Nintendo Switch Online gets two new Game Boy games – and one's a childhood classic
Nintendo is adding two new Game Boy games to Switch Online this month
👏 Nintendo Switch Online members can play Donkey Kong and Mario's Picross this month
🐵 Donkey Kong features over 100 levels and enhanced gameplay
🧩 Mario's Picross blends logic puzzles and Picross gameplay
📈 Nintendo Switch Online’s library of classic games continues to grow ahead of the Switch 2 launch
Nintendo Switch Online members can enjoy two classic Game Boy games this month. Subscribers to Nintendo's online service can play Donkey Kong and the largely overlooked puzzle game, Mario's Picross.
Donkey Kong was released on June 28, 1994, in North America and is a reimagining of the original arcade classic. It features over 100 levels and enhanced gameplay as you aim to save Pauline from Donkey Kong's clutches.
Mario's Picross, on the other hand, offers an intriguing blend of logic puzzles and Picross gameplay, providing hours of brain-teasing fun. The game wasn't widely distributed when it was released in North America on July 31, 1995, as Nintendo didn't push the game outside of Japan.
However, Picross has now become an established series on Nintendo's platforms, so it's nice to see the first major Picross game revived for Nintendo Switch Online. It’s also fitting that it stars Mario ahead of Mario Day on March 10.
Game Boy titles are available to all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, not just Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members. Donkey Kong and Mario’s Picross follow the recent addition of Wario Land 4 for the Game Boy Advance, which was added on Valentine's Day.
Nintendo continues to make Nintendo Switch Online more appealing ahead of the Switch 2 launch. We'll learn more about Nintendo's next console on April 2, including how much it'll cost and the release date, but Nintendo has said online accounts will carry over. That means we should be able to access all of the current Switch Online games on Nintendo’s Switch successor.
In the meantime, you could win a Nintendo Switch 2. Chinese manufacturer GameSir is holding a competition where one lucky entrant will get a Switch 2 when “it officially releases”.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.
