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January's Free NES Games For Nintendo Switch Online Subscribers Revealed

More free games.

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One of the benefits of subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online is that you get access to a library of classic NES games to play as much as you want. Nintendo is adding two (or three, depending on where you live) to the service in January, and now they've been announced.

Arriving January 16 are two games from 1998: Blaster Master and Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. In Japan, subscribers get a third game, Joy Mech Fight.

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Now Playing: Nintendo Switch Online: NES - January Game Updates

The NES library for Switch Online subscribers launched with 20 big-name games, including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Dr. Mario, Ice Climber, Metroid, and Donkey Kong.

Nintendo Switch Online costs $4 USD/month or $8 USD for three months. A 12-month subscription goes for $20 USD, while a Family Membership for up to eight Nintendo Account members costs $35 USD for a year. New subscribers can sign up with a seven-day free trial. In addition to free NES games, subscribers get access to cloud saves and online play for many titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Ultimate.

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Oloryn

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Solid games, and I'd argue that Zelda 2 is one of the few games that really deserves a revisit more than many older NES games in the current gaming climate, as it is a great historical entry point into the Action RPG of sorts, like an old-school SoulsBorne, though obviously not nearly as well detailed. I played it again recently and while a bit grindy, it actually held up pretty well.

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93ChevyNut

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Blaster Master was a shining example of the difficulty level known as Nintendo hard.

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Pupchu

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Edited By Pupchu

@93ChevyNut: Combat in Blaster Master is fairly easy. Knowing where to travel is the challenge.

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93ChevyNut

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@Pupchu: True. But there's a lot of ground to cover with only a couple of continues.

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SuperKlyph

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Edited By SuperKlyph

Good games. They aren't free though - they're part of a subscription service. I know That's how this type of thing is marketed.

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reBOOT2099

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Both games from 1998? 7 years AFTER the Super Nintendo? Not sure about that. It's 1988. I'm sure it's a typo, but still, somebody should've caught that.

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Litchie

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@reBOOT2099: Also:

"subscribers get access to cloud saves, online player for many titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"

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93ChevyNut

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@reBOOT2099: It's Eddie. I can only imagine how sloppy his emails are.

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DEATHWlSH

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@93ChevyNut: Not as sloppy as his Joes, I reckon.

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EricShadow366

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@DEATHWlSH: Lol that comment made me laugh..

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HiroArka

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I was wondering when they would add Zelda 2. The addition of Master Blaster is awesome as well! Might not ever happen, but it would be great if they included Super Nintendo later on.

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Linkbuscus01

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Edited By Linkbuscus01

@HiroArka: I’m sure they’ll keep continuing up to gamecube. I can see this being a long term successor to virtual console

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NorseLax09

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@linkbuscus01: I hope you are right. At the moment I can't see them going past SNES. Getting 20+ games up through GC for $20 a year would be one hell of a deal.

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Linkbuscus01

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@NorseLax09: I would pay $40 a year for snes nes gamecube and Wii Titles along with online service. Hell $60 a year is much more profitable than their Mini consoles.

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Richardthe3rd

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Both great games.

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