Two obscure games with familiar characters and concepts have made their way to Nintendo Switch Online's Game Boy application. Balloon Kid and the Yoshi puzzle game are now in the Nintendo Classics library, and they both have some interesting tidbits behind them.
Yoshi (the game, not the character) is a falling-block puzzle game developed by Pokemon studio Game Freak. It's a curious addition to Nintendo Classics, as the NES version of the game, which launched simultaneously with the Game Boy version in Japan, is already on the NES Switch Online app. While the release may be somewhat redundant, it will certainly appeal to anyone who grew up playing the Game Boy version instead.
Balloon Kid, directed by Metroid series producer Yoshio Sakamoto, is a sequel to Balloon Fight. But while the NES favorite was focused on arcadey action, Balloon Kid has an actual story, centering on a young girl rescuing her brother. Released in 1990 in North America, Balloon Kid had a radically different branding when it came to Japan.
Balloon Kid was repurposed as a Famicom Hello Kitty game called Hello Kitty World, which hit Japan in 1992 and never came to the States. The original Balloon Kid eventually made it to Japan through a Game Boy Color remake that came out in 2000 called Balloon Fight GB--which is the version of the game that Japanese Switch owners are getting today.
The last Game Boy titles for the service, Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, were added last November. Meanwhile, Nintendo is preparing to launch Virtual Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo also announced that a Direct showcasing third-party games is streaming tomorrow. Don't expect any Nintendo Classics to be mentioned, but we may get some looks at big new titles like The Duskbloods and Resident Evil Requiem.
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Yoshi (the game, not the character) is a falling-block puzzle game developed by Pokemon studio Game Freak. It's a curious addition to Nintendo Classics, as the NES version of the game, which launched simultaneously with the Game Boy version in Japan, is already on the NES Switch Online app. While the release may be somewhat redundant, it will certainly appeal to anyone who grew up playing the Game Boy version instead.
Balloon Kid, directed by Metroid series producer Yoshio Sakamoto, is a sequel to Balloon Fight. But while the NES favorite was focused on arcadey action, Balloon Kid has an actual story, centering on a young girl rescuing her brother. Released in 1990 in North America, Balloon Kid had a radically different branding when it came to Japan.
Balloon Kid was repurposed as a Famicom Hello Kitty game called Hello Kitty World, which hit Japan in 1992 and never came to the States. The original Balloon Kid eventually made it to Japan through a Game Boy Color remake that came out in 2000 called Balloon Fight GB--which is the version of the game that Japanese Switch owners are getting today.
The last Game Boy titles for the service, Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, were added last November. Meanwhile, Nintendo is preparing to launch Virtual Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo also announced that a Direct showcasing third-party games is streaming tomorrow. Don't expect any Nintendo Classics to be mentioned, but we may get some looks at big new titles like The Duskbloods and Resident Evil Requiem.
Source