Nintendo Classics Roundup: April, May, and June 2026
Speaking personally, the main draw for a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online is and has always been the free games available through Nintendo Classics. Now, I know I can just play these through emulators online and such, but I enjoy console gaming, and it’s neat to see a curated list of classic titles the company thinks I should check out; if anything else strikes my fancy, I can always find it elsewhere
However, given that there are so many classic consoles included in the service nowadays (if you get the Expansion Pack, anyway), the rate at which any given console receives new games to emulate is agonisingly slow, usually resulting in two or three games per month total, with the occasional outliers expanding that to one to six, all for a single console. The Nintendo Entertainment System only received one batch with two games in it throughout all of last year
I have my issues with this approach, but at least it does mean each new month (usually) brings a small collection of interesting titles to explore. However, with them being drip-fed like this, just how good is this limited supply? I’ve explored the nine games released for the NA and PAL regions in the past three months, April, May, and June. Now, I’m here to tell you just how good these latest games are; it’s time for the Nintendo Classics Roundup!
April 9, 2026: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Mendel Palace (NES) — The girl enemies, which you can be turned into, if you’re not careful!
Three titles were added to the NES app in this batch, the only one for the console so far in 2026, and the second batch available this year for base subscription holders. Of these, the most recognisable by far is the NES port of Pac-Man. Now, I’ve already made my feelings on the yellow dot man’s first outing clear in the past, but to quickly rehash: the original game is a somewhat clunky, yet solid and satisfying maze game that more than proves itself as an enduring classic, even if it is easily beaten by its sequel, Ms. PAC-MAN. This NES port is a faithful recreation of the game as far as I can tell, and it makes for a fine headliner of the update, even if I personally was not excited by its inclusion. It’s just not something I want to play for hours.
It’s a far different story for Mendel Palace, the very first outing by now-Pokémon-famous developer Game Freak, released in North America in October of 1990. It’s a wacky puzzle game with very strong character art. You explore nine sets of themed levels where you must slide tiles on the ground to trip your foes into the walls so they explode before they do the same to you. Each area has its own gimmicks centred around the enemy types you can find there, and they come in a wide range of difficulty, with some levels feeling impossible without the use of Nintendo Classics’ handy dandy rewind feature.
A lot of Mendel Palace is learning the stages themselves to avoid screwing yourself over by accidentally revealing a half dozen more enemies that can kill you in three seconds each, while also taking out everyone as quickly as possible, so the timer doesn’t run out and turn them all into nearly unstoppable super forms. Throw in the ability to aim for high scores by collecting points and stars off the ground and some rather tough boss fights, and you have a genuine classic that I never would have picked up before. One of the bosses can even turn you into a girl, making this the third title in NSO’s NES library to do this — proof positive of Nintendo’s insidious plot to forcefem its audience, I’m sure.
The Tower of Druaga (NES) — The Penultimate Level… My nemesis
Last of the bunch is the 1985 Famicom port of Namco’s 1984 Japanese-exclusive arcade maze action puzzler, The Tower of Druaga. The game was previously released worldwide on the Wii’s Virtual Console (gosh, I miss being able to buy games), but it’s still neat to have an easy way to play it officially over here. In the game, you play a knight by the name of Gilgamesh who must scale 60 treacherous floors, battle monsters, and hopefully do a bunch of weird, random stuff to unlock special items and equipment that actually make the quest possible.
Needless to say, I played through with a guide and had an absolute blast. The simpler solutions were over quickly, but some floors are genuinely tricky, even if you know what esoteric bullcrap you need to pull off. I normally despise timers in games, and I struggled with Druaga’s at first, too, but it does a good job of pushing the player to complete each floor quickly and efficiently. Of course, I might not feel the same if I didn’t have magical rewind powers, but I do, so the point is moot
What I was less excited about was the penultimate floor, where you have to face off against a bunch of enemies before going toe-to-toe with an evil sorcerer who can just kill you if you touch him too much. No matter what I tried, no matter how few hits I cleared the rest of the floor with, I had no way to damage him enough to defeat him without dying myself. I’m sad to give up on Druaga right before its conclusion, but I already had my fill, and I wasn’t going to bother trying a 30th time
Overall, while Mendel Palace and The Tower of Druaga have their faults, both are excellent experiences, perfect for an emulator, and NSO offers a great way to play them. Pac-Man is also here if you like Pac-Man
May 14, 2026: Virtual Boy
Virtual Bowling (Virtual Boy) — In double vision because I took this one myself!
Technically, six games were added to the Virtual Boy library in May, though Virtual Fishing was left as a Japanese exclusive, because the British fear fish above all else, probably. Instead, you can enjoy a nice game of Athena’s Virtual Bowling, which was itself originally Japan-exclusive. Now, I don’t own a Labo VR kit or whatever else Nintendo is selling to make the 3D effects pop, so I was stuck playing with two tiny screens that hurt my eyes a little, but the game still played cleanly and looked impressive. It’s not the best bowling game out there, but it fits the niche nicely, and I’ve yet to play any other bowling games on Nintendo Classics, so I welcome it with open arms.
Hudson Soft’s Vertical Force, on the other hand, was a bit too much for my sensitive eyes. It’s a top-down shoot ’em up where you can explore two different fields of play, which I imagine capitalises well on the console’s 3D gimmick. You can also summon a computer-controlled ally to assist, and you have a very forgiving health bar, but the controls do take a bit of work to wrap your head around. Vertical Force is engaging to start, but it’s a little too difficult to gauge where the red enemies are on the red field, and it gets boring after a while.
Our next Japan-exclusive to make the jump is Locomotive’s V-Tetris, also being the second Tetris title on the platform. It comes with three game modes, Types A–C: Type C being the only option worth talking about. A and B are typical falling Tetris blocks fare, and they work okay, even though there are at least two better versions of them available through NSO
Type C instead offers an interesting twist: what if you had a whole cylinder of Tetris you had to keep track of and could rotate around? You can either clear just the lines on your current screen, or you can try to create a line that wraps around the entire cylinder. It starts off a lot more forgiving with a lot of space to work with, but you can also very easily work yourself into a corner if you’re not careful with clearing the whole board. I don’t personally love Tetris enough to play it more than once, but I am glad I gave it a shot.
Taito’s Space Invaders Virtual Collection completes the trio of formerly Japan-exclusive Virtual Boy games, and it is easily the worst of the bunch. It comes with ports of Space Invaders and Space Invaders II, both featuring 2D and 3D modes. The ports themselves are good, and the 3D modes look nice compared to the original 2D visuals, but that’s pretty much it. It’s just Space Invaders and its incredibly similar sequel, with nothing to make this version feel special. If it’s the only way you have to play Space Invaders, I suppose the inclusion is nice, but it’s not worth the eye strain.
Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy) — Oh no, hee-ho! Jack Frost is in danger!
Atlus’ Jack Bros., on the other hand, absolutely is worth a little headache. This Shin Megami Tensei spinoff has the strange honour of being the first in the franchise to be released outside of Japan. Thankfully, it’s a very fun maze shooter where you get to play as the best character, Jack Frost, or one of his brothers, Jack Lantern and Jack Skelton (yes, really, hee-ho). You can even unlock Pixie if you beat the game on Hard Mode, which I have not done, as Jack Bros. isn’t exactly a cakewalk even on normal difficulty.
You have a limited amount of time per world to get through several maze levels, grab keys and power-ups, shoot magic at enemies, and defeat engaging bosses. The game got a lot easier once I realised I could use the right stick to aim my shots, but even then, I was constantly finishing worlds with mere seconds to go, hee-ho! Thankfully, as you get deeper into the worlds, more enemies appear that can drop massive time increases to make finishing the game more possible, but it never becomes easy. Jack Bros. makes for a fantastic challenge that lets you control one of the coolest characters in gaming; yes, I am biased, but this game is absolutely worth it, hee-ho!
The other four range from being letdowns to curiosities, but nearly everything here is at least interesting, barring Space Invaders Virtual Collection. Even then, though, three of these were Japan exclusives before now, and I’m always happy to see those get a worldwide release
June 4, 2026: Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64) — I hear that coconut gun can fire in spurts! Careful, if he shoots ya, it’s gonna hurt!
The last member of the Nintendo Classics crew is a single game released for the Nintendo 64, Rare’s Donkey Kong 64, which is finally here, platformed for you. I’m a lifelong fan of the game and the rest of Rare’s Donkey Kong run, and this game’s absence was one of the reasons I wasn’t super interested in NSO’s 64 library to start with, so I’m very glad to see it
If you know the game, I’m sure you can join in too down in the comments, but if you don’t, just know this is an expansive adventure featuring five playable Kongs, way too many bits and bobs to collect, and a load of bananas. I remember constantly being afraid of the (visually) darker and stormier moments as a kid, but playing through it again, Donkey Kong 64 is also very silly in ways that hit me just right. Cranky is sassy, the Kremlings are doofuses, and everyone seems to be at their wits’ end.
The camera is a fair bit clunky, but the emulator supports modifying what different buttons do, so I was able to find an easy workaround. This is a bit of a “skill issue” on my part, but I’ve found it difficult to modify buttons easily on the emulator on my computer, so this was a major blessing; I’ll definitely keep playing this one on Switch
Are They Worth It?
Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64) — Personally, I give it a 7.8/10
In review, of the nine games newly available in NA and PAL regions over the past three months, most are genuinely great additions. Of the NES games, both Mendel Palace and The Tower of Druaga are hidden gems that could have gone unnoticed if released in a larger batch. For the Virtual Boy, snagging Jack Bros. is a win all on its own, hee-ho, and the formerly Japan-exclusive titles are a nice touch. It’s a bit disappointing to see Donkey Kong 64 added to the 64 library on its own, but it is at least an incredible game in my book.
Overall, I’m satisfied with these additions, even if I didn’t like them all, though it’s always frustrating to see only one new title in a month. Even if I adore Donkey Kong 64 with all my heart, it’s better to have variety, as not everyone is going to love a collectathon, especially when it’s locked behind two tiers of a subscription service. Of them all, I was never likely to play any of them save Donkey Kong 64 through other emulators, so I am grateful for the opportunity
Are these games worth a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online? Well, if you’re not willing to go elsewhere for emulation, then the NES games offer a handful of sweet experiences to make the base subscription worth a look, but if none of the Virtual Boy or 64 games tickle your fancy and you don’t already have the Expansion Pack or don’t want to pay the exorbitant price, I can’t say they should sway your opinion
Erin McAllister
Staff Writer
Erin is a massive fan of mustard, writes articles that are too long, and is a little bit sorry about the second thing
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