In yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced an ‘Expansion Pack’ for their Nintendo Switch online service which will see Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive) games added onto the service. For those not in the know, Nintendo offer a monthly/yearly subscription called Switch Online. Costing approximately $19.99 (£17.99) a year, it entitles you to Cloud Saves, online play and… some retro titles.
If we are honest, the Switch Online membership has never really been seen as the best deal. While cheaper than yearly memberships for Xbox and PlayStation, those companies throw in more to sweeten the pot with regular free games. Nintendo, on the other hand, have haphazardly given a random selection of Nintendo and Super Nintendo games via the service. If it wasn’t for the cloud saves and online play, most people probably wouldn’t bother.
Finally…
So at first, it appears to be great news that Nintendo are finally bringing N64 games to service – and a welcome surprise to get some Sega titles too. A full list can be found below:
N64:
Launch titles:
- Star Fox 64
- Yoshi’s Story
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- WinBack: Covert Operations
- Mario Tennis
- Dr. Mario 64
- Sin & Punishment
- Super Mario 64
- Mario Kart 64
Future releases:
- F-Zero X
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- Paper Mario
- Banjo-Kazooie
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
- Mario Golf
- Pokémon Snap
- Custom Robo (Japan only)
- Custom Robo V2 (Japan only)
Sega Genesis
Launch titles:
- Golden Axe
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Streets of Rage
- Strider
- Castlevania: Bloodlines
- Contra: Hard Corps
- Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (Puyo Puyo – Japan)
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Gunstar Heroes
- M.U.S.H.A.
- Phantasy Star IV
- Ristar
- Shining Force
- Shinobi III
Always a catch though – it appears there will be additional cost with Nintendo stating there will be a ‘new membership’ plan. So you may need to pay more to play these games. Since we here at Any Button Gaming only really use the cloud saves and multiplayer, the titles above might not be enough to justify additional outlay.
We miss the Virtual Console…
We sure do miss the days of the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console where some cracking titles could be bought outright & downloaded instead of this drip feeding. Oh, did we mention you can spend $49.99 on N64 or Genesis controllers? Well… you can. So there’s that.
Are you excited by the above or just tired of Nintendo being Nintendo about its legacy? Let us know down below…
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Rudy Manchego has been gaming since the days of the BBC Micro Computer and spreads himself thin with a love of retro, indie and mainstream gaming. He’s one half of the Jambags Comedy Gaming podcast and likes nothing better than kicking back with a nice pot of lapsang souchong, a good game and a background podcast on the intricacies of Spanish cheese making.