Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Advance Library

Woah Nintendo, slow down... you're going to run out of GBA games before switch 2 launches....

Main series Pokemon games on NSO when?

To late. I canceled my subscription... turns out i dont even miss it or need it.

Outside of 1 Japan exclusive GB game, the February 2023 Direct NSO batch is now fully complete. So the future of NSO is pretty much completely unknown at this point which gives more hope to an April Direct.

Nice game to have on the service. Never played this one before, so another new experience for me.

99 is also getting the beginnings of Mirror Mode tonight. This is the most attention all at once F-Zero has gotten since the anime.bi wonder if this date has some significance...

@Grumblevolcano I thought there were still N64 games announced but not added yet, or am I just thinking of people port begging for the rest of the Rare games again?

Wow some actual news now! Except i dint have expansion pass 🙁

@Zeebor15 N64 is all done. The September 2021 Direct batch was completed in June 2022 (July 2022 for Japan), the September 2022 Direct batch was completed in December 2023 and Blast Corps was a shadow drop announcement in the February 2024 Partner Showcase.

Nice add on and all but I'm still waiting for Metroid Zero Mission.

Give me F-Zero: GP Legend, and we'll talk.

@GinMiguel Same here, dude. By far my favorite Metroid game.

Yes! At long last... I'll finally get the chance to play this properly. I didn't play it back in the day, and I just got through studying the NSO GBA library wondering when (or if) I'd even get a shot at this game again. Just wish we were getting some other games too.

Seems like a great add to me. Such negativity...

Wow, one whole game, what a great $50 US service.

I could have the entire GBA library on my phone within minutes while Nintendo does... this. What a joke. No wonder they hate emulation so bad, it makes them look so feeble.

It still boggles me that they still don’t have an option to just buy games on the service. At least then if you let your subscription lapse you could still play the games you wanted.

I never did get into F-Zero like that but definitely like the soundtrack in this game. Haven’t heard much news about Sega Genesis games in awhile though.

@GameOtaku That's exactly why they don't do it. It becomes a lot easier to abandon the annual subscription if you can just buy the games you want, even if it's more expensive in the short term.

That's probably why they pulled that limited run 3D All-Stars nonsense, can't risk having an alternative option to play Mario 64 available for purchase alongside having it on NSO.

Speaking of "Zeros"...I'm still waiting for Metroid Zero Mission. Zero Mission is definitely in my top 3 Metroid games of all time.

I can’t help but think it’s a shame Nintendo has committed to Switch Online for releasing old games. I would’ve loved an F-Zero collection that included the GBA games.

Other companies like Capcom and Konami have been putting out some fun compilation packages. F-Zero wooden been perfect for such a collection, but sadly Nintendo will never do it as long as it’s a selling point for Switch Online. Maybe someday…

@Lizuka
More options for the consumer is always better.

Much as I'd like to complain along about the fact that they're only dropping one game again, it's not gonna change anything. Nintendo gonna Nintendo after all.

Rather, instead I'll just smile and look forward to playing this! I'm in a family membership with a bunch of people, so it doesn't even cost me that much annually anyway. Bring it on!

@Yosher Same. Works out as less than a pound a month for me, so I can't really grumble! I really do recommend people post on the forums and ask if anyone has a family group with a space to spare, that is how I joined the one I am in. Or offer to head up a new one, I bet that you would find a few people willing to hop on with ease.

@LadyCharlie yhea, usually I don't complain too much, but this is ridiculous!!

This game is tough.

....and people say the NSO is worth it...$20...and plus $30 more if you want to play this...in addition to a crappy online service that should've stayed free.

With F-Zero 99 and this, I think Nintendo is getting us ready for a new instalment for the next console...

Hooray for more F-Zero. Let's get an HD Remaster of GX already.

So much negativity - how very 'internet' of you all. Is anyone who spends anytime online anything other than a moaning Karen?!

I grabbed the expansion pack for £25 for a year from CDKeys. Literally a couple of quid a month. Pretty much pocket change. Had all the old consoles but don't have space for all of them really and they look awful on modern TVs. I know there are workarounds but I haven't really got the time or inclination for that. I love this service. It's turned my Switch into an absolute gaming behemoth. More games than I could ever play at the touch of a button.

Certainly worth it for me. If the GameCube turns up then even better....

The only thing that can (temporarily) save this service now is adding GameCube. It’s awful

Why are people here suddenly significantly more negative than usual?

"F-Zero Maximum Velocity is set 25 years after the original F-Zero game"

Oh my I just realised there's an fzero time-line. Holy crap. Now I need to get properly educated on that.

Also people around here should get their act together. I pay 10€ a freaking year for NSO. It was really easy to set up a family plan with a couple friends and family. It's really hard to complain tbh. That is, if you even begin to try to be reasonable about it.

And that's coming from someone who very often complains about the amount of games and how slowly they add them on the service. But saying the entire service is crap is a bit much.

@shonenjump86: "Haven’t heard much news about Sega Genesis games in awhile though."

June last year was the most-recent update, believe it or not. The longest gap between updates had previously been four months. We're coming up to nine months now.

@Nool way too long if you ask me.

@mlt
Yeah it's crazy how much people whine over NSO. Even if you pay the $50 per year just yourself it is good value (not to mention like others have said that there is the family plan option). I agree it would be nice to be able to buy them too like on Virtual Console, but this is so much cheaper. I spent probably $2,000 on Virtual Console games between Wii and Wii U, that would take 40 years to do at $50 per year. You're never gonna make everyone happy I guess. There will always be someone to complain, even about a games service that is less than $5 per month that includes many games that are some of the best of all time.

Thanks Nintendo, very cool!
Also it's 2024 and people STILL think they are badass for hating on the NSO service.
I mean with ALL the current games it's wayy worth the price.
Even so $50 A YEAR is nothing!

@shonenjump86:

It'd be a shame if that previous batch of four games is the last we'll see added to the library. In my opinion, the additions for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis have been some of the most consistently impressive across NSO.

@KnightsTemplar I'll be following you soon! My sub runs out this weekend.

For me it's really not a bad value, but I'm paying $79.99 a year for the family package and my family members and myself, aren't really using the features enough to warrant the yearly cost.

I know the chances are slim to none, but I would love to get fire pro wrestling from the GBA on the switch.

@AstroTheGamosian I got that when it came out. I don't think I passed even the first traditional race in the story mode. The Nintendo racer rubberbanding! Doesn't even that IT'S (basically) STAGE ONE!
Also, I should play Maximum Velocity, I guess. It is one of the games I got "free" for overpaying $80 for my launch 3DS.

I pay £25 a year for the expansion pass through shopto
https://www.shopto.net/en/ndo10009344-nintendo-switch-on-line-expansion-pack-365-p1179195/

@JohnnyMind
I don’t want to give strangers money for an online service I don’t use since I don’t have internet access most of the time (not that I ever cared for online play anyway). VC was miles better since you could pick and choose which games you wanted unlike this drip feed that some random employee thinks everyone wants.

@BolkaRover Yeah, there's nothing good about the service whatsoever and adding Gamecube games will "save" it, but only temporarily, as it will suddenly turn awful again despite only getting more and more games.
Very logical.

@GameOtaku You think one random employee thinks everyone wants it to be like this? These things are decided by higher ups as a business strategy to keep people coming back to the service.

@KingMike I also got a launch 3DS, so I am also part of the Ambassador Program. Ergo, I also have Maximum Velocity. But I prefer GP Legend, because of the Story Mode (where you can play as several different characters, each with their own storyline), and the wealth of characters to play as in regular races (a personal favorite of mine is Lucy Liberty, because her racer handles quite well, in my opinion).

@BTB20 it is logical. With PS plus and game pass you pay a subscription fee but have constant additions. With this you are drip fed the odd game throughout the year and those usually include a lot of duds.

The fee is worth it if you’re a big Nintendo online gamer but it’s definitely not worth it for the way they treat these classic games.

I've spent 100s of hours on the NSO classic consoles, so I can't complain. It helps if you skipped out on a massive amount of N64, SNES, Genesis, NES, and Game Boy games, of course. Lots new to play. Recently finished Blast Corps, which was a... blast. Sorry. But it's true. The camera sucks for the late-game secret hunt, and some of the physics and hit detection are funky, but otherwise a stellar experience I was too impatient to appreciate as a kid.

@KnightsTemplar Congratulations

Wario Land 4 please. And then consider making Wario Land 5 with the same level of creative license and an incredible soundtrack.

@GameOtaku

VC was miles better since you could pick and choose which games you wanted unlike this drip feed that some random employee thinks everyone wants.

Nope. I’d be spending a whole lot more with a Virtual Console per year compared to paying for the expansion pass. SNES games were £8, N64 were £10 I believe. Four VC games cost me more than the expansion pass, so where’s the benefit in a VC? There isn’t any.

@BolkaRover No it's not logical to say that the service is going to get worse again despite only getting more content (referring to the "temporarily"). That's like saying 1+1=0.

By the time the Switch’s lifespan comes to an end, people will be playing NSO games on their Switch 2 which hopefully retains the same games as on Switch and doesn’t have to restart the catalogue.

You can’t play your Wii, Wii U or 3DS VC games on Switch and who plays those consoles anymore? Those VC games are as good as lost if you don’t play the console they’re on, and the 3DS has too small of a screen compared to Switch so it’s no longer fun to play (VC games don’t fill the whole screen on 3DS). I did like the smoothing filter of GBA games on Wii U which is better than the Switch’s filter.

@Bass_X0 you say "where’s the benefit in a VC? There isn’t any" and then you hope switch 2 "retains the same games as on Switch and doesn’t have to restart the catalogue". You answered your own question.

@Bass_X0
A moot point if you buy lots of games. Being able to play them at anytime without needing to connect to the internet for a weekly check in since you’ll lose them if you don’t even if you pay for the most expensive tier would be preferable since that’s what VC allows.

I still say that service sucks for not offering the option to purchase your favorite classic games to download and own! Terrible!

The first GBA game I played, and still one of my favorites. Looking forward to replaying it, this time on a tv.

@Grumblevolcano so what about Jet Force Gemini? Clearly they’re shadow-dropping more games, including Rareware titles

I bided my time as the NSO library was very slowly built over the past X years, only having finally subscribed a month ago. Now I’m joyfully going through a bunch of old gems that I never played before, especially enjoying Treasure’s work for Sega. Every new release is a bemusing and pathetic joke, but then again, I don’t care because I’m happily taking the long way home.

@Grumblevolcano the April direct is getting to be more likely. Announce all your games, then in the summer, announce the new console. At least that’s what my brain thinks will happen.

This is great, I didn't even know this was a thing. Now I think they have 4 f zero games in total. Anyway I believe the newest f zero was on GameCube, a new game would be great. Anyway, can't you just add Chrono Trigger finally, and maybe mother 3?

@JohnnyMind I'd just suggest people get an Anbernic portable and emulate.

@GameOtaku checking in online once a week has never been an issue for me.

@Bass_X0
Guess that’s a perk of having cheap Internet access at home. I don’t have that luxury. I’d gladly buy the titles individually like I did in 3ds VC and play them offline anytime given the option.

One GBA game I wish Nintendo would put on the Switch is 2004's Yoshi's Topsy-Turvy (or Universal Gravitation depending on the region). It's the only Yoshi series game that I've never played, since I never had a GBA, and the motion control design of the game would fit the Switch hardware perfectly.

F-Zero 99 sort of opened my eyes to the series, so I'm pretty happy to see this and give it a whirl.

Warioware Twisted would be the game that would actually make this enticing. At least GBA emulators support gyro controllers

I would enjoy an F-Zero X ARMS crossover 🤔

I'm just so glad I own my GBA originals so don't need to indulge in Nintendo's corrupt and shameless money grabbing tactics. GBA should be on the base subscription tier as it correlates to SNES games and because the release of major NES and SNES games dried up long ago.

@GameOtaku 100% agree! We should have the option to buy these games. There's only a few of interest to me, and no way am I paying an extra $25 every year just to retain access. Even if Nintendo charged $10 each, I'd be financially better off within 2 years. As it stands, I don't bother with the expanded subscription anyway, so ultimately Nintendo is the loser. I'll likely cancel my base subscription when it expires in September. I only got it for F-Zero 99 after going completely without anything for 2 years.

@KnightsTemplar

Same here. I didn't notice it had renewed and it was a few hoops but surprisingly I got my money back

@GameOtaku or simply getting internet at home is a more realistic option

@Bass_X0
Or we could go back to owning our media instead.

Cool, never played this one before. Will try it out.

If it doesnt have every rom possible and its not free its a rip off! Because i have time to play every single one. And its not going to sit unplayed. We're all being scammed. How dare they go and make money from their own products, what is this a business or something! Are they trying to make money? How dare they!

@Speedo Funny because it's true. I don't think there's anything more tedious within gaming right now than people moaning about not having enough to play when the reality, and we all know it, is that they are sat on dozens of unplayed games.

It's pretty messed up when you think about it. How many unplayed games do you think people had in the SNES era?!

@HalBailman You do have the option to buy these games.

1. You buy an Anologue Pocket.
2. You buy the games.

Or am I missing something?

ah japan got the same game? i wonder if they would have gotten f-zero climax as well...

I think I had this on my 'Ambassador' 3DS, I never really played it though. It's not my top choice for GBA but I guess its a good game if you enjoy the series. To be honest I mainly want Mario Land GB at this point, it feels like Nintendo are purposefully avoiding adding it, which is odd.

@TheBigK This positivity shall not stand.

@Skyman19 recent interview with Chrono Trigger director https://mynintendonews.com/2024/02/28/square-enix-interested-to-know-how-fans-would-like-chrono-trigger-to-be-remade/

Mother 3 was added to the Japanese GBA NSO+ app last month. If you have NSO+ you can change your Nintendo account country at https://accounts.nintendo.com/profile/edit (have no eShop credit / active subscriptions / pre-orders. If you are the Admin of a Family Group with any Child accounts in the group you shouldn't change your account country, as the Child accounts would need re-authenticating)

I love my some GBA, don't get me wrong, but a drip-feed release schedule on a premium service seems sort of misguided, especially considering this game was already released in the 3DS ambassador program back in the day. More importantly, why can't I just pay a lump sum to own these libraries of classics?

@nocdaes Don't be ridiculous. The issue is buying for the Switch, not forcing people into buying an uber expensive separate console and then spending even more to buy the cartridges. The option to buy for Switch should be available.

What else are you missing?

Oh, only the fact I said I still own the originals, so your comment is even more ridiculous than originally presented. 🙄

@HalBailman We all have choices to make with our money, but anyone that owns GBA games from 20 years ago is likely to be able to choose to buy an Analogue Pocket if they really want to play those games. It's the cost of 4 Switch games.

Clearly you prioritise other things, and that's fine. I do not see how that's Nintendo's problem though... it's your choice. And a fair choice at that.

I highly recommend the Analogue Pocket though. It is far better than I imagined.