In honor of next week’s Mini-NES (which is officially called the NES Classic but I’ll keep calling the Mini-NES ‘cause that’s a way better name), Nintendo is going full nostalgia, pulling out the big guns in hopes of blasting your brain with thoughts of the 80s and 90s. Get ready for the return of the Power Line.


The Mini-NES, a tiny, $60 box that plays 30 classic NES games, comes out on Friday, November 11. From then until Sunday night (November 13), Nintendo will reopen their classic customer service system, allowing players to call the crusty old Power Line for tips and tricks. Sadly, there won’t be any real people on the line—just automated messages. But it’s still bound to take us all back to 1989, big hair and all. Here’s Nintendo:

While playing one of the 30 great NES games included on the NES Classic Edition during the weekend following the Friday launch, you might find yourself puzzled by some of the more challenging games. (“How do I find the first Warp Whistle in Super Mario Bros. 3?” you might ask yourself.) If your memories of the original games fail you, no need to fret. You can just call the Power Line, which will return and run from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13, between the hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT each day. The original Power Line was a beloved service in the ’80s that connected fans to Nintendo Game Play Counselors who offered helpful tips and tricks. In this fully automated version, you can use your real-life phone (bonus points if it has a cord!) to dial (425) 885-7529 to hear recorded tips for several games, plus behind-the-scenes stories from original Nintendo Game Play Counselors. You never know what you might learn!


As the kids like to say, totally radical.