Wario Land and Dr. Mario Headline Today’s Fresh Nintendo Switch Online Retro Drop!
More Classic Gaming Hits the NSO!
Dust off your virtual cartridges, retro fans! Nintendo has just surprise-dropped a fresh batch of nostalgic gems onto Nintendo Switch Online today. Whether you’re booting them up on your trusty original console or diving in on the Switch 2, there is plenty of pocket-sized goodness to get stuck into with this July update.
This month, Nintendo is focusing entirely on its legacy handheld library, delivering three titles for the standard Game Boy catalogue and an absolute puzzle staple for Game Boy Advance Expansion Pack subscribers.
Here is a breakdown of everything that launched on the service today.
Game Boy Additions (Available to all NSO Members)
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
The undisputed headline act of today’s drop. This 1994 classic marked Wario's very first outing as a main protagonist, firmly establishing him as Nintendo’s favourite greedy antihero. Forget saving the princess—Wario is entirely motivated by cold, hard cash as he plunders Kitchen Island to build a bigger castle than Mario. Featuring fantastic level design and the iconic transformation helmets (Bull, Jet, and Dragon), this is an absolute must-play platformer that laid the groundwork for an incredible series.
The Sword of Hope II
For the retro RPG fans out there, Kemco's 1992 cult classic blends first-person dungeon-crawling with traditional turn-based battles. If you love dark fantasy worlds and old-school, command-based menu exploration, you’ll find plenty of charm in this pocket-sized quest to seal away an ancient evil.
Fortified Zone
Jaleco’s 1991 top-down tactical shooter rounds out the Game Boy selection. The game allows you to switch between two mercenary operatives on the fly, each boasting different weapons and abilities. It plays like a unique blend of top-down Legend of Zelda exploration and classic arcade room-clearing action as you work to infiltrate a heavily defended military complex.
Game Boy Advance Additions (NSO + Expansion Pack)
Dr. Mario & Puzzle League
If you subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier, you’re getting a brilliant two-in-one package. Originally released for the GBA back in 2005, this compilation features gorgeous spritework and immensely addictive, snappy gameplay. Whether you are clearing colourful viruses with vitamins in Dr. Mario or setting up massive, screen-clearing chain reactions in Puzzle League, this is the perfect companion for handheld play. Consider this your official warning: your free time is about to vanish.
The Out of Sync Gaming Take
Following hot on the heels of Donkey Kong 64 hitting the service recently, Nintendo is keeping its retro momentum rolling beautifully into the summer. The addition of the original Wario Land means the Switch family of systems is officially the ultimate place to play games starring Mario’s yellow-and-purple rival.
What are you going to boot up first tonight? Are you going treasure hunting on Kitchen Island, or losing your entire evening to Puzzle League? Let us know in the comments section below, or shout at us over on our socials!