Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack: N64, SEGA Mega Drive, GBA + GameCube (5th June 2025)

[Julius]

...and GameCube, exclusive for Switch 2! 

New wireless GameCube controller coming too! 

Both available June 5th! 

Edited yesterday at 01:46 PM by Julius

[Julius]

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom - Switch 2 Edition upgrades will be available at no additional cost to NSO + Expansion Pack members. 

Oh, and also: GCN NSO controller will be available for preorder from the official store on 24/04. 

[Ike]

I can finally give Soul Calibur II a go.

[Julius]

I was genuinely weighing up picking up a GameCube by the end of the year to then hunt down and tackle Gale of Darkness XD and Colosseum for the 30th anniversary of Pokémon next year. 

This will be much cheaper 

[Glen-i]

19 minutes ago, Julius said:

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom - Switch 2 Edition upgrades will be available at no additional cost to NSO + Expansion Pack members. 

Would be the two games I don't give a toss about, wouldn't it?
I guess games with actual new content will have a higher upgrade price.

Edited yesterday at 03:00 PM by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

The announcement of Gamecube games for the service gave me the push I needed to start getting rid of my collection. I figured that prices would start tumbling now and so I jumped in the car and headed to CEX as soon as the Direct finished. I took 11 of the 100+ Gamecube games I have and walked out with £770. It's time for some other collector to enjoy them now.

[Nicktendo]

14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The announcement of Gamecube games for the service gave me the push I needed to start getting rid of my collection. I figured that prices would start tumbling now and so I jumped in the car and headed to CEX as soon as the Direct finished. I took 11 of the 100+ Gamecube games I have and walked out with £770. It's time for some other collector to enjoy them now.

Congratulations on your Switch 2 launch budget. 

[Nicktendo]

2 hours ago, Julius said:

I was genuinely weighing up picking up a GameCube by the end of the year to then hunt down and tackle Gale of Darkness XD and Colosseum for the 30th anniversary of Pokémon next year. 

This will be much cheaper 

It's cray cray that we get these two games but the cowards won't even give us R/B & G/S on the GameBoy app. 

[Glen-i]

2 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

It's cray cray that we get these two games but the cowards won't even give us R/B & G/S on the GameBoy app. 

They see them as spin-off games. Therefore, not as valuable.

For that reason, I don't expect you to be able to transfer Pokémon there to HOME.

In fact, I'd be astonished if Wind Waker lets you use the Tingle Tuner.

[Dcubed]

2 hours ago, Ike said:

I can finally give Soul Calibur II a go.

Still the best game in the series.  And the GCN version is still the best one.

@BowserBasher @S.C.G Mario Party 4-7 online is gonna be LIT

Edited yesterday at 05:14 PM by Dcubed

[Jonnas]

I legit squealed when I saw Soul Calibur II The version with Link is finally back! With online! Oh, my sweet heart!

They went with some of the absolute best possible choices for the launch of the GCN NSO. F-Zero GX is still a technical showcase to this day, and it's one of the best Gamecube titles to never be rereleased (multiplayer is still mediocre at best, btw). SC2 has been rereleased, but never THIS version. And people had been anticipating Wind Waker for a good while.

I'm looking forward to see this selection grow. My personal top pick for it is Tales of Symphonia: let modern players see what the original, uncompromised version of that title looks like.

[Glen-i]

15 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

I legit squealed when I saw Soul Calibur II The version with Link is finally back! With online! Oh, my sweet heart!

Yup, pretty much the only arcade fighter I've ever enjoyed.

And it's not because Link is incredibly OP, shut up!

I'm wondering how the hell Nintendo got Namco to agree to this.

Edited 20 hours ago by Glen-i

[Jonnas]

10 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

I'm wondering how the hell Nintendo got Namco to agree to this.

Presumably, the fact that the Link version of the game can't be rereleased on any other console probably helped a lot.

Edited 20 hours ago by Jonnas

[Julius]

To list out the GameCube games coming to the service confirmed in the trailer, we've got:

• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker*
• Soulcalibur II*
• F-Zero GX*
• Super Mario Sunshine
• Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
• Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
• Mario Smash Football
• Chibi-Robo
• Luigi's Mansion
• Pokémon Colosseum

*titles available at service launch on 5th June 2025

I've touched on this before, but the GameCube is probably the console I have the most nostalgia for despite never owning one or really getting a chance to dig into its library, and on its face it simultaneously represents to me what I feel like is a big, big gap in my gaming experience and the catalogue I'm most intrigued by nowadays (last console I felt this way about was the PS3). My first Nintendo consoles were the DS and Wii, so I guess it makes sense that the GBA and GCN are the ones I'm most curious about! 

There's was wanting Wind Waker growing up which made me buy Spirit Tracks, purely because of the art style, and Toon Link was my Link of choice in Brawl; I played my first 3D Mario, Sunshine, at my cousin's in Nottingham, who we frequently visited growing up; and the only other person besides my cousin that I knew had a GameCube was a kid in my primary school who would show off Pokémon Colosseum when I went around.

Brawl, honestly, being the game I probably put the most hours into on Wii, is pretty responsible for this, too, what with its plethora of trophies referring to GCN games, and Ike being my main. I've been desperately waiting for a chance to play Path of Radiance because of this, but didn't really expect for it to be on the GCN service given its resale value – same goes for Gale of Darkness, honestly! Thank goodness Nintendo doesn't pay too much attention to anything too far outside of their own interests 

So, I'm interested in all of these to varying degrees, and am definitely getting the sense from some on here about the ones which are 100% worth checking out that might otherwise easily pass me by (F-Zero GX, Soulcalibur II, Chibi-Robo), but my question is: what are the games not yet confirmed for the service which you'd most love to see, and would heartily recommend I check out if and when they land? 

I had been planning to hold off on finally playing Wind Waker until after I'd played Majora's Mask, but honestly, I think, rather ironically, my first weekend with my brand new, shiny Switch 2 might be spent with that particular 23 year-old game 

20 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The announcement of Gamecube games for the service gave me the push I needed to start getting rid of my collection. I figured that prices would start tumbling now and so I jumped in the car and headed to CEX as soon as the Direct finished. I took 11 of the 100+ Gamecube games I have and walked out with £770. It's time for some other collector to enjoy them now.

Good stuff – which games did you manage to shift on? Were the CEX guys clued in on the announcement of GCN NSO at all? 

[Glen-i]

15 minutes ago, Julius said:

what are the games not yet confirmed for the service which you'd most love to see, and would heartily recommend I check out if and when they land? 

If they can get the GBA connectivity working. Four Swords Adventures 4-player is one of the best experiences out there.

Mario Party 6 is the best of the Gamecube titles (And my favourite of all of them), but again, multiplayer is what makes it shine. On that note, WarioWare: Mega Party Games is a right laugh!

Single Player stuff. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is the best game the console has to offer, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 are excellent, but I can't see that happening soon as well...

One that I do expect is one I have a bit of a soft spot for. StarFox Adventures. Sure, the GameCube Zelda games are definitely better, but I find this a more interesting game from a historical standpoint.

[Hero-of-Time]

 

1 hour ago, Julius said:

 

Good stuff – which games did you manage to shift on? Were the CEX guys clued in on the announcement of GCN NSO at all? 

• Pokemon Channel
• Pokemon XD
• Geist
• Fire Emblem
• Kirby Air Ride
• Pokemon Colosseum
• Soul Calibur II
• Wind Waker
• F-Zero GX
• Chibi-Robo

Nah and I didnt want to mention it as they may have wanted to watch it after they finished work.

[Glen-i]

24 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 

• Pokemon Channel
• Pokemon XD
• Geist
• Fire Emblem
• Kirby Air Ride
• Pokemon Colosseum
• Soul Calibur II
• Wind Waker
• F-Zero GX
• Chibi-Robo

Nah and I didnt want to mention it as they may have wanted to watch it after they finished work.

Those are the only games not confirmed for this service...

Is there something you're not telling us?

Edited 5 hours ago by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

Just now, Glen-i said:

That's the only game not confirmed for this service...

Is there something you're not telling us?

It's garbage and I wanted rid of it.

[Julius]

33 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 

• Pokemon Channel
• Pokemon XD
• Geist
• Fire Emblem
• Kirby Air Ride
• Pokemon Colosseum
• Soul Calibur II
• Wind Waker
• F-Zero GX
• Chibi-Robo

Nah and I didnt want to mention it as they may have wanted to watch it after they finished work.

Very nice! 

And ah, I thought they might be giving you the side-eye potentially knowing why you were offloading them at that very moment, cashing in before they potentially go down a little with GCN NSO – instead, maybe they were wondering "what does this guy know that we don't..." 

11 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Those are the only games not confirmed for this service...

Kind of surprising really that Air Ride isn't confirmed for the service considering, well, Air Riders. 

A random shadow drop when we learn the release date for Riders maybe? 

[Cube]

15 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Those are the only games not confirmed for this service...

Is there something you're not telling us?

I noticed you completely blanking one of the Pokémon games that hasn't been confirmed... although I wonder if that was on purpose (although it's one of the Pokémon games I like, because I'm just weird). 

[Julius]

5 minutes ago, Cube said:

I noticed you completely blanking one of the Pokémon games that hasn't been confirmed... although I wonder if that was on purpose (although it's one of the Pokémon games I like, because I'm just weird). 

@Glen-i

Edited 5 hours ago by Julius

[Glen-i]

6 minutes ago, Cube said:

I noticed you completely blanking one of the Pokémon games that hasn't been confirmed... although I wonder if that was on purpose (although it's one of the Pokémon games I like, because I'm just weird). 

"Game" is being very charitable there.

[Dcubed]

Can’t wait for Pokémon Box on GCN NSO! 

[Ashley]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

 

• Pokemon Channel
• Pokemon XD
• Geist
• Fire Emblem
• Kirby Air Ride
• Pokemon Colosseum
• Soul Calibur II
• Wind Waker
• F-Zero GX
• Chibi-Robo

Nah and I didnt want to mention it as they may have wanted to watch it after they finished work.

Wait, you had Kirby Air Ride and didn't offer it to me? 😭

[Dcubed]

https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/News/2025/April/What-s-new-with-Nintendo-Switch-Online-on-Nintendo-Switch-2-2785954.html

Quote

You’ll find new features waiting for you in the Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Classics app on Nintendo Switch 2! These include a new CRT filter to add a retro feel to your games, button remapping for each game’s controls, and a Rewind feature in case you want to turn back time and undo a mistake.

Nice