10 Best Nintendo Accessories

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In the month after the Wii MotionPlus is finally released, we've had a quick rummage around the ONM office to find some more Nintendo-related bits of plastic from its long, illustrious history. And the result? This month's newly expanded ONM Ten: our all-time favourite accessories...

N64 Voice Recognition Unit

10. N64 Voice Recognition Unit (1988)
This curio is most famed for its use with the ridiculous Pokémon spin-off Hey You Pikachu, but is also compatible with little-known train driving simulator Densha de Go! 64. As you'd expect from the no-frills moniker, it's an N64 microphone which can recognise your voice and can then use that data to control the game. Sadly Hey You Pikachu never came out in the UK due to the huge difference in local dialects here. Shame.

SNES Score Master

SNES Score Master (1993)
We had to include a joystick here at some point, so what better than this from the SNES era? Forget huge bazooka-style light gun, the Super Scope 6 - this was where it was at when it comes to SNES accessories. It was particularly useful for Street Fighter II sessions as it apes the original arcade machine's button layout. And it looks cool, which helps.

DS Paddle Controller

8. DS Paddle Controller (2008)
Ever wanted to control games like they used to when dinosaurs roamed the earth and gaming was in its infancy? Neither have we. But we've featured this anyway. The DS paddle controller plugs into the GBA slot on your DS or DS Lite and allows you to go left and right by twiddling the little nubbin thing, and works with retro twosome Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme.

NES Zapper

7. NES Zapper (1985, UK)
Perhaps the most famous Nintendo peripheral of them all, this legendary lump of orange and grey plastic gave many '80s kids their first taste of light gun gaming with Duck Hunt and, to a lesser extent, Wild Gunman. Who can forget that hugely satisfying click of the trigger? Or that annoying dog in Duck Hunt that laughs at you when you miss?

Donkey Konga Bongos

6. Donkey Konga Bongos (2004, UK)
Let's bring this up into the modern age to prove that it wasn't just the older Nintendo consoles that loved to accessorise. The Bongos accompanied the release of Donkey Konga on the GameCube in 2004 and pre-dated the whole Guitar Hero/Rock Band rhythm-action phenomenon by several years. First to it again, eh Nintendo?

Game Boy Printer

5. Game Boy Printer (1988)
This Game Boy add-on arrived in 1998 and gave users the chance to print out images and stickers (if you've got the right kit) from compatible games like Link's Awakening, Pokémon and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. But its main use was with the Game Boy camera, meaning that you could create and print out photos with the use of special filters and stamps - a lot like the stuff you can do on the DSi. Class.

Power Glove

4. Power Glove (1989, Japan and US)
Playing games while wearing this, listening to Michael Jackson's Bad album and sporting a bum bag all at the same time sums up '80s cool perfectly. The Power Glove senses motion and the flexing of your fingers to control the on-screen action, and is perhaps most notable for the awe it inspires in Nintendo-themed movie classic The Wizard.

R.O.B.

3. R.O.B. (1985, Japan and US)
was released for use with NES games Gyromite and Stack-Up. The games were pretty rubbish, but the main attraction in each was a 'Direct' mode which let you command R.O.B.'s arms. Since then, R.O.B has become famed for cameos in loads of Nintendo games, including Mario Kart DS and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Konami Laserscope

2. Konami Laserscape (1990)
This was found under the post-apocalyptic rubble that is Chris' desk, and is excitingly billed on the box as a "voice command optical targeting headset". In English, that means it's a novelty take on the classic NES Zapper. Instead of aiming your gun, you line-up a target through the lens dangling down in front of your eye and shout 'fire' to, erm, fire. It also sports a fairly impressive laser thing.

Famicom Disk System

1. Famicom Disc System (1986, Japan)
Like the Mega CD, except genuinely ace, the Japan-only Famicom Disk System plugged into the Famicom (known as the NES in the UK, of course) and used discs for the very first time on a Nintendo console. They boasted greater storage space and were re-writable too, meaning that you could save your game in titles including The Legend Of Zelda and Metroid. Awesome.