

AngelHedgie

Unfortunately, the Virtual Console is probably your best bet. And sadly, Nintendo does tie purchases to the console, which makes transfer painful, not to mention that transfer between Wii/Wii U only moves the games into the Wii emulation layer - there's an additional fee for native Wii U versions.

If you want to use a US SNES Down Under, do remember that NTSB and PAL are not compatible, so you'll need a converter. Also, you'll want to be very careful with power, since Australia, like most Commonwealth nations, runs on 220-240, unlike the US 110-120. That said, the SNES itself runs on DC, so the solution there may be to just source an AUS AC adapter.

Dehumanized

Wii Virtual Console will be an order of magnitude cheaper than buying SNES cartridges. I don't really know how the Australian market is, but in NA I'd expect a SNES to run somewhere around $50-75USD. Cartridges run from anywhere between $5 for less popular titles and $250 for a couple very special snowflakes, with the majority of the titles you're interested in running somewhere in the $25-60 USD range. Since I don't know the AUS market, I can't really make any assumptions from there.

In comparison, a used Wii should cost either about the same or less than an SNES (including a classic controller), but all of the games you'll buy should cost around 800 Nintendo points or less. I don't know how many AUS dollars that translates to, but it's probably around $10AUS. Not every SNES game will be available -- you can check the list here for all AUS SNES virtual console offerings. Nintendo isn't really actively adding to the Virtual Console offerings, so if something's not there you might need to resort to the cartridge route.

There are a couple SNES Virtual Console games that were released on Wii U only. Earthbound comes to mind. You might consider getting one of those instead. It's a pretty nice console, and you will still be able to buy and play any of the Wii VC games as well. The cost equation will be a lot harder to weigh, though, as it looks like the Wii U retails for somewhere around $350AUS. If you're interested in any Wii U games, though, it's a great option.

Serpent

I can find a wii for about $50 but a Wii U is more like 300-450.

What's the expected risk of nintendo shutting down the virtual market - if they did, would my Wii SNES games disappear? Do these games get downloaded to the Wii?

Would there be issues with finding AUS cartridges and running them in my canadian SNES?

I'm not worried about power or tv compatibility -- pretty familiar with all that.

Dehumanized

Low risk of Nintendo shutting things down. They probably aren't going to add anything new, but there's no reason for them to discontinue the market -- since the Wii eShop is available on Wii U, it's a low-maintenance revenue stream for them.

If they did shut down for whatever reason, any games on your console would remain there until the console broke or you wiped the storage yourself.

The issue you'd run into with AUS cartridges is they are PAL, and would be incompatible with a Canadian NTSC SNES. There are options available, but none are great. At best, you'll be playing the game at the wrong display hz and experience some really glitchy looking image rendering, after buying an expensive and rare NTSC to PAL converter (or hacking into the console with a soldering iron to do the same). Your best bet would be to find a PAL SNES if you're going to use PAL cartridges.

PAX_Skeletor

I bought a Supaboy, which is a portable SNES which can also be plugged into a TV screen (It also has controller ports, so can be used easily as a SNES console, rather than a handheld). I mention it because it is not region locked. I've used mine for PAL, US and Japanese cartridges, all with no problem. It would be more expensive than just grabbing virtual console versions though, for sure.

Serpent

@PAX_Skeletor that supaboy looks awesome. Comparable prices to a wii... very tempted.

What about the virtual console on 3ds -- how's the selection? Does it have Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Link to the Past?

Dehumanized

3DS virtual console does not offer any SNES games for purchase at this time.

All of those unlicensed third party devices that allow you to play older console games are running the cartridge through an emulator, under the hood. They typically work OK, but mileage may vary.

WiseManTobes

Does Australia have Pawn Shops? That's where I constantly find cheap vintage games and consoles here in Canada

Duffel

One thing to consider - I noticed most of the games you mentioned are games where you can save your progress. I kept all my SNES cartridges and still play them occasionally, but the battery-based saves are definitely very finicky these days. Some games are worse than others. I started noticing that my copy of Super Metroid was losing its saves when it was less than ten years old. Some SMW cartridges I've had will still hold saves, others won't. My copies of Link to the Past, Earthbound and Final Fantasy 3/6 still had their saves like they always did, last time I checked, but my copy of Secret of Mana won't even retain a save if you so much as turn the SNES off.

There *are* ways of replacing the save batteries in SNES cartridges, if you're familiar and comfortable with tinkering with your electronics in that capacity. I've never done it before myself, but I'm assuming it requires careful disassembly and re-assembly of the cartridge and getting a spare battery (which will obviously cost more money, not sure how much).

Basically, I just wanted to mention this because it would be a bad situation to spend $25-$75 for some vintage games only to find out that they aren't actually playable. IMO the virtual console on the original Wii is the simplest and most direct way of playing these games and that's what I generally do. Most of the "premium" games are on there (and it seems like those are what you're looking for), although you'll obviously have a bigger selection if you're buying original cartridges. The Wii U has more emulation options and also has the Earthbound/Mother series, which may or may not be important to you, but regular Wiis are dirt-cheap these days and they also have lots of NES, Genesis, and N64 games available on the VC.

My advice? If you really want the original SNES experience, the easiest and cheapest thing to do is to find some way to connect a virtual-console'd Wii up to an old CRT TV (not a joke, 8- and 16-bit graphics look much better on regular-definition TVs. The pixels look really noticeable on HDTVs).

Local H Jay

Flea markets and garage sales for original cartridges. Goodwill and Salvation Army stores sometimes have great stuff. I found a SNES in box with Super Mario World and controllers in great condition. I found a copy of Earthbound for $3 too, got both of those at Goodwill.