Nintendo Switch Online torments us again with dull SNES and NES games

Spanky’s Quest, anyone?

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Good news –Nintendo Switch Onlineis getting new (old)SNESandNESgames that you can play on your Nintendo Switch as part of Nintendo’s subscription service! Bad news – they’re all a bit rubbish.

Drumroll for the new additions please… May we welcome SNES titles Caveman Ninja (AKA Joe & Mac), Super Baseball Simulator 1.000, Magical Drop2 and Spanky’s Quest, as well as the NES title Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun.

5 titles are coming to the #SNES & #NES – #NintendoSwitchOnline collection on 5/26!Super NES – Nintendo Switch Online:・Super Baseball Simulator 1.000・Caveman Ninja (also known as Joe & Mac)・Magical Drop2・Spanky’s QuestNES – Nintendo Switch Online:・Ninja JaJaMaru-kun pic.twitter.com/OzYmF7lIYkMay 19, 2021

As Twitter user@mariesleepy succinctly put itin response to Nintendo’s tweeted announcement, “they literally cannot put a game a single soul cares about on this.”

I suppose Caveman Ninja is alright, a port of an arcade platformer with a humorous prehistoric vibe. But we’d hardly call it a classic. Spanky’s Quest has a good name too, we guess.

But where’s Earthbound? Where’s SuperMarioRPG? Chrono Trigger? A SuperStar Warsgame even?

Super stingy

After getting off to a strong start, Nintendo Switch Online is now getting the off cuts of the SNES and NES catalogues. The service is already the weakest of the console game subscription services, and Nintendo really needs to up its game in this department.

It’s high time that Nintendo added another console to its Switch Online platform. How about the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, or Game Boy Color? There’s some greats tucked in there, perfectly proven for on-the-go handheld play. Or, whisper it, even the Nintendo 64?

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These are classic systems that Nintendo has variously offered in the past through digital download services, so what’s keeping them off the Switch? If Nintendo expects its players to keep dipping into their pockets for its subscription service, it’s going to have to dig out the classics.

Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site’s home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don’t expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of ‘Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future’, published by Aurum Press.

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