Highlights
- Rare-developed N64 games like Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 have made it to Nintendo Switch Online, but six are still missing.
- Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Racing could potentially join Switch Online, but games like Conker's Bad Fur Day may not due to mature content.
- Microsoft's willingness to bring games to other platforms could mean a future where Rare Replay collection games are available to Nintendo Switch users.
More Rare-developed games were recently added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, but there are still six Nintendo 64 games from the company that have yet to be accounted for. Rare may be owned by Microsoft, but the company is still closely associated with Nintendo thanks to the work it did on producing some of the most popular Nintendo 64 games ever made.
Thankfully, Microsoft and Nintendo seem to have a fairly friendly relationship, and this in turn has allowed some of Rare's games to come to the Nintendo Switch Online service. This collaboration started with Banjo-Kazooie coming to the Expansion Pack tier of Switch Online, and was followed by the addition of games like GoldenEye 007 and Jet Force Gemini. Most recently, Blast Corps made its Switch Online Expansion Pack debut, but there are still six Rare-developed games that have yet to be added.
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The six Rare Nintendo 64 games that have yet to be added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service are Banjo-Tooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and Mickey's Speedway USA. Some of these games stand a realistic shot at coming to Nintendo Switch Online at some point down the road, but others are highly unlikely to ever be added to the service.
Nintendo 64 Rare Games Missing from Switch Online List
- Banjo-Tooie
- Conker's Bad Fur Day
- Diddy Kong Racing
- Donkey Kong 64
- Mickey's Speedway USA
- Perfect Dark
With Banjo-Kazooie already readily available to Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers, it seems like there's no reason Banjo-Tooie can't be added to the service eventually. Banjo-Tooie was originally released in 2000 and, like its predecessor, earned rave reviews from critics. It remains to be seen if Banjo-Tooie will ever come to Switch Online, but it's still playable on modern consoles at least. An HD version of Banjo-Tooie was released for the Xbox 360, and the game is also part of the Rare Replay collection, playable on current Xbox consoles.
Conker's Bad Fur Day is another game that's part of Rare Replay, but whereas it's possible Banjo-Tooie will come to Switch Online, fans shouldn't hold their breath for Conker. Conker's Bad Fur Day is one of the rare M-rated games from Rare, known for its raunchy humor and how it parodies the typical 3D platformer. Conker's Bad Fur Day has become a cult classic, but its highly inappropriate subject matter means it's almost certainly never coming to Switch Online. Critically-acclaimed first-person shooter Perfect Dark also has an M rating, which means it's unlikely to ever come to the Switch Online Expansion Pack either, unfortunately.
Two games that stand a much better shot at coming to Switch Online eventually are Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64. Both games were developed by Rare, but are based on Nintendo's Donkey Kong IP. Diddy Kong Racing is a fan favorite kart racer that can stand toe-to-toe with Mario Kart 64 in terms of pure fun factor, while Donkey Kong 64 is a big 3D platformer that has plenty of fans of its own. It's unclear why Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64 haven't been added to Switch Online yet, while games like GoldenEye 007 and Jet Force Gemini have, but one possibility is that they aren't available because versions don't exist for Xbox. The work was already done for some of the Rare-developed games that have been brought to Switch Online, but the same can't be said for those particular titles.
Time will tell if Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Racing ever make their much-deserved comebacks. They certainly stand a much better shot than Mickey's Speedway USA, which was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in the year 2000. Mickey's Speedway USA has no problematic content that would keep it from being eligible for Switch Online, but the fact that it's based on Disney IP makes things complicated.
All Nintendo 64 Switch Online Games So Far
- 1080 Snowboarding
- Banjo-Kazooie (Rare)
- Blast Corps (Rare)
- Dr. Mario 64
- Excitebike 64
- F-Zero X
- GoldenEye 007 (Rare)
- Harvest Moon 64
- Jet Force Gemini (Rare)
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- Mario Golf
- Mario Kart 64
- Mario Party
- Mario Party 2
- Mario Party 3
- Mario Tennis
- Paper Mario
- Pilotwings 64
- Pokemon Puzzle League
- Pokemon Snap
- Pokemon Stadium
- Pokemon Stadium 2
- Sin and Punishment
- Star Fox 64
- Super Mario 64
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- Wave Race 64
- WinBack
- Yoshi's Story
While a game like Mickey's Speedway USA may never come to the Switch Online subscription service, the other Rare-developed Nintendo 64 games are all possibilities to varying degrees. Even if their M-ratings disqualify games like Conker's Bad Fur Day and Perfect Dark, there is still at least some hope that Nintendo fans will get to replay the games on their platform of choice eventually, if recent moves by Microsoft are any indication.
Microsoft has recently softened its exclusivity stance and has started bringing some of its first-party games to other platforms. As far as the Nintendo Switch goes, Microsoft has confirmed that it is bringing at least two of its games to Nintendo's home console/handheld hybrid, with Grounded and Pentiment both making the jump. If Microsoft eventually decides to do the same with the Rare Replay collection, which contains all the Rare Nintendo 64 games minus GoldenEye 007 and Mickey's Speedway USA, then that would allow Nintendo fans to replay some of the classics that are unlikely to come to Switch Online.
