Mouse (SNES)
Unlike past Nintendo peripherals, the chunky SNES Mouse actually had a fairly respectable catalogue of compatible games - from cult favourite King Arthur’s World to the port of PC classic Doom. It didn’t do our eyesight any favours, however - its criminally short cable meant we were sitting a mere two inches from the TV.
Super Scope (SNES)
How do you one-up the NES Zapper? Nintendo’s thinking at the time was simple: make it bigger! But there’s a reason why the military doesn’t arm every single one of its troops with a shoulder-mounted bazooka - they’re heavy, unwieldy, indirect and expensive. All criticisms leveled at the Super Scope at the time. Still, it doesn’t stop Fox McCloud from whipping it out in Super Smash Bros…
Satellaview (SNES)
Thanks to the Wii and DS’s breezy and idiot-proof user interface, we now take online play for granted. But there was a time when playing online required a hefty bit of kit, some technical knowledge, and a willingness to play the offered games at set hours of the day when they were ‘broadcast’. Still, Japan’s Satellaview had one shiny perk: you could play a radically remixed ‘sequel’ to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Exertainment (SNES)
Like Nintendo? Like the smell of your own bodily secretions? Then you’ll love the Exertainment system, which was pretty much a SNES grafted onto an exercise bike. But unlike, say, an exercise bike down at your local gym, bundled game Mountain Bike Rally actively encouraged you to punch fellow racers in the face as you pedaled by. Surely that alone is worth the $3,500 price-tag?
Tetris Bio Sensor (N64)
Another amazing peripheral that only saw release in Japan, the Bio Sensor came bundled with Tetris 64 and clipped on to a player’s ear. Why? To measure your heart rate, of course. The game would speed up and slow down along with your pulse. A good way to train against lie detectors, this.
