It should not come as any surprise that people like to bling out their retro consoles. We live in a time where most hardware shops carry the supplies needed to take apart, modify, and significantly alter the insides and outsides of some of our most beloved gaming consoles. It also helps that older generation consoles aren’t too expensive to come by, especially if you aren’t too concerned with the appearance (since you’re going to be modding it anyway). Hop on any big city’s Craigslist, or eBay, and you easily have dozens of retro console choices at your fingertips.
But once you have that itch, where do you go for inspiration? It can be a difficult path to walk down, especially if you aren’t creatively gifted. Do you simply copy what you saw someone else do? Or do you blaze your own trail; demanding to create something so awesome you will reap the vast fortunes of internet karma? For some, it is an easy choice. For others, maybe not so much.
This list aims to break down some of the worst and best Nintendo Entertainment System custom creations. No matter what, art is subjective and if you have taken steps to modify your old retro consoles, then all that matters is that you like the end result. If you have been on the fence on whether or not to modify your old console, hopefully this list gives you some solid inspiration (and some strong ideas of what not to do).
15 Darkwing Duck NES (Ugh!)
Let’s say that Darkwing Duck just happens to be your most favorite cartoon from the classic ‘90s Disney era. Even if you have nothing but absolute love for your old classic Nintendo, it might not be the best idea to combine your two favorite things into one questionably designed piece of modification. There’s nothing directly Nintendo related here, outside of the console, which immediately makes the design a bit questioning.
The other obvious issue here is that Nintendo Entertainment Systems weren’t designed to sit on their face. Meaning that even if you must combine these two things, you’ll rarely be able to see the art you worked so hard to display. The majority of the time, you’ll just be looking at The Terror That Flaps in the Night’s feet.
14 Ghostbusters NES Mod (Yes!)
It’s a safe bet that if you painstakingly put together an NES in something pretty unique (unlike, say, a toaster), you are going to make a lot of lists involving very impressive NES mods. Such is the case with the Nintendo Entertainment System put inside a Ghostbusters Ecto-1 toy car. Unfortunately, this mod is a bit of a cheat in that it uses the RetroBit systems, but we can overlook that minor detail for something so cool.
What makes this car mod so unbelievably cool is the functionality. The car’s lights light up using LED tech, as well as green LEDs featured within the controller buttons for that classic Ghostbusters feel. The car was auctioned off on eBay for a cool $730, showing that some mods pay off.
13 Mario Face NES (Ugh!)
There’s no doubt that Mario is, absolutely, the face of the original Nintendo. That is an absolute fact. But, that doesn’t mean you need Mario to be the face of your original Nintendo. And, even if you did, this might not be the best way to go about it. Mario’s facial appearance, in stencil form, looks a bit like a scary clown.
There is the really nice touch of the Mario Mushroom on the bottom left, but the real issue with this specific custom is the color scheme. The classic Nintendo grey doesn’t necessarily drive a lot of eyes to it, but mixing with a bold red just seems like a questionable choice. Sure, the original NES Zapper pulled off this color scheme, but it had a glossed look which certainly made the difference.
12 Custom Zelda NES Chest (Yes!)
Now, this is how you put a lot of time and effort into an NES mod. The console is a beautifully crafted chest with homage to the Zelda games and actually has an opening at the front to insert NES cartridges. Undoing the latches on the front allows the gamer to lift open the chest, revealing a floating, turning tri-force (complete with LED lights and mirrors). The amount of detail and creation that went into this beauty is staggering.
The controller has even been hand designed to fit the chest decoration, and serves as a beautiful complimentary piece to the display. All sides of the chest have also been perfectly crafted to fit the overall Zelda theme. Controller ports hidden on the front make this work of art easy to display in any room of your house.
11 NES Toaster (Ugh!)
Going completely outside of the box in this design (literally), is beyond questionable. There can’t be too many gamers out there that just have to have their NES designed as a toaster, but for the few that must, this design is certainly just for you. The color scheme here combined with the shiny chrome of the toaster make for an interesting pair, as well.
While it’s always neat to see modders take the insides of the NES out and put them in something original, this design feels a bit too much. The technical know-how is certainly impressive, but that mostly remains inconsequential as soon as you remember that it is a toaster turned into an NES. This modder was clearly too preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
10 Final Fantasy NES (Yes!)
CustomNESGuy is one of the most professional in the business of mods, and while he doesn’t always hit his designs out of the park, he has a talent worth trying to imitate. This is the case with his Final Fantasy mod: the layout and design is nearly flawless. Final Fantasy games were big both here and in Japan, and this mod truly appreciates them.
The glossed final touch appears similar to the Halo design you’ll see later on, but this approach works much better in branding the game and console together. The top image looks fantastic and the controllers both look great and have an appealing, unique layout. If you’re a big fan of Final Fantasy on the NES, it probably doesn’t get much better than this mod.
9 Donkey Kong NES (Ugh!)
Arguably a close third to Mario (Luigi being second, of course) in terms of recognition when it comes to classic Nintendo games, Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo’s most popular characters. But, similar to the Mario Face NES, this variation of the classic console just doesn’t do much to light the modding world on fire. It is a nice stencil look, but the colors feel like a questionable choice when it comes to DK.
Also of irk is the Donkey Kong name on the right hand side. The stencil approach seems to give a ‘less is more’ technique to the NES mod, but taking the time to add the Donkey Kong name detracts from the main focus a bit–the face stencil. We know it’s Donkey Kong. If you’re looking for inspiration for a future mod, it’s possible to use this design, but perhaps drop the lettering and change the colors up a bit.
8 Mario 25th Anniversary Edition (Yes!)
As stated previously, Mario is the essential face of all things Nintendo. So, it only makes sense for modders to want to design a retro console paying tribute to one of the greatest gaming icons of all time. And this, right here, is how you do it. The color scheme, harkening back to the classic retro years, is a perfect fit for the console and is complemented with a beautiful chrome finish.
Adding the small, 8-bit images of both Mario and Luigi to the underside of the controllers was a brilliant touch. The embedded 25th Anniversary logo looks stunning atop the box and easily makes this custom NES package feel like an officially licensed product. When your art is designed to celebrate such an icon gaming anniversary, it’s impossible not to appreciate the lengths that were gone to in order to make it look so official.
7 Halo NES (Ugh!)
Halo has nothing to do with the Nintendo Entertainment System. As a game, it was never released on the classic gaming console and, more importantly, as a brand it belongs to an entirely different console. At least with the Darkwing Duck custom mod, there was a NES game that could be associated with it (even if the game was rather bad).
The gloss is a nice approach and the unique controllers definitely give a fun feel to retro gaming, but it’s impossible to get past the fact that Halo has nothing to do with the NES. This is one of those modifications where the fan aspect outweighed every other decision. Which is fine, for diehard Halo fans that have to have their consoles modded to match their FPS love.
6 Steampunk NES Mod (Yes!)
It’s hard not to rant and rave about modders who create something truly unique out of an NES mod. That is specifically the case when it comes to the steampunk NES: a steampunk take on the retro console. The finished design is a sleek and beautiful look that is sure to spark conversation. The chrome finish on top looks stellar, and especially neat are the tiny custom legs propping up the device.
The button look around the system surely gives it a steampunk feel, as does the wiring and color scheme. The controller ports showcased up front look great and do a lot to not take away from the overall design and feel of the mod. If you’re looking for an inspiring and different take on an NES, look no further.
5 Jason NES (Ugh!)
Who doesn’t like horror movies? Who doesn’t like campy horror movies? Well, the Friday the 13th movies may just be the perfect combination of horror and cheesiness, but that doesn’t mean they make for the perfect combination with an old Nintendo console. Similar to the Darkwing Duck NES, if you just have to combine two of your favorite things, this is one way to do it.
The red paint job really stands out here, in a good way, and when combined with the color black it creates a pretty dominating presence. It certainly grabs the attention of the room, while at the same time making things a bit confusing because it’s Jason on a Nintendo console. There was a poorly received Friday the 13th NES game, so maybe this is meant more as an homage to that.
4 TMNT Red NES (Yes!)
While arguably more basic than some of the other fine-tuned customs, it’s easy to see why this specific model would make the top end of the list. The red and green color scheme, meant to compliment the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo, fits beautifully on the iconic NES console. It’s also hard not to appreciate the detail and work that went into the controller, including the green frame around the direction pad and buttons.
The top design, featuring just the TMNT logo, is a brilliant take on the less is more approach. With this particular color scheme and logo, this box tells you all you need to know about this gamer’s love for Nintendo and Ninja Turtles. The chrome shine is beautiful, especially when paired with that fire-engine color red.
3 Basic NES Stickers (Ugh!)
If you are thinking of modding your own Nintendo Entertainment System, look no further than the most basic thing you could possibly do to it: paint it black and slap a couple stickers on it. In fact, it doesn’t look like the bottom of the console was touched at all. Just the top half painted in solid black with a bright red Nintendo sticker on top.
It’s a bit hard to find the positives in this approach, specifically because so little work was actually done. If you’re looking for design inspiration, and want to do the least amount of work possible for the least interesting design possible, then this might just be the perfect mod for you. Based on the color scheme alone, this is certain to stand out in your living room.
2 TMNT Wagon NES (Yes!)
Quite possibly the mother of all NES mods, the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wagon turned into an NES console is simply amazing. The front windows even open up to reveal a Michelangelo and Leonardo inside. For Ninja Turtle fans, how cool is that?
The cartridges insert directly into the top of the toy, while the controller ports can be found in the rear. The controllers feature the perfect dark green to match the cartoon skin color of the Turtles, and its remaining color scheme is awesomely matched in orange, yellow, and black. The lights at the front of the wagon also turn on, which is beyond cool. This is truly the most impressive retro mod, combining so many great things from the ‘80s and ‘90s.
1 Link/Zelda NES (Ugh!)
It’s hard not to love something that someone clearly put a lot of time and effort into. As in this case, the original creator took a lengthy amount of time to create a rather interesting take on Zelda and Link for the classic Nintendo. However, the results here are a bit of a mixed bag. No matter your opinion on this one, at least the creator put in some really solid effort in its birth.
The custom tri-force on the console’s top is well done, and the added bonus of miniature Links is always fun. But, after all that effort and design, what happened with the paint job? A solid green rings true to Link, but why name the box Zelda? And why add ‘version’ underneath? This box had a lot going for it, but it feels like the creator dropped the ball on a potentially fun mod.
