An exuberant, behind-the-scenes look at the designers and the company that brought us Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, and so much more “Keza MacDonald pulls back the curtain on the Nintendo dream factory.” —Walt Williams, author of Significant Zero What magical mushroom could have turned an unassuming playing card company into one of the dominant cultural forces of the twenty-first century? In Super Nintendo, lifelong gamer and a renowned video games journalist Keza MacDonald traces Nintendo back to its quirky beginnings in 1889, illuminating its singular ethos, its endlessly innovative leaders and developers, its massive cultural impact, and, most of all, the video games themselves, which have inspired joy and creativity in millions. Leaping from game to game, Super Nintendo tells the remarkable story of the people who brought us Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, and more—not to mention the SNES, N64, Game Boy, Wii, Switch, and a host of other wacky gizmos—and charts the delights they’ve offered over the decades. MacDonald draws on private interviews with icons like Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, who continues to leave his stamp on the company, and takes readers on a trip to the secretive Nintendo HQ—making her one of the few Western journalists to have set foot inside the building. Along the way, she uncovers the driving force behind these creative triumphs: a willingness to take risks and place long-term success over short-term profits. A carousel of wonders, Super Nintendo whisks you back to the couch in the den, a controller in your hands for the very first time, staring up at a screen of infinite possibilities. “MacDonald has done something no English-speaking reporter has before her: told the story of Nintendo, in detail, from beginning to end. She has gotten inside the mind of Miyamoto, the doors of Nintendo’s headquarters, and the intangible miasma that has made Nintendo and video games what they are today.” —Chris Plante, Vulture "A joyful celebration of the gaming giant. . . . Winsomely enthusiastic. . . . MacDonald’s conversations with all the gifted (and often eccentric) creative people who actually make the games are full of such wholesome insights, as are her own superb analyses of favourite games." —Steven Poole, The Guardian "[A] spirited new history [that] offers acute and entertaining analysis of the company’s many game franchises . . . Nostalgia abounds." —Nathan Smith, Washington Post "A breezy, colorful trip through the history of Mario, Zelda, Metroid and much more. Keza MacDonald adroitly weaves personal observations with original reporting to tell a fascinating story that's packed full of delightful anecdotes (did you know that Splatoon's stylish squids started off as blocks of tofu?). This book paints a vivid picture of the most important company in video games." —Jason Schreier, New York Times bestselling author of Play Nice , Press Reset , and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels “MacDonald writes brilliantly about videogames, and this is a great book.” —Charlie Brooker, creator and writer of Black Mirror “Fluently written, deeply informed. . . . You won’t find anyone with a better insight into the nuts and bolts of these games. . . . Here is a book bursting with love. Bop your head against it and see if a shower of gold coins comes out.” —Sam Leith, The Times (London) “What better guide through Nintendo history than MacDonald? . . . I can’t help but wonder if she peeked into my head when writing her retrospective Super Nintendo book. After all, these are all the very memories I associate with my Nintendo-obsessed childhood: little, trivial activities that define my nostalgia even more than grand adventures, unforgettable characters, or towering beasts. . . . Being one of the few journalists who’s stepped foot into Nintendo headquarters, it’s not just [MacDonald’s] fountain of knowledge and years of experience that makes Super Nintendo a riveting read—her remarkable profession ensures us we’re in the right hands.” —Anthony Pelone, Gaming Trend “Comprehensive but never too dense, informative but approachable, and packed with an unwavering passion for Nintendo that I'd wager even the company's biggest detractors would find infectious. In short, if you want to learn about Nintendo, this is the book to do it.” —Jim Norman, Nintendo Life "I thought I knew everything there was to know about Nintendo before I read Keza's book—and I literally used to work there. It's fun, it's fascinating, and it only makes me love Mario even more." —Mike Drucker, author of Good Game, No Rematch “I’ve read and admired Keza MacDonald’s work for years, so it’s no surprise that this book ranks high among the best things ever written about Nintendo. She’s incisive about its corporate history and revelatory about what it actually took—culturally and technically—to create its incomparable games. Anyone who cares about interactive enter