We spent two days at the shrine to all things Nintendo and reconnected with a lifetime of gaming memories.
More than any other game company, Nintendo loves to play with its history.
Characters like Pauline from Donkey Kong can disappear in the mid-’80s and suddenly reappear decades later.
From there you step onto the escalator and are greeted with ambient console-menu music as you’re ushered upstairs.
It displays startup screens of various consoles such as the iconic GameCube intro.
It was surreal to see Disney products and Twister boxes with Nintendo’s logo on them.
The cherry on top?
It’s hard to imagine a more flawlessly preserved collection of video games anywhere in the world.
Above each game display are numerous screens that showcase gameplay from that console’s titles.
One of the cooler AV features throughout the museum is the use of directional audio.
When you’re standing under one screen, you’ll be hearing and seeing Uniracers gameplay.
Take a step or two to the left and suddenly you’re hearing and seeing Super Metroid.
There are so many sources of audio in this room, but it never feels like chaos.
Boy, have I got the place for you.
Sadly, there was no shrine to the WaveBird to be found.
The museum overall is light on text, descriptions, placards, and other traditional elements of a museum.
Before long, there are no more lines and only dots.
Nowhere is this spelled out or labeled.
It’s just another little detail that Nintendo crammed into this space.
One corner of the exhibition room is dedicated to specific franchises.
I certainly haven’t listed everything, either.
That’s the second floor.
It’s basically a collection of real-life minigames.
My favorite room was the one with the giant controllers.
All of the controllers look and feel amazing, but the N64 was my favorite by a long shot.
One of the bigger spaces is filled with Super Scopes, NES Zappers, and a giant screen.
Most of these interactive experiences are directly tied to the company’s history.
Each short session with a big controller costs two coins per person and per game.
Two interactive experiences take place in a separate building, which sits across a small courtyard.
There, visitors can paint their own hanafuda cards with an easy-to-follow kit.
Downstairs from the hanafuda activities is Hatena Burger, the museum’s food offering.
Considering how remarkable most of the museum is, I found this to be a fairly standard burger place.
But maybe they’re not even fries at that point; maybe they’re just potatoes.
Look, I’m not a chef.
It should come as no surprise that there is a substantial gift shop at the museum.
If that also describes you, you’re definitely going to have a great time at the museum.
My experience will not be the same one that the public will get once October 2 rolls around.
I had infinite coins and could experience all the activities without any lines.
What you get out of the museum will likely depend on what you bring into it.
It feels personal in a way I’ve never really experienced at other museums.
I don’t expect every visitor to the Nintendo Museum to be as affected by it as I was.
And for those lifelong fans like me, it can be a truly touching experience unlike any other museum.
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