Nintendo just released four games on Nintendo Switch Online’s legacy apps – two games on their Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo Entertainment System app and two on their Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app. Let’s have a look at them!

Here’s what I thought of each:

Nintendo Entertainment System App

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Battletoads	Arcade Brawler	1-2 Co-Op (Local, Online)	B-
tl;dr Battletoads is in an odd position that it is both one of the best games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and in some ways one of its worst. On the one hand, you have some of the best graphics on the NES with delightful character animation, a memorable soundtrack, and some absolutely delightful Arcade Brawler gameplay. On the other hand, you have some absolutely brutal and sadistic difficulty spikes that kick in halfway into the third level. If this game stuck with the great Brawler gameplay it would be an absolute smash. As-is, it’s really fun right up until it reminds you why so many people hate it with a burning passion.
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos	Action-Platformer	1	B-
tl;dr On the one hand, this game is emblematic of “Nintendo Hard”, exacerbated by constantly-respawning enemies who just love to knock you into a pit and cost you a life, and there’s some spotty hit detection and a lot of nasty flicker going on here. Yet, despite these issues, this game is nevertheless a classic, with great music, fun game mechanics, and new abilities for the series like climbing up and down walls and splitting into multiple copies to attack enemies. If you don’t mind the jankiness and like your games tough, this is a must-play title.

Game Boy App

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Bionic Commando	Action-Platformer	1	B
tl;dr This is a surprisingly competent port of the excellent grappling-arm Nintendo Entertainment System game to the monochrome Game Boy, reworking the levels slightly and replacing the top-down portions of the original with side-scrolling battles. Unfortunately the small screen size of the Game Boy really limits your view, but otherwise the gameplay is as well-crafted and enjoyable as ever. This is an inferior version of a truly great game, but it’s still enjoyable.
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters	Action-Platformer	1	C+
tl;dr This is a decent follow-up thas expands on the original, but it’s still dated by today’s standards. Due to the lack of color, the less-catchy soundtrack, and the iconic nature of the original game, I’d say both games are about even with each other.

This is an odd mix of games in that every one of these games is iconic in a way, but also a bit tarnished.

Battletoads is fluctuates wildly between a joyous game that is the epitome of the Arcade-style Brawler… and a game seemingly designed with the sole intention of making you throw your controller. Much the same is true of Ninja Gaiden II, an absolute classic with solid action that was a hallmark of storytelling in videogames back in its day, but one that is the poster child for “Nintendo Hard” game design, in the worst ways.

Meanwhile, we have Bionic Commando, which is a bad version of a great game – it’s still well worth playing, but the lack of color and the restrictive screen size really have me asking why this game was released instead of the Nintendo Entertainment System game. I suppose we can at least be thankful it’s not the terrible arcade version.

Finally, there’s Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, which is a decent follow-up to the Nintendo Entertainment System classic, but it doesn’t do anything to truly push the series forward and once again, the small screen and lack of color… and it just isn’t as iconic as the original.

Don’t get me wrong, I think all four of these games are well worth playing, and I’m delighted to see them added to the retro apps. However, I think every last one of these games presents a mixed bag, as iconic and noteworthy as they may be.

tl;dr – The NES and Game Boy apps each get two games – Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden II for the NES, and Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus: Of Gods and Monsters for Game Boy. There are some truly iconic games in this bunch, and all four are worth playing… but all four are also flawed in some significant way. Overall this is a good month for the apps, but playing these games will definitely be waking some players to the realization that they’re wearing nostalgia goggles.

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