Update [Wed 26th May, 2021 10:00 BST]: The five new titles are now available in their respective Nintendo Switch Online apps. You'll need to download the latest updates to access them. There's also one bonus game - Super Mario Kart SP. Enjoy!


Original article [Wed 19th May, 2021 02:15 BST]: The month of May is well underway and Nintendo has just announced five games for the SNES and NES Switch Online service. All of these games will arrive next week, on 26th May.

On the SNES front we've got Caveman Ninja (otherwise known as Joe & Mac) from 1991, another Data East title Magical Drop II from 1996 (previously Japan-only), and they're joined by Spanky's Quest (Natsume, 1991) and Culture Brain's 1991 release, Super Baseball Simulator 1.000.

The sole NES offering for this month is Jaleco's 1985 title, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun. Check out our review of that one (from the Virtual Console days) here.

Below is the full rundown about each game, courtesy of the official Nintendo press release:

Super NES

Caveman Ninja (also known as Joe & Mac) – Can cave-dudes Joe and Mac rescue the lost cave-dudettes? In this action game from 1991, life was pretty cool for Joe and Mac until a bunch of Neanderthal nerds crashed their village. The dudes will have to leap to the rescue and jump, dash and use roll attacks to get past the stone-age obstacles in their way. Just make sure to pick the best weapon for the situation, and the boys are sure to make it through!

Magical Drop 2 – This puzzle game launched on the Super Famicom system in 1996, but it never saw an English release. But even if you've never played, the rules are simple to learn. Catch and throw the drops that descend from overhead. Create vertical lines of three drops of the same color to clear all the connected drops. Enjoy four playable modes, including a mode that assigns you a rank when the game ends, as well as a story mode with 10 characters to play!

Super Baseball Simulator 1.000 – Get ready for high intensity, superhuman baseball spectacles! Use Ultra Plays like Phantom Ball, which will make the ball vanish mid-pitch, or Meteor Hit, which will knock out fielders who make contact with the ball before it bounces. With multiplayer options, a grand total of 18 baseball teams and the ability to create your own original team, this is the wacky baseball simulation dreams are made of!

Spanky’s Quest – Spanky was on his way to a picnic when the witch Morticia began dropping bricks from the sky. Trapped, with six towers now built across the land, Spanky must clear each before the witch’s evil pet crow catches him. He’ll have to use his magic ball to stun enemies, bounce it off his head to power it up and pop it to attack – and try on some hats along the way.

NES

Ninja JaJaMaru-kun – Take on the role of a ninja and rescue the captured Princess Sakura in this action-packed game, originally released only in Japan. JaJaMaru must use his throwing stars to defeat lurking monsters. Keep an eye out for the ultimate power-up – a ride on Gamapa-kun, the giant frog!

In the place of Spanky's Quest and Super Baseball Simulator 1,000, Japan's Super Famicom and Famicom service has received Telenet's 1992/93 SNES release Doomsday Warrior and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. You can read more about these games in our other post.

This month also marks a milestone for the Switch Online service here in the west - with Nintendo announcing these five new (but old) releases now means the SNES and NES services have reached a combined total of 104 games.

"On May 26, the Nintendo Switch Online service passes a milestone. Five additional titles are being added, which will bring the number of classic games available to all Nintendo Switch Online members to a grand total of 104!"

You can check out the complete list of games available on Nintendo Switch Online here. What do you think of this latest batch of SNES and NES Switch Online offerings? Leave a comment down below.