12 March 2024 , 10:30
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To celebrate Mario day (which is March 10 every year, because Mar 10 looks like Mario) Nintendo has released three classic Mario games onto Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo Switch Online subscribers are in for a treat today, as three classic Super Mario games are arriving on the Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online app in celebration of Mario day over the weekend. The Game Boy classic Dr. Mario arrives alongside the Game Boy Color duo of Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. Nintendo confirmed these games alongside news about a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the release date reveals for the remakes of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (May 23, 2024) and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (June 27, 2024) in a special video released on the Nintendo YouTube account for Mario day.
Dr. Mario is pretty cut-and-dried, it's Dr Mario but on the Game Boy, but considering the superior NES version is also on Nintendo Switch Online (and Dr. Mario 64 is available for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers) its appearance on here is pretty much only for novelty's sake. You'd be forgiven for thinking Mario Tennis and Mario Golf are a similar situation, but the Game Boy Color versions of those games aren't simply worse ports of their N64 counterparts;, Camelot decided to make the handheld versions into RPG's in which you play as a created character in the world, and play Golf / Tennis with Mario and the gang. Which set the stage for Camelot to make it's own RPG series Golden Sun later down the line (which arrived on Nintendo Switch Online back in January).
Shockingly, the game most people think of when you say 'Mario' and 'Game Boy' – the original Super Mario Land – is still absent from the Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online app's lineup over a year after launch, despite its (far better) sequel being on there since the service launched back in 2023.
Nintendo Switch Online March 2024 games
The following is the full list of games included in the new Nintendo Switch Online update, and what app they're available on. All three games are available to play on the service now.
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- Dr Mario (Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online)
Mario Golf (Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online)
Mario Tennis (Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online)
To play these games you only need to have access to the basic Nintendo Switch Online subscription, as the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription is only necessary to use the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, and Sega Mega Drive apps. Although Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack can obviously still play the games in the NES, SNES, and Game Boy apps.