You read it, right guys, get ready to test your speedrunning skills in a new Nintendo World Championships. When the ESRB rating for the Nintendo Switch port of the World Championships popped up online last week, I assumed that we’d just be getting a game that included the elements of the 1990 Championships on the Switch.
I even called the fact that ‘there could be the possibility that we’re about to have another World Championships to sort out the Retro Gaming elite amongst us, all wielding our Switches in a big hall somewhere’. It turns out that I should have gone with my gut, as that’s exactly what’s happening (minus the hall).
The first championships were held in 1990 and saw players wielding NES Remotes and playing stages from Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Rad Racer. Now, on July 18th, 2024, players will be able to test their skills on over 150 classic stages from 13 titles, showing their skills in Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and many more of the greatest NES games ever made.
The championships will return this July, but this time, we’ll be playing in our living rooms rather than cramming into a hall somewhere. From the comfort of our homes, we’ll be able to challenge friends and players all over the world, collecting coins to unlock new items as we play. For many people, the pressure to perform in front of a large audience will be gone, allowing us to just concentrate on gaming and getting those high scores nailed down.
Nintendo tells us on the official page for the title on their website, ‘Jump into the World Championship Mode with a Nintendo Switch Online membership! Aim for a spot on the leaderboards in five challenges that rotate each week. Compare your personal best times with others at the end of each week, or sit back and watch the fastest run for each challenge.’
The digital edition of the game will cost $29.99, with the physical edition coming in at $59.99. So far, only the digital edition is up on the UK Nintendo Store, coming in at £24.99, so we can probably expect a cost of £54.99 for the physical edition. The deluxe edition will also include a gold reproduction NES cartridge, art cards, pins, and the game itself, but I don’t have a price for that yet. I’ll be nabbing that set for sure, and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy and challenging the Dodo team very soon!
