Subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online can expect new classic NES and SNES games to play every month, though many of these games tend to be underrated classics. In Japan, Nintendo Online subscribers get access to additional Super Famicom titles instead of SNES games. While most Super Famicom games were also released for the SNES, there are some very notable exceptions.
May's Nintendo Online games including plenty of underrated titles such as Joe & Mac and Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, but the Super Famicom offerings have an incredibly noteworthy game from one of Nintendo's most successful series. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is coming to the Nintendo Switch for Nintendo Online subscribers in Japan, exemplifying a notable difference between the games between the SNES and the Super Famicom Nintendo Online games.
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War was never actually released outside of Japan, so it does make sense that the game is only available to the Japanese Nintendo Online market. However, there is a notable difference in the kinds of titles released for the Famicom and the SNES that the new games being added in May exemplify. For example, Japanese Nintendo Online users can play a different and more difficult version of Super Mario Bros. 3.
There's also both Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II. There are also tons more Japan-only Fire Emblem games available for Nintendo Online subscribers in Japan, mainly due to early Fire Emblem titles being Japan-exclusive. Genealogy of the Holy War is often considered to be not only one of the best Fire Emblem games but also one of the best tactical games ever, often being described as an influential entry in the Fire Emblem series.
Part of why Genealogy of the Holy War may be making its way to Nintendo Online in Japan is that its 25th anniversary is this month. The game has been re-released in Japan before, having been made available on the Wii and Wii U's digital stores. However, with how important Genealogy of the Holy War is to Fire Emblem as a whole, this landmark title should come finally come to the West.
It would be great if the SNES got more noteworthy games, especially since many recent additions to the service haven't been super noteworthy. Joe & Mac is an underrated classic, though many of the other games added in May don't really have the same legacy that something like Fire Emblem or Shin Megami Tensei have. There are still some classic SNES games released outside of Japan that have yet to be added.
EarthBound and Mother 3 are two games almost always mentioned in discussions of what games should come to Nintendo Online's SNES library. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is another classic SNES game that Nintendo could absolutely add to the platform, especially since they've been working with Square Enix even more frequently as of recent. There's obviously the rest of the classic Fire Emblem catalog that could be released on the platform as well. Nintendo's already released a translated version of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, so not doing the rest seems odd.
While the SNES library outside of Japan certainly has its classics, many can't help but feel disappointed that Nintendo isn't giving them the opportunity to experience classic games like Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War for the first time. It's understandable as to why games that were only originally released in Japan are staying Japan-exclusive, but there's a new generation of Fire Emblem fans who want to play one of the most influential games in the series.