During its recent Nintendo Direct livestream, the Japanese developer announced Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) is adding games from the Game Boy console family. Select titles from the Game Boy and its successor systems, the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, have been added to the subscription service.
Nintendo has been using NSO partially as a way to preserve older games, and the Game Boy family is nearing that age where preservation is essential. And considering how important the handhelds were to the Nintendo brand over the years, having beloved titles added to the service is more than appreciated.
Game Boy and Game Boy Color games are included in the basic tier of NSO. Such titles include Metroid II: Return of Samus, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Kirby’s Dream Land, and Wario Land 3.
The Game Boy Advance games are locked to the NSO Expansion Pack tier, and at launch features The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. For the games that have multiplayer components such as Mario Kart: Super Circuit, up to 4 players can play together wirelessly.
Games such as Fire Emblem and Metroid Fusion are confirmed to release on NSO at a later date. That latter game is particularly notable since in that same Direct, Nintendo revealed and released a remaster of Retro Studios’ Metroid Prime.