Cute pink ball in the side pocket
Nintendo Switch Online has updated its library of old-school releases, offering up hours of ’80s/’90s entertainment for its subscribers — The March release, which is live right now, includes titles from the NES, SNES, and Game Boy libraries, and includes an appearance from your favorite pink pal, Kirby!
NES
From the 8-bit console’s enormous back catalog of releases, we are offered the NES port of Atari’s iconic 1982 shmup Xevious. Titled Xevious The Avenger, this vertically scrolling shmup was initially released on the Japanese Famicom in 1984, and was, at the time, one of the very first third-party titles in Nintendo history. It was incredibly successful on release, which lead to a stock shortage within its launch week!
SNES
For the 16-bit counterpart, we’re taking to the table for a spot of pool with Data East’s Side Pocket, a top-down billiards simulator based upon the 1986 arcade of the same name. The home version offers more modes and revised gameplay, as well as a bevy of rad, 16-bit portraits as well as photo-style portraits of the player characters and various “babes”, which were designed to give the home edition an edgy, The Color of Money vibe.
Game Boy
This month’s Game Boy offerings feature two gaming icons. The first, BurgerTime Deluxe, is a handheld edition of Data East’s classic 1982 arcade, and sees a chef negotiate a maze of platforms in order to make the perfect burger — fending off attacking foodstuffs with his trusty pepper. The second Game Boy addition is Kirby’s Dream Land 2, the sequel to the legendary and highly acclaimed 1992 release, Kirby’s Dream Land. This adventure sees our ever-hungry friend attempt to recover the stolen Rainbow Bridges from King Dedede, possessed by an evil phenomenon known as “Dark Matter”.
Xevious The Avenger, Side Pocket, BurgerTime Deluxe, and Kirby’s Dream Land 2 are all available now via the Nintendo Switch Online service.
