Nintendo Switch Online gets new classic games in March 2023

Nintendo has surprise-launched a handful of classic video games on its Nintendo Switch Online service, with subscribers now able to dive in with four new titles hailing from the Game Boy, NES, and SNES eras. Of the latest inclusions, the flagship game is Kirby’s Dream Land 2, which was originally released for Game Boy in 1995.

This game is a classic action platformer filled with adorable critters – and actually has a major tie to the Nintendo Switch, via the newly-released Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Not only is the Game Boy classic frequently referenced in this Switch remaster, but the game is also a spiritual sequel to Dream Land 2, and features many of the same characters. If you’re looking to learn more about the origins of this new release, Dream Land 2 is an important stop on the journey.

Joining Kirby’s Dream Land 2 in the Game Boy collection this month is BurgerTime Deluxe, a port of the original BurgerTime arcade game that tasked players with compiling a hamburger, one ingredient at a time. While this classic isn’t widely known, it has an essential place in video game history, as the original arcade version was a notable, high-grossing part of the arcade scene in the 1980s.

Read: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe review

In addition to these modern classics, Nintendo Switch Online is also expanding its NES and SNES collections with two new games this month: Side Pocket and Xevious.

Side Pocket is a billiards simulator game where players play pool to earn high scores. It’s fairly basic, but was a flagship game released over several arcade and console generations. It was popular enough to transition to the NES and SNES, Sega Genesis, and Game Gear consoles. The SNES version is coming to Nintendo Switch Online.

Xevious has a similar tenure, having debuted as an arcade game in the 1980s before transitioning to the NES, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo 3DS, and beyond. The NES version of the game is coming to Nintendo Switch.

These four titles are now available for subscribers, with more classic releases on the way.