Most gamers will agree that game demos are great, the ability to try a game before buying it is beneficial for consumers who wish to spend wisely. Demos have existed for decades, and most can be easily acquired through download on various gaming systems. It can be difficult for many to remember that there was a time when receiving game demos was rare and exciting. Sony was the first significant home console maker to embrace this practice with many memorable demo discs released for the original Playstation. Sega would also start releasing demo discs, but it took a bit longer for Nintendo to follow suit.
In 2001, Nintendo released the GameCube, which finally made use of optical media. Thus, it finally became cost-effective for Nintendo to release game demos. Even then, Nintendo seemed far more reluctant than its competitors to release demos for their games. Still, there were several memorable and iconic instances of Nintendo letting players try before they bought.
5 Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc
One way in which Nintendo distributed demo discs back in the GameCube days was as a bonus for subscribing to Nintendo Power magazine. Such was the case with the Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Bonus Disc, though it was also offered as a bonus with certain rereleases of the original Metroid Prime.
This disc contained two trailers for Prime 2, a chronology of the Metroid series up to that point, and a game demo. The demo could be played through in about 20 minutes and contained areas from the first part of the game stitched together into a vertical slice of what the full game would contain. It was fairly well done for its time, it did a great job both giving players a sense of what the full game would be like and getting them excited for it.
4 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Demo
Those who perused the game section of their local Walmart or Target around 2003 might remember seeing a playable demo for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This store demo would later be rereleased as a part of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition; a compilation disc containing 4 full Legend of Zelda games, plus trailers for The Wind Waker and the Zelda series as a whole respectively.
The demo contained three save files for the player to choose from, each of which showed off a different portion from early in the game. The first file allowed players to play through the dungeon on Dragon Roost Island. The second file contained the stealth sequence, in which players attempted to infiltrate the Forbidden Fortress. The third file allowed players to explore Windfall Island and experiment a bit with the game's sailing mechanic.
3 Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt
When the first model of the Nintendo DS was released back in 2004, it introduced players to the world of dual-screen gaming. Packaged with that original model was a demo for the then-in-development title Metroid Prime Hunters, appropriately subtitled First Hunt.
The demo contained a short single-player level and a morph ball challenge. Players likely got the most value out of the 4-player multiplayer mode that allowed for deathmatch over local wireless connections. While fairly bare bones, this was actually fairly impressive for a handheld first-person shooter at the time and did an excellent job showcasing the system's technical capabilities. The demo also allowed players to experiment with a variety of control methods. It gave a tantalizing glimpse of how a system like the DS might be able to handle an FPS, despite not having dual analog sticks.
2 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Masterpieces
The Super Smash Bros. series has always been a celebration of Nintendo's many franchises. With hundreds of game series represented, these fighting games function as a sort of museum celebrating the legacy of countless classic titles. Super Smash Bros Brawl took this concept even further by including playable demos of many of Nintendo's most classic titles. This served as a promotion for Nintendo's Virtual Console service, but it was undeniably fun to be able to unlock these demos. Players got to experience (albeit in an extremely limited form) where many of the iconic characters and locations originated.
Unfortunately, many of these demos featured extremely short time limits, with a few lasting for less than a minute. This has not stopped players from trying to get as much value as they could from them. For example, in 2021 the speed runner Savestate used glitches to reach the end of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time within the 5 minute demo in Brawl.
The feature would return in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. However, it would end up missing from Super Smash Bros Ultimate, likely due to Nintendo putting an end to the Virtual Console service.
1 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Bonus Disc
One common method of distributing demo discs back in the day was by including them as a bonus with another game. This practice was largely popularized by the game Zone of the Enders for PS2, which contained a demo disk for the then-upcoming Metal Gear Solid 2.
Nintendo dabbled in something similar with the Bonus Disc included with certain copies of Mario Kart: Double Dash. The disc in question contained playable demos for Mario Party 5, F-Zero GX, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars Rogue Squadron III, and Sonic Heroes, as well as trailers for a number of other games. Overall, it was a pretty cool little bonus.