Game & Watch Strikes Back

Nintendo has revived its old Game & Watch line for the anniversaries of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, but the $50 handhelds you can buy today are not representative of what the product line used to be. The original Game & Watch units used primitive LCD graphics instead of full color screens, so it's understandable why Nintendo isn't reproducing the exact old hardware. Now you can sample the Game & Watch experience with Itizso's lovingly created digital reproductions of three different Donkey Kong handhelds, models DK-52, JR-55, and DJ-101 — that's Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong II, and...

Nintendo has revived its old Game & Watch line for the anniversaries of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, but the $50 handhelds you can buy today are not representative of what the product line used to be.  The original Game & Watch units used primitive LCD graphics instead of full color screens, so it's understandable why Nintendo isn't reproducing the exact old hardware.  Now you can sample the Game & Watch experience with Itizso's lovingly created digital reproductions of three different Donkey Kong handhelds, models DK-52, JR-55, and DJ-101 — that's Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong II, and Donkey Kong Jr. to you and me.  Play the games, look at the time, read the instructions, check out the box, and wish that the faux-amiibo included for decoration were real products that I could display in my game room.  It's a window to a different time and, let me tell ya, these games get much better from here.

(via @DrTomTilley)