Five classic Rare games added to Nintendo Switch Online today

Nintendo will add five classic Rare games to Nintendo Switch today, including SNES hit Killer Instinct and N64 great Blast Corps.

In Japan, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will also get Mother 3 – the third entry in the legendary Earthbound series which has never made it to the West.

All of these games were announced in this afternoon's Nintendo Direct broadcast – although Mother 3 was only mentioned in the show's Japanese version. Sorry, rest of the world.

Here are all five Rare games coming to Nintendo Switch Online today:

• Snake Rattle 'n' Roll (NES)
• RC Pro-Am (NES)
• Battletoads in Battlemaniacs (SNES)
• Killer Instinct (SNES)
• Blast Corps (N64)

Japanese Nintendo Switch subscribers will also receive:

1988 RC Pro-Am racer dates back to the earliest days of Rare, and was originally launched for the NES. Another NES title also makes today's list: 1990's Snake Rattle 'n' Roll, a platformer that often comes up among Rare's best games from its early era.

From the SNES era also comes 1993 platform beat 'em up Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and legendary fighter Killer Instinct, first launched on a Nintendo console in 1995.

Nintendo Switch Online subscribers with the pricier Expansion Pass membership also get access to Blast Corps, released for N64 in 1997. This vehicular destruction game is fondly remembered, and saw you clearing the path of a runaway nuclear missile carrier using a bulldozer, buggy, missile -firing tricycle and more.

Anyone with a Japanese Nintendo account will be able to nab Mother 3, meanwhile – although again, as a Game Boy Advance Game, you'll need the Switch Online Expansion Pass for it.

Mother 3 has gained legendary status for its continued lack of release in the West, with a fan translation still the closest it has come to being easily accessible in English. Issues with some of its game content have scuppered official attempts at an English language port, reports have suggested – although former Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has claimed the lack of a Mother 3 translation it was simply a business decision.

For a full list of everything available on Nintendo's subscription service, head over to our Nintendo Switch Online guide.