The Game Boy Advance isn’t the best gaming portable out there, but it’s certainly the one I’m most nostalgic for. It allows me to make gorgeous spin-offs of my favorite 16-bit SNES games on the fly, and most importantly features some amazing pixel art gems the likes of which we’ve never seen since. So why is Nintendo wasting time bringing GBA games to Switch Online are they just worse versions of games you can already play on Switch Online?
The company just announced Super Mario Advance 1, 2and 3 will join Switch Online’s expensive Expansion Pack tier, which starts on May 26. The first game is a remaster of Super Mario Bros. 2. The second game is a port of Super Mario Word. And the third game is a port of Yoshi’s Island. These are all amazing games. The only problem is that you can now play better versions through the SNES library on the much cheaper entry-level Switch Online subscription.
Super Mario All-Stars includes remasters of Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3and Lost levels. Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island are also in the SNES library. One of the coolest things about Advance games when they were first released is that it meant getting some of the all-time great games on the go. But the Switch is now portable. And yes, Super Mario Advance 1 and 3 include additional content – a Yoshi Challenge mode in the first game and 6 new secret levels in the third – but they’re still not the final versions of either game.
GBA games Switch Online should add instead
Meanwhile, where is he? Fire Emblem: Sacred Stone or Golden suntwo excellent portable RPGs that Nintendo teased the original GBA library announcement? What about Metroid: Zero Mission, Mario vs. Donkey Kongand Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, first-party games that don’t already exist elsewhere on Switch? Then there are lesser known distinctions such as Gunstar Future Heroes, Astro Boy: The Omega Factorand Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2.
This might be a bit of a pie in the sky, but what’s the point of a vintage library if it doesn’t include rare curiosities? We’re sure we probably won’t Final Fantasy VI Advance, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrowor Preliminary warsas each of these games is sold in a a separate retro collection in the eShop.
The GBA library started off strong with The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap and Metroid Fusion, two incredible games previously unavailable for purchase on modern platforms. It would be nice to see this momentum continue. In the end, tThe expansion pack is $50 per year simply to rent decades old games that many fans already own in one form or another. SSuper Mario Advance the games are great in their own right and are an important part of the franchise’s history. I’m glad they made it, but there are bigger fish to fry right now. I hope Nintendo proves me wrong and delivers Final Fantasy Tactics Advance to Switch in June.