Quirks of Nintendo Backwards Compatibility

Live Compatibility Sheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Intro: (0:00)
NES: (1:53)
SNES: (3:26)
Gameboy & GBC: (5:56)
N64: (7:59)
Gamecube: (9:45)
GBA: (12:32)
DS: (14:42)
Wii: (16:20)
3DS: (19:05)
Wii U: (20:51)
New 3DS: (22:17)
Switch: (22:54)
Shanmania Discord: / discord

[@dr.c2195]

I WOULD NEVER EMULATE OR BYPASS REGION LOCKS OR HOMEBREW OR DO ANYTHING ELSE THAT MIYAMOTO DISAPPROVES OF HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE AND PEOPLE WOULD BUY YOUR STUFF AND MAKE YOU RICH BUT WOULD THEN TURN AROUND AND NOT OBEY YOU AND USE THEIR OWN STUFF THEY BOUGHT FROM YOU HOWEVER THEY WANTED INSTEAD OF ONLY USING IT IN WAYS YOU APPROVE OF JUST BECAUSE YOU BOUGHT THE CONSOLES AND GAMES DOES NOT MEAN YOU MAY USE THEM HOWEVER YOU WISH YOU PAID FOR IT BUT IT STILL BELONGS TO NINTENDO JUST LIKE WE ALL DO HAIL NINTENDO

[@Shanmania]

Pinning in hopes Miyamoto will see and give me a shirt w/ his face on it ❤️

[@gabrielreisinger8047]

Bro chill out. By the way. No one will stop me from homebrewing my consoles.

[@1VB_Fan]

@@gabrielreisinger8047HOW DARE YOU, OUR GOD, MIYAMOTO WOULD DISAPPROVE! ALL HAIL THE VIRTUAL BOY, ALL HAIL NINTENDO, ALL HAIL MIYAMOTO!!!!!!!!! HOMEBREW IS ONE OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS!!!

[@gabrielreisinger8047]

@@1VB_Fan so why Miyamoto.

[@1VB_Fan]

@@gabrielreisinger8047 HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME!!!!!!!! IT BECAUSE MIYAMOTO IS GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALL HAIL MIYAMOTO!!!

[@toonpik7]

Kind of a major oversight: the switch lite! It’s not compatible with the dock. You can use joycons with it but you’ll need to have another way to charge them.

[@mrsuperheatran2794]

It's not an oversight if it was done by design.

[@buffkangaroodog]

@@mrsuperheatran2794they meant an oversight of the video

[@angeldude101]

Probably the most interesting aspect of Virtual Console is the 3DS's _GBA_ compatibility. This was only made available for early adopters of the system, but what's notable about it is that it didn't use emulation like other Virtual Console games. Instead, DS games actually used enough of the GBA hardware in the system that the 3DS and DSi basically had to package a GBA in the device in order to properly run DS games. These GBA Virtual Console titles show how GBA games _could've_ run on the DSi and 3DS _if_ they had a cartridge slot.

[@cosmichappenings6674]

While that is true, this 3DS doesn't have the GBA chip so you aren't truly playing it nativity with no bugs. It's more like Hardware Emulation. And Nintendo didn't put them on virtual console because this injects are extremely barebones with no support of save states and going to the home menu in game. And Sleep Mode doesn't work or other background tasks.

[@renakunisaki]

Wii is the same. It becomes a GameCube.

[@seymourkrelborn4780]

@@cosmichappenings6674 They were updated to support sleep mode and background Streetpass/Spotpass

[@cosmichappenings6674]

@@seymourkrelborn4780 No they weren't. I have. messed around with a lot of GBA stuff on the 3ds and this isn't true

[@seymourkrelborn4780]

@@cosmichappenings6674 I remember reading it, I guess it was misreporting. I'll take your word for it since you have the games. Thanks for correcting that

[@Chelaxim]

Imagine you are a parent to four kids in the year 2004...Nintendo and Square Enix want you to shill out 700 dollars USD to play the most mid Zelda and Final Fantasy games ever made to their full potential.

[@CassiusStelar]

Hey you. Your opinion sucks

[@jeremycole617]

I think the original intent was for all the people who had a Gamecube, a link cable, and a GBA to buy the game, then go over to their friend's houses to work together in the game. Joke was on them. Nobody with a Gamecube had friends unless they had Smash. And that's all they'd ever play.

[@DezuKiwami]

@@jeremycole617 now fast forward to 2020, a time where we have very fast wireless connections to anyone accross the world and the hardware to play games in 4K with all kinds of features, like cross-platform multiplayer. Now imagine Square re-releasing Crystal Chronicles as a remaster and screwing up the multiplayer to the point where it's arguably even worse than the $700 experience, lol.

[@MadSociety-uy6zg]

What I loved the legend of Zelda 4 sword adventure on the GameCube it's the best 2d Zelda game ever it deserves to be ported to the switch. The GameCube is the best Nintendo console ever made it sold more than the garbage Wii U.

[@Melonposting]

Peak zoomer right here

[@vincenzomottola7778]

Some things you forgot about: 1. Some later 3DS games have secret New 3DS enhancements, for instance, Yoshi's Woolly World. The game will run at 60fps (like the Wii U version) on New 3DS, but it's half the framerate on old 3DS. 2. The Nintendo DS got accessories that would plug into the GBA slot, like the Rumble Pak. The DS Guitar Hero games and all GBA slot peripherals are completely useless on DSi/DSi XL and all 3DS models. 3. The Game Boy Color has special palettes for specific Game Boy games built into the hardware. For instance, Metroid II looks comparable to Metroid on NES.

[@VOAN]

Also remember that if you play Game Boy games on Super Game Boy, the game will ran on Super NES clock speed and not the actual Game Boy clock speed meaning it's faster but inaccurate and could cause gameplay hiccups in some games. This issue was fix for the Super Game Boy 2.

[@MirrorHall_Clay]

3DS games running on the New models also have better performance (it still isn't enough to save Pokémon X and Y from horrible framedrops, though)

[@vincenzomottola7778]

@@MirrorHall_Clay I think this only applies to 3DS games that came out after the New 3DS. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is still 30fps on New 3DS and that game predates the New 3DS by more than a year, if it had gotten a New 3DS performancd update to run at 60fps, it would be the definitive version. Kinda makes me want Donkey Kong Country Returns Deluxe for Switch

[@Great-Documentaries]

@@vincenzomottola7778If you have a modded New 3DS XL, you can get 60 FPS unlocks over on GBATemp for many of the most popular games and they are adding codes for other games all the time as they figure them out.

[@thegaminggod4679]

Someone already mentioned that, technically the NES is compatible Famicom games. They said that all you needed was a pin adapter. HOWEVER, they failed to mention there is an official adapter. Certain early NES games are just a Famicom board with an adapter slapped on. By popping open the cartridge, you could attach a different game to it and play Famicom games on your NES

[@MLife1000]

I enjoyed this video 😁

[@SuperFranzs]

Who's "they"? Nintendo?

[@thegaminggod4679]

@@SuperFranzs “They” is the person I was referring to in the first part of the comment. The person who mentioned that the games are compatible with an adapter but failed to mention that there was an official adapter.

[@fluffycritter]

The internal adapter is pretty much the only reason to buy Gyromite,

[@NextNate03]

That was not an official adapter for consumers to go out and buy like the Super Gameboy or even the Gameboy Player.

[@danbaker9492]

Wii mini DID come out in the US. It was very last minute though lol. Also there's the switch lite.

[@MechaDragonX]

The Panasonic Qube was a GameCube developed by Panasonic with like a DVD player shoved in, allowing you to shift between the two modes. So you should probably add that to the spreadsheet 👍

[@Shanmania]

Added!

[@Kalvinjj]

It also had the Game Boy Player made for itself alone as well, I can only imagine the price for all that nowadays (not even gonna bother googling what I can't afford).

[@MechaDragonX]

@@Kalvinjj Ya cuz it had those legs lol

[@VOAN]

Odd that Panasonic was able to produced two consoles (the REAL 3DO and Panasonic Q) in their company life time but they never got into the hardware gaming market with their own dedicated console like Apple, Sony, and Microsoft. The Panasonic Q was their second console whereas the REAL 3DO was their first console.

[@QnjtGWonQNqVsbYyzjx4]

@@Kalvinjj If they bother to have DVD compatibility, would it hurt for them to include the Gameboy player built in as well?

[@lilorangefella]

The Gamecube didn’t use CDs, it used mini DVDs. Additionally, the Wii Mini was released in the US in 2013, a year after Canada got it.

[@NovaDelta]

Fun fact, a handful of NES cartridges are literally just famicom boards with a converter inside of the cartridge. So technically (at least some) famicom games can be played, or at the very least physically loaded

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

You can play famicom games with a game shark

[@bland9876]

Is that why they were so big?

[@NovaDelta]

@@bland9876 I think they were mostly big because some cartridges used the whole cart, however a lot of them dont use even half of it and its silly to look at lol

[@FritzCopyCat]

@@NovaDelta No. By that logic, there'd be large Family Computer cartridges too. The NES cartridges are large to both work with the front-loading and to not look like typical video game cartridges. The NES was specifically designed to not look like a video game console as they had a bad reputation in North America at the time. It has a front-loading slot to make it resemble a VCR or Stereo 8 deck, and it's why it's branded as an "entertainment system".

[@NovaDelta]

@@FritzCopyCatA lot of the early NES games were just reworked Famicom boards. (Some literally just Famicom boards like the earlier Gyromite revisions) However as people became more familiar with the hardware, they were able to utilize the extra space in it for additional hardware, think extra EEPROM, internal battery, SuperFX for the SNES, etc. But yeah the design of the cart itself was probably to be more advertiseable to Americans or something, I didn't word it very well originally I just found out, funnily enough, some Famicom cartridge boards dont even take up half the cartridge space, lol

[@voxel64]

The Wii mini got a very limited release in the US, only a year after the Canadian release.

[@LNSLateNightSaturday]

I thought it must've, because I ran across them occasionally working for a GameStop competitor in MS. I doubted I'd come across anything from that far away...

[@JerKKeR]

I think it was released internationally in the end because I saw a handful of them at European Toys'R'Us stores (RIP)

[@kinkydervish]

I absolutely got the GameCube just for SA2B. I would lop off a Pinkie for the Chao gardens in modern times

[@linkyamp4507]

Wii mini was also released in USA and Europe at least, Canada was just the test market

[@Shanmania]

Yep, I missed that, released in EU and USA in 2013, thanks!

[@ILC_YTP]

Couple of random notes cuz why not: 3:16 Video quality on the top loader is worse due to it only having RF output compared to the original NES model which had RF and composite, though both models' picture quality are about the same if both are outputting RF. 5:03 The OG Super Game Boy did run games slightly faster than a regular gameboy, and the Super Game Boy 2 fixes that, though it was only released in Japan. 8:36 There was also a third party addon for the N64 called the GB Hunter (known as the game booster in PAL regions) that played Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. However it was terrible, with no sound, bad picture quality, slow down, and weird incompatibility with a few games. 8:43 With a hacked version of Pokemon Stadium 2, it is possible to play most Game Boy games with the N64 transfer pack. However any game over 2 MB won't work, and some weren't able to get Game Boy Color games to work. There are also other issues, such as some game soft locking when the player attempts to save. Some games with Super Game Boy enhancements do seem to work with said enhancements. 10:42 The Game Boy Player could not play Game Boy Advance Video cartages. Not that you would wanna watch them on a TV screen, it's just funny that Nintendo was worried about piracy with such a low quality video format. 14:22 What's weird is that Nintendo didn't have much faith in the DS when it first came out, so they were still pushing the GBA a bit as a fall back if the DS failed. 16:53 Both the Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini can be modded to play Gamecube games, though there is no Gamecube controller or physical memory card support. Same applies to the Wii U, though that was already mentioned in the intro. 19:05 I suspect the 3DS was backwards compatible with GBA games, but Nintendo didn't include the port to play them physically. It's mainly because, as a gift for those who bought the 3DS before it got a price cut, Nintendo gave customers 10 free NES games and 10 free GBA games, which was the only way you could officially play GBA games on the 3DS without modding, as these games were never on the eshop. It's also worth noting that the only DS game that was released digitally for the 3DS was WarioWare: Touched, exclusive as a My Nintendo reward.

[@Shanmania]

Great info, thank you sir

[@Atr0]

Yeah, both the 3DS and DSi are fully * backwards compatible with GBA games, in the sense that they have GBA hardware within them, the same way the Wii FE, Wii Mini and Wii U have gamecube hardware in them.

[@fortecyveria769]

Nintendo has said that they wanted to include GBA compatibility on the DSi but that all the hardware was already taking up too much space. The 3DS was even tighter in that way (it's kind of a miracle device for 2011, honestly)

[@SeanGonzalezMDHEXT]

GBA Virtual Console (added for early 3DS adopters) uses a modified firm file called "AGB_FIRM". This firmware is used whenever a GBA Virtual Console game is launched and uses the GBA support in the 3DS's hardware to run the game. It's similar to DS Mode in that it locks down the 3DS and prevents certain hardware from being used or accessed. Although GBA Virtual Console titles were only ever released to early adopters, all 3DS consoles have "AGB_FIRM" and can be modified to play GBA roms using this firmware.

[@chairwood]

y do you know all this

[@Melonposting]

Since I haven’t seen anyone else point this out: Ocarina of Time 3D wasn’t a launch title, it was a few months later. Great video overall!

[@Shanmania]

Ah you're right, I even remember waiting for it's release before I put the $ down for one

[@Melonposting]

@@Shanmania Yeah, the 3DS was a bit rough at the start unless you really loved Pilotwings

[@ventilo334]

@@Melonposting Or Nintendogs

[@SylverstoneKhandr]

@@ventilo334 Or Steel Diver. (can't even say that with a straight face) Actually had Pilotwings, Nintendogs, and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition as my launch games on Day 1.

[@nicolasdefreitas8509]

Good job! This is cool video on the subject. Just a couple of correction: The DSi was the first Nintendo Handheld to be region locked. Not the 3ds The Wii U pro controller is not compatible with the switch without the use of some kind of 3rd party adapter like the one from 8bitdo Otherwise, I think your info on this video was correct. Can’t wait to see the Xbox video!

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

They also forgot that the switch light is a thing.

[@fluffycritter]

Similarly, with an adapter you can use many Playstation and PC controllers on the Switch as well.

[@scarpergirl]

Also he describes an 'NTSC Game Boy' but there's no such thing. NTSC directly refers to the US TV system which didn't apply to the Game Boy, and the GameCube didn't use CDs, the tech was closer to Mini-DVDs. I'd also argue that Four Swords Adventures isn't demonstrable backwards compatibility; just connectivity between two concurrent systems with a single game. But also at 14:46 talking about the DS with its GBA cartridge slot but showing a 3DS throughout (which doesn't have one?)

[@elwinroyale]

The wii mini didn't exclusively release in canada

[@SegaSaturnSubs]

Two small corrections: At 12:48, the AGB and AGS *are* compatible with Gen2 link cables - but they only work with (and are in fact required for) Gameboy and Gameboy Color games that use link cables. Using one of the Gen2 cables, you can use a GBA running a GB or GBC game to communicate just fine with a GBC, for instance. That’s all written in the original AGB manual, which I had at some point! And at 19:50, the 3DS is not the first handheld to be region-locked: the DSi was as well, and the DSi exclusive games have the same region locking mechanics as 3DS games. The 3DS, however, is not region locked for DS games, and any 3DS will play any DS game from any region (I have a US 3DS and a handful of EUR DS games; they work just fine) Everything else has been pointed out in other comments, but otherwise that’s a very good, comprehensive video that I’m glad you did for future referencing and historical documentation!

[@111112oo]

Correction to your correction. DSi enhanced games (Pokemon Black & White as an example) are also region locked on DSi and 3DS models but not the original DS models.

[@sivadfa]

Since it was mentioned, I really want to mention an addendum for the DS. The Nintendo DS was compatible with using two sets of headphones at once. Because the GBA SP charge port on the DS was still compatible with the Headphone adapter. Its a nice feature, I used it exactly once... If you actually had speaker amplifiers, you *could* use this extra port to actually implement Super Mario 64's Surround sound mode.

[@DarkBowser64]

Nice to have a video like this. Here's some additional info: The mod to make the SNS-101 "SNES Jr" region free (well, with Japanese games) is actually the exact same. There's no difference at all, you still can just lop off the tabs in the cartridge slot to have Japanese games play no problem. It's just that you might have a bit more trouble fitting pliers in there because of the cartridge port being a bit differently made (though you can still take the top off, unscrew the cartridge port, and more easily remove the tabs that way), and the SNS-101 doesn't support the cleaner video modes that the original model does out of the box, so only basic AV cables, and RF with an RF modulator adapter that goes into the multi-out port, but no S-Video or RGB. I don't know about the Super Famicom Jr. though. I think because the cartridge port is just flat out smaller on that one you'd be forced to remove the whole top. The N64 is almost the exact same thing; Japanese and North American N64s can both play each others' games if you can manage to remove the plastic from the cartridge slot. Most people just buy custom 3D printed "region-free" cartridge slots to not have to get any special equipment and carve out the plastic. Video quality on the NES top-loader is worse because it only supports RF, but if you were to use RF on an NES front-loader it'd be basically the same quality. People who complained about the video quality and sent the system in to Nintendo would get back "AV" versions of the top loader with a proper Nintendo multi-out port that supported composite, presumably just being a slightly modified version of the top-loader that uses the same AV multi-out back piece from the AV Famicom--but these are extremely rare because most people didn't really see a problem with it, let alone bother sending it in. On the off chance that you were to find one of these rare ones, they'd match the quality of the front-loader. There's other stuff but other comments have already addressed them.

[@Kalvinjj]

The heck a top loader (official) AV-NES exists?? That's pretty incredible frankly and I gotta see one! It's quite funny to think how the NES and Famicom where opposites in the input handling, one started with AV then went RF only, the other region got the exact opposite.

[@JazzyKitsune]

On that spreadsheet, some issues with the GBA e-reader. It works no issues on the DS Lite. On the OG DS it would work but it doesn't physically fit because of the link cable plug, but if you were to carve out a spot in the DS shell it would actually work. It also works on the Gameboy micro. The link cable plug and port on the e-reader are just a passthrough since it covers the port on the GBA and the Gameboy player, but on the SP and Micro, the port on the e-reader does nothing, you have to use the port on the console. On the DS there would be no link cable functionality at all

[@LaPrincipessaNuova]

The Wii Mini definitely was sold in the US too, because I remember seeing a whole shelf of them at a Target once and being surprised to see a model of a Nintendo console I’d never heard of. I think it was just originally exclusive to Canada and came out later elsewhere.

[@Glacier_Nester]

I think it was target exclusive here in the states? That, or the red shell color on the full size wii was target only, don't remember which

[@Dxceor2486]

It was also sold in europe, I remember seeing ads for it and one few years later at a flea market

[@thecastiel69]

22:33 Other than those exclusive N3DS games, there were 30 SNES Virtual Console games which doesn't work on O3DS. I know you already mentioned about skipping the VC, but just for information.

[@DE23]

1:33 While you can load GameCube ISOs off of an SD Card or USB drive, you can't use actual GameCube discs on Wii U

[@Great-Documentaries]

He mentioned in the intro that he wasn't going to cover what was possible with modded hardware. I could post about 50 things "wrong" with what he says if that were not the case, including region (un)locking and the ability to use GC controllers on more than just the Wii U version of Smash Bros.

[@kandikidzora]

I got a micro when I graduated high school in 2005 and I absolutely loved the thing and still do, but sadly don’t have mine anymore. I will die on the hill that it was my favorite advance version

[@ygaldo7254]

I literally just watched the playstation video like 30 minutes ago and subscribe to watch the nintendo when you release it, and the notification just arrived. loved the videos and I am surprised by the number of subscribers you have for the quality of your videos. good luck and thanks for the good content

[@scrilla4047]

It's Viktor the slickster!

[@ygaldo7254]

@@scrilla4047 yessir

[@Sjono]

12:11 Hilarious how you make it seem like having the entire setup to play Four Swords Adventure’s multiplayer is easier than having 3 friends

[@GODDAMNLETMEJOIN]

Three friends who want to play a nearly 20 year old game most well known for being obtuse to set up is a lot tougher than just three friends lol. "I only need to find one more link cable, one more GBA and my Gameboy Player startup disk then we can start playing! Where are you going? Come back guys!"

[@TylerFurrison]

@@GODDAMNLETMEJOIN You don't need the GB Player disc for that?

[@GODDAMNLETMEJOIN]

@@TylerFurrison Game boy interface my man!

[@ScrapKing73]

There were a lot more than just 6 DSi-specific games (that wouldn’t run on the regular DS). There were only 6 at retail, but lots more through digital distribution (via DSiWare).

[@kylespevak6781]

Of course DSi-ware wasn't available on DS 😂

[@ScrapKing73]

@@kylespevak6781 It's not an "of course" that DSiWare even existed at all, though, to those that maybe didn't have one or don't avidly follow video game news, and that was the point of my comment.

[@kylespevak6781]

@@ScrapKing73 No, I said "of course" "DSiWare" was DSi exclusive

[@ScrapKing73]

@@kylespevak6781 Yes, I understood that, so no clarification necessary on your end. I was clarifying the intent of the comment that you were replying to. Though I would argue that it's not "of course" that DSiWare was DSi exclusive, as there may have been a scenario when it was forwards compatible with a future generation product, but in any case my point was just to point out that there were DSi-specific games, and not everyone would have assumed that since it was mostly thought of as just a new regular DS by most people.

[@kylespevak6781]

@@ScrapKing73 Intent of my comment: Software with the console name in the title is obviously for said-console.

[@KiraSlith]

You CAN fit the DS Lite's Stylus in the bay on the DSi, it just sticks out the bottom a fair bit.

[@DE23]

20:19 Actually, there is some intercompatibility. For example, a DS Lite Stylus can fit in a DSi and Wii U GamePad

[@Bruno-oi4dq]

A few things of note: I'm pretty sure the Wii U Pro isn't usable on Switch at all, without a third-party adapter. For DS region locking, I believe DSi exclusive games are actually region-locked. Also, 3DS can still play DS games regardless of their region. The international Switch is region-locked with games made for the Mainland China Switch, but the Chinese Switch can still play international games.

[@Dairunt1]

This is of course a theory but I think that the wireless adapter they made for the GBA in early 2004 was an attempt for having communication between the GBA and the DS.

[@inklingex4433]

You may cannot play 3DS (and DSi exclusive) cartridges from any region on your American 3DS but you can play OG DS games from any region on your American 3DS Works for me whenever I test it out with Super Robot Wars and my Japanese copy of Mario Hoops 3-on-3

[@RiukuCresent]

I was looking for a comment like this, so I wasn't redundant, but yeah, I can confirm it for 2DS, so they didn't add any for it, either. I mostly used it for SRW, too.

[@gokublack8342]

My homebrewed 3DS says otherwise 😂 bye bye region locks

[@patpatboy2]

I actually really loved my GB Micro. I had a GBC for any pre-Advance games that I wanted to play, I used the headphones ALL THE TIME, so the SP missing the headphone jack was a deal-breaker (needing an adapter just normalizes removing vital features - looking at apple.....), and since it was so small, I was able to take it with me everywhere. Is the screen too small to be useful? To an adult, maybe, but I was an early teen, and my eyes were plenty capable of seeing everything on the small screen. As for the link cables - I just found that I never used link cables on any GameBoy, so while it's a 100% valid criticism, it didn't affect me personally.

[@ItIsReen]

Got this video in my recommended after getting your Playstation vid. I had to subscribe after seeing this, I wish you luck on your growth!

[@Zaphlyn]

I asked for a gamecube for christmas with Sonic Riders, I got SA2 as a second game and didn't really care much at the time but it quickly became my favorite Sonic game.

[@SquallyCoin5664]

Sonic Adventure 2 was a selling point for a console for me but not for the GameCube. I got GameCube for Melee and the other great titles on the cube of games, and got a Dreamcast for SA2.

[@DavidFigarland]

good show mate. i really like the random clips between consoles.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Subbed. Yet another channel I can't believe I'm just now being recommended.

[@WeegeeCool1]

For the xbox series x, some xbox one games arent compatable if they required the kinect in any way Also, the original xbox required a dongle to properly utalize dvd playback

[@Shanmania]

Great info! I had no idea about the dongle for the OG Xbox to enable DVD playback..

[@WeegeeCool1]

@@Shanmania 👍 happy to help

[@blunderingfool]

I'm months late but... I'm still astounded by how little gameboy you needed to play GBA games, the GBA Micro was literally nuts, the majority of the darn thing is the space for the cartridge. =P

[@ianeons9278]

Almost every Wii I've seen out in the wild is GameCube compatatible. I've only seen the Post-2011 version at my friend's house and the only time I saw a Wii Mini was at a retro games store.

[@michealhunt6607]

There's also a version of the NES made by Mattel in PAL regions, same look and design as the US version. I think we got that one first and it had its own quirks. Part of the reason why the Master System was more popular here

[@matthewkrenzler1171]

Although Mattel only distributed Nintendo’s systems in Italy and Australia until their respective arrangements expired as well into the 90’s

[@NottJoeyOfficial]

The Famicom isn't actually region locked, you just can't fit the other region games into it. If you have a pin adapter all region games will load on it because there is no lockout chip on it. Also the Wii Mini was released outside of Canada later, it came to the US and Europe in 2013 for some reason.

[@VOAN]

Though playing PAL NES games on an NTSC NES console will give you a bad time, those 50hz refresh rate will go awol on NTSC NES cause they can't handle 60hz.

[@VinnytotheK]

*Pokemon Stadium 2 allows you to play Gold, SIlver, and Crystal through the Gameboy transfer pack. *The Wii Mini was released in the EU, UK, and US as well, but Canada got it first. *On Wii U Smash Bros. for Wii U is the sole game which the Gamecube adapter is compatible with. *The Wii U Pro Controller is sadly not compatible with the Switch. (Unless you use a 3rd party adapter plugged into your Switch) Awesome video btw!

[@Shanmania]

Thanks! Updated the spreadsheet and I plan on reading corrections at the end of the Xbox vid. I had no idea smash 4 was the only game compatible with that GC/Wii U adapter, thanks again!

[@VinnytotheK]

​@@Shanmania Awesome! Yeah it was really a missed opportunity. Luckily the Wii U Gamecube adapter does work with the Switch, and whatever games support that setup. (I haven't really experimented with that.) They made a new one when Ultimate came out too, but they do the same thing!

[@flynnneil88]

The Wii Mini launched in the UK as well as other PAL regions as well, so not just in Canada. Great video :)

[@bland9876]

If I remember correctly the reason I asked for a GameCube was because I wanted gauntlet dark legacy and Namco Museum but I could be wrong. Both of those games are on the PlayStation 2 by the way I just didn't know that. I remember liking the Xbox the most and wishing I had that instead sometimes.

[@gokublack8342]

The reason I wanted a Gamecue was I was a kid and thought it looked cool also Metroid Prime

[@bland9876]

@@gokublack8342 though prime is cool I didn't know it existed till after I got my cube and infact I got prime 2 first.

[@swordslashertf2]

Love your videos, so useful!

[@kickguy223]

Fun fact about the 2DS, it's literally how nintendo got rid of Wii U game pad components, specifically the touch screen. They just slapped 3ds guts under a Wii U gamepad screen and slapped "2DS" onto the thing

[@TheMisterSaxy]

great vid, didn’t even realize it came from a smaller creator at first ❤ subbed

[@Encyclopedia_Brown97]

7:48 wasn’t expecting an old-school Survivor meme today, but I’m not upset to see it

[@Shanmania]

I knew I was gonna be a stretch for anyone to recognize it 😂 thank you

[@TheMultiGenGamer]

2:14 As a side note, dogbone controllers which only came with the Toploader NES also work on PAL NES hardware. The PAL region never got the toploader. [Edit] 17:15 The Wii Mini also released in Europe and the US, as a couple of other peeps have already mentioned.

[@19Szabolcs91]

As anothe side note, the dog bone controller is such an awful design that I just can't get over it. People complain about the N64 controller, but the dog bone the true bad Nintendo controller.

[@Sly88Frye]

I remember actually using the link cable on the Game Boy player. It was cool. A then friend of mine and I would actually play pokémon against each other that way with me playing pokémon leaf Green and him playing pokémon fire Red and we would have an honor system where whoever had the big screen would just simply not look at it so we wouldn't actually see what moves each other are doing. It was also cool to play advanced Wars on the big screen which that didn't require a link cable because everybody could play Advance Wars on literally one console so doing that on the big screen meant everybody was playing it on the TV like as if it was a home console game but of course we would be required to not look at the screen when it's the opposing players turn

[@MatheOliveira]

Awesome essay! You just got yourself a subscriber for life!

[@odd8149]

Some quality content. Laughed multiple times. Had a good time.

[@hiho9149]

The WiiU has basically 3 Wii cores on steroids inside it. The Wii is also a Gamcube on steroids. What this means is that by modding the WiiU and using a Gamecube controller adapter you get basically native hardware support for Gamecube games, but with HDMI output. Similarly, the 3DS has DS hardware inside it, which in turn has two CPUs, one of them being yet again a GBA cpu on steroids. The Virtual Console GBA games basically run on native hardware, and by modding the 3DS you can also natively play any GBA game you want. Basically, Nintendo unintentionally made both of their 7th generation consoles backwards compatible with games 2 generations prior. You could just emulate them on much better hardware but I think that's still pretty cool.

[@Shanmania]

Good info and summary! I'm certainly no expert on each console's architecture so this was interesting to read

[@RoachCatJr]

great video all around. hooked me and subbed

[@hannahevertson8306]

Ah yes, I remember taking in my brother's ling abandoned DSI and he'd lost the charger. I'd thought I'd have to find a charger then looked a little closer and used my 3DS charger. Makes me wonder if I accidentally incorporated his charger cause I seem to remember one of them getting destroyed at some point.

[@SonoraWolf]

oddly enough Wii Minis did also get sold for a VERY brief time here in Southern California at Target retail locations

[@gamernaut8864]

Awesome overview of Nintendo hardware and accessories, as well as their backward compatibility.

[@VOAN]

Speaking of backward compatibility, Nintendo also had forward compatibility too. There are some Game Boy Color games that could also be play on a regular Game Boy as well such as Pokemon Gold and Silver as well as Dragon Warrior I & II.

[@Blueyzachary]

Wii mini was not exclusively released in Canada. They got it before the USA, but there are USA models as well. (Also other countries; I know there are PAL models.)

[@one_step_sideways]

Correct, I saw one in Russia for some reason, as if anyone would want to buy this. There were 100,000 Wiis ever sold in Russia by the way, which is few compared to the PS3, which I owned. Xbox 360 non-slim were also sold rather well because they could be easily homebrewed to play your own homemade copies of your favourite games (become a shameless pirate)

[@UnlockedANDunleashed]

I like the sarcasm, subbed 👍

[@MartinBanak]

Just one small correction to the spreadsheet, there is a "special" (just differently shaped, HW inside is the same) version of Game Boy Player for Panasonic Q, so you can also play GB, GBC and GBA games on it the same way like on regular GameCube.

[@Andystuff800]

Typo in the google sheet: games come on discs, not disks, though you can often install them onto a hard disk drive.

[@fordf150]

Great video!!

[@EliJewett]

notes for the spreadsheet the New 3DS had a charging dock that could be ordered from club nintendo the GameCube had component cables that you could order directly from Nintendo Japan exclusive N64 DD isn't mentioned the PSVR2 isn't mentioned which launches February 22nd (today), you cannot play original PSVR titles on it

[@777superlightwater]

Oh my new favorite channel nice to meet you

[@catholiccontriversy]

The AV cable thing worked great for me. I bought one of those universal cables from Gamestop that worked for gamecube, ps2, xbox, and xbox360. Because the N64 av slot is on the left and ps2 av slot is on the right (or vice versa), I had my N64 and PS2 on the same AV source without having to swap cables (it also made for funny interference when both were turned on).

[@SamuraiSam]

Small correction: Pokémon Yellow wasn't actually a Game Boy Color game at all. But Gold and Silver are examples of Color games compatible with original Game Boy hardware.

[@ianeons9278]

I really wish they released a 3DS adapter for the Wii U but I guess It didn't really make much sense business-wise.

[@gokublack8342]

Nothing of what they did that gen made sense business wise it was terribly advertised and sold like shit because people thought it was just a improved Wii 😂

[@ianeons9278]

@@gokublack8342 Yeah true it’s a shame because the Wii U & 3DS are great consoles themselves.

[@buffkangaroodog]

17:20 The Wii mini wasn’t only released in Canada. It came out there first, but rolled out to other territories within a few months. I myself saw one in Best Buy in the United States years ago

[@elliswood2530]

The first Nintendo video I've watched since the news of Martinet and hearing his voice at the start hit me hard 🥲

[@ryanklaus2970]

Great vid

[@Shanmania]

Live Compatibility Sheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13BnuFlQUVbxLMYRO5Ms8TUhbiefmXsUE69OYVwp1mZ0/edit?usp=sharing

[@GrizzlyGamesNorway]

Nice one for this list dude 👊 I am also retro gaming KZbin creator and so happy I have discovered your channel 😃 I subscribed and looking forward to following you! (brilliant content & research)

[@chubbyadler3276]

So far, this looks like it just has Playstation. Is Nintendo and Xbox still in the works? Also, have you covered the PSP and PS-Vita yet?

[@tartarold]

the Xbox Series S and series X don't support kinnect

[@loreleihillard5078]

On the sheet, there's no mention of Game Boy/GameCube compatibility. There's an official peripheral called the "GameBoy Player" that is slapped on the bottom of the GameCube that allows you to put GB/GBC/GBA cartridges in and play them on your TV

[@user-ld6hl9gx2c]

The Wii Fit balance board is missing...

[@Heidegaff]

Why is Joe from Family Guy lecturing me about Nintendo compatibility

[@the_pigs_have_rebelled]

17:14 It was released in Canada first but definitely also got US and European releases.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

One correction at 12:48 - GBA/SP were compatible with the Pocket/Light/Color link cables, but only for those games. GBA games require the new link cable, but the port is sized to accept both.

[@starlightSEGA]

Yo that Kirby game in the beginning, so nostalgic. I forget the name of that game but spent soo many hours playing that with my brother and cousins.

[@Shanmania]

Kirby Superstar on the SNES

[@aduckwalkeduptoalemonadestand]

Was planing on buying a NN3DSXL until I realized my Skylanders portals can read amiibo just fine

[@rrolette]

My name is Robert and I approve of this video

[@toast99bubbles]

19:49 The DSi actually had region lock on those 6 games you briefly mentioned, so the 3DS wasn't the first Nintendo handheld with region locking. 23:08 There are 3 models of Switch. The Switch Lite being the one you missed. That's incompatible with the Switch dock and any accessories that require using a dock. It's also incompatible with accessories that are based on the shape of the device and only works with Joy Cons when you buy them separately. Certain games also don't really work so well on the Lite.

[@adrenaliner91]

There is only 2 Switch models? Hmm physically there are 3. You forgot the Switch Lite. Technically there are 4. The first model had to be upgraded to a second model because of the hardware built-in was always hackable, regardless of software updates..

[@jnzooger]

You left out one thing about the new 3ds. The c-stick and z buttons fully emulate the circle pad pro from the regular 3ds in games that utilize it.

[@airfoemoe]

Impressive, that is quite impressive.

[@joeyweinstock2272]

You can see all this and how it has transformed in The Switch

[@joemck85]

So the Wiimote MotionPlus dongle has a pass-through port for other Wiimote accessories. Am I the only one who immediately thought, "what happens if I stack another MotionPlus dongle"?

[@PracarYT]

This channel is so underrated Wtfff

[@Thready_Carnival]

the wii mini was also sold here in ireland, i remember seeing it on shelves here as a child bundled with mario kart wii and an extra controller

[@jahjoeka]

I watch these nostalgia vids like crazy.

[@ThomasFarmer21]

Quick note: Wii mini was not limited to Canada

[@aaronaaronsen5976]

I appreciate your Survivor S1 reference. Truly a man of culture.

[@bryce7344]

17:14 The wii mini was not only released in canada.. Im not sure how you came to that conclusion but it was released in Canada, The EU, UK, and USA all on different dates. Maybe you saw the canadian one was released first then stopped reading?

[@gokublack8342]

6:25 For you zoomers out there back in these days the handheld screens weren't back-lit so if you wanted to say....play your game at night or under your blanket when you're supposed to be asleep you couldn't because you couldn't see anything on the screen you'd have to use a flashlight or something to see it. Back-lit screens weren't a thing until GBA SP. Although Nintendo did make this weird mounted light contraption for it Edit: It being the original GBA

[@FriendofMineralTown]

I’m probably the only person who used the 3D from my personal day 1 in 2012 until the end, which for me was in 2021.

[@stevesteve7442]

I got a Recees ad as he was talking about plugging in cables to your gameboy aka pride and joy.

[@BoompaWorld]

If I remember correctly as a kid, the Wii Eshop also put some DS demos and you could play them using DS download play. Could be wrong but I remember something like that, maybe DSi?

[@beardalaxy]

With the GBA to GC link cable, Animal Crossing had the E-reader cards, a secret island, and a pattern designer that you could detach from the cable and take somewhere else, then bring it back home to connect it again and put in your design! So cool!

[@lami_va]

Wii Mini was released in the US as well. Nice video overall.

[@Sly88Frye]

The music you put on when you were referencing the Google sheets link, is music I have had stuck on my head for so long and I don't remember where it came from. I know it's from an N64 game like I'm so certain of it but I just don't remember which one it is. I'm really hoping to just look up the song on KZbin and listen to it

[@Shanmania]

It is the Star Fox 64 title screen music (:

[@Sly88Frye]

@@Shanmania Wait what? I've heard the Star Fox 64 title screen music. It doesn't sound anything like that.

[@davidecarucci1073]

Fun facts: The super gameboy is just a gameboy with no screen and a connector on the bottom The wii is just an overclocked gamecube with double the ram, when you play a gamecube game it disables the additional half of ram

[@sceneCatgirl]

I did, in fact, get my gamecube because I thought the SA2B demo I played at Toys R Us was the coolest

[@susiehaltmann3342]

Being able to play gamecube games on the wii and able to use a memory card on it as well was and still is incredible to this day