The Nintendo Entertainment System, abbreviated and commonly referred to as the NES, is a video gaming console created by Nintendo. In Japan, it is known as the Family Computer (ファミリーコンピュータ) or Famicom (ファミコン), and as the Tata Famicom in other South Asian countries.
Overview
The Famicom, originally released in Japan in 1983, was Nintendo's first home video game console capable of using swappable cartridges. It was a successor to Nintendo's first home console product, the Color TV-Game, originally released in 1977.
For release in North America, a market still recovering from an industry crash that tanked sales of video games and consoles, Nintendo created a revised version of the Famicom hardware branded the Nintendo Entertainment System, which first released in 1985, and in Europe in 1986. The Famicom and NES are equivalent pieces of hardware in most ways, but also featured some structural differences. For example, the Famicom's controllers are hardwired to the console, while NES controllers can be unplugged, and the Player 2 Famicom controller features a built-in microphone, which the NES lacks. The Famicom and NES also use different shapes of cartridges. A Famicom game cannot be played on an NES without either an adapter or a modification to the console.
The NES saw two primary form-factor designs over the span of its life. The original, released in 1985, implements a design in which the cartridge is inserted horizontally into a compartment covered by a hatch before being pressed into place. The second design, released late in the NES's life in 1993, uses a top-loading design similar in nature to both the Famicom and to the NES's successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The latter design also features a revised controller with a rounded shape that is more ergonomic to hold than the original model's rectangular controllers.
The first two Fire Emblem titles, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem Gaiden, released on the Famicom late in the console's life in 1990 and 1992 respectively. Both games were exclusive to the Famicom, with no NES version produced. Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light eventually received an official English localization for a limited-time release on the Nintendo Switch as a digital purchase in 2020 to celebrate the franchise's thirtieth anniversary.
Fire Emblem Games
Gallery
External links
- This article is a stub. You can help the wiki by expanding it.