Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Dataminers discover SNES games, more emulators for Nintendo Switch Online

Aaron Mamiit
By

Dataminers have discovered SNES games and other emulators in the code for Nintendo Switch Online, raising the possibility that they are future additions to the subscription service.

Nintendo Switch Online , which was finally launched in September after being initially planned to roll out with the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, is similar to PlayStation Plus for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox Live God for the Xbox One. The primary purpose of the subscriptions are to enable online multiplayer, but they come with added perks such as free games.

Recommended Videos

For Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo launched the service with 20 free NES games, with a handful of titles added since then. Dataminer KappucinoHeck, however, discovered a hint in the code for the subscription service that free SNES games may also be on the way.

Related

KappucinoHeck found a list of 22 SNES games in the Nintendo Switch Online code, all of which have full Japanese descriptions while Super Mario World has an English translation.

  • Breath of Fire 2
  • Contra 3
  • Demon’s Crest
  • F-ZERO
  • Kirby’s Dream Course
  • Kirby’s Dream Land 3
  • Kirby Super Star
  • Pilotwings
  • Pop’n Twinbee
  • Star Fox
  • Star Fox 2
  • Stunt Race FX
  • Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
  • Super Mario All-Stars
  • Super Mario Kart
  • Super Mario World
  • Super Metroid
  • Super Punch-Out!!
  • Super Soccer
  • The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
  • Yoshi’s Island

Most of these titles are on the SNES Classic Edition, including the previously unreleased Star Fox 2, through there are some new additions such as Breath of Fire 2. Nintendo, however, has discontinued the retro console, so Nintendo Switch Online will be offered as an alternative.

Another dataminer who goes by the name OatmealDome, meanwhile found references to more emulators coming to Nintendo Switch Online.

I was looking through the NES Switch app with @KapuccinoHeck and @Simon1844. I found four emulator types:

Kachikachi (NES Classic)
Canoe (SNES Classic)
Hiyoko (???)
Count (???)

This could mean there will be two new Classic consoles and/or three new consoles for Switch Online.

— SnowmealDome ❄️ (@OatmealDome) January 13, 2019

If the list of SNES games in the Nintendo Switch Online code means that the subscription service will offer them in the future, the code discovered by OatmealDome hints that there are two more consoles on the way. The speculation is that they would be the next two consoles released by Nintendo — the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameCube.

The trend of retro gaming will likely stay, due to the support from gamers for products such as the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition. Nintendo has not officially confirmed that SNES games and more emulators are coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but if they do, the subscription service will become an even better deal.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
Contributor
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Everything you need to know about Nintendo Switch Online
Person holding Nintendo Switch, looking at the home screen.

Much like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, the Nintendo Switch makes it easy to jump online and play with friends. The service, known simply as Nintendo Switch Online, has seen big changes over the years, and it now offers plenty more than access to online multiplayer. One of the biggest draws is its growing collection of games from N64, NES, and other iconic platforms -- making Nintendo Switch Online a great way to access the best titles from past generations.

Nintendo offers a few different options when it comes to paying for Nintendo Switch Online, with both individual accounts and family accounts up for grabs. From its library of retro games to a smartphone application and special offers, here's a complete look at Nintendo Switch Online.
Individual/family subscription models

Read more
Mother 3 is finally on Nintendo Switch … but only in Japan
Clause standing b y a bench in Mother 3.

Mother 3, the highly requested cult-classic RPG for the Game Boy Advance, is set to appear today on the Nintendo Switch Online service. But there's a catch: It's only available in Japan.

North Americans were first introduced to the Mother series under the name Earthbound on the SNES in 1995. As was common at the time, the game was renamed for the West in an attempt to avoid confusion. In 2006, a third entry was released in Japan for the GBA simply called Mother 3, but it has never had an official translation for Western audiences. Both Mother 2, aka Earthbound, and the original Mother, renamed Earthbound Beginnings, have been added to Nintendo Switch Online, but there has never been any indication that the third game would receive the same treatment.

Read more
Grounded and Pentiment are the first Xbox games to come to Nintendo Switch
Characters in Grounded game.

During Wednesday's Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, we learned about two of the Xbox Game Studios titles that are going multiplatform. The games in question are Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded and Pentiment, and the latter will launch tomorrow on Nintendo Switch.

Earlier this year, various leaks and rumors suggested that first-party Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment could make their way over to competing platforms. Microsoft finally addressed the rumors on February 15, confirming that it planned to bring four of its first-party games to non-Xbox platforms over the course of 2024. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wouldn't say what any of the specific games were at the time, though, stating that "the teams that are building those games have announced plans that are not too far away." It's now clear that Spencer was partially referring to this Nintendo Direct, as two of the games showed up here.

Read more