Nintendo Switch Online gets 3 free games you won't have played before

Nintendo's been making some interesting moves lately for its Nintendo Switch Online membership service, in the form of additions aimed at its most enthusiastic (and long-standing) fans. 

In particular, it's added a few retro games to the Nintendo Switch service for global users that had never actually been released outside of Japan. It marks the first time that many gamers have been able to enjoy them without resorting to fan translations or a lot of Duolingo. 

Now, three more games can be added to that pattern, as the Japanese gaming giant has confirmed a trilogy of classic Game Boy Advance titles that it's just added to the back catalogue for members of the higher-price Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion tier: Densetsu no Starfy 1, 2, and 3. 

The three games are all sprightly platformers starring the titular Starfy, a little star-shaped character who's very much the series' mascot. He's apparently the Prince of Pufftop Kingdom, which does indeed sound like the primer for a simple but well-regarded GBA platformer. 

The games involve a lot of swimming alongside more traditional platforming elements, but you can get a sense for that yourself any time you like now that they've been added to the subscription service. You just need to pay £34.99 or $49.99 each year for the full-fat Expansion Pack version of Nintendo Switch Online.

In a world where Microsoft can't stop tinkering with its Game Pass pricing structures (and has recently made the whole package more expensive for a lot of people if they want day-one releases of new games), Switch Online now looks a little simpler by comparison (even if its Expansion pack is a tad confusing to get your head around, title-wise). 

What's harder to gauge is how successful it's been for Nintendo at generating revenue, although the pace of new game additions in 2024 has been pretty solid, suggesting that it's popular – and raising more hope that its retro game library will immediately carry over and be playable on the Nintendo Switch's successor, too, when that console finally releases.