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chuckroDuring a recent trip to Japan, I got to browse through game stores in Akihabara in Tokyo, and while I didn’t buy Super Famicom carts or Final Fantasy orchestral CDs, I did pick up the Legend of Zelda Anniversary Edition Game and Watch for a very reasonable 5,000 Yen (roughly $30, less than half of what it goes for in the US). It’s got the original two NES Zelda games, Link’s Awakening, the original Game and Watch game, and a “display” clock mode.
The games are all available in multiple languages, including the Japanese and English versions. The emulation is smooth and clearly saves your state when you turn off the device or swap modes, but it has no other frills. (I also understand why they didn’t put Link to the Past on this—they’d need to squeeze in at least two more buttons to make it playable. It might have been cool to have the Oracles games on it, though.) That said, it’s not actually a good handheld—the screen is great, but the d-pad and buttons are small and set very low, so it isn’t ergonomic especially if you have large hands. I played some Link’s Awakening on my RG35XX-H side by side and the difference in comfort is stark.
(The original LCD game is also kinda dumb. It’s a low-effort whack-a-mole game where you move left and right to position your hammers above the burrowing monsters. I’m glad I’ve tried it but I think I always envisioned something slightly more Zelda-ish.)
My wife called out the ridiculousness of naming these things “Game and Watch” when they aren’t watches. Even if you had a wrist strap it would be a vambrace. Honestly, even if battery concerns weren’t a thing, I can’t leave this version on as a timepiece, because it chirps every second and plays a tune on the hour.
Overall: This is a cool keepsake device, not something I’ll actually use particularly heavily. But it is cool, nonetheless. And the box folds out into a little display stand!
The games are all available in multiple languages, including the Japanese and English versions. The emulation is smooth and clearly saves your state when you turn off the device or swap modes, but it has no other frills. (I also understand why they didn’t put Link to the Past on this—they’d need to squeeze in at least two more buttons to make it playable. It might have been cool to have the Oracles games on it, though.) That said, it’s not actually a good handheld—the screen is great, but the d-pad and buttons are small and set very low, so it isn’t ergonomic especially if you have large hands. I played some Link’s Awakening on my RG35XX-H side by side and the difference in comfort is stark.
(The original LCD game is also kinda dumb. It’s a low-effort whack-a-mole game where you move left and right to position your hammers above the burrowing monsters. I’m glad I’ve tried it but I think I always envisioned something slightly more Zelda-ish.)
My wife called out the ridiculousness of naming these things “Game and Watch” when they aren’t watches. Even if you had a wrist strap it would be a vambrace. Honestly, even if battery concerns weren’t a thing, I can’t leave this version on as a timepiece, because it chirps every second and plays a tune on the hour.
Overall: This is a cool keepsake device, not something I’ll actually use particularly heavily. But it is cool, nonetheless. And the box folds out into a little display stand!
