Nintendo Switch Online: Super Mario Land and other free classic games added to the catalog

Nintendo Switch Online gets others today three classic games within the catalog of free titles for subscribers to the service, and these are additions all dedicated to Game Boy, with three titles that have made the history of the portable console from the Kyoto company, more or less.

So let’s see the list of games in question, all for Game Boy and all available starting today, May 15, 2024, for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, the basic package:

• Alleyway
• Baseball
• Super Mario Land

The one that stands out the most is obviously the third on the list: although it is probably less famous than the second chapter, which also represented a notable leap forward on the technical front for Game Boy titles, the first Super Mario Land However, it represents the first incarnation of the iconic series specifically for the Nintendo portable and has a significant historical weight.

Three historic titles, more or less

Alleyway it is one of the many variations of Breakout or Arkanoid released in the history of video games, in this case however with a Mariesque note, as befits a Nintendo game.

The movable bar is in fact a sort of spaceship piloted by Mario himself, who must try to repel the ball and use it to destroy the blocks above, with a mechanic that remains completely similar to the classic one of this genre.

Baseball is a simulation of the sport in question, dated 1989. The game takes place with different shots depending on the various phases, between pitching, batting and running to conquer the bases. It is one of the first simulations of Japanese national sport for Nintendo consoles, particularly well-finished considering the release period.

Super Mario Land is the 90th piece of the collection in question: it is the first chapter of the platform series specifically developed for Game Boy starring Mario, and brings the typical characteristics of the major series to a portable environment, with some unique features including settings, enemies and game mechanics.

It should be noted that, in Japan, these three titles are also joined by “Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru”, an interesting fantasy adventure RPG that has not been distributed in the West.