The Nintendo Museum has brought back the iconic Ultra Hand from 1966! But how does this new version stack up against the original classic? Let’s dive in and find out!
The Ultra Hand within the Nintendo Museum collection
The Nintendo Ultra Hand is an important product in the history of the company. It brought Nintendo its first million-selling success as a toy maker in Japan, similar in impact at the time to how, in the early 1980s, the Game & Watch series became a sales hit on a global scale.
Back in 2011, when I started this blog, some of the earliest posts focused on the Ultra Hand and its inventor, Gunpei Yokoi.
A few years later, when releasing the Before Mario book—like the blog, also about Nintendo's 'toys and games' period before the release of the Family Computer in 1983—it was clear what should be on the front cover: the Ultra Hand.
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| Visiting the Nintendo Museum, October 2024 |
As you can image, when I visited the newly-opened Nintendo Museum a few weeks ago (a full report of which will follow later), I was curious to see how the Ultra Hand is covered there.
The second floor of the museum features a large exhibition of all of Nintendo's products, from its earliest days up to the present. I was glad that the Ultra Hand, along with many other vintage items, was on display here. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed in this area, so I can't show it here, but it was great to see that all vintage products from before the video game era were given the attention and space they deserve.
On the first floor is a large display called 'A Succession of Ideas' (アイデアの継承). And luckily, on this floor pictures are allowed.
This display visually demonstrates how the ideas behind some of Nintendo's key products have endured and evolved over time.
The Ultra Hand, shown in the top left corner, is one of these 'primordial' ideas, alongside the Ultra Machine (bottom left), Game & Watch (top right), and Love Tester (bottom right).
All four products, I should add, came from the minds of Gunpei Yokoi and his R&D team.
As an aside, the museum contains all sorts of little Easter eggs. If you look carefully at this display, you’ll spot Pikmin gathering objects—specifically, balls from the Ultra Hand set.
The Ultra Hand SP interactive exhibit at the Nintendo Museum
On the first floor of the museum, visitors can get hands-on and play, and the 'A Succession of Ideas' display provides context for four of the eight interactive experiences located here: Ultra Hand SP, Ultra Machine SP, Love Tester SP, and Game & Watch SP —all new special versions of the original games.
A fifth experience centers around the traditional card game Hyakunin Isshu, while the remaining three focus on video games.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how much effort Nintendo had made to allow visitors to (re)experience these vintage toys and games, and how integral they are to the museum—not to mention the two workshops covering the making and playing of Japanese Hanafuda cards.
Let's take a closer look at the Ultra Hand SP interactive exhibit.
Eight players can participate at the same time, divided into two groups of four. The objective is to grab as many balls as possible using the Ultra Hand within a set period of time (I believe two or three minutes).
The balls (some resembling Poké Balls) appear in two rows and move along a rail, attached with magnets. After grabbing a ball with the Ultra Hand, players need to drop it into one of the pipes corresponding to their assigned color, using the Ultra Hand's release mechanism (more on that below).
It is a clever and fun way to experience the Ultra Hand, with a simple competitive element added.
Players use actual Ultra Hands to play this game. Although they look very much like the original Ultra Hand, we quickly noticed that they were new remakes. This makes sense, as the originals are quite rare these days, and the plastic has become brittle with age.
It was amazing to see that Nintendo went through the effort to reproduce this nearly sixty-year-old toy.
The Ultra Hand at the Nintendo Museum gift shop
It quickly became clear that this Ultra Hand remake wasn’t just for use within the museum.
Following a press event in the week leading up to the museum's opening, we had already seen coverage of the gift shop area (cheekily called 'Bonus Stage'), where a few new-looking Ultra Hands were on display.
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| Ultra Hand 2024 remake, at the Nintendo Museum |
However, there was no mention of the possibility to buy them, let alone a price tag.
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| Ultra Hand 2024 remake, at the Nintendo Museum |
So, the first thing we did upon entering the museum (well, technically the second, as we first registered for the Hanafuda-making workshop) was check out the gift shop.
To our joy and amazement, there they were: brand-new Ultra Hands, available in 2024 for ¥7,480 (tax included).
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| Ultra Hand 2024 remake, at the Nintendo Museum |
Of course, I bought one right away and took it home along with some other 'Bonus Stage' goodies.
A closer look at the Ultra Hand remake from 2024, sold at the Nintendo Museum
So here it is: the Ultra Hand remake of 2024. It’s still hard to believe Nintendo did this—something unimaginable just a few years ago. But it fits perfectly with Nintendo’s recent focus on highlighting its pre-video game history, with the Nintendo Museum being the epitome of that new strategy.
At a glance from a distance, the Ultra Hand remake box looks just like the original.
Also upon closer inspection, it shows no signs of being a remake.
The now-obligatory product information and barcode are included on a sticker on the outside of the shrink-wrap, not on the box itself.
Once the shrink-wrap is removed, there’s no indication on the box that this is a recent version, which has caused some collectors to frown, as it could lead to confusion in the second-hand market when new and old versions are mixed.
A sign of the times: it was produced in China, unlike the original, which was made in Japan.
Another difference from the original is the inclusion of many plastic bags inside. All parts, including the manual, are individually packed—presumably to prevent damage during shipping, though it seems a bit excessive. There’s quite a lot to unpack and dispose of.
There are even pieces of foam placed between the moving parts of the Ultra Hand itself, another measure to ensure it reaches the customer in pristine condition.
The Ultra Hand remake box has the exact same width and length as the original, and the box art is faithfully reproduced from the first version of the Ultra Hand (multiple box variants were sold between 1966 and 1973).
The artwork on the sides is also identical.
The only noticeable difference from the outside is the height of the box: it’s about two centimeters taller to accommodate the larger balls included.
A second difference, and the first of several improvements, is the inclusion of two pieces of foam attached to the inside of the box lid.
These foam pieces keep the Ultra Hand securely in place and prevent it from damaging the box.
A common issue with the original Ultra Hand, as seen in many vintage examples, was that sharp, protruding parts of the toy would puncture the box. With the addition of foam pieces, this is no longer possible with the remake.
The presentation of the Ultra Hand and its accessories is very similar in both versions, including the use of bright silver-colored cardboard as the base.
The remake is truly a faithful copy of the original Ultra Hand, though they are not 100% identical.
It’s almost like a game of 'spot the differences.' For instance, the majority of the metal pins that connect the segments of the original Ultra Hand have been replaced with plastic ones in the remake.
The cups at the end of the Ultra Hand's claws are similar in shape and size.
The remake has more guides for the string that controls the release mechanism—six instead of two. This is an improvement, as the string could easily get tangled in the original version, which would not have been practical for the interactive exhibit at the museum.
The biggest difference, and the most important improvement in the remake, is how the release string is handled.
In the original, the string was dangling loose, with a small (Nintendo-branded) counterweight to assist its movement up and down when the Ultra Hand expanded and collapsed.
In the remake, a spring-loaded spool has been added within a round housing, which pulls the string in and prevents any tangling.
A red knob has also been added to control the release of the Ultra Hand's claws. In the original toy, the user had to push their thumb directly against the string.
To release an object that has been grabbed with the Ultra Hand, you first press the red knob, and keep it pressed down.
When the handles of the Ultra Hand are then moved outward, the string pulls the release mechanism at the end, causing the claws to open.
As mentioned, the balls included with the remake are larger than the original ones, presumably to make them safer (reducing the risk of a small child swallowing them), as such safety precautions were less of a concern in the 1960s. Additionally, the larger size may make the balls easier to grasp.
The new balls measure 6 centimeters in diameter, while the original ones were 4.5 centimeters.
The shape of the stand has also been changed, providing extra stability.
The manual of the remake closely follows the original in almost every way.
The front and back are identical, and the manual included with the remake still features the company logo, name, and locations from 1966.
The text inside is also largely unchanged.
The only notable difference is in the illustrations and explanation of the release string and mechanism, which have been updated in the remake to reflect the changes to that mechanism.
In conclusion, the Ultra Hand remake currently on sale at the Nintendo Museum is a lovingly crafted copy of the original, even improving in some areas for better playability, without losing any of its vintage appeal and charm.
One thing left to consider is the price. Some have said that ¥7,480 is on the high side. If we look at inflation alone, the original price of ¥600 in 1966 is equivalent to around ¥3,500 today. With that in mind, the price has more than doubled.
I still believe it’s a fair price, considering the effort Nintendo put into recreating the original, and bearing in mind that these—unlike the original—won’t be produced in the millions. The batch size is likely quite small. Add a 'limited edition' sticker, and the price makes perfect sense.
Other Nintendo toy remakes
Although the Ultra Hand is the first vintage toy to be remade by Nintendo, it’s not the first Nintendo toy to be re-released long after its original debut.
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| Nintendo Ultra Machine remakes |
Decades after the initial introduction, companies Nichiten and Tenyo, both long-time Nintendo partners, have re-released the Nintendo Ultra Machine using the original plastic molds.
In 2010 Tenyo also released a remake of the Love Tester that was almost identical to the original. Additionally, two years earlier Taito released a Love Tester remake that was more loosely based on Nintendo's version.
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| Nintendo Love Tester remakes |
In more recent years, Nintendo themselves released new versions of the Game & Watch, featuring Super Mario Bros. and Zelda games.
For more about the original Ultra Hand, check out this post.
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