Nintendo Classics

• 1. Introduction

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  Nintendo Classics is a museum where every exhibit can be played, and where the visitor pays rent to stay inside. It is a line of emulated retro games that Nintendo distributes for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2. Emulation means modern hardware imitates the old consoles closely enough to run their original games. What makes the collection unusual is its reach. Nintendo's own old systems sit beside hardware from its former rival Sega, and a few games appear that almost nobody has seen in years. This documentary asks how the service is organised and what the tiers cost players in access. It also asks which tools the emulators give players, which games came back for the first time, and how each console arrived on the shelf.

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• 2. Subscription Tiers

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  Nintendo Switch Online is the paid service that carries Nintendo Classics, and it comes in two levels. The standard level gives subscribers the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy and the Game Boy Color. A pricier level, called the Expansion Pack, arrived in 2021. It adds the Nintendo 64, the Sega Genesis, the Game Boy Advance and the Virtual Boy. The GameCube is a special case. It is part of the Expansion Pack, but only on the Nintendo Switch 2. Every console has its own dedicated app, and new games join each app on an irregular schedule rather than a fixed calendar. The games stay playable only while the subscription is active. Even offline play has a leash, because the apps must reach the internet at least once a week.

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• 3. The Emulator Toolkit

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  Online multiplayer is the feature that most changes old games built for a shared couch. The Nintendo Classics emulators let players run local multiplayer games remotely with friends. Control remapping and save states are supported too, and most of the consoles also allow rewinding gameplay. Then there are the "SP" versions, called "Extra" in some regions, which exist for some NES and SNES games. Each one tweaks its game in some way. It might add modes, hand the player extra items or levels, or begin the game partway through. Konami's Gradius received two such variants, one that starts at Stage 5 and another that starts at the second loop. Metroid received two as well. One drops the player into the Ridley battle and the other into the Mother Brain battle.

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• 4. Rediscovered Games

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  Pro Wrestling, Vice: Project Doom and Pilotwings 64 share an unusual history on this service. Each saw its first re-release in any form since its original debut. Many titles on Nintendo Classics were never available on Nintendo's earlier Virtual Console, so the service is not simply a rerun of that catalogue. Some games also reached North America for the first time. Pop'n TwinBee, Smash Tennis and Mario's Super Picross are the examples given. The shelves are not only Nintendo's. Capcom, Konami, Sega and Koei Tecmo supply games, and Xbox Game Studios supplies others, such as Banjo-Kazooie, which joined the Nintendo 64 app on the 20th of January 2022. Nightdive Studios publishes titles like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. On the 17th of December 2025, Ubisoft's Rayman 2: The Great Escape and Tonic Trouble arrived on the Nintendo 64 app.

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• 5. NES and SNES Shelves

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  On the 19th of September 2018, Nintendo Switch Online opened with 20 NES games. Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 were among them. Double Dragon came from Arc System Works, Ghosts 'n Goblins from Capcom and Gradius from Konami. A new batch of NES games followed every month during the first year. As of April 2026 the shelf holds 95 games and 20 SP variations. Tetris arrived on the 12th of December 2024. On the 9th of April 2026 Bandai Namco added Pac-Man, Mendel Palace and The Tower of Druaga.

  A Nintendo Direct on the 4th of September 2019 announced the Super Nintendo, and 20 titles went live worldwide the next day. Super Mario World, F-Zero, Super Metroid and Super Mario Kart were in that first group. On the 28th of March 2025, one of those launch games, Super Soccer, was removed. On the 29th of July 2025 an update added control remapping and Super NES Mouse support for compatible games. The Nintendo Switch 2 handles the mouse through the mouse controls on its Joy-Con 2, while the original Switch needs a USB mouse. Mario Paint was added that same day. As of October 2025 the library has 85 games and 7 SP variations. The 9th of October 2025 brought Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Fatal Fury Special and Mario & Wario.

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• 6. Handheld Libraries

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  A Nintendo Direct on the 8th of February 2023 announced the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, and all three went live worldwide that day. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color apps started with 10 games, including Tetris, Kirby's Dream Land and Metroid II: Return of Samus. The Game Boy Advance app started with six, among them Mario Kart: Super Circuit and WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!

  The Game Boy emulator offers display settings that recreate the look and color palettes of the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Pocket, or the Game Boy Color. Super Game Boy features are not emulated. As of February 2026 the library has 45 games. Five Mega Man games arrived together on the 7th of June 2024, and Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III followed within weeks.

  The Game Boy Advance app received control remapping in September 2025. As of March 2026 it holds 31 games. Mother 3 joined on the 21st of February 2024, and Metroid Fusion had arrived on the 9th of March 2023. Mario vs. Donkey Kong was added on the 10th of March 2026. On the 4th of February 2026 the Game Boy side gained Balloon Kid and Yoshi.

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• 7. Nintendo 64 and Genesis

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  The 23rd of September 2021 brought a Nintendo Direct that announced two new libraries at once. On the 25th of October 2021 the Nintendo 64 app opened with nine titles and the Sega Genesis app with 15. The Nintendo 64 games are based on the NTSC releases and run with 60 Hz timing. Select games also offer the European versions at their original PAL 50 Hz speed, including their multiple languages. The app does not emulate saving to a Controller Pak, so some games can only keep progress through save states. Control remapping came on the 5th of June 2025, and Nintendo Switch 2 players can also rewind gameplay and apply a CRT filter. Games rated Z by Japan's CERO or M by the ESRB live in a separate app. It is called "18+" in Japan and "Mature 17+" in western regions. As of June 2026 there are 45 games, and Donkey Kong 64 was the latest, on the 4th of June 2026. GoldenEye 007 had arrived on the 27th of January 2023.

  Sega's own games dominate the Genesis shelf, including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2 and Ecco the Dolphin. Capcom's Strider and Konami's Castlevania: Bloodlines were part of the first 15. As of April 2025 there are 51 games. The 11th of April 2025 added ESWAT: City Under Siege, Streets of Rage and Super Thunder Blade.

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• 8. GameCube and Virtual Boy

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  The 5th of June 2025 was the day the Nintendo Switch 2 launched, and the GameCube joined the service with three games. F-Zero GX and Soulcalibur II were among them. GameCube games run only on the Switch 2. The emulator lets players reassign buttons and customize controls for each game. Original GameCube controllers also work through the GameCube Controller Adapter. As of March 2026 there are 9 games, including Luigi's Mansion on the 30th of October 2025 and Super Mario Sunshine on the 18th of March 2026.

  The Virtual Boy took a stranger route. A Nintendo Direct on the 12th of September 2025 announced it, and on the 17th of February 2026 it went live with seven games. The original system showed a stereoscopic 3D effect, and the app recreates it by displaying two separate images on either side of the screen. The games cannot go full screen and need a headset accessory. That accessory comes as a plastic mount based on the original system, or as a cardboard sleeve. The headsets also work with games that supported the Nintendo Labo VR Kit, and the reverse is true as well, though this is not officially supported. Players can adjust the screen size and the inter-pupillary distance to refine the 3D effect. As of May 2026 there are 15 games, among them Mario Clash and Space Invaders Virtual Collection. The library also includes two previously unreleased Nintendo games, D-Hopper and Zero Racers.

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