Heartwarming package also includes two of the most popular games ever made.

As you can guess from its name, the Japan Retro Game Association (JARGA) is all about preserving and promoting the video games of yesteryear. Among other activities, the group organizes discussions and restoration workshops, and also sometimes just sets up old-school hardware at events where visitors are welcome to play classic titles and experience a piece of gaming’ cultural and technological history firsthand.

With the continuing coronavirus pandemic, though, all of JARGA’s planned gatherings are on hold. That doesn’t mean the organization is taking a break from its mission, though, as it’s come up with an awesome, heartwarming plan to bring the joy of retro games to children who are sheltering-in-place to avoid coronavirus infection.

JARGA has announced that in recognition of kids who, despite the monotony it entails, are doing the right thing by staying home, it will be donating Nintendo Super Famicom (Super NES) systems to 100 households with young children. The systems themselves are being given away absolutely free, and all the recipients will need to do is cover shipping (which varies by the recipient’s exact location in Japan, but works out to around 1,500 yen [US$14]).

Along with the system itself, the bundle includes the necessary AC adaptor, A/V hookup cables, and one controller. And since a video game system is no fun without some games to play on it, JARGA will also be giving each recipient a copy of developer Square’s Final Fantasy VI, regarded by many as the high-point of the entire franchise, and Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country (which was titled Super Donkey Kong for its Japanese release).

“We believe that these are both excellent games that are easy to pick up and play, and that even first-timers can enjoy” says JARGA, showing a knack for understatement in describing two of the system’s all-time most popular games, both of which also offer luxuriously long playtimes.

Applicants must be families with a child 16 or younger in the home, and can apply by sending an email to JARGA at info@jarga.or.jp with te subject line of SFCプレゼント係 (meaning “Super Famicom present coordinator) along with their name, address, and phone number. Applications close at 11:59 on April 26.

JARGA notes that since the Super Famicom predate HDMI technology, a TV with A/V ports, or a converter, is required to connect the system. It also says that since the consoles are, obviously, used, some have scratches or exhibit the characteristic “sunburn” discoloring that Nintendo’s 16-bit console is known for. All of the consoles/cartridges have been tested, however, and JARGA assures that they are all in good working order, proving that just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s not still fun.

Related: Japan Retro Game Association

Source, images: Japan Retro Game Association

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