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The Other 3DS Ambassador Games for NES Revealed [UPDATED]

If you've missed out on the chance to fight Dark Link, now's your chance.

The most I've played of Zelda II is probably...nope, I don't remember ever playing Zelda II.
The most I've played of Zelda II is probably...nope, I don't remember ever playing Zelda II.

UPDATE: Nintendo of America has confirmed this is the official lineup.

ORIGINAL STORY: The first phase of Nintendo's 3DS Ambassador program will begin rolling out on September 1, bringing early adopters a set of 10 NES games. We've known five of the games, but Nintendo of Japan has announced the other five, too--and there are some classics to get excited about.

The full list is as follows, with the previously unannounced games in bold:

Confession: I've never played Zelda II. The differing perspective totally threw me off, and I just never came back. Shame. The stories of fighting Dark Link are legendary, though, so I'm not exactly looking forward to that, but I am hoping to cross off a sore spot in my pile of should-have-played video games.

These versions of vintage Nintendo releases aren't fully featured, either. The games will eventually have Virtual Console's standard "restore point" save and load functionality, but that's coming later. On September 1, you'll be limited to a "VC Suspend" option. Don't let your battery run out!

Nintendo of America has not responded to my request to confirm these games will all show up here, too, but the first wave of announcements were the same worldwide.

Patrick Klepek on Google+

98 Comments

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JackG100

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Edited By JackG100

Zelda 2 is awesome! First Zeldagame I ever played :D

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MeatSim

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Edited By MeatSim

Yea I never much cared for Zelda 2.

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Aaron_G

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Edited By Aaron_G

I wish I could save in these, because I will never play through one of these games in a sitting.

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SecondPersonShooter

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As someone who got both the price drop and the ambassador benefits, I find it hard to be upset about anything.

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drok17

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Edited By drok17

NEXT!

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KillerManYaro

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Edited By KillerManYaro

Decent list. I'd probably trade one of those for Punch-Out!!, but I guess you can't win them all.

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WinterSnowblind

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Edited By WinterSnowblind

Zelda 2 is definitely an underrated game. I wouldn't call it my favourite in the series, but a lot of people dismiss it too quickly because of the difficulty.

For the most part, I think this is a pretty good list of games. Kid Icarus would have made more sense than Yoshi's Egg, it could have helped hype up the new game coming.. but I'm not complaining. Whether or not this will make up for the massive price drop is another matter all together though. I'll enjoy the free games, but as a loyal Nintendo supporter, I definitely won't be buying any of their systems at launch ever again.

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thebigJ_A

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Edited By thebigJ_A

I actually preferred zelda 2 to the original. Am I crazy?

It was hard as hell, but I loved it for that. Then again, I loved Demon Souls, and Dark Souls is my 2nd most anticipated game this year (after Skyrim).

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WinterSnowblind

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Edited By WinterSnowblind

@cookiearmyleader said:

meanwhile random person:dont i have all these games on my nes emulator beat and save stated kinda late to be bringing these out nintnedo

Yup, and why buy the Witcher 2, Portal 2 or Skyrim? I can download them all for free! lol!

Yeah, sorry, but some of us aren't thieves.

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GoofyGoober

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Edited By GoofyGoober

No thank you 3DS.

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XxRANGAxX

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Edited By XxRANGAxX

@Homeslice said:

@XxRANGAxX said:

Where the fuck is A Link to the Past!!!?!??

I dunno....must be that whole thing about this being a collection of NES releases. Funny how that works.

Yes I guess i read it in much excitement hoping they where finally going to say "A Link to the past" and read SNES rather than NES........sorry if I coursed you any inconvenience and have a good day :)

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apoptosis61

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Edited By apoptosis61

disappointing list

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wolf_blitzer85

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Edited By wolf_blitzer85

@Homeslice said:

@XxRANGAxX said:

Where the fuck is A Link to the Past!!!?!??

I dunno....must be that whole thing about this being a collection of NES releases. Funny how that works.

I'm at least hoping for it to be a GBA ambassador game, but I'm not sure how Capcom's involvement with the original GBA release would affect that.

I'll be perfectly happy if a SNES VC popped up though.

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mewarmo990

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Edited By mewarmo990

@fuchikoma said:

It would be nice to get something in 3D to play on this 3D system.

Word. I am still convinced that this whole "3D Revolution" of home entertainment is going to turn out to be an overblown fad. Sales don't lie, so these companies need to put up or shut up.

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fuchikoma

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Edited By fuchikoma

It would be nice to get something in 3D to play on this 3D system. So far I'm sort of at a loss since the games I have so far are franchises that are great on anything but a 3DS for various reasons, and there's nothing else out right now I'd buy... Little tech demo toys would be enough, but I've played NES games on everything by now.

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Homeslice

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Edited By Homeslice

@XxRANGAxX said:

Where the fuck is A Link to the Past!!!?!??

I dunno....must be that whole thing about this being a collection of NES releases. Funny how that works.

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XxRANGAxX

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Edited By XxRANGAxX

Where the fuck is A Link to the Past!!!?!??

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ChrisInCali

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Edited By ChrisInCali

No Punch-Out, Kirby Adventure, Kid Icarus, or Super Mario Bros 3?  Awesome.

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owl_of_minerva

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Edited By owl_of_minerva

No honour amongst thi--commenters claiming that these games are 'widely available'.

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krabboss

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Edited By krabboss

All of these ambassador games are worth maybe $20 to me max - not $80. I have played all of these games through the years and they've all not aged too well. I see absolutely no reason I'd ever want to play one of these games over a more modern game I have on hand. 
 
I'd feel it a much better deal if Nintendo sent out some free 3/DSWare in this deal, but those platforms are still a little underwhelming.

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ichthy

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Edited By ichthy

@Redbullet685: I know right? Blew my fucking mind.

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Neezie

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Edited By Neezie

@Gredler: Thanks, I'm all set now. These games come out on my birthday, what a great gift!

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Alex_Carrillo

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Edited By Alex_Carrillo
@vinsanityv22
Wow. The umpteenth port of the first Super Mario Bros. and Zelda again. Thanks Nintendo! Also, stuff nobody wants like Donkey Kong Jr., NES Open Tournament Golf and other relics. Like Metroid - jeez laweez; that game sucks. I HATE it when people treat it like it's awesome; it's a poor, poor game. Just like practically every other first gen "black background" NES title from Nintendo.
 
Considering the amazing games that came out between '89 and '92 for the NES, I'm really getting sick of Nintendo recycling stuff from, like, '86 or something. This is horsesh**, to be honest.
 
I'll pick up Zelda 2 since it's different and HASN'T been recycled endlessly by  Nintendo so far. I'm also curious about Wrecking Crew and Ice Climbers, but mostly this is a whole lotta "meh".
You hate it when someone has an opinion different from yours? Brilliant.

I guess it's fair, though. I hate you for being an entitled brat.
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Alex_Carrillo

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Edited By Alex_Carrillo
@oasisbeyond

So people are actually gona rebuy nes games? I mean come on, these things can be found anywhere. Nintendo needs to stop milking these old games. Just put them in the brower for free for anyonne with a ds3.... Or put it on a nice page where anyone could play them on a ds3.
I assume that "anywhere" means ROMs on the web. That's illegal, babe. Sorry.

If you want to play these games you have to pay for them. I know that's an entirely alien concept for the entitled generation you belong to, but it's the way things just work.
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halberdierv2

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Edited By halberdierv2

ehh... not liking these. really feelin meh about these.

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Gredler

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Edited By Gredler
@Neezie: go to support.nintendo.com/nintendo3DSstatus and there is a form to put your 3DS serial number in, it will let you know if you performed the steps correctly or not and if you're signed up for the program. I never got a notification either, so I did this, and I am part of the program :) Zelda 1 worth it for me, netflix + zelda 1 + oot  = worthwhile device to have without a lot of work aside from $ to get it up and running with these things.
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GioVANNI

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Edited By GioVANNI
@jasondesante said:
the first 5 NES games - AWESOME  last 5 (newly announced) NES games - Fucking Horrible  that averages out to MEH.....god dammit Nintendo I give you some hope and then you slap me in the face.    what happened to the ORIGINAL Mario Bros, or DONKEY KONG, or Mario 2 and 3 ....HOLY SHT
Wait, what about Metroid?  Metroid is pretty awesome
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prestonhedges

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Edited By prestonhedges

Zelda II is the best Zelda game next to Wind Waker.

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jasondesante

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Edited By jasondesante

the first 5 NES games - AWESOME
 
last 5 (newly announced) NES games - Fucking Horrible
 
that averages out to MEH.....god dammit Nintendo I give you some hope and then you slap me in the face. 
 
what happened to
 Original Mario Bros !
Donkey Kong !
SMB2 !
SMB3!
Kirby !
Kid Icarus!
BATTLETOADS! 
TETRIS!
anything besides wrecking crew, mario golf, zelda 2, and god damn yoshi.    you should have just made it the worst 5 games ever and replace metroid with donkey kong jr math!  GOD DAMMIT

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Th3_James

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Edited By Th3_James

Wow...That was really worth me getting raped $100... Thanks Nintendo.

Either way I knew it was a stupid thing when I bought it, part of the reason I wanted it.

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MudMan

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Edited By MudMan
@blalala said:

Awesome!, something to do on my 20 hour flight to Sydney

You mean in the first three hours of it. Then your battery will be dead. 
 
Nice freebies, though.
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lord_canti

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Edited By lord_canti

no where near as good as the rumerd list and most of the new games on that list do not appeal to me. but metroid and zelda 2 nice job nintendo

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blalala

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Edited By blalala

Awesome!, something to do on my 20 hour flight to Sydney

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Seeric

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Edited By Seeric

While it's nice that Nintendo is doing this, I can't help but feel that they just chose whichever games they figured wouldn't sell well due to everyone already having them in some form or just not being very popular (NES Open Tournament Golf? Really?) and it seems like they may have missed out on some potentially great advertising opportunities via this 'gift'. 
 
In particular, the absence of Super Mario Bros. 3 seems baffling just because the upcoming Mario game is hyping up the return of the raccoon suit like crazy and the inclusion of SMB 3 would have likely helped to fuel the hype among 'ambassadors'. The inclusion of Metroid instead of Kirby's Adventure or especially Kid Icarus is also an odd choice as there is no upcoming Metroid game but both Kirby and Pit have new games coming out on the 3DS quite soon (even if the gameplay is completely different, it would still likely fuel hype).
 
The only reason I can think of for why Nintendo didn't include at least 1 of these games in the hopes of generating hype for the upcoming entries in their respective series is they are confident that the 3DS games will sell well and hope to get a surge in sales on people downloading the NES games once they become purchasable, but since Nintendo tends to take the safe route that's an odd path for them to choose over 'cheap hype in the form of apology gifts' in my opinion.

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Edited By MormonWarrior
@vinsanityv22: I can appreciate what Metroid established, but I agree - the first game is garbage. I love the rest of the series (other than Other M, anyway, which is horrendous) an awful lot. I'm actively trying to play Zelda II right now on my computer so I can finally say I've beaten all the Zelda games, and it's rough.
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iDarktread

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Edited By iDarktread

All this does is make me not want to buy a this-model 3DS even more. I mean, it's $170 for a first-iteration 3DS model with 20 games a few weeks ago, or $170 for a first-iteration 3DS model without any of these games, in the next year or year-and-a-half.
 
Thanks anyway.

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vinsanityv22

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Edited By vinsanityv22

Wow. The umpteenth port of the first Super Mario Bros. and Zelda again. Thanks Nintendo! Also, stuff nobody wants like Donkey Kong Jr., NES Open Tournament Golf and other relics. Like Metroid - jeez laweez; that game sucks. I HATE it when people treat it like it's awesome; it's a poor, poor game. Just like practically every other first gen "black background" NES title from Nintendo.
 
Considering the amazing games that came out between '89 and '92 for the NES, I'm really getting sick of Nintendo recycling stuff from, like, '86 or something. This is horsesh**, to be honest.
 
I'll pick up Zelda 2 since it's different and HASN'T been recycled endlessly by  Nintendo so far. I'm also curious about Wrecking Crew and Ice Climbers, but mostly this is a whole lotta "meh".

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Sooperspy

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Edited By Sooperspy

I didn't even know Yoshi had his own game before Super Mario World. 
Edit: Wow, according to the wiki, Yoshi came out (On the NES) after SMW. 

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deactivated-5ba16609964d9

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Can we trade Yoshi for Yoshi's Cookies, Golf for Pro Wrestling, and Ice Climber for Popeye?  Other then that great selection though I hope Wrecking Crew is as fun as my 6 year old brain remembers it.

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galiant

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Edited By galiant

All crap.

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Thor_Molecules

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Edited By Thor_Molecules

Great, now people have something to play at least.

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abendlaender

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Edited By abendlaender

@BiG_Weasel:

Nothing in this sentence makes any sense....

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cookiearmyleader

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Edited By cookiearmyleader

meanwhile random person:dont i have all these games on my nes emulator beat and save stated kinda late to be bringing these out nintnedo

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dillinger

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Edited By dillinger
@extremeradical: whew, that's some awful memory
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onyxghost

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Edited By onyxghost

Zelda II is the best Zelda hands down with Wind Waker running a close second. If you get a chance to play either one to completion go for it.

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onan

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Edited By onan

@BiG_Weasel said:

So, let me get this straight- Nintendo is trying to get me to buy a 25 year old game that's been released on nearly every system since the NES? Where's the new stuff, Nintendo?

The... new... NES games? ...That they're trying to get you to ...buy.... by giving them away for free...

Wow.

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MrKlorox

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Edited By MrKlorox

Cool Metroid and Zelda 2! These games were too hard for me when I first started playing games in the mid 80's, so I sadly missed out on enjoying these classics. But not for long. And I've never heard of Wrecking Crew.

I remember trying and hating Zelda 2 because it wasn't like the first one, and it was goddamn difficult to me. But I watched my babysitter fight dark Link and it was mind blowingly awesome at the time.

@MordeaniisChaos said:

Man, I feel worse and worse for all you poor saps every time. All of the games I didn't recognize are just clones of Mario's origin story. Blah.

What the hell are you talking about?

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Quacktastic

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Edited By Quacktastic

You are going to continue to never play Zelda 2.  That game is impenetrable.

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MordeaniisChaos

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Edited By MordeaniisChaos

Man, I feel worse and worse for all you poor saps every time. All of the games I didn't recognize are just clones of Mario's origin story. Blah.

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oasisbeyond

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Edited By oasisbeyond

So people are actually gona rebuy nes games? I mean come on, these things can be found anywhere. Nintendo needs to stop milking these old games. Just put them in the brower for free for anyonne with a ds3.... Or put it on a nice page where anyone could play them on a ds3.