The "Mini Nes" Makes It Easy to Introduce Your Kids to Retro Gaming

I've tried introducing my own kids to retro gaming, with only a shred of success. If I can get them interested in checking out a title, there's usually some extraneous problem like the cartridge not reading, or not being able to find the game I was talking about in the first place. There are always emulators, or downloading certain games on the WiiU, but it's not the same as actually having that controller in your hands.

What I like about the Nintendo Classic Mini is that it comes with 30 games, all of which I already know, and most of which were wildly popular when they came out. This, in turn, makes it easier for me to play them with my kids, teaching them how to play the retro games that I grew up with.

With so many games that have realistic graphics and high end physics coming out over recent years, it's hard for kids to look at a retro game and have an inclination to play it. Though there has been a retro revolution of sorts, this has mainly been restricted to nostalgic '80s and '90s kids and teens who love playing the games that started it all.

The youngest gaming generation has no connection to the retro games because they weren't around for them, but to an extent they love playing games that mimic the classic games.

Well, the Nintendo Classic Mini, a miniaturized version of the classic Nintendo Entertainment System that brought so many '80s kids untold amounts of joy and fond childhood memories.

NES games are just plain good - and iconic

Other consoles have tried the "all in one" deal before. I ended up buying the Atari Flashback 4, but I wasn't all that impressed. It came preloaded with 75 titles, none of which I was actually familiar with. Sega also had a similar system, but fortunately I still have my original Genesis with all the games I liked, and wasn't interested in most of the titles offered on it.

Gaming with your kids is a great bonding experience. While I love playing games like Super Mario Maker, Minecraft, Terraria, and Roblox with them, those are games from their generation. It's nice to introduce them not only to the history of gaming, but what I liked to play when I was their age.

They enjoy when I've shown them "old school cool" games, and trying to imagine what I was like as a kid. It really opens up the conversation between us as a family, and that's always a great experience.