Wario Land leads new Game Boy additions for Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo has dropped another batch of retro goodness onto Nintendo Switch Online, with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 leading the latest Game Boy update.

Available from today, July 8, if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online member, you can now play three more Game Boy titles through the Nintendo Classics library: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, The Sword of Hope II, and Fortified Zone. On top of that, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers are also getting Dr. Mario & Puzzle League for Game Boy Advance, making this a pretty tidy update for handheld fans.

The obvious big hitter in my eyes is Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, which marked Wario’s first proper starring role after making his debut in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Instead of simply being another Mario-style platformer, Wario Land is more focused on the character’s greedier, heavier personality, with treasure-hunting, shoulder-barging, and a much chunkier feel than Nintendo’s usual plumber antics.

Wario Land also helped establish a whole separate identity for Wario, eventually leading to sequels, spin-offs, and, of course, the wonderfully weird WarioWare series that we all know and love.

The Sword of Hope II adds something different to the mix, bringing a first-person dungeon-crawling RPG to the service. Originally released in 1992, it gives the update a nice bit of variety, especially for anyone who wants something slower and more menu-driven than another platformer.

Fortified Zone, meanwhile, is a top-down action game that originally hit the Game Boy in the early ‘90s, which offers more arcade-style shooting and exploration.

And last but not least, as previously mentioned, if you’re an Expansion Pack member, Dr. Mario & Puzzle League bundles two puzzlers into one Game Boy Advance release, adding a bit more value for those on Nintendo’s pricier subscription tier.

It might not be the flashiest Nintendo Switch Online update ever, but for retro handheld fans, Wario Land alone makes it worth at least a few hours of your time.