Touring the Nintendo Museum collection - Let’s Get (Inter)active
After finishing our exploration of first part of the Nintendo Museum, we headed downstairs to the lower level.
This section of the museum is dedicated to interactive exhibits—eight in total:
- Shigureden SP
- Ultra Machine SP
- Ultra Hand SP
- Love Tester SP
- Game & Watch SP
- Zapper & Scope SP
- Big Controller
- Nintendo Classics
Along with the workshops, this is where visitors can get hands-on with Nintendo’s past.
Most of these exhibits include the "SP" label, short for "Special," a nod to enhanced or modernized versions of classic items (much like the Game Boy Advance SP).
The lower level also includes a number of additional displays that complement the product showcase upstairs, adding context to the interactive experiences. Photography is allowed on this floor.
Shigureden SP
At the center of this area is Shigureden SP. The name refers to Shigureden, a museum opened in 2006 by then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district, which was centered around Ogura Hyakunin Isshu cards. Like Hanafuda, these are traditional Japanese playing cards and among Nintendo’s oldest products.
The game’s objective is to match card pairs containing fragments of classical poetry faster than your opponent. A card is shown on your handheld screen, and you must find its match on a giant digital display embedded in the floor.
The setup resembles the original Shigureden installation (now closed), although in this version Nintendo DS consoles have been replaced by visitors’ mobile devices.
Next to Shigureden SP is a large display dedicated to Nintendo’s rich legacy in playing cards.
The exhibit showcases a wide array of designs, shapes, and sizes produced over the decades. The cards are presented in chronological order, from left to right.
Starting with early hanafuda and the first Western-style playing cards ...
... progressing through the mid-century decades ...
... highlighting the boom of licensed character cards in the 1960s and 1970s ...
... featuring popular modern sets like Pokémon and Animal Crossing cards ...
... and concluding with recent innovations such as NFC-enabled cards that double as amiibo, and a Club Nintendo hanafuda set featuring Super Mario characters.
The lower portion of the display presents full boxed card sets from across the years.
While the collection shown is only a fraction of the hundreds (if not thousands) of different card designs Nintendo has produced, the variety on display is impressive.
Ultra Machine SP, Ultra Hand SP, Love Tester SP and Game & Watch SP
On one side of the floor, we find four exhibits dedicated to iconic games from the late 1960s to early 1980s: the Ultra Hand, Ultra Machine, Love Tester, and Game & Watch.
A large display in front of this area illustrates how these four groundbreaking toys and games marked the beginning of Nintendo’s playful and experimental phase, and how this continues to this day.
The left side of the display features the 1966 Ultra Hand and the 1968 Ultra Machine (which received an update in 1977).
On the right, we see the Love Tester from 1969 and the first Game & Watch units from 1980.
Each of the four has its own interactive exhibit, designed to give visitors a strong sense of the original gameplay experience. The Ultra Hand and Ultra Machine exhibits are especially elaborate and enjoyable.
To make Ultra Hand SP as authentic as possible, Nintendo even commissioned new units of the original toy—now over 50 years old (also available at the museum shop).
In the exhibit, visitors use the Ultra Hand to grab balls hanging from a conveyor belt and drop them into pipes to score points.
Ultra Machine SP features six distinct period-themed rooms modeled after late-1960s Japanese homes.
Each room is enclosed in netting (to contain the flying balls) and includes an original Ultra Machine, automatically loaded with plastic ping-pong balls.
Visitors start the game by tapping their museum ticket, which deducts two coins from their balance.
The goal is to return as many of the pitched balls as possible, with bonus points for striking certain items in the room, that then move or light up to indicate the hit.
The Love Tester SP is the most straightforward translation of the original to a museum exhibit.
A greatly enlarged Love Tester contains a functioning original unit at its center. Pairs of visitors hold hands while each grasps one of the two sensors.
The display then shows their compatibility score.
Finally, Game & Watch SP uses motion detection and large screens to reimagine two classic Game & Watch titles: Ball and Manhole.
Players wave their arms to move characters on screen in place of pressing buttons—merging nostalgia with a modern, physical twist.
Zapper & Scope SP
The most spectacular of the interactive exhibits—and the most "expensive," costing four coins—is Zapper & Scope SP. This exhibit is inspired by the Famicom (NES) Zapper and the Super Famicom (SNES) Super Scope, released in 1984/85 and 1992/93 respectively.
It’s a multi-player game where Super Mario characters appear on a massive projection screen. Players use either a Zapper or a Super Scope to shoot enemies while avoiding friendly targets. At the end of the round, scores are tallied and the top player is announced.
Adjacent to the play area is a detailed display of Nintendo’s extensive history with light gun games.
The timeline starts in 1970 with the Kôsenjû SP (光線銃SP) series and continues through the decades.
A standout item in the display is an original rifle used at Nintendo's Laser Clay shooting ranges during the early 1970s.
The exhibit concludes with more recent entries, including the Blaster accessory from the Nintendo Labo VR kit.
Unsurprisingly, Zapper & Scope SP is one of the most popular attractions at the museum, often drawing long lines of visitors queueing to have a go.
Big Controller
Another visitor favorite is Big Controller.
This exhibit features gigantic, fully functioning controllers from various Nintendo systems: the Famicom, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, and Wii (represented by both Wiimote and Balance Board).
Each controller requires two players to operate and costs two coins for a three-minute play session. Each station offers a selection of classic game scenes.
The only exception is the Wiimote, which—though still quite large—can be handled by a single person.
Next to the play area is a display showcasing the evolution of Nintendo controllers.
The display begins with the Donkey Kong arcade panel from 1981 and highlights the groundbreaking d-pad from the 1982 Game & Watch: Donkey Kong—a design that became the template for virtually all modern controllers.
Exploded views of Nintendo’s handheld and console controllers reveal their inner workings in full detail.
Nintendo Classics
In the final area of the interactive section, visitors can sit down and play classic Nintendo games spanning the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 64-bit eras.
A wide selection of games is available across multiple stations.
The interactive zone as a whole does a fantastic job presenting Nintendo’s legacy through tactile, engaging experiences—ranging from card games to physical toys to digital classics.
The clever juxtaposition of product displays with interactive exhibits enhances the educational aspect of the exhibit (although, I can't help mentioning again, the lack of any significant explanation is a great miss).
Nintendo is Keeping Score
Throughout the interactive sections of the museum, visitor activity is tracked via the spending of coins stored in their digital ticket wallets. After the visit, guests can log in to their Nintendo account to view a summary of what they played and how well they performed.
Some exhibits even take automatic snapshots during play, which are also accessible through the "exhibit record" in the Nintendo account.
It’s a thoughtful feature that provides fun mementos—often from perspectives you couldn’t capture yourself.
After spending all our coins and exploring both floors of the museum’s main building, we still weren’t done. Next up: the museum shop.
Stay tuned for the next part of the trip report...
(Previous parts of this travel report can be found here: part 1, part 2 & part 3.)
No comments:
Post a Comment