Nintendo continues to bolster its Switch Online + Expansion Pack service with new game releases. Today, the focus is on the base tier, with a whopping seven games 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), Sunsoft’s side-scrolling platformer The Mystery of Atlantis (1986) – known in Japan as Atlantis no Nazoand two games previously in the Rare Replay collection, Solar Jetman (1990) and Cobra Triangle (1989).
Nintendo is currently offering a free 7-day Switch Online trial in select regions, which will reset even if you’ve already redeemed one. Here’s a detailed summary of every title released today, courtesy of Nintendo’s official PR:
Urban Champion™ – On these streets there is only one rule: Hit or be hit. Nintendo’s first 2D fighting game from 1986, Urban Champion™ is a bare-knuckle fight between fighters who want to earn the rank of champion – and drop their opponent into the nearest sewer. If they’re successful, they’ll earn confetti showers from locals and eventually enough victory symbols to declare themselves the undisputed champion. But watch out for angry neighbors who will try to throw flower pots at your head, and the police will occasionally show up to temporarily disrupt the fight or make an arrest when time runs out. Spar against a computer opponent or a friend and prove your worth by becoming the Urban Champion!
golf – Hit the links and relive one of the original NES sports games. This 1990 classic offers 36 holes of realistic golf action, with hazards that change every time you play (so you’ll need to plan a strategy beyond just “swinging away”). Check the wind direction, select the right club, and adjust your swing as you hit your drive. A scorecard keeps track of your strokes for each hole as you navigate winding fairways and hungry sand traps. Now it’s time to hit the links, so grab your clubs!
Donkey Kong Jr.™ Math – First question: Donkey Kong + Donkey Kong Jr. ÷ Math Homework = ? The answer: Numerical fun. Originally released in 1986, Donkey Kong Jr.™ Math takes over the original’s meandering gameplay Donkey Kong Jr. game and adds an extra element of mathematical challenge. Play as Donkey Kong Jr. and rescue Donkey Kong, who has been captured by Mario. Navigate across vines and platforms to solve mathematical puzzles, where you will have to do everything from collect numbers to grab the correct symbols that add, subtract, multiply and divide them as needed to solve each problem. Collect fruit and keys along the way, and be sure to avoid the pesky birds, nasty electrical sparks and creepy chewers! Sorry, didn’t we say there was going to be a test?
Mach driver™ – The game is set 88 years in the future (from today) or 127 years in the future (from the game’s original release date in 1985), Mach driver™ is a vehicular combat racing game in which players navigate their heavily armed Quadrunner across the desolate wastelands of Earth in the year 2112. Enter the Fighting Course and navigate your way through 10 different sectors, avoiding obstacles and taking out enemies. Or try the Endurance Course, where you attempt to complete sectors within a set time, with oil barrels and opponents determined to slow you down. You can also take on the time trial in Solo Course mode, where it’s just you against the clock. Remember, you are Earth’s only hope – you are Mach Rider.
The Mystery of Atlantis – Known as Atlantis no Nazo in Japan, The Mystery of Atlantis is a side-scrolling adventure in which players take on the role of Wyn, an amateur explorer on a quest to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and rescue his captive master from the forces of the evil Emperor Zavyra. Armed with sticks of dynamite, Wyn will attempt to survive in a variety of exotic locations including caves, temples, and even clouds. Atlantis consists of 100 zones, all connected by warp doors – but choose wisely! Your success in the island’s labyrinthine world depends on which doors you go through and which path you take.
SUNNY® RADIATOR – You are Jetman on a dangerous mission to recover the lost pieces of the Golden Warpship, a near-mythical vessel capable of interstellar travel. This early 90s multi-directional shooter puts you in the cockpit of Jetman’s Jetpod as you explore 12 menacing alien worlds, each with its own gravity! Collect alien goods along the way to earn points that you can trade for gear from the Interstellar Marketing Co. Trading Post. Once you discover a piece of the Warpship, you must tow it back to your Mothership, battling the added drag that will affect your maneuverability (and burn through your fuel – keep an eye on those gauges!). Retrieving the pieces will be no easy task, and Solar Jetman is your only hope!
COBRA TRIANGLE™ – Have you heard of the Bermuda Triangle? Well, that’s a resort cruise compared to what awaits you in the COBRA TRIANGLE™. Test your skills and reflexes at the helm of a Cobra Class Speed Boat in this vehicle-based action game from 1989 for the original NES. In this part boat racer, part vehicle combat game, you’ll take on high-speed challenges including cannon-wielding enemy vessels, dangerous swimmers, deadly sea monsters, menacing whirlpools, and ticking bombs. Play through 25 levels of aquatic mayhem, collecting Power-Up Items scattered throughout the levels to enhance your speed and firepower if you hope to make it out of the Triangle in one piece!
Japan also received a number of other Famicom games. Instead of The Mystery of Atlantis, Solar Jetman and Cobra Triangle, it received the first Mahjong game on the system, Nintendo’s adventure game Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima and the five-in-a-row-like game Gomoku Narabe Renju