Tag: Sega Genesis

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Four new classic Sega Genesis games land on Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack

Nintendo has made four new Sega Genesis classic games available on Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack. Subscribers of the online service now have access to the new offerings.

As announced by the company, the following Sega Genesis titles are available on Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack:

  • Comix Zone
  • Target Earth
  • Zero Wing
  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars

These games largely span the Sega Genesis generation from the late 80s to the mid-90s. Side-scrolling shooter Zero Wing from 1989 is the oldest of the bunch while 1995’s Comix Zone was released closer to the end of the console’s lifecycle.

These four titles join a growing roster of Sega Genesis games available through Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack. Some notable standouts include Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Streets of Rage 2, and Phantasy Star IV.

The Nintendo Switch Online ‘Expansion Pack’ costs $63.99 for a 12-month individual membership (one account). Additionally, players can purchase a 12-month Family Membership (up to eight accounts) for $99.99.

Image credit: Nintendo

Source: Nintendo

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Five new Sega Genesis games added to Nintendo’s Switch Online ‘Expansion Pack’

Nintendo has expanded its Switch Online ‘Expansion Pack’ offering with five new titles Sega Genesis titles: Altered Beast, Dynamite Headdy, Thunder Force II, Sword of Vermilion and ToeJam & Earl.

This announcement follows the reveal that Nintendo 64 classic Banjo-Kazooie is coming to the service in January. Nintendo also recently added Paper Mario 64 to Switch Online’s Expansion Pack tier.

The Expansion Pack Switch Online subscription tier has been heavily criticized for featuring shoddy emulation across both its Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis titles. Since launch, players have cited issues like delayed on-screen responses to button presses and weird graphical glitches.

Nintendo has yet to address these issues.

Other Sega Genesis games available in the Expansion Pack include Golden Axe, Streets of Rage 2, Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Phantasy Star IV, Castlevania Bloodline and Ecco The Dolphin.

Though other than ToeJam & Earl (or as my mom called the game when I was a kid, ‘Burb & Fart’) none of the new Genesis titles appeal to me, it’s greatto see Nintendo add new titles to the Expansion Pack given its launch selection was pretty dismal.

An individual Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription costs $63.99 for 12 months, while a Family Membership costs $99.99 for 12 months.

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This hacked Game Boy Advance runs PlayStation games with a Raspberry Pi

The above headline is not something I ever thought I’d write.

Well-known console mode Rodrigo Alfonso is at it again, and this time, he’s modded Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance (GBA) to run PlayStation, Super Nintendo (SNES) and Sega Genesis titles. What’s different about Alfonso’s approach to this mod is that rather than altering the actual GBA, he instead created a custom cartridge powered by a Raspberry Pi 3, a tiny but powerful computer.

The custom cartridge features a Raspberry Pie running RetroPie and video input is streamed through the GBA’s multiplayer Link Port. The port can only transfer 1.6Mbps of data in total, which makes the setup somewhat restrictive.

However, according to Alfonso’s YouTube video about the project, lowering the GBA’s native 240 x 160 pixel resolution results in PlayStation games running more smoothly. In the brief video of the mod in action (seen above), you can see Spyro for the PlayStation, and Battletoads, Super Mario RPG and more for the SNES, running on a GBA with a modded backlit display.

While this is a roundabout, very customized solution to getting PlayStation titles to run on a GBA, it’s still fascinating. Like his past projects, Alfonso has released instructions on putting together your own custom GBA Rasberry Pi on GitHub.

Image credit: Rodrigo Alfonso

Source: Rodrigo Alfonso (YouTube) Via: Engadget

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Nintendo Switch Online datamine lists nearly 100 more N64, Genesis games

Now that Nintendo’s Switch Online + Expansion Pack has been released, dataminers have naturally already gotten to picking it apart.

Interestingly, what they’ve found is listings for numerous N64 and Sega Genesis titles beyond the initial launch lineup, which includes the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Specifically, there’s mention of “at least 38 N64 titles,” as well as “at least” 52 Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games.

Specific titles aren’t listed, but the chart does have games organized alphabetically, which does help narrow down what they could be.

Of course, it’s important to stress that what’s found in a datamine doesn’t guarantee what will actually be publicly released, but it’s nonetheless an interesting look at what could be to come for Expansion Pack.

As it stands, we know that Nintendo is planning to add new games on a regular basis, including The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, F-Zero X, Banjo-Kazooie and Paper Mario. This also applies to Genesis titles, but specific ones have not yet been confirmed.

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack costs $63.99 CAD/12 months for an Individual Membership or $99.99/12 months for a Family Membership.

It should be noted, however, that it hasn’t exactly been a completely smooth launch for Expansion Pack. Over the past 24 hours, Switch owners have taken to social media to share their frustrations with the technical performance of some of the N64 games. Certain titles, including Ocarina of Time, have reportedly suffered from input lag, odd graphical glitches and inelegant controller layouts.

It remains to be seen whether Nintendo will fix these issues.

Image credit: Flickr — Chris Chrisostomou

Via: Destructoid

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Nintendo Switch Online officially gets N64 and Sega Genesis games tonight

Last month, Nintendo made the surprise reveal that a selection of N64 and Sega Genesis games are heading to its Switch Online service.

Now, that day has come.

While Nintendo hasn’t confirmed an exact drop time, Switch Online is scheduled to be down for maintenance today from 4pm PT/7pm ET to 7pm PT/10pm ET. Given that, it would seem that the retro games will roll out soon after.

It’s important to note that these games are being added through a new ‘Expansion Pack’ tier for Switch Online. This costs $63.99 CAD for a 12-month Individual Membership (one account) or $99.99 for a 12-month Family Membership (up to eight accounts) and includes access to online play, cloud saves and the free NES and SNES games that the base Switch Online membership is known for.

Expansion Pack N64 launch games

  • Dr. Mario 64
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Mario Kart 64
  • Mario Tennis 64
  • Sin and Punishment
  • Star Fox 64
  • Super Mario 64
  • WinBack
  • Yoshi’s Story

Upcoming Nintendo 64 Games

  • Banjo-Kazooie
  • F-Zero X
  • Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
  • Mario Golf
  • Paper Mario
  • Pokémon Snap

Expansion Pack Sega Genesis launch games

  • Castlevania: Bloodlines
  • Contra: Hard Corps
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Golden Axe
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • M.U.S.H.A.
  • Phantasy Star IV
  • Ristar
  • Shining Force
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Strider

Further, Animal Crossing: New Horizon‘s first paid expansion, Happy Home Paradise, will be offered at no additional cost to Expansion Pack subscribers when it launches on November 5th. Happy Home Paradise will otherwise cost $32.99.

There are also optional N64 and Genesis controllers that you can purchase — read more on those here.

Image credit: Nintendo