Nintendo Shadow Drops Two Game Boy Classics to NSO: Yoshi and Balloon Kid Arrive

Play some retro Gameboy classics with the latest additions to the Gameboy NSO lineup

In typical Nintendo fashion, we’ve just been treated to a classic "shadow drop" for the Game Boy library on Nintendo Switch Online. While everyone is currently losing their minds over the upcoming Virtual Boy hardware and those red-and-black headaches, Nintendo has quietly reminded us that the OG handheld still has plenty of life left in it.

The latest update brings two first-party heavy hitters from the early 90s to the service: Yoshi and Balloon Kid.

At Out of Sync Gaming, we’re all about playing the games we want, when we want, without worrying about the latest AAA hype cycle. So, seeing these bite-sized classics arrive is exactly the kind of "new-old stuff" we love to see.

Yoshi (1991)

First up is Yoshi (or Mario & Yoshi if you’re joining us from the PAL regions). This is a puzzle game developed by the legends at Game Freak before they became the Pokémon powerhouse they are today.

It’s a simple but addictive vertical puzzler. You’re swapping stacks of enemies—Goombas, Boos, and Bloopers—to match them up. But the real hook is the eggshells; if you trap a stack of enemies between a bottom and top eggshell, they all disappear, and a Yoshi hatches. It’s perfect for those 15-minute gaming sessions, and honestly, the pixel art on the Game Boy has that chunky, nostalgic charm that we just can’t get enough of.

Balloon Kid (1990)

The second addition is Balloon Kid, the sequel to the NES classic Balloon Fight. This one trades the single-screen arcade madness for a full side-scrolling adventure. You play as Alice, who is floating through various stages to find her brother, Jim.

What’s cool about this one is the flight mechanic. You have to tap the button to stay airborne, but you can also choose to ditch your balloons to walk on the ground and solve puzzles. It’s got that floaty, slightly stressful physics-based gameplay that defined early handheld platformers. If you’ve never played it, it’s a bit of a hidden gem that often gets overlooked in favour of the bigger Mario titles.

The Out of Sync Take

Both of these titles are available right now for anyone with a standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription (no Expansion Pack required for these two!).

While the world waits for the return of the Virtual Boy on February 17th, these are the perfect games to jump into if you’re looking to unwind. No battle passes, no microtransactions—just you, some balloons, and a very hungry dinosaur.

Are you planning on revisiting these Game Boy classics, or are you holding out for the Virtual Boy's red-tinted nostalgia trip later this month? Let us know in the comments below!