Nintendo Switch Online update adds Japanese titles and a licensed game

Typically, Nintendo Switch Online game updates come in two flavors. There are the exciting updates that bring all-time classic titles to the service. And then there are the weird updates that add a mix of obscure titles that seem to exist as curiosities at best. This month’s update maybe veers closer to that second camp, but it’s such a crazy mix of games that I mostly feel confusion over any kind of disappointment.

Across the Game Boy, NES, and SNES apps, Switch Online owners can now access three Japan-exclusive titles and, weirdest of all, an obscure licensed game. Here’s the rundown:

• Kirby Star Stacker (SNES)
• Quest for Camelot (Game Boy Color)
• Downtown Nekketsu March: Super-Awesome Field Day! (NES)
• Joy Mech Fight (NES)

I really cannot get over seeing Quest for Camelot on that list. It was one of those movies that was in the pop culture conversation so briefly that I only really remembered its signature song. I have no idea how the game holds up, but seeing the Titus logo on it doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. The Wikipedia page for the game states under “Reception” that “Adam Cleveland of IGN summarized the game as ‘bad,’” which, hey, who am I to argue with Adam Cleveland of IGN?

A good time for Japanese games

Meanwhile, it does appear that the other titles on this list have some merit. Downtown Nekketsu March is part of the Kunio-kun series, best known in the United States for River City Ransom. Additionally, Joy Mech Fight was famously one of the ten Nintendo titles that Destructoid’s Zoey “I’m gonna play it” Handley said should be localized. I can’t believe Nintendo reads Destructoid. There is literally no other explanation for this that I am willing to listen to.

You’ll probably want to look up guides to help navigate some of the menus in these titles. I mashed the A button in each to get into gameplay, but that’s not the best way to enjoy games. This fortunately isn’t a problem you’ll have with Quest for Camelot though. You’ll only have to contend with the fact that the game is – in the word of Adam Cleveland of IGN – “bad.”

All four games are available now for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.