Nintendo Switch Online April 2023 update brings four additional SEGA classics

19 April 2023 , 16:15

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The incredibly 90's Kid Chameleon finally joins the Sega Mega Drive – Nintendo Switch Online lineup (Image: Sega)

Nintendo has added for more titles to the Nintendo Switch Online catalogue for Sega's sophomore home console, including a Capcom classic.

Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack owners are being treated to four new titles, which are now available on the Sega Mega Drive – Nintendo Switch Online app (or for the Americans the Sega Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online app, but we'll keep calling it Mega Drive during this article). The latest batch of titles joining the service includes three first-party Sega classics and one of the most iconic Capcom titles of all time – Street Fighter 2': Special Champion Edition which is a unique version of the fighting game classic, hosting exclusive features like Group Battle Mode and a Hyper mode which wasn't present in the original Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition.

Also included this month is Pulseman, which comes courtesy of GameFreak, it was directed by Ken Sugimori and Satoshi Tajiri two years before they went on to release the little-known indie hits Pokemon Red and Green for Nintendo's own Game Boy. Pulseman plays almost like a hybrid between Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog and is one of the Mega Drive's biggest hidden gems considering it never got a physical release outside of Japan, only appearing on the ill-fated Sega Channel online game service in the US until an appearance on the Wii Virtual Console in 2009.

One of the Mega Drive's best platformers: Kid Chameleon also finally appears on the Sega Mega Drive – Nintendo Switch Online app a year and a half after it first launched in October 2021. Kid Chameleon places you in the shoes of the titular protagonist over 103 levels, in which you can assume a variety of different forms each with its own set of powers. The game radiates early 90s 'tude, even looking at the box art is enough to make you want to get some Green Day on and whip on your finest flame shirt.

Finally, there's Flicky, the Mega Drive port of the 1984 arcade game, which places you in the shoes (or uhh... talons?) of the eponymous blue bird, as you try and rescue your bird pals from the greatest menace to birdkind: house cats. It's a very simple game, but it's worth a try out if you're interested in your Sega history.

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Sega Mega Drive / Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online April 2023 games

The full list of games added to Sega Mega Drive / Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online this month is as follows:

• Kid Chameleon
• Flicky
• Street Fighter 2': Special Champion Edition
• Pulseman

You'll also have access to the rest of the games already on the service, like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Castlevania: Bloodlines and the other Nintendo Switch Online apps for Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64.

Scott McCrae