Nintendo announced in the recent September Nintendo Direct that Nintendo 64 games and Sega Genesis titles will be added to the Nintendo Switch Online service through an expansion pack of sorts. The current slate of titles include classics like Ecco the Dolphin, Paper Mario, and Star Fox 64, and multiplayer games like Mario Kart 64 will even be getting online support. There is an extra cost, but Nintendo promised support far into the future and the current selection is a solid compilation. With a list of confirmed games and additions down the line, speculation is growing about what games could be imported from Japan.
Nintendo’s NES and SNES offerings on Nintendo Switch Online have some regional differences, and although there are domestic versions of titles like Mario’s Super Picross and Panel De Pon, there are also a few games that still haven’t made it to the US (or even Europe) and likely never will. Due to cultural differences, tough licensing negotiations, and translation issues, games like Shin Megami Tensei and the original Adventures of Lolo never made it to the American and European Switch Online services. Especially since Custom Robo has already been confirmed to be staying in Japan, there may not be a way to get a hold of tough-to-find games through the service.
The full list of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online is available, so conclusions can be drawn somewhat about the types of games that will show up on the platform. However, the following games are titles that for whatever reason haven’t found a digital or physical release in America and Europe, and most likely won’t be available on Nintendo’s online expansion pass going forward. Sin and Punishment's availability may be a sign that some of these titles may be more likely than we might think, but there are still elements holding these games back from publication online.
Doshin might be better known as a cult classic outside of Japan due to its character design. However, the game not only has a strange personality, its gameplay is unique compared to other games for the Nintendo 64 and is only available on the infamous Disk Drive, itself only available overseas. Doshin the Giant is a god game about the titular Doshin roaming around trying to help his village by changing terrain and saving it from natural disasters. The game is a Japanese exclusive without much text or even that much calculation, but what most likely stops it from being available in the States is its ties to the Disk Drive. No Disk-Drive games have been announced for Nintendo Switch Online, and while they would be a real curiosity just for the experience, all the games would be Japanese exclusives. Doshin came to Europe with a Gamecube port, but since only the Gamecube version exists in English, this would be more likely to come over as a separate downloadable e-Shop title or something similar.
Animal Forest is easily recognizable as the Nintendo 64 game which was then ported to the Gamecube with the name Animal Crossing. The famous life sim had its start as a Japan-only exclusive title that was released a whole generation earlier than the American and European versions. The original game is very much the same version with some missing features that hadn't yet been introduced, but it doesn't have an official translation. Although the English script already exists with the Gamecube version, reworking that into the Nintendo 64 original would take an undue amount of time, and Nintendo hasn't shown much interest in doing so in the past.
Some people may not recognize the game Twinkle Tale and that’s because the game is extremely rare even in its native country. It was released by an unknown developer and its publisher is defunct, making it not only difficult to find copies of today, but absent from online services. Twinkle Tale is a top-down fantasy run-and-gun game in which players take the role of a wizard casting magical spells to shoot down monsters. Releasing Twinkle Tale would let more people experience a game lost to time, but given that its publisher is no more and Sega is likely charging Nintendo Genesis licensing fees, it may not be able to leave Japan.
Derby Stallion 64 is a game in a long line of successful, Japanese exclusive horse racing games. Players breed, train, and then race horses in an attempt to win prize money and tournaments. There have been a number of entries in the series, with games still being released for the Switch and PC, and Famitsu reports that the Switch version outsold every Nintendo-published game the month it came out. The Nintendo 64 version is still generally well-regarded and a good thoroughbred simulator - it would be a boon to the expansion pack service in Japan. Horse racing is one of only a few sports Japanese citizens can legally gamble on, so many residents have a real stake in races that take place there. Since there are many other sports in the United States and Europe with defined leagues and betting rules, other sports games with more interaction are more desirable, especially given the more problematic elements of horse racing that have increasingly come into the public eye.
Langrisser's storied history has long been overshadowed by the likes of Fire Emblem, which has become a more modern mainstay of strategy RPG gaming. Even series like Disgaea have superseded Langrisser, which never really got a foothold outside of Japan thanks to a lack of English localization - only the first game ever got one prior to 2016. While fan translations exist, and modern remakes have brought the first two games to Steam, Switch, and PS4 in some form, the cute, chunky, pixelated graphics of the second game maintain a distinct charm, and unfortunately, it looks as though only the modern re-envisioning will continue to be available for Switch strategy RPG fans.
Rakugakids is a Konami-developed fighting game in the style of the 2.5D fighters that were popular at the time. There are many fighting games not like Street Fighter these days, but back in the Nintendo 64 era the formula was in full effect. It plays very similarly, with a mix of light and heavy attacks and combos, though it has a much more child-friendly atmosphere that somewhat mirrors PaRappa the Rapper. While this might seem like a game that has a shot at a release overseas, it only saw print in Japan and Europe and has never been rereleased. Even though PAL-region versions exist with official translations, the European version of Nintendo Switch Online will be using NTSC, the American versions, meaning that Rakugakids may not leave Japan for the expansion pack.
While these games might seem like longshots, there's always still a chance, and Nintendo’s current lineup of titles does have some strange inclusions like Nightshade and Psycho Dream. Panel De Pon and Mario's Super Picross are both Japanese SNES games that finally saw a rerelease with the Nintendo Switch Online service as well, and providing more previously inaccessible content could be a way to justify the high price point of the expansion pack.
Source: Famitsu
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