Nintendo Switch Online nabs another classic Xbox game for its Nintendo 64 lineup

22 November 2023 , 13:00

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Jet Force Gemini hits Nintendo Switch Online next month (Image: Nintendo)

Nintendo has announced the next Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 release will be none other than Jet Force Gemini, a game that's owned by Microsoft. And it's coming in December.

Nintendo and Xbox have been pretty chilled out with each other over the last few years. Nintendo was keen to allow Xbox Live crossplay in the Nintendo Switch Online version of Minecraft while Sony was still rejecting it, for example, and Microsoft released some previously exclusive titles like Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest on Nintendo Switch while Nintendo put Banjo Kazooie into Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

This friendly relationship has really helped out Nintendo Switch Online's Nintendo 64 library, considering many of that console's most iconic titles were created by Rare – who has been a Microsoft-owned studio since 2002. Some of those titles have started to make their way over to Nintendo Switch Online; first to the plate was Banjo Kazooie which arrived in January 2022, then the James Bond classic Goldeneye 007 finally returned earlier this year.

Now Nintendo has confirmed in a Twitter post that the next Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 game will be none other than Rare's Jet Force Gemini, which arrives on the service in December. The third-person shooter first launched in 1999 and follows the titular group of galactic law enforcers as they do battle with a horde of drones (the type of bee, not those drones). While not as beloved as some of Rare's other Nintendo 64 games like Banjo Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, or Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini has a cult-classic status among Nintendo 64 fans.

Gorillas in the mist

While it's cool to see the likes of Jet Force Gemini make its way to the Nintendo Switch, the main question I have is where on Earth are the Donkey Kong games. Two of the most iconic Nintendo 64 games have to be Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64 – both games that were developed by Rare. So it's confusing why most Rare games of the era seem to be prioritised over the ones featuring Nintendo's own primates.

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Regardless, its undeniably cool to see more Rare titles make their way over to the service, especially considering how much of the Nintendo 64's identity is tied to Rare's output on the system – second only to Nintendo itself. But please Nintendo, Diddy Kong Racing is begging for a re-release.

Scott McCrae