It’s unclear if it was an April Fool’s stunt or just a wild flight of geek fancy, but last weekend Google Maps released a version of its online mapping system that optimizes the  service for display on the 8-bit Nintendo NES videogame console from the 1980s.

As you can see above, the macro-level views make Bernal Heights look like the combat zone of a dragon-slaying game cartridge. Which is neat. But Google Maps went all the way with the whole 8-bit thing, so that even the Street Views are presented in NintendoVision.

For example, here’s a view down Cortland Street (click any image to embiggen):

And here’s a closeup of the Bernal Branch library. Not to stir up  controversy, I think but this looks rather awesome. Why don’t we create an 8-bit faux-digitized version of the current mural, and then paint *that* on the side of the library:

Up on the Hill, Sutrito Tower lurks in the pixels:

Farther east, Bernal Hill looks like a rustic tomorrowland with Bernal Heights Boulevard wrapped around it:

Yet the view downtown lacks a certain… clarity:

Precita Park looks absolutely stunning in 8-bit (click it! click it!). Notice that our old friend Stephen retains his ghostly presence:

While my own house looks really… red:

All in all, it’s an impressive retrofutuistic re-imagining of our glamorous neighborhood, right down to the smallest detail:

Hurry and explore Bernal Heights in Google Maps 8-bit Nintendo-Vision, before Larry Page comes to his senses and makes someone tell someone to get someone to scream at someone to pull the whole thing down.

IMAGES: via Google Maps 8-bit