Highlights
- Nintendo Switch Online has added three new classic titles: Castlevania Legends, Devil World, and The Mysterious Murasame Castle.
- These games were previously unavailable or had limited releases outside of Japan and Europe, making them a first-time experience for many North American gamers.
- The addition of these games showcases Nintendo Switch Online's ongoing efforts to expand its catalog and offer exclusive content to subscribers.
Nintendo has recently added three new titles to the Nintendo Switch Online game catalog: Castlevania Legends, Devil World, and The Mysterious Murasame Castle. When it first launched, Nintendo Switch Online, the paid subscription service for its portable console wasn’t considered the best deal, and when the Expansion Pack released in October 2021, even more people questioned whether $50/year was worth it for some Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games.
In the years since, however, Nintendo Switch Online has continually added new games to the Expansion Pack and also begun making Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles available on the service. There are also bonus goodies for subscribers to download, the most well-known of these being the Animal Crossing New Horizons: Happy Home Paradise DLC. But there are also free game trials to check out, and the launches of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder gave exclusive icons to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers for a limited time.
The catalog of games available on the subscription service is regularly updated. In October, Castlevania Legends, The Mysterious Murasame Castle, and Devil World became available for subscribers to the base tier of the service, and Mario Party 3 for the N64 was added to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.
NES/Game Boy Games Added to Nintendo Switch Online - October 2023
- Castlevania Legends
- Devil World
- The Mysterious Murasame Castle
Originally released in 1998 in North America, Castlevania Legends has only been available on the original Game Boy until now. For many gamers, its addition to Nintendo Switch Online will be the first real chance they’ve had to experience Sonia Belmont’s journey to defeat Count Dracula.
The NES title Devil World was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario, Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, and other franchises. Its availability via Nintendo Switch Online will be another first for many North American gamers because the title was only released in Japan and Europe. It is a maze game reminiscent of Pac-Man, except this time the player is a green dragon that must make its way through the various levels while avoiding monsters and running over crosses and Bibles to power up its fire breath.
Originally launching on the Famicom Disk System in 1986, The Mysterious Murasame Castle was later ported to Game Boy Advance but wasn't available outside of Japan until 2014, thanks to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. The game was the second original game released for the Disk System, after The Legend of Zelda. As such, its graphics and gameplay greatly resemble its predecessor, but it also features elements that will be familiar to Mario fans. Players are Takamaru, who must venture into castles to defeat the bad guy, rescuing princesses for extra lives and finding racoon suits for power-ups along the way.