Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online N64 Library With Another Mario Game

Finally it’s here

@Fizza Well here you go. I saw where you mentioned wanting this in the "What Games Are You Currently Playing?" forum thread.

All the Mario Party games for the N64 are here now. Been awhile since we got some Genesis games though.

They've dragged their feet on it waaaay too long but glad it's finally happening, suspected there'd be an announcement tonight since they usually do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays and there's not a lot of time left to get out three more this year.

It and Harvest Moon 64 are two of my absolute favorite N64 games so, while I was kind of more hoping for the latter for the moment, I'm feeling pretty hyped.

I think that brings us toward the end of all the N64 games that were announced or expected? Wonder how many more they're going to be able to slap on this.

@CoastersPaul The others announced are 1080 Snowboarding and Harvest Moon 64. The latter's in kind of an iffy position; it was only announced in Japan, but at the time the SNES game was also Japan-exclusive and it's since been also put up elsewhere. So it's very likely, though not guaranteed, that they hashed out the rights for both games at the same time, especially since also in that time Harvest Moon: Back to Nature went up on PS Plus.

@CoastersPaul Correct me if I'm wrong but we still haven't gotten 1080 Snowboarding yet.

GB library needs more games. I find It odd that, except for Tetris, there are no first generation games such as Super Mario Land, Alleyway, Baseball and Tennis. Also wish Donkey Kong 94, Kid Icarus and Balloon Kid were there.

@Paulo I'm guessing Donkey Kong 94's likely not going up until well after the Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake.

That said the lack of Mario Land 1 is continually utterly baffling.

Yes! Finally, finally I can play this game! I’ve been waiting for this since the day it was announced! (Which was well over a year ago, by the way!)

Feels like a bit of a flex that once I get Mario Party 5 and 6, I’ll be able to play the entire series. I suppose I’m a little more into this series than most are.

I've heard of being fashionably late for the party, but this was ridiculous, Nintendo.

At least we don't have to wait a whole week after the release trailer, so that's nice, but i wouldnt say the consession was worth it. Anyways, I'm looking forward to finally getting to play this game, as I never had any of the Mario Party games on N64 growing up. I do have incredibly vague childhood memories of renting I think the first one, but I was no older than 4 or 5. So you're talking deep into the recesses of my brain.

Playing them on NSO, I gotta say, the first game kinda sucks. Time has not been kind to that one. Minigames repeat constantly, the boards are boring and too reliant on luck--Wario's Canyon in particular, despite having great music, just felt completely random and only like 2 stars were won over the course of the entire match--and they hadn't come up with items yet, so the whole thing feels soulless.

MP2 was definitely a huge step up, but I don't think it lives up to the hype. I gave each of the boards a go except for the ones that were already in Superstars (so yeah, I haven't unlocked the Bowser one), but that's pretty much the extent of what I played. So maybe I just haven't given the game enough of a chance. It isn't bad or anything, but I was really expecting more, considering how much everyone praises it.

Based on the trailer, though, I think I'm more impressed with the boards in Mario Party 3. Hoping this will be the one that really makes me start appreciating the N64 games. It'll be something for my dad and I to play together; he enjoys Mario Party more than other games I play because the random elements give him a chance to win, lol.

As of now, my favorite original Mario Party games are still 6 and DS. I would say Superstars probably dethrones them by default as a best-of compilation; yes, I know all the boards are from the first three games, and while I think they're all pretty solid except for Yoshi's Fruit Island, it's really the stellar selection of 100 minigames--less than 10 of which being duds--and the overall quality-of-life improvements and added features like online play, that elevate Superstars above the rest. I still wish the game got boards from later entries as DLC.

Mario Party Superstars Booster Board Pass when, Nintendo??

In all seriousness though, and this is a conversation all in its own, I think that for the next generation of Nintendo hardware, they should just keep adding remastered content to their multiplayer games and support them throughout the life cycle of the console. If they can bring back every character and 100 stages for Smash Ultimate, why can't they do it with other franchises? Mario Kart 8 is already like halfway there now. A Mario Party game with every board in series history (or at least all the good ones) eventually added as DLC would be sick. It would sure beat starting from scratch only to release a mediocre and unfinished product, like all their Mario sports games have been this gen...

Scraping the bottom of the barrel I see.

What next? There aren't that many n64 games.... the only ones left i can imagine are banjo tooie, DK64, conker, perfect dark, and KIGold

@Darktower77 Is this bait? How is this the bottom of the barrel?

On the one hand, I do understand that being excited over the artificial delay of a barebones emulation of an N64 game finally being over is a symptom of Nintendo having me like a fish in a barrel…

But MP3 ON SWITCH FINALLY!!!

@dustinprewitt Smash Bros. is still missing.

@BTB20 thanks for the reminder!

@BTB20
Checking this user’s other comments, it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s bait.
Unless they just hate Mario idk

Just in time for Halloween party fun!

My NSO + Expansion Pack expires on Nov 1. Unfortunately, I think I’m going to let it lapse this time. I have enjoyed N64 and GBA games, but they are just drip-fed to us too slowly.

Does anyone know if cloud saves are preserved if you stop your NSO membership?

FINALLY!!! The BEST Mario Party BY FAR!!!!

Welp the friendship destroyer has returned.

@mereel I believe your cloud saves are preserved for a grace period of a few months, but after that time elapses, Nintendo will no longer hold on to your data. I don't know the exact time frame on that, though. It may be worth the investment to just downgrade to the standard $20/year package and treat it as a life insurance policy of sorts.

Wow, didn’t 1 and 2 drop about a year ago… the slow releases have slowed even further

I hope we can get Banjo-Tooie someday. That’d be great to have portably.

@JakedaArbok Not bait. I just think there should be more than one N64 title.

I wonder how much it costs to port old games like this and fit them online interactivity?

doesn't look anything like Donkey Kong 64.

@dustinprewitt there are a quite a few of N64 games that are missing.
-Diddy Kong Racing
-Blastcorps
-Perfect Dark
Banjo Tooie
Rogue Squadron (if they can get that)
Snowboard Kids 1&2
Space Station Silicon Valley
Jet Force Gemini
Conker (if they can do that)
DK 64
Bomberman 64 (best bomberman EVER)
Bomberman Hero
Mischief Makers
Castlevania
Resident Evil 2 (still has its charms not playing the remakes)
Smash Bros (if you still want to play that version)
SW Shadows of the Empire

@Darktower77
Ok, my mistake, I just assumed since your account was just created. Go have opinions in peace.

@JakedaArbok It’s alright 👍

@BTB20 Bottom of the barrel was probably wrong word to use. I meant they should’ve more than one N64 title put on the service.

Cool.

I'll definitely be playing this with the wife.

Im a little disappointed in this service. I mean dont get me wrong... great games here to be found. But growing up i was playing, dk64, both banjos (happy to have one 😀), diddy kong racing, mischief makers, snowboading kids, and a game i cant seem to recall what it was called but basically cars/trucks/utes shooting other cars/trucks on different maps. No racing.

Ooh, one game. Running to my Switch to sign up!

Yet another Mario Party, huh? Over the past year they have only added 4 games, and they are still lacking essentials like 1080. I'll be letting my subscription expire.

@JayJ
What other games are you missing?! I feel they've got pretty much every big hitter I grew up with or wanted to get when I was young!

Just curious for some good recommendations! 😁

Even though NSO has surpassed the amount of n64 games on Wii VC, it's surprising that it still misses quite a few VC exclusives.

Super Smash Bros.
Bomberman Hero
Ogre Battle
Cruis'n USA - mostly a meme but hey it's there.

@Yoshif3

3/4 of those are licensed, from Rareware, or both.
They had to fight tooth and nail to get Banjo, and I think they got it because the Microsoft dude loves the game and wanted to play it with his kids.
I still have no clue how they managed Goldeneye!

Rareware games are super complicated licensing wise I believe. But I Could be wrong!

That said: We had DK64 on the Wiiu, we've got 2 big ones already: all hope is not lost!

I'm hoping so hard for Diddy Kong racing and Banjo Tooie!!

@AlienX Oh these are nice, and totally realistic! I would love to try these!

Took them long enough lmao

@AlienX Yup. And remember when Wii VC releases were weekly and we thought that was a slow pace? Still a lot of GB and GBA titles they could be adding.

@Paulo Excellent point. You would think that those early GB titles would already be there.

@KnightsTemplar Vigilante 8 might be the game you mean?

@Lizuka The Switch remake of Mario VS Donkey Kong still confuses me. Why not release the GBA version on NSO? Or sell a collection? Or a new game in the series?

The original GBA game sold for $30. I love puzzle games, but $50 is probably too high for a puzzle platformer. At the end of the day, remakes of handheld games are still essentially handheld games (and should be priced accordingly).

Once again, pity that nintendo are scabs and don't allow purchase of nso games.

@Mana_Knight yes thats the one. Cheers

@garfreek I'd have to dig through my back catalog but they have a very light list of games at the moment. Some essentials, but loads of games I loved are nowhere to be found. The rate of games being added has also been way too slow.

Might give this a spin this weekend! Going to meet up with a couple of friends, might as well destroy our friendship fashionably.

Mario Party Superstars was quite fun. I should give Mario Party 1, 2 or 3 a try. Really curious how much different the original trilogy is.

@dustinprewitt
Of course the next ones are the Rare catalog but that needs work with microsoft that I hope has been done beforehand. And then in terms of big exclusive that might have a shot and really representative of the console there are stuff like the Goemon games which need some contracting with Konami, Mischief makers and Baigai O on the treasure front, and the Bomberman games on the Hudson front. Out of these Mischief and Baigai O are more likely since Nintendo has a good relation with treasure and already has sin and punishment in there. Then there are some more obscure games hidden gems/cult classics like Glover, Silicon Valley or Tetris Sphere. And also of course there are other games that people think of when thinking n64 but they will probably never happen such as the turok series, the star wars games, Catlevania and Rayman 2 for example. But they are more remake/collection material so I doubt they will end up on the service.

But anyway, all this to say the n64 NSO service is abysmal so far and it's high time they do something about it. Apart from the last couple examples they should be either doable or completely necessary anyway and you don't even launch an n64 service if you're not sure you can get these (the rare games).

@KnightsTemplar
Vigilante 8?

@Darktower77 This being "the bottom of the barrel" would mean that Mario Party 3 is garabage not worth even mentioning. Which has nothing to do with wether they added one or 100 games to NSO this month. It's two completely different things.

@Darktower77
Of course MP3 is not bottom of the barrel but I see where you're coming from. They have been giving us three party games in a row plus the pokemon games in between which are also essentially just party games because they are not even complete without their GB counterpart. I'm glad we're getting 1080 but come on. This last year has been terrible content wise. These games typically should have been sprinkled here and there in between other releases for variety. Instead of that they give the very clear impression that they have no idea what they're doing next and that they are, yes, scraping for the last stuff they can give us. N64 is not like the nes or snes. It's a special case. They knew it had little games, that the first party offering was less impressive and that they could not get away with just their productions. They knew it and apparently they did nothing about it. It's not only a disservice to the NSO reputation but also frankly just a lack of respect for the customers who have reasonable expectations when being told there is going to be a n64 service and end up getting screwed. It's also a lack of respect for the n64 itself which is a great console with tons of incredible games but here looks like a pretty poor offering.

Come on. Give me some more of those sweet platformers and the Rare games. I’ll take just one every 6 months.

Body Harvest, DK64, Banjo Tooie, Beetle’s Adventure Racing, Perfect Dark, Rocket Robot on Wheels, Resident Evil 2, Space Station Silicon Valley, Indiana Jones, Rogue Squadron, Battle for Naboo, Castlevania…

Scraping the bottom of the barrel I see. Thank you for nothing Nintendo. With all the possible choices this is almost pointless. I feel they simply want to be cheap, not spending a penny in licenses; not risking to give you a proper game before you just use retro games instead of buying new ones.

YES! Had a feeling it was coming soon!
Now hopefully we can get Smash Bros and DK64 hmmmm?

Laughing about that news when starting my RGB modded N64 with all games on 1 cartridge 😉

@mereel yes saves are retained. I took 6 months off NSO+ expansion and everything was where I left it

@mereel
This is a quote from the official Nintendo site: "If a Nintendo Switch Online membership expires, users won’t be able to access their Save Data Cloud backups. However, Nintendo will allow users who resubscribe within 180 days to access their previous Save Data Cloud backups."

So after 180 days your saves will propably be deleted.

This is the only Mario Party game on the N64 I haven't played. Looking forward to it.

So in the end they did wait for NSO Expansion Pack year 3 (October 25th 2023 - October 24th 2024). It makes sense to look at it in years as you can only subscribe for 12 month periods.

Year 1 (October 25th 2021 - October 24th 2022) was:

• 19 N64 games (this is for all regions as 2 are exclusive to Japan, 2 are exclusive outside Japan)
• 32 Mega Drive games (this is for all regions as 1 is exclusive to Japan, 1 is exclusive outside Japan)
• Animal Crossing New Horizons Happy Home Designer DLC
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC waves 1-2
• Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion

Year 2 (October 25th 2022 - October 24th 2023) was:

• 6 N64 games
• 12 Mega Drive games
• 12 GBA games (13 for Japan as 1 is exclusive)
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC waves 3-5

I get the feeling year 3 will be rough unless they add mainline Pokemon or a new console.

Ultimate troll move from Nintendo for me personally!
Me and my mates were waiting ages in hopes to play this for a game night. Tis the only N64 Mario Party game we never played.

We had our "Last" game night on Friday as their wives are all due to have kids in the next week or so... and today Ninty announce this... egregious!

(granted we did play MP Superstars anyway, so we're not burned that badly xD)

One more old room? I don't think I'm going to buy the next Nintendo console.

@HaileySheridon ohhh how could I have forgotten Mischief Makers?! I never played it but it’s mu most awaited game for the service.
I’m dying to try it for the first time since I skipped it during the N64 days.

@garfreek robotron 64 with two n64 controllers is amazing

And the best game on the n64 is blast corps (or at least one of the most unique games which would be a great discovery for many).

Nice, we're inching closer to finishing this release batch. C'mon Donkey Kong 64, no whammy no whammy no whammy

JESUS CHRIST FINALLY IT'S BEEN AN ENTIRE YEAR

Nooooooooooooooooooooo! I've been waiting for 1080.

@Paulo The absence of Super Mario Land puzzles me, it's really iconic for the GB and I actually prefer it to the sequel. I didn't have a NES so it's Mario Land I have most nostalgia for. At least I bought the VC version for the 3DS when I could.

I was thinking shouldn't this be on the Switch already? They announced it ages ago and the first two have now been there for ages. But that is great news and I'm glad it's finally here!

@Ristar24 both SML and SML 2 are excellent, but I too prefer the first one, as it is faster paced, not as zoomed in and so short and perfect to be played in short bursts. I also miss other first generation Nintendo titles such as Radar Mission and Solar Striker, as I've never played either of them, but am familiar due to always seeing them on the flyers that came with the games back then.

Eh. Don't care about the Mario Party titles.

@Fizza No problem! I hope you and your sister get to have more MP fun with this title.

@romanista Blast corps is Rareware, so could be licensing troubles.

Wow, Robotron is one of only 2 games I have ever returned to the store! I could not get over the graphics and how basic the gameplay was. I was spoiled by only playing first party and Rareware games!

But looking at it now I can see why it would be a lot of fun, definitely with 2 people!

@JayJ yhea, I would love if they hurried it up a little! N64 is famous for it's licensing hell and they're a b*** to emulate!

What I dont understand is where all the gba games are! Waaaay bigger library, emulating these is a piece of cake, and way more first party games ready to go!

@Paulo I only played SML 2 years later, I appreciate it's ambition, but the zoomed in graphics and slowdown make it a bit over ambitious for me. The original was perfectly designed to work on the GB, simple, stylised graphics and the music is so memorable. I can play through SML almost on auto pilot, and I still enjoy the game! I also hope they add Solar Striker and Balloon Kid, the current GB selection would really benefit to showcase those early games.

I had a Master System (and a C64) instead of the NES, so the GB is the Nintendo system I have most nostagia for.

@garfreek Yeah I really don't understand the slow drip feed either. Surely they must have the rights to a ton of games on these platforms without have to make any publisher deals, yet they are taking forever to simply release a small selection of them. It's a matter made worse by the fact that these are for the most part just rom dumps, and existing emulators for platforms like Android and PC can play these games just as well if not better.

@Fizza At my work Christmas party last year, one of the activities some of us did was play one of the Switch Mario Party games. I think it was Superstars but will need to check lol. It was a riot! I'm normally the single player sort for many reasons, one big one being I'm not surrounded by many who enjoy multiplayer Nintendo games. I'd certainly play again.

I thought you guys at NLife would have been all over the “Nintendo announces shocking competition rules” fiasco.

yawn Let's get some Perfect Dark and Castlevania 64/Legacy of Darkness action instead. Oh, and where are the Cruis'n games? No reason not to throw the whole N64 trilogy on there since Nintendo owns the publishing rights to them.

More Mario parties are always a good thing.

@vio,

Pretty sure you would have to get permission from Microsoft and Rare, for Perfect Dark.

@johnvboy True, but Microsoft works with Nintendo these days so it seems like a strong possibility.

N64 is my favourite console ever (a lot of which is, admittedly, rose-tinted specs and nostalgia) but it’s hard to care about this one, other than it means people who want to play it don’t have to pay the frankly offensive second hand market prices to do so.

@vio,

Fingers crossed.

I want to make some snarky comment about wanting DK64 but really I'm just sad I have no one to play Mario Party with 😭

Although I do legit want DK64. And Diddy Kong Racing while you're at it.

GIVE US CASTLEVANIA, YOU COWARDS!!!

@JayJ done a little research. Most titles we remember, and that get named here, are licensed or in license limbo. They've basically given us as much as they have already and will now have to go searching to license these things with companies like Midway etc. Most of which are bought out, or downright don't exist anymore!

So prepare for the Cruis'n games, 1080 snowboarding and maybe dk64. DK relies on Jetpack, a rare exclusive licensed game, so could be tough already!

I'm holding my breath for the panel the pon collection so I can finally play that n64 Yoshi cookie! 😂

Ps: That's why I said I find it so weird we haven't gotten More gba games. Way easier, way more games. And it gives you the ability to feed the extra paying customers while spreading your n64 releases even more! Really curious about what the next Switch year is bringing!

@TheBigK don't we have a Nintendo life discord you can use to search for players?

I'm on the Nintendo loop discord. (Nintendo and everything that's ever braced it's console themed music channel on Youtube.)

And they host a lot of regular matches!

People "the roll out of n64 games is too slow", me yup just like in the actual n64 days when releases were few and far between.

I enjoyed hundreds of hours playing this game as a kid on a (lol) 13” tv screen in the early 2000’s. So excited to jump back in.

I wound never play any mario party on switch due to joycon drift

@garfreek I use discord so infrequently that it never occurred to me to look for one for this site... Thank you for the heads up, perhaps I'll work up the nerve to check it out 😜

Finally, the best Mario Party

is there anything dramatically different from the previous two that makes this worth checking out?

I wonder if they expand the N64 library to include Super Smash Bros.

Maybe the N64 titles could be winding down in early 2024 and we'll get GameCube and either Wii or DS software.

Just my thought

Thanks a lot Nintendo

The N64 lineup is heavy on Mario Party. I don’t know.. they are not trying very hard. Generation is almost over and they managed to upload 25 N64 games - a handful of the most obvious mega hits and a lot of garbage.

Now the N64 library is only missing:

1080 Snowboarding
Banjo Tooie
Donkey Kong 64
Harvest Moon 64
Hey You Pikachu
Ogre Battle 64
Super Smash Bros

If they managed to get Microsoft's permission, I can see Conker's Bad Fur Day, Diddy Kong Racing, Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark being added sometime.

@shonenjump86 True, I want em to add the Mortal Kombat titles from that console (Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3), it should be possible if Nintendo could somehow add Goldeneye 007 to N64 NSO, surely....

@KingBowser the release of big GCN games like Super Mario Sunshine and Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door kinda makes it not likely on the Switch. Maybe next generation?

I wish they would get creative with their NSO platforms. Like de-making Super Mario Odyssey into an N64 port. Or turning Pokemon Sword/Shield into GBA ports. Or de-make BOTW onto the SNES, like their prototype footage already showed!

@Brianst0rm Actually, you do have a point. Maybe they could release ports of games on its own. They could also do some ports of Wii titles like Super Paper Mario, or bring over Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword HD