Three Sega Genesis Games Have Been Added To Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack

Alien Solider is a must play wherever you chose too. Fantastic game.

Oh cool - I love shadow drops!
I’ll give Alien Soldier a try for sure.

I've heard very good things about Alien Soldier. I don't have the Expansion Pack but people who have it should try it out.

Still not buying expansion pack but it's nice they are adding to it a bit faster. I wish basic NSO would get a new game

Ohh nice I need something else to play as I'm quite burnt out from playing BDSP's stupid Battle Tower. In fact I believe I'm finished with BDSP altogether as I didn't find the games to be quite as good to what I remember them to be back when they originally came out.

Light Crusader is pretty good too, It is often overlooked but it's quite fun and challenging. You may need a guide for some parts because it is a little crypted at times but a must play.

Solid additions. The service isn't for everyone but it has been worth every bit and then some for me already.

Alien Soldier is a good start since it's a game that was never originally released in NA unless you got the Sega Genesis Classics Collection, Sega Channel, or own a Wii or a European Mega Drive.

Based solely off of the announcement trailer, Alien Soldier seems to be the most interesting of the three, I'll have to check that one out.

good week so far for Switch!

All three games are bangers. These are great additions.

@Lony85

Don’t sleep on Super Fantasy Zone, it’s really fun too.

I love love love this stuff. There’s no way I ever would have known about nor played any of these games were not for this service. Please keep these genesis games coming, as I am experiencing them for the first time!

@FishyS In Nintendo's mind, the recent Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings additions count.

@RushDawg Absolutely, some fine gaming victuals here for those subscribed. I’m sure they’ll look lovely on the oled too

Oh yeah, I forgot about the SEGA games. It's been--what--six months, and this is the first update? Way to keep consistent updates, Nintendo.

That said, I'm enjoying the rollout of N64 games.

@Not_Soos checks

Its been three months since the last Mega Drive updates, one month since the last NES and SNES, and a week since N64.

Forget Light Crusader they need Crusader of Centy, an absolute hidden gem and it’s never been rereleased,

@Knuckles I actually had forgotten about Earthbound already 😆They're just so inconsistent it's hard to keep track. I would be more willing to get Expansion Pack if they had shown any attempt of a regular schedule with NSO.

@Not_Soos If they are giving you an N64 game that month, it counts as two Super NES games or three NES/Sega Genesis games meaning if they give you any games from any of those systems you ain't getting an N64 game until much much later. It's not an altogether kind of service, you only get games from either one of the four systems per month: for SNES it's 2 games per month, for NES it's 3 games per month, for Genesis it's 3 games per month, and for N64 it's one per month and only one or two systems will get games that month, not all of them. If NES got 2, SNES or Genesis will only get 1, if SNES got 2 then that is it, if Genesis got 2 then it's likely NES will get 1. If N64 got 1 then that's pretty much it for that entire month.

With the exception of super fantasy zone they are already available otherwise via the Genesis collection.

Which version of Alien Soldier is it?
In the Mega Drive Classics collection they had included the PAL version running in 60 Hz, which made the music run too fast.

@FishyS I was actually joking that Nintendo considers that to be enough releases on NSO NES and SNES at the time being. Humorous that you forgot, but I wasn't trying to use it as evidence that Nintendo is supporting the service. If they are, it's being drip fed to hungry audience.

I’m still not biting on that expansion pack. Mario kart DLC was an improvement. These games are not it. I’m sure some people like them more power to them. I mean what year are we in 1996 or something. We basically have is NES through and N64.

This is nice, but what happened to SNES and NES games?

So are we not getting anymore Nes or Snes games now that the "Expansion Pass" was released? I guess that means no more new games on the "Expansion Pass" in a year too. Wow.

@GameOtaku

Issue is that the Genesis Collection has god awful input lag.

I use it solely for the Phantasy Star games, since the input lag isn’t a big deal on an old school JRPG.

But sonic 2 is nearly unplayable. And good luck beating ESWAT.

I've always been interested in the Alien games from SEGA, will definitely check Alien Soldier. Super Fantasy Zone, too.

I'm not much into RPGs these days, so I might not play Light Crusader immediately. The fact it's from Treasure means it won't be ignored.

@Specter_of-the_OLED You can play Mega Drive games on the Genesis if you modify the cartridge slot.

I was wondering when they would update the Genesis games. Always wanted to try Light Crusader.

Yes Super Fantasy Zone! I only have the standard online though, come on Nintendo give us all a 7 day free trial, I'm sure lots would subscribe after.

Question does light crusader have a EXP system or is it like Zelda?

Treasure are amazing and all of their games are must-plays.

@Haruki_NLI Ah, my bad. I must have missed the last one. When I said "keeping consistent updates," though, I really just meant for Genesis. As I said, I don't mind the N64 rollout since there's something new every month and they're typically much longer than 16-bit games to complete. But when you easily forget the Genesis service even exists, I think that's a major misstep for Nintendo trying to sell their online service. We've definitely been eating good lately in terms of legacy games in general, but it's a weird mix. Before EarthBound/Mother, it was also an absurd amount of time since the last SNES game. I know that well is running dry, but there's still more they could do. Super Mario RPG, for starters.

@Half-ShellHero except the two Earthbound games released a few weeks ago.

@Specter_of-the_OLED I appreciate you trying to break it down for me, but this just gave me PTSD to the word problems I had to skip on the Math portion of the ACT because they were taking up too much time, haha. Now my brain hurts.

Please Sega, bring Chakan and Ghouls 'n Ghosts so soonnnn

I should give Light Crusader another try. I played it a bit on the Genesis Mini but didn’t get too far.

Fantastic week for the Expansion Pack. If they keep up this pace I’m going to be happy with the service. F-Zero X is a favorite and Alien Soldier is a really great Genesis title.

@shonenjump86 Light Crusader is one of my favorites. Really makes me feel like I’m gaming in the 90’s when I get into it

Really slimey to basically toss out the normal NSO and only focus on the overpriced expansion. Oh well, mine expires in a couple days and I won't be missing it at all. What a waste of money that was.

Not buying the expansion pack until I can get my hands on an N64 controller

When I see those games, I'm really happy that I had an SNES not a MD as kid. Most of the MD Games are not my cup of tea, but most of the SNES games are. But will at least try them once, maybe they are more fun than they look.

@G4n0nD0rf I'm the same, checking almost every day for stock but nothing happening. What the f*** is going on?

Alien soldier is cool but for me super fantasy zone is the pick of those it has cutesy graphics and some seriously catchy tunes but it’s gameplay is top notch

@FishyS Well they did add Earthbound and Earthbound Beginnings last month.

@TKundNobody Alien Soldier is awesome and very fun. Overlooked gem.

Played about an hour of Light Crusader earlier, enjoyed what I played, was almost tempted to start drawing a map as well as the in game one was a bit lacking, unless I missed something (which is probs the case)

@vio I've read that here more than once That is why I will try it. But I don't care for run 'n' guns, shoot 'em ups or scrolling shooters. But still will try it out, maybe I get surprised ^^

Expansion pack is now picking up. Very much enjoying OoT now the fog has been resolved. Never played Alien Soldier, but heard good things.

Super fantasy zone looks nice and clean on this vid.. played the PC Engine version a lot, but this looks good switch material...

(and alien soldier i never really tried, even though i had it on the SG collection on the switch already)

You can already try them out on 100’s of other devices. No thanks Nintendo.

Fantastic news! I don't think I could endure Alien Soldier again but it's an amazing game for those who haven't played through it. Can't wait to try the other two.

More games are always welcome, and Mario Kart DLC at the end of the week too, this with the additional N64 titles and Animal crossing DLC have made the expansion pack a pretty sweet deal.

Great, I'd love to see the other Phantasy Star games added too.

Fine, Nintendo can have my £34.99 now.

@SteamEngenius Yes, why would they currently be showing more support for a service that people paid extra for with newly added consoles that only have a few games available and are trying to entice more people to pay for the expanded service over the NES and SNES which already have many games added… it is indeed quite a mystery.

Awesome! Can't wait to play them!

@G4n0nD0rf I have the Expansion Pack and looking everyday for the Nintendo 64 Controller!! I'm PATIENTLY waiting 🤪

I wish Sega would expand the genesis collection for sale on the eShop. I love the genesis collection, all three streets of rage games makes it worthwhile in itself. It has a few omissions though and I have no interest in renting old roms.

@FishyS For now.. until they start to run out of games and slow right down.

A while ago I googled for lists of the best Sega Genesis games. I looked for long lists each at least 50 games long, that were ranked. I assigned points based on rank and added them all up. I was left with 16 lists, 396 unique games and 1,465 total entries.

Alien Soldier was the #13 best Sega Genesis game
Light Crusader and Super Fantasy Zone didn't make the top 100.

@Piyo The Wii version for the US release used the PAL rom, but used a patch to adjust the speed of the music.

I suspect the USA/Europe version on the Switch will be using the same method.

Light Crusader is a fun dungeon exploration game, but the combat is very loose and bad, and the puzzles that involve pushing boulders are extremely finicky and annoying.
And for completionists, a couple of the armours are rare item drops, which is annoying as well. Overall it's interesting and engaging, but not very finetuned.

Super Fantasy zone is great fun. Maybe I like it a little less than the original System-16 Fantasy Zone, but it's still the same kind of fun arcade shooting with a pastelly cute aesthetic. And it's still brutally difficult!

I haven't played Alien Soldier, so I can't comment on it.

But these honestly seem like pretty good additions overall.

Was not expecting Fantasy Zone of all things to be added.

I was hoping for Sonic 2 & Knuckles to be released as a special version.

Alien soldier absolute classic!!!

I like these shadow drops, even though none really interest me enough.
People still complaining about nintendo trickling out games. They been adding a game a month since the expansion pack came out. At least. They have been doing it that way since Wii VC. It keeps people talking and hyped up, they check into the app just to see something new every couple months. If they just gave us 100s of games day 1, people would move on after 2 days onto something else.
I like how Nintendo does things and no other developers can support a console like they do.
I do not have the expansion pack either because it’s just not worth it when you already have a n64 with a lot of games, and a sega genesis mini. But if I didn’t, I’d sign up for a year, then cancel unless I forgot.

@TheRedComet You might wanna check your controller or something. I've experienced lots of annoying things with the mega drive stuff, but input lag isn't one of them. I've played Sonic 2 online via someone else hosting and still not had any noticeable issues

@TheRedComet
I’ve noticed only slight lag. Not enough to keep me from playing the games though. Especially since I can play the games on the collection anytime I want without a subscription and only had to pay for them once.

Tested them all out this morning. All seem worthy of more time.

Alien Soldier is fairly generous with health, but I was under constant bombardment with not much opportunity found to avoid taking damage.

Super Fantasy Zone looks great, but am I the only one disproportionately disappointed by the lack of Title Screen music?

Light Crusader has some old skool jank but seems very playable at the same time, letting me jump all over the furniture so I'm gonna give it a go.

This is cool but Im still trying to finish 1st place in F Zero X on expert mode. Feels impossible right now. Might be my favorite N64 game that I haven't played before. Couldn't get into Banjo. All the Genesis games besides Sonic are new to me.

Nintendo switch online as a whole is not worth it. Until they actually implement party chat , messaging. , it serves no purpose. The expansion pass is too expensive for what you receive , if I wanted to play old games I would get my old consoles out. Switch online is pale in comparison to Xbox live and game pass….

It gets so tiring having to read some of the commentators here complaining about how you can get these titles elsewhere, how they already own them or how Nintendo is lazy... blah blah blah. Have you commentators thought that maybe Expansion Pass is a good deal for people who don't want to spend upwards of $800 for a boxed copy of Alien Soldier? I can also play this lazy game of "I already own this game so this optional service is bad" with Gamepass. I already own a copy of Final Fantasy VII, Microsoft is so lazy and what a ripoff. See how dumb this sounds?

If you don't see a need or want for the service Nintendo does not have a gun to your head to buy it. No one is forcing you to get Expansion Pass. That and going on every single article that mentions Expansion Pass just to complain about Expansion Pass is beyond childish.

@Haruki_NLI we are all delighted you are happy with the speed and volume of games. Thanks.

@NintendoEternity yeah I’m holding off until I get a controller. I have plenty to play and more games being added all helps but I do want a controller first. N64 is my fave controller.

@RadioShadow I suppose one could tell by the Treasureglish text on the title screen.
"FOR MEGADRIVERS CUSTOM" is PAL, Japanese is something like "NOW THE 68000 HEART ON FIRE".

@SalvorHardin
What do you mean "never been released"? It was released in the US when the Genesis was current.
You are right about it being good though, it's one of the best Zelda clones ever made.

@Stocksy It was a clarification to another user's statement.

I didn't say it was good. In fact, I haven't shared my view on NSO, and it's probably a lot less positive than you imagine given my seething hatred for the N64.

Yo why is Nintendo so behind with this but Sega pulling out 3 games this month. As for Super Nintendo some games I was waiting for are not there. Genesis does what Nintendon’t is that I’m seeing here.

Why bother with the expansion? Light Crusader and Alien Soldier are both on Steam for $0.99. Sure no Super Fantasy Zone but I'd rather take the route that's cheaper while actually owning the game. And hey with the new Steam Deck it performs just like the Switch. So far the expansions are still a joke.

@FishyS honestly genesis games should be part of the standard nso package, and only the n64 games should be part of the expansion

@Stocksy I Loved the N64 Controller as well!

A lot of these games are already on the genesis collection. Why don't they focus on games that are more obscure?

The collection goes on sale all the time so why subscribe?

I'm actually very pleased I took the gamble and paid for the expansion pack as the amount of content is slowly growing.

Light Crusader is especially juicy, although I've already got it in Mega Drive Collection as well.

Am I the only person who thinks NSO is good value for money?

If you are a 'seasoned' gamer like myself having Nes, Snes, N64 and Megadrive games online is amazing.

Admittedly if you are a child these games probably won't hold up.

Man, I must be getting old because I can't get past level 1 of Alien Soldier.

Treasure is such a, um, treasured studio by some, but more and more I'm thinking the only game of theirs that I truly loved was Dynamite Headdy.

@WanzerAce Isn't that what detractors of NSO/Expansion Pass have been asking for? An option to buy these games or get them through Expansion Pass? I like the fact these games are on Expansion Pass because I would not want to get the Sega Collections on their own, but them being added in as a bonus to Expansion Pass with N64 games and DLC (so far) is a massive bonus for me.

@GameOtaku
I can't say, since i don't have Genesis Online, but the input lag is horrific for the games in the Sega Classics collection. It has Alien Soldier and Light Crusader but what's the point of even playing them when the delay is that busted. There's no way Genesis Online will be as bad. Probably in the same ball park as NES & SNES Online as far as latency is concerned.

@WaveBoy
You are over exaggerating the lag. It’s not so busted you can’t play the games. I myself barely notice it.

@GameOtaku
Huh? For the Genesis Classics Collection? I have a small handful of genny carts lurking around plus a CRT Tube TV, and yes stuff like Decap attack feels absolutely sluggish and delayed in the Classics Collection compared to the real thing. they're poorly emulated in comparison to what M2 has achieved with the Castlevania & Contra Aniversary collections

@WaveBoy
I own some Genesis carts too. It’s not perfect but they are playable and not that obviously flawed. Better to outright buy the games via the collection or VC than rent for $50 a year.

@GameOtaku
Unless there's less latency with Genesis Online games which there probably is.