See the update in action above!

On Wednesday, May 26th, 2021, the Nintendo Switch Online NES and Super NES Classics collections were updated! One NES game was added: Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun, along with 4 new Super NES titles, plus an SP Edition of Super Mario Kart! (This version comes with the Special Cup courses already unlocked!)

Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun

Jaleco

1985

This is a platformer by Jaleco that was originally released in 1985. Play as the Ninja, rescue the princess. JajaMaru-Kun was Japan-exclusive for several decades, though it was previously released on the Japanese Wii Virtual Console service. It's noted that this game was actually released before Super Mario Bros, so it's interesting to think about how platformer games differed before Super Mario Bros solidified the standards and changed the industry. If you ever played City Connection, another Jaleco game, JaJamaru-Kun's overall game mechanics are very similar to that game.

Super NES lineup (4 new games added) :

Spanky's Quest

(Monkey Reflections: Jiro-Kun's Great Adventure)

Natsume

1991, 1992

29 going into nearly 30 years later, this is the first re-release of Spanky's Quest after its initial printing. I'm surprised by this selection as the game was never a best seller or particularly coveted, but I've always thought it was a strong title and it just plain looks and sounds fantastic. Spanky's Quest is my favorite of this retro gaming cohort, and I highly suggest you check it out.

(I’ve previously reviewed Spanky’s Quest for GameTyrant!)

Joe and Mac/Ninja Caveman

(Joe & Mac: Caveman Combat)

Data East

1991

The original Joe and Mac is a straightforward, quickly-paced action platformer for the arcade where you play as the two titular cavemen on an adventure to rescue cavewomen from a rival Neanderthal tribe. The Super NES version of Joe and Mac was essentially a slightly censored conversion of the arcade for home with some new fun dialogue added to spice up the intro. To my knowledge, this was the first home release for the caveman duo.

(Joe and Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics was previously released two years ago when this service launched, so I wonder, “why wait for the first one”?)

Magical Drop II.

Data East/G-Mode

1996

The Super Famicom/Super NES version of Magical Drop II was previously unreleased in the US. This ROM appears to be modified for a worldwide release as it contains a new title screen and English text. For those unfamiliar, Magical Drop is a match-three puzzle game involving characters based on tarot cards. Despite the overall simplistic look of the game, the Magical Drop games are considered to have a lot of depth of strategy for the genre and retain a strong following. The NEO GEO versions of 2 and 3 are also available on the Switch.

(Maybe you might have seen the character The World on some Internet Memes and GIFs!)

Super Baseball Simulator 1.000

Culture Brain/Culture Brain Excel

1991

And finally, we have Super Baseball Simulator 1.000. This 1991 release by Culture Brain is one of the earlier baseball titles on the Super NES (at least for Americans!) This is a sequel to their game Baseball Simulator 1.000 on the NES. This is overall considered to be a strong early sports title for the hardware with less emphasis on realism and wacky power-ups that give the game an overall silly feeling.

Donkey Kong Jr. tearing up some space tarmac in SP version of Super Mario Kart.

What do you think of this update? Excited or disappointed! Let us know below! For me, I’m excited that Spanky’s Quest has another shot!