Nintendo continues to strengthen its Switch Online + Expansion Pack service with new game releases. Focusing on the entry level today, a whopping seven games have been added to the NES library.
New titles now playable on the service include Urban Champion (1986), Golf (1985), Donkey Kong Jr. Math (1986), Mach Rider (1986), a Sunsoft side-scrolling platformer The Mystery of Atlantis (1986) – known in Japan as Atlantis no Nazoand two games previously featured in the Rare Replay Collection, Solar Jetman (1990) and Cobra Triangle (1989).
Nintendo is currently offering a free 7-day trial of Switch Online in select regions, which resets even if you’ve already redeemed it. Here’s a detailed rundown of each title released today, courtesy of Nintendo’s official PR:
City champion™ – There is only one rule in these streets: Give or be pierced. Nintendo’s first 2D fighting game from 1986, City champion™ is a bare-knuckle toss-up between fighters looking to claim the title of champion—and send their opponent tumbling into the nearest manhole. If they’re successful, they’ll receive showers of confetti from the locals and eventually enough victory tokens to declare themselves the undisputed champion. But watch out for angry neighbors who will try to drop flower pots on your head, and the police will occasionally show up to temporarily break up the fight, or to make arrests if the fighting clock runs out. Spar against a computer opponent or a friend and prove your worth and become the city champion!
Golf – Click on the links to revisit one of the original NES sports games. This 1990 classic brings you 36 holes of realistic golf action with hazards that change every time you play (so you’ll have to plan a strategy beyond just “swinging”). Check the wind direction, choose the right club and adjust your swing as you drive. A scorecard records your strokes for each hole as you face twisting fairways and hungry sand traps. Tee time is now, so grab your clubs!
Donkey Kong Jr.™ Mathematics – first question: Donkey Kong + Donkey Kong Jr. ÷ Math homework = ? Answer: Numerical fun. Originally released in 1986, Donkey Kong Jr.™ The math takes over the gameplay of the original Donkey Kong Jr. game and adds another element of mathematical challenge. Play as Donkey Kong Jr. and rescue Donkey Kong, who was trapped by Mario. Traverse vineyards and platforms and solve math puzzles that require you to do everything from collecting numbers to grabbing the appropriate symbols to add, subtract, multiply and divide them as needed to solve each problem. You’ll collect fruits and keys along the way, making sure to avoid pesky birds, nasty electric sparklers, and creepy woodcutters! Sorry, didn’t we mention there was going to be a test?
Rider Mach™ – Set either 88 years into the future (from today) or 127 years into the future (from the original release date of the game in 1985), Rider Mach™ is an automotive combat racing game where players navigate their heavily armed Quadrunner through the devastated wastelands of Earth in 2112. Join the Fighting Course and fight your way through 10 different sectors, avoiding obstacles and destroying enemies. Or try your hand at the Endurance Course, where you’ll try to complete sectors within a time limit with oil barrels and opponents determined to slow you down. You can also complete the time trial in Solo Course mode, where it’s just you against the clock. Remember that you are Earth’s only hope – you are the Mach Rider.
The Mystery of Atlantis – Known as Atlantis no Nazo in Japan, The Mystery of Atlantis is a side-scrolling adventure where players assume the role of Wyn, an amateur explorer who seeks to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and rescue his captive master from the forces of the evil Emperor Zavyra. Using sticks of dynamite, Wyn tries to survive a myriad of exotic locations such as caves, temples and even clouds. Atlantis consists of 100 zones, each connected by warp doors – but choose wisely! Your success in the maze of the island will depend on which door you go through and which path you take.
SOLAR® JETMAN – You are a Jetman on a perilous quest to collect the lost pieces of the Golden Warship, an almost mythical vessel capable of interstellar travel. This multi-directional shooter from the early 90s puts you in the cockpit of Jetman’s Jetpod as you explore 12 menacing alien worlds, each with their own gravity level! Collect alien goods along the way to earn points that can be exchanged for equipment from the Interstellar Marketing Co. trading post. Once you discover a piece of a Warship, you’ll have to tow it back to your mothership and fight the added drag that affects your maneuverability (and burns your fuel – watch those gauges!). Recovering the pieces will not be an easy task and Solar Jetman is the only hope!
COBRA TRIANGLE™ – Have you heard of the Bermuda Triangle? Well, that’s a cruise compared to what awaits you in the COBRA TRIANGLE™. Test your skills and reflexes at the helm of a Cobra-class speedboat in this 1989 action game for the original NES. In this part boat racing game, part vehicle fighting game, you’ll take on high-speed challenges including enemy vessels equipped with cannons, endangered swimmers, deadly sea monsters, dangerous eddies and ticking bombs. Play through 25 stages of water mayhem where you’ll need to collect Power-Up items scattered throughout the levels to increase your speed and firepower if you hope to make it out of the triangle in one piece!
Japan also received several different Famicom games. Instead of Secrets of Atlantis, Solar Jetman, and Cobra Triangle, she received the former Mahjong system game, adventure game from Nintendo Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima and connect game five Gomoku Narabe Renju