Nintendo just released three games on Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Entertainment System app. Let’s have a look at them!
Here’s what I thought of each:
Nintendo Entertainment System App
| Game | Genre | # of Players | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mendel Palace | Top-Down Arcade | 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Online) | C- |
tl;drThis game (developed by Pokemon creator Game Freak) has players fighting enemies by flipping the tiles they’re standing on, trying to send them into walls. This game is cute and original, but the hit detection is absolutely terrible, bringing down what would have been an otherwise fun game. | |||
| Pac-Man | Arcade | 1 | C+ |
tl;drPac-Man is a classic Arcade maze game, and it still plays great. However, unlike Ms. Pac-Man, you’re stuck with just the one opening level, so the game gets repetitive pretty quickly. | |||
| The Tower of Druaga | Arcade | 1 | D |
tl;drThe Tower of Druaga is an Arcade-style maze game that is absurdly slow-paced. This game is an absolute drag. | |||
The common thread here is that all three of these are classic Namco games, though “classic” may be saying a bit much for two of them. The stand-out here is of course Pac-Man, though that isn’t to say that this game has aged well – its controls are a bit clunky, and it’s disappointing to play the same level repeated ad nauseum.
It also bears mention that being NES versions of these games, you’re not getting arcade-accurate ports here, with Pac-Man specifically being available in arcade-perfect form in multiple other places on Nintendo Switch. In fact, these exact versions of all three games can be found in the Namco Museum Archives releases on Nintendo Switch – the NES versions of Pac-Man and The Tower of Druaga are included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1, and the NES version of Mendel Palace is included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2. In other words, none of these games are bringing anything truly new to Nintendo Switch, even if you’re specifically looking at these versions of these games.
However, if you already subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, I suppose at the very least it won’t cost you any extra to play Pac-Man now, even if that’s not as enticing as it once would have been.
tl;dr – The NES app gets three games this month – Mendel Palace, Pac-Man, and The Tower of Druaga. Pac-Man is by far the best of these three, though even that game has aged poorly. It’s nice to have it, but this definitely isn’t what I would call a great trio of releases on Nintendo Switch Online.
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