NES Exclusive Game Officially Going Multi-Platform on August 6

An NES exclusive game is officially set to go multi-platform on August 6 with a release on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. The NES game isn’t a game from the mid 1980s to early 1990s, but an NES exclusive released in 2024. The idea of a game being released exclusively for the NES in 2024 sounds preposterous, but in the last few years we have seen a handful of games released exclusively on legacy consoles before typically coming to other more modern platforms. This is one of these examples.

More specifically, in just three days, users of the aforementioned consoles — and Nintendo Switch 2 users via backward compatibility — can play Changable Guardian Estique, a robot-themed side-scrolling shoot ’em up inspired by and designed to replicate the shoot ’em ups of the NES era, which haven’t gone extinct, but are less culturally prevalent and relevant than they used to be. It’s largely unclear how well developer Cat Hui Trading achieved this goal because it’s been locked to an ancient console the past two years. That said, by modern standards it’s a good-looking 8-bit homage to this era.

A Modern NES Game For Modern Platforms

It’s also unclear how well the game sold on NES, but the plan was almost certainly always to bring it to modern platforms. Whatever the case, considering the comments on the trailer and the fact it has zero dislikes suggests it has made a positive impression.

“Cool, this will be day one for me. I will get it for my Switch OG,” reads one of the comments on the YouTube trailer above. Another comment adds, “This needs to be done more often.”

As for the game itself, it actually comes in two versions — an NES and Famicon version — which have two different stories. As for the story, it’s set to the backdrop of 2413 Earth, which has been invaded by evil space pirates called the “Van-De-Raus.” Overwhelmed, another friendly planet decides to step in to save Earth from these hostile invaders by sending its own forces. You are one of those reinforcements.

As for gameplay, it is an 8-bit shoot ’em up that takes place across six stages, all based on cities around the world. No matter which version or which stage, you are piloting the super-variable robot “Estique,” which has two forms. One of these forms is meant for fighting, and the other for moving through terrain and recovering.

Meanwhile, for those interested, the game comes with a CRT filter that gives the game the nostalgic look you would get if it were running on a CRT television.

All that is unclear is how much Changable Guardian Estique will cost when it releases. It’s a smaller indie game, so it should be somewhere between $10 and $30, but for now, this is just speculation. Meanwhile, for those after actual NES nostalgia and not just a copy of it, a 40-year-old NES classic was just re-released last week.

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