Nintendo just released one more game on their Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack’s Game Boy Advance app and two more games on their Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack’s Virtual Boy app. Let’s have a look!
Game Boy Advance App
| Game | Genre | # of Players | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Vs. Donkey Kong | Puzzle-Platformer | 1 | B+ |
tl;drThis follow-up to the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong owes much of what’s great about it to its predecessor, but this is still a superb game with really nice well-animated pre-rendered 2D visuals, although the soundtrack is a bit lacking. | |||
Virtual Boy App
| Game | Genre | # of Players | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Clash | Arcade / Platformer | 1 | C |
tl;drThis follow-up to the original Mario Bros. (before the Super Mario Bros. games) is interesting but overly-tedious compared to the original. It’s a decent time-waster, but not one you’re likely to play for long before moving on to something else. | |||
| Mario’s Tennis | Sports (Tennis) | 1 | B- |
tl;drThe core Tennis game mechanics are solid, but unfortunately this game is woefully lacking in content, offering only Singles and Doubles versions of Exhibition and Tournament matches, with no multiplayer and none of the wacky hijinks we’ve come to expect from the Mario Sports series. As a simple Tennis game it works well, but the lack of variety really holdsw this one back. | |||
I have previously reviewed Mario Vs. Donkey Kong in the Wii U Virtual Console release, and my opinion hasn’t changed – it’s a solid follow-up to the Game Boy release of Donkey Kong (AKA Donkey Kong ’94), but it lacks some of what made that game special. It’s worth noting that this game received a remake on Nintendo Switch, and while I think that’s a better version of the game, I gave it a worse grade, because while this is well worth playing on Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy Advance app, there is absolutely no way it’s worth the bloated $50 price tag attached to the remake.
However, that brings us to the more interesting releases here, the two Virtual Boy games. Mario Clash is technically the only Mario Platformer the Virtual Boy ever received, but honestly it fits that role worse than Virtual Boy Wario Land. It’s an okay time-waster, but its foreground-background throwing mechanics are over-contrived and not as natural as the simple platform-bopping mechanics of the original arcade Mario Bros. game, making it more tedious to play.
The other release here is the Virtual Boy’s pack-in launch game, Mario’s Tennis. This is, as far as I’m aware, the first Sports game on a Nintendo console to have Mario’s name in its title, though Mario did have cameo roles in Tennis and Golf games in the Arcade and on Nintendo Entertainment System. As Mario’s first starring role in a Sports game, it does one thing very well – the core Tennis gameplay is excellent. Unfortunately, the game has almost nothing else to offer – it is woefully slim on content, and since the Virtual Boy never received multiplayer that’s not an option here either.
I would still say that despite their flaws, all three of these games are worth playing, and I genuinely enjoyed both Mario Vs. Donkey Kong and Mario’s Tennis. Just keep expectations in check and I think you’ll find this to be a fine trio of releases.
tl;dr – The Game Boy Advance app gets one game, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and the Virtual Boy App gets two games: Mario Clash and Mario’s Tennis. All three games are worth playing, though I think you’ll grow weary of Mario Clash quickly, and Mario’s Tennis is so content-poor you’ll likely only play it for short spurts. But Mario vs. Donkey Kong is genuinely solid, even if not quite as exceptional as the Game Boy release of Donkey Kong that it’s a sequel to. All in all, this is a pretty good trio of releases for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
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