How Do I Get All of the NES Games for the Wii?

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games are available for purchase on Wii Shop Channel, but the selection of titles is limited for Wii game system owners. Instead of purchasing each separate game, players can access the complete catalog of Nintendo games for free and play them all on the Wii. This includes all of the games for both United States and Japanese releases. The process requires the Wii Homebrew Channel, a software channel made by Wii fans and owners of the system.

Download the Wii “Bannerbomb” and “HackMii” software from WiiBrew.org (see References section) for free. WiiBrew.org is the official host for the Wii Homebrew Channel; other websites may try charging you money to download the free software.

Insert a SD card into your computer, and drag the downloaded files onto the root of the card (the main directory). Delete everything else off the card to avoid confusion about the files.

Insert the card into your Wii, and click on the SD card channel. The “Bannerbomb” software will automatically load, and the installation will continue. Follow the instructions to continue the installation.

Restart the Wii when the installation has completed, then use the Wii remote to select the “Homebrew Channel.” Wait for the Homebrew channel to load correctly, then power down the Wii console.

Remove the SD card from the Wii, and insert it into the computer.

Download the FCE Ultra GX emulator from WiiBrew.org (see References section). Unzip the file, and drag it into the “Apps” folder on the SD card.

Navigate to TheOldComputer.com and click on the "NES ROM" category. Choose either “USA” or “Japan” to see the complete list of NES roms. Click on a game title, select the download link, then save it to the “Roms” folder of the SD card. Repeat this process for all of the games or just the games you want loaded.

Remove the SD card from the computer, and insert it into the Wii. Load the Homebrew channel, and select the FCE Ultra GX Emulator.

Use the Wii remote to select the “Roms” folder, and choose a game to play by pressing the “A” button. Hold the Wii remote sideways to play the NES games.