(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
NES Ambassador Games for North America Available Now - Nintendo Life
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20121101122656/http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/08/nes_ambassador_games_for_north_america_available_now

News Article

NES Ambassador Games for North America Available Now

Posted by James Newton

Get to it!

Nintendo's 3DS Ambassador program has just gone live in North America with 10 free NES games available to download.

The games — which were scheduled to be released tomorrow — are available to download for eligible 3DS owners. As a reminder, here's what's available:

Here's how to download the games:

1 — Enter the eShop from the 3DS Home Menu. It's the icon with the bag on it.

2 — Scroll to the far left and select "Settings / Other".

3 — Scroll down and select "Your Downloads"

4 — The games will appear here once ready for download, alongside software you've already downloaded. You don't need to download these again, just the NES games.

5 — Select the NES game you want to download, select Software Info and then Redownload.

6 — Your NES game should now begin downloading!

Nintendo has warned that due to the large numbers of people attempting to download these games, you may experience longer than usual download times. Have patience, and soon the games will be yours.

Don't forget to download the 3DS Ambassador Certificate while you're at it to stay informed about upcoming Ambassador information.

[via nintendo.com]

User Comments (196)

xkaj0x

#3

xkaj0x said:

Got mine! thnx nintendo! finally have something on my home screen haha

Metroid133

#4

Metroid133 said:

NoA did something before NoE? First time in recent memory! :D If you guys really want these I guess you can give us The Last Story or Xenoblade Chronicles! XD

Onikato

#7

Onikato said:

Downloading now. I'm looking forward to play them on the go. Half of these games I never finished back in the day and the other half I never even played. Now would be my chance.

Gohonq

#8

Gohonq said:

weird.. i know im an ambassador because I've checked up on it to make sure.. all the games are there where you said, but It says "coming to nintendo eshop" where it should say download. o__o

tylerduddy

#9

tylerduddy said:

Hmm they are showing up but i can't seem to download them, i know i'm an ambassador it just only says "software info"

arnpoly

#12

arnpoly said:

For those having a bit of trouble finding the download links, on the Settings/Other screen instead select "Your Downloads." The games are listed there with the option to "Redownload." That's how I got them.

TwilightV

#14

TwilightV said:

With step 3 you're actually supposed to select "Your Downloads", then go to the back of your downloaded titles list.

I love the jingle the menu icons make. :3

Edit: NINJA'D! D8

Link79

#17

Link79 said:

Yeah I had to go to the section where it says "your downloads" too.
There's no option to download them from account activity.

Kifa

#19

Kifa said:

Ah fudge, seems Europe is once again at the very end of the foodchain... :| Well, I'll have more time to practice being patient then...

BenAV

#23

BenAV said:

@Kifa Don't worry, you're not alone... We don't have them in Australia yet either, despite it actually being the 1st of September here. =P

Geonjaha

#24

Geonjaha said:

@23 At least you can confirm that your getting the games. Europe has been left in the dark.

JayArr

#25

JayArr said:

Poor NOE. If only they had an awesome Wii exclusive RPG like XenoBlades to play instead.......

Teh-Ray

#26

Teh-Ray said:

I just got done with all these downloads. It took forever to download them individually, but I finally got 'em!

I still find it hilarious that people thought these games would fill up their SD cards. I'm sure someone's going to say "But the GBA games are bigger!", but really, they're only a couple MB big anyway, and will not fill up that 2GB card that came with your system.

Now to play Super Mario Bros.!

Gohonq

#27

Gohonq said:

@JayArr yea.. I feel for them.. I really do. :/ I can't imagine the horrible sadness that must fill a jrpg fans heart at the news of being left out from getting one of the best games in years.

Geonjaha

#28

Geonjaha said:

@27 Not everyone owns a Wii. I just stick with handhelds, which is why I'm just waiting for the 3DS to pick up some steam :o

Gohonq

#29

Gohonq said:

@Geonjaha You have one of the best JRPG's in the last several years available to you right now.. and you haven't almost literally teleported to the store to pick it up yet?? Wow. lol I wish I could get my hands on a copy. Understatement.. but still.

BenAV

#30

BenAV said:

@JayArr In Australia we don't currently have the NES Games or Xenoblade Chronicles... But if all goes to plan I should have all 11 by the end of the day (it currently being 1:23am). =P

Morphtroid

#31

Morphtroid said:

I could download Yoshi and Zelda II before my school blocked my 3DS... Now, i'll be a good student and play video games ignore them until 2:00 pm.

BenAV

#32

BenAV said:

@Gohonq Tell me about it... Comes out in Australia today and I've pretty much been sitting here watching the clocks for weeks just waiting for its release lol No way I could just sit here while it's out in the stores without rushing down there and buying it for myself.

Geonjaha

#33

Geonjaha said:

@Gohonq I just said I dont have a Wii. Well technically I didnt, but whatever. Theres no chance in me picking up a game for a console I dont own ._.

Gohonq

#36

Gohonq said:

@BenAV

Lol You're lucky to get it though.. I know it must have been painful to wait this long to finally get it.. but I'd take getting it today over not getting it at all any day. I am very very annoyed with NOA.. They seem to hate all of us core gamers at the moment lol. I REALLY want xenoblade.. but what can ya do?

CapedGodot

#39

CapedGodot said:

If I lived in Europe I would totally teleport to a game store and buy not Xenoblade Chronicles right now. But I don't, so oh well. I also don't have a 3DS, so I can't get these yet.

NX01Trekkie1992

#41

NX01Trekkie1992 said:

I found out how to do it, I had to go to 'your downloads' instead of account activity, and found them listed to download there

Gohonq

#42

Gohonq said:

@BenAV

ah, sadly I dont have the money to do that kind of thing right now lol Believe me if I did, I would have as soon as I heard it was coming out in EU.

BenAV

#43

BenAV said:

I think I shall go have a sleep for a bit.
Then when I wake up I shall check the eShop and hopefully I can download my free games to play while I'm on the train on my way to pick up Xenoblade Chronicles.
And if they're not there I'll just be mildly annoyed and play Shantae: Risky's Revenge on the way (why that hasn't officially been released in Australia, I do not know).
Either way, better get some sleep now because I'll be too busy tomorrow night. =P

Lionsgate

#44

Lionsgate said:

I live in NA on the east coast, and the games are listed in my account activity but no option to download them or the certificate yet...

warioswoods

#45

warioswoods said:

While the 3DS top screen has a size well-suited to the NES games, I wish they'd given us some sort of retro option analogous to the Game Boy frame with the subtle 3D effect... perhaps a classic TV frame with slight bowing would have worked.

Anyhow, I held START+SELECT on my first boot up just to see, and sure enough there was nothing.

47drift

#47

47drift said:

Definitely only on the West Coast, I imagine. I'm in Colorado and nothing yet.

EDIT: Apparently not, as most of my West Coast friends are saying otherwise. As do my East Coast friends. Hm.

Highwinter

#48

Highwinter said:

@JayArr
That's a completely different situation, Nintendo of Europe happened to decide they wanted to translate the game, I don't see how you guys not getting it is at all connected to us having to wait for free games - especially when we're in a time zone that should really mean they're here first.

If you want, I can give you a list of games, JRPG's or otherwise that were released over in the US but not in Europe ;) Hell, we had to wait over two years for Animal Crossing.

ShadowSniper7

#49

ShadowSniper7 said:

Not here on the West coast either. I live in California and the ambassador certificate and games are "coming soon". Has to be the east coast?

ShadowSniper7

#50

ShadowSniper7 said:

I guess there is the possibility that they realized they released them too early and took them down...

JayArr

#51

JayArr said:

Just trying to put things into perspective. People are whining about about having to wait 24 hours or less for some dusty old NES games. While the US has to wait a year to infinity for some decent Wii RPGS.

It's 24 hours. Get a grip whiners.

zeeroid

#52

zeeroid said:

I have downloaded all of them now! WOOHOO!

re: others — they definitely haven't been taken down! look harder?

ziLToiD

#54

ziLToiD said:

@warioswoods (46.): Build up anticipation for the enhanced versions. It will certainly be there. Or most likely not, who am i kidding.

Yosher

#56

Yosher said:

I'm sure they'll be here for everyone by tomorrow. The date WAS 1st of September after all and it's still 31st of August now. Patience is virtue, people. XD

Geonjaha

#57

Geonjaha said:

@52 Wow, calm down. People have a right to voice their opinion. Just because its going to take more than 24 hours for you to get your RPG doesnt mean you should start throwing a temper tantrum :3

47drift

#58

47drift said:

Still nothing, and I gotta get going for class. It's a forty minute ride there. Sigh.

BigBluePanda

#66

BigBluePanda said:

Coming from a European who's waiting for the games to be put up, I'll say: Yay for the NA fans, that's awesome for you guys :)

DarkEdi

#67

DarkEdi said:

I bought my 3ds at the new price and i got too the 10 free games (and later the other 10). Great!!

Geonjaha

#68

Geonjaha said:

@sonicman1011 thats not the restore points feature. It will save and will also allow you to access the home menu but if you download any of the other VC games you will see what the restore point is ;)

Jack2901

#70

Jack2901 said:

Not too psyched about the NES ones, I'm looking forward to the GBA Games! Ill still download them all though :P

Raylax

#75

Raylax said:

Oh man consider me amused that Europeans are complaining that they don't get it early. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS PEOPLE. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DROP DEAD. Protip: Avoid fast-moving vehicles

Kid_A

#78

Kid_A said:

@warioswoods
We'll be getting an update later this year that adds Restore Point and Multiplayer functionality to these games, so maybe we'll get an option for retro-refitting as well.

dcoughler

#79

dcoughler said:

Yes, the posted Step 3 is wrong. Go to Downloads instead.

Got all mine plus the Ambassador download (I'm in Ontario, Canada(GMT-5)). I played a bit of Zelda, and agree with pizzacore, the controls are a little "off". The analog stick is smoother than the DPad, but I found it easy to "over-steer". I'll play more this weekend and maybe it will be better.

The games are 33 - 35 blocks each and go directly to your SD card. The Ambassador certificate is 147 blocks. If your download fails, just close the eShop and try again.

bezerker99

#80

bezerker99 said:

Reggie must have gotten my distress call of a text - I told him I was leaving town this evening and wouldn't have access to my WiFi until early next week. Noice!

Terave

#81

Terave said:

I guess we already needed to wait for tomorrow, and so be it. There is no way we can change it. I hope they're there in the afternoon imo, but the evening is still the 1st of September.

grumblegrumble

#83

grumblegrumble said:

Ah, I'm stuck at work, but I'll download them in a few hrs ;) I guess they released them a day early so tomorrow won't be so crowded on the servers for North American download day ;) yay!

komicturtle

#85

komicturtle said:

lol It takes 3 seconds to download like GB games :)

Also: I've been playing Yoshi for a bit and I actually like it. Maybe because it's better suited for handheld gaming? I'm just glad I have these sweet NES games on the go. Bummer we won't get 3D Classics Balloon Fight.

I also want to learn to play that golf game. Kinda hard...

cangelo

#86

cangelo said:

Nice...downloaded and all works well. I like the suspend. I WISH they had an option to choose which screen to play it on though.

DrKarl

#87

DrKarl said:

Controls are working great for me. I tested on both Mario and Zelda II. Both seemed to play exactly the same. The A and B mappings work fine for me too, and I don't feel that I would like them mapped elsewhere.

I have yet to look really close, but the first impression I have on the pixels is that they are 1:1, with no scaling present. Since both the NES and the 3DS have a vertical resolution of 240 pixels, it is not surprising. If there are going to be borders available in the future, I doubt you would see anything across the top or the bottom.

WolfRamHeart

#90

WolfRamHeart said:

Got 'em! Thanks for the heads-up Nintendo Life!:)

Wow, I'm surprised that all the games were available at once. I thought that they would have spaced them out at one game per week. This is great!:D

Chris720

#91

Chris720 said:

Lucky Americans getting them a day early. Well atleast we still have Xenoblade. ;)

bonesy91

#92

bonesy91 said:

got the games. Oh and they have added "single system multiplayer”.

hold L and R then click Y to switch to controller 2.

TheGreenSpiny

#95

TheGreenSpiny said:

This is awesome! Today's my day off... Thanks Nintendo. Great to have 10 new games to play.

@LordJumpMad: I'm sending you my address. You can send me $50 now for NES games and $90 when the GBA games hit.

thereefernander

#96

thereefernander said:

I think it would be better if we had accounts for Nintendo online instead of just the serial numbers. I like how on my Xbox or your PS3, when I buy arcade games or DLC, they are under my name and forever mine to download again on any other console. But on the DS I spend $20 on a card and say one day sell my DS and buy another one at a later date I can't get those games I bought back. :(

Milkman-123

#97

Milkman-123 said:

bullsh*t. we get them tomarrow. they're added to our account today. they all say that they're coming to eshop. im going to check tomarrow.

Tech101

#101

Tech101 said:

@#96 There is going to be a transfer tool to take care of that problem in the near future.

ShadowSniper7

#103

ShadowSniper7 said:

@pizzacore:

Your right, downloading these games aren't hard. Problem is, they aren't yet available for some of us in the States for whatever reason. I checked a few hours ago and they were still "coming soon". There was no download button, period :/

ryanthehedgehog

#104

ryanthehedgehog said:

I think later on I'm going to spend a massive amount of time trying to beat all of these games (SMB, LoZ, and then Zelda II) first.
@ShadowSniper7 Are you sure you checked "Your Downloads" instead of "Account Activity" ? I made the same mistake but then saw that It was in your downloads. You have to scroll through all of your downloaded games and find the ambassador games and redownload them.

Mikau94

#105

Mikau94 said:

Well, I hoping we would get the remakes of Mario Bros 2 and 3. Let's hope we still see them on the GBA roster.

crazyj2312

#106

crazyj2312 said:

Hmm somewhat disappointed at the selection. Downloaded Metroid and Mario since those are the only ones I actually care to invest some time in.

CiaranKimberlin

#110

CiaranKimberlin said:

Hey guys no complaints but can somebody just answer me this:
Where can we, the people of the UK, confirm that we are an ambassador..?
I would very much appreciate an answer :)
-Ciaran

Square-enixFan

#111

Square-enixFan said:

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! Please excuses my happiness just got home from school and look what I see. See you guys later to games!!

CiaranKimberlin

#113

CiaranKimberlin said:

Hey guys no complaints but can somebody just answer me this:
Where can we, the people of the UK, confirm that we are an ambassador..?
I would very much appreciate an answer :)

bezerker99

#117

bezerker99 said:

Thanks, James, for the steps. I couldn't figure out how to download until I read it here on NL. Can't anything just be simple for Nintendo?!?!? lol :)

Crunchy_in_milk

#119

Crunchy_in_milk said:

Thanks so much for posting the directions, I never would've looked under settings.

In other news squeals with glee

LordAndrew

#121

LordAndrew said:

Blah blah blah Xenoblade.

And use the Re-Download button, people! They're not available for purchase yet, and therefore can't be downloaded from the usual spot either. Make sure to follow the directions.

Alex_C

#124

Alex_C said:

I would greatly appreciate it if someone can tell me why I didn't get club nintendo coins after I downloaded the 10 games and my 3ds was already linked to club nintendo already. Thanks in advance.

Slapshot

#125

Slapshot said:

Wow, and my 3DS decides to drain the battery while powered off once again. Oh well, now I've got to wait a bit before I can download them. :(

DarkKnight

#127

DarkKnight said:

My serial number says Ambassador but the games aren't there. You've screwed up again for me, Nintendo.

LordAndrew

#128

LordAndrew said:

Right, because the battery being drained while off is a feature that you should be enjoying.

Deftigepak

#129

Deftigepak said:

Living in a NoE territory, and seeing the service provided by NoA (Where in God's name is Cave Story?!!?) really feels like being a dog waiting for scraps at the table... I am so certain that NoE will screw up the release of the NES games, that if they actually become available in the 24-hour period that is September first, I will purchase 3D Classics: Urban Champion from the e-shop. I'm dead serious.

Tare

#131

Tare said:

OOOooooh I see what Nintendo did here. "Yeah yeah, you can download them September 1rst..."
Clever Nintendo. It worked though, I love you more now

Thanks for the games btw.

Jumpman

#132

Jumpman said:

Thanx for the games NintendoLife, this is why this site is my #1 choice for Nintendo news.

MetroidMasher17

#133

MetroidMasher17 said:

Yayz! Me gots 10 free games! I downloaded Metroid first symbolically!

...well, actually, I forgot. But just pretend I did!

Tate24

#134

Tate24 said:

i was one first people get 3DS at hmv in liverpool and i payed alot money for mine to...

i wont be happy intill am downloading them

just hate that its now 1th sep and games no were to be seen on eshop. ive waited long enough nintendo!!

HURRY UP AND GIVE ME MY GAMES!!!!

Sigh..... :)

sinalefa

#145

sinalefa said:

I have just downloaded two of them, but I did not have any problem at all. This download guide was really useful, as they are not so easy to find.

master344

#148

master344 said:

We dont need that 3DS ambassador certificate to get notifications. We can just check it all out right here on Nintendo Life

timp29

#150

timp29 said:

@BenAV haha you're right. I fail at life. Our stuff doesn't normally arrive until Friday, guess I got ahead of myself/got my hopes up :p

Aviator

#152

Aviator said:

You cannot play multiplayer yet. However, pressing L+R and Y i think switches players.

lunarkitty

#154

lunarkitty said:

What about the Club Nintendo coins ? Will they automatically show up in your Club Nintendo account as long as you have it linked to your 3DS, or what ?

Daisaku36

#155

Daisaku36 said:

I downloaded my games earlier today as soon as I heard they were available...they all play well, and Balloon Fight is awesome, I've not played it until today!

grumblegrumble

#157

grumblegrumble said:

I've noticed that in the Virtual Console screen (on these games only) there is no 'Restore Point', just "resume" and "reset" :< So that means we'll have to keep track of our Metroid password and will have to finish games completely before playing anything else. ;( what gives!

BenAV

#158

BenAV said:

@timp29 Yeah, I was expecting that we'll be getting these games on Friday morning when the eShop update usually seems to happen.
Oh well, just got Xenoblade Chronicles so that'll keep me occupied today lol

grumblegrumble

#159

grumblegrumble said:

Those of you who say "these games are for babies" have no friggin' idea! If it weren't for these games you wouldn't have the games you have today. These games were the beginning of something great : Nintendo.. and these games were ahead of their time back in the early to mid 80's. Before this, we had Atari 7800 (and I'm a huge fan of that system, too, but I'm sure a lot of younger gamers would drop dead from boredom. lol) So show some respect ;) And give them a chance if you haven't played them. It boggles my mind that some people are complaining on here. LOL!! Grow up and be grateful, and experience a part of gaming history for free ;)

MakeMyBiscuit

#161

MakeMyBiscuit said:

SWEET! and early! Now I can enjoy some of these games before work tomorrow. I was looking forward to these tomorrow but I have them today!

Thank you Nintendo and Thank you Nintendo Life for the heads up! :)

Schprocket

#166

Schprocket said:

@BenAV yeah I was just checking this post out - it's nearly 12:30 in the arvo in Western Australia so you must have beat me to it by a few minutes by the time of your last post.
I'd imagine people east of here, including the Kiwis are gonna be 'miffed'.

If it's going to be 1st September for Australia, Nintendo, then bloody well say which time-zone you mean - it'll cause less angst..

Of course, we'll still whinge about why 'simultaneous' global releases which start in the Americas a day or two earlier and travel east but that just seems to be 'simultaneous' console gaming release practice in general (Sony do this) and again nobody seems to want to provide an explanation as to why this is so.

NOTE: I'm not including region-specific releases like Xenoblade, Excitebots, etc, in this statement..

Pj1

#169

Pj1 said:

Thankyou mirnkaya

I've downloaded all the games, apart from golf!

skript

#171

skript said:

3:56pm Melb time, called Nintendo Customer Support 5 minutes ago, they said its still not released yet, but should be this afternoon...
Lady thought it was still going to be SOMETIME today

linkster55

#173

linkster55 said:

Got my games this morning and couldn't be happier (actually i am cause i got the discounted price as well :D)!

Monkeh

#180

Monkeh said:

It being out in America is featured news, but out in Europe/Australia isn't?

ToonLink203

#183

ToonLink203 said:

It's weird I checked my eligibility several times and it says that I am an ambassador, but the games don't show up in my "Your Downloads" list.

Sonicman

#186

Sonicman said:

I wish they had SMB 2 and 3! Zelda 1 and 2, SMB, and Metroid are the only one's really worth playing! But I got them all anyways.

Deftigepak

#192

Deftigepak said:

Thanx for proving me wrong NoE. I am now the not-so-proud owner of urban champion. The irony of it all: these games serve as a perfect example of why urban champion champion was a bad choice for the 3d treatment...

SwerdMurd

#193

SwerdMurd said:

metroid down in just over an hour :) One of my faster victories...skipped some stuff, including the Varia Suit (that bomb-jump can take forever if you're unlucky) but got her done w/ 5 tanks :)

Such a great creation of a genre. Zelda/Zelda 2--you're next. Now to work for the next 28 straight hours... /groan

StarDust

#194

StarDust said:

I am already found a display issue with the official Nintendo NES emulator, If you are an ambassador and you haven't already, download Super Mario Brothers NES now. You will notice that the game properly displays in 240p, just like the native NES hardware, 240x256. Most emulators clip 8 pixels off the top and bottom (why I have no idea), but every scanline is accounted for on 3DS. But there is another issue at hand: the pixels are slightly stretched horizontally, causing very slight horizontal blurring artifacts which vary on the screen at certain intervals. I don't know the exact extent of the stretching, but the window area is greater than 256 and less than 320. You may need to examine the screen with a magnifying glass to see it on a still frame, but it definitely causes a noticeable rippling effect when the screen scrolls horizontal. Unlike original DS and VC game boy games, pressing select at boot does nothing to preserve the pixel integrity. Why, Nintendo, why can't we just play our exclusive NES games with 1x1 square pixels??? :|

PSICOffee

#195

PSICOffee said:

Zelda, Zelda II, Metroid, Balloon Fight, and SMB are the only games worth downloading. NES Open Tournament Golf is the only one I don't already own and never played. No SMB2/3 or Punch Out? I expected all the games to be 1st party, but Ice Climber and Wrecking Crew? I guess I don't have to feel bad about not being an ambassador now. :)

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