Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden And Two More 8-Bit Platformers Just Joined Nintendo Switch Online
Four new games head to Switch to test your platforming skills.
Just before a holiday weekend in the U.S., Nintendo Switch Online is giving subscribers a surprisingly hefty update to its classic games collection. Four titles from the 8-bit era join the service this week, with two platformers each from the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Game Boy.
From the NES, Switch Online is getting Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos. While Ninja Gaiden is obviously a well known series, Battletoads may actually be the more recognizable of the two — and not necessarily for the best reasons. Battletoads is a quirky action platformer featuring anthropomorphic toads whose preferred method of attack is just throwing their whole body into enemies and hoping for the best.
Nintendo Switch Online added four old-school platformers this week.
It’s not the most notable platformer on the console in most respects, but it’s become notorious for its extreme difficulty. That’s best seen in an early level that puts the amphibious heroes on the backs of speeding hovercrafts barreling through a tunnel full of obstacles. It’s the kind of level that would probably get an emergency patch to tone down its difficulty immediately today, depending split-second reflexes and a lot of luck to clear. With Switch Online’s rewind and save states, though, it may finally be beatable for mere mortals.
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos is likewise a difficult platformer, which may only seem easier because Battletoads is so brutal. Ninja Gaiden II is a significant step up from the first game in the series, with more responsive controls than the original and a broader skill set for protagonist Ryu.
Battletoads is a notoriously difficult NES platformer heading to Switch Online.
Ninja Gaiden II’s appearance on Switch Online caps off a big year for the series. To start the year, 2008’s Ninja Gaiden 2 Black got a surprise release on Xbox Game Pass. This summer, Ninja Gaiden Ragebound reimagined the old-school platformer as a much faster, more fluid retro-style action game for modern consoles. That was followed soon by Ninja Gaiden 4, a brand-new entry in the 3D reboot of the series that began in 2004.
From the Game Boy, Switch Online gets another sequel in Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters. Released five years after Kid Icarus on the NES, Of Myths and Monsters is a sequel that remains mostly the same as the original, just on a new platform. The biggest update for Of Myths and Monsters is that the screen scrolls side to side, rather than just up or down as in the first game, making it feel like a considerably more expansive game, despite trading a home console for a handheld.
Bionic Commando adapts a cult classic NES platformer for Game Boy.
Finally, Switch Online players get Bionic Commando, an adaptation of the NES game of the same name. Their gameplay is basically identical and both follow the same story, with the strange difference that it takes place in a futuristic setting, as opposed to the modern-day story of the original. Bionic Commando is an idiosyncratic cult classic following a soldier with an extendable arm that he uses as a grappling hook. It lets players swing freely around levels, making it feel like no other game of its era.
The latest batch of games to hit Nintendo Switch Online may not feature the biggest titles on either NES or Game Boy, but for fans of old-school platformers, there’s not a dud in the bunch. All four games added this week feel totally distinct from each other, making it a feast of challenging retro games to chew through over the weekend.
