While Nintendo usually limits its Nintendo Switch Online drops to one platform at a time, today it is adding two new games each from two different classic platforms: Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword Of Chaos for NES, and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and Bionic Commando for Game Boy.
Of the new additions, Rare’s 1991 NES beat-em-up Battletoads is remembered by gamers for being one of the most difficult games of the era, with many planning a rematch as the game comes to Switch for the first time.
The new drop of games also includes two sequels to games that are already part of the Nintendo Switch Online library. Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword Of Chaos is the second game in the franchise’s NES trilogy, following on from the original Ninja Gaiden, which is already on Nintendo Switch Online. Game Boy title Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters is also a sequel to the original Kid Icarus, which is also available in the Nintendo Switch Online’s NES library.
The Game Boy version of Bionic Commando is the last classic game added today, and the first appearance of the franchise on Nintendo Switch Online. The Capcom platformer originated as an arcade game, which was adapted for NES, and then the NES version was adapted for Game Boy–swapping out its present-day setting for a futuristic one in the process.
The base level of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription provides access to a number of classic games from the NES, SNES, and Game Boy, with new games regularly drip fed to the library. Subscribers on the Expansion Pack tier also get access to Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis games, while GameCube classics are exclusive to Expansion Pack members with a Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo is adding a new platform to Expansion Pass early next year despite it being one of the company’s biggest flops: Virtual Boy. Players will need to purchase a separate Virtual Boy accessory to play with this functionality, with a full plastic replica or a more budget-friendly cardboard version on offer.
