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DIY NES and SNES: Minis, Mods and Controllers
In short
Nintendo's 8-bit and 16-bit consoles are among the most tinkered-with machines in gaming. Whether you want plug-and-play nostalgia or a soldering-iron weekend, here are the legal ways to enjoy them today.
Fun fact: The NES and SNES Classic Minis don't contain original Nintendo chips. Inside both is the same small ARM computer board (an Allwinner R16 chip), running emulation software.
The full guide
Official mini consoles
The simplest route is Nintendo's own:
- NES Classic Mini – released on 10 November 2016 and sold out repeatedly. It comes with a built-in selection of 30 NES games.
- SNES Classic Mini – released in 2017, with a built-in selection of 21 SNES games, including the previously unreleased Star Fox 2.
- Nintendo Switch Online – a growing library of NES and SNES games for subscribers.
Sega's Mega Drive Mini (2019) and Mega Drive Mini 2 (2022) are the equivalent for Sega fans. For more on the original machines, see our NES and SNES pages.
Playing your own carts on modern screens
- Original hardware with better cables: an RGB SCART cable gives a much sharper picture than composite on UK consoles. Upscalers can convert old signals for modern TVs.
- FPGA consoles: hardware recreations, such as Analogue's machines, play original cartridges on modern TVs – limited production runs mean stock comes and goes, so check current availability.
- Cartridge readers: the SN Operator from Epilogue plays and backs up your own SNES and Super Famicom cartridges on a computer, and works with PAL carts too. The Retrode 2 does the same for SNES and Mega Drive cartridges. Both are meant for games you own.
We don't link to ROM sites or explain how to get downloaded games. If you want digital copies, dump the cartridges you own with hardware like the above, and never share the files.
Saving your saves
Many SNES and Game Boy cartridges keep saves in memory powered by a small battery that eventually dies. Dumpers like the SN Operator can back up your save before you replace the battery, and restore it afterwards. Replacing a cartridge battery normally needs a security screwdriver bit and some soldering.
Popular mods
- Region and 60Hz mods for PAL SNES consoles let games run at full speed. PAL machines run many games about 17% slower otherwise.
- RGB mods for consoles that didn't output it originally, such as the NES.
- Capacitor and power upgrades for ageing consoles.
- Replacement 72-pin connectors for front-loading NES consoles, which fix the blinking screen without any soldering.
- Retrobriting to reverse yellowed plastic. It uses hydrogen peroxide and UV light, and results vary; it can make plastic brittle.
Modding reduces collector value, so practise on a cheap, non-boxed console first.
Controllers
- Originals: still the gold standard, but cables and contacts wear out. Cleaning the membrane contacts with isopropyl alcohol often brings a mushy pad back to life.
- Wireless replicas from established makers like 8BitDo work with modern systems and many retro consoles via receivers.
- Nintendo's own NES and SNES wireless controllers for Switch Online subscribers.
For the nerds (click to open)
Original hardware quick reference
| Spec | NES (PAL) | SNES |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Ricoh RP2A07 at 1.662607 MHz | Ricoh 5A22, up to about 3.58 MHz |
| Work RAM | 2 KB | 128 KB |
| Video RAM | 2 KB | 64 KB |
| Cartridge connector | 72-pin | 62-pad edge connector (many carts use only the middle 46) |
| Save battery | — | Typically a CR2032 coin cell with solder tabs, on battery-backed carts |
Full spec tables, with sources, are on the NES and SNES pages.
Classic Mini consoles
- NES Classic Mini (2016) and SNES Classic Mini (2017): both use the same board, with an Allwinner R16 quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 chip, a Mali-400 MP2 GPU, 256 MB of DDR3 RAM and 512 MB of NAND storage. HDMI output tops out at 720p.
Safety and where to buy
Safety notes
- Soldering: use a temperature-controlled iron, a stand and good ventilation. Lead-free solder is the safer default; leaded solder is easier to work with, but wash your hands afterwards. Wear eye protection when trimming leads.
- Power supplies: old power bricks get hot and their cables can perish. Replace damaged ones rather than taping them up, and never open a mains adaptor.
- Chemicals: retrobrite uses hydrogen peroxide, which can burn skin and eyes. Wear gloves and eye protection, and work in a ventilated space away from children. The same goes for isopropyl alcohol.
Where to buy now
Find NES SNES controller on eBay UK (opens in new tab) (Ad: affiliate link)