Nintendo revealed the latest assortment of games coming to the SEGA Genesis portion of the Switch Online Expansion Pack.
Subscribers who paid to access the SEGA app will now be able to play five more classic games from the original system. The titles include Altered Beast, ToeJam & Earl, Thunder Force II, Dynamite Headyy and Sword of Vermilion. The announcement trailer of Switch Online's December Game Update is nothing too flashy, simply showcasing the gameplay of the recently added titles.
While most of the recently added games hold some kind of nostalgia value for SEGA fans, gamers playing them for the first time may be mixed on their quality. Despite its lasting legacy, Altered Beast is notorious for its divisive reception as fans can't decide whether the gameplay is repetitive and dull or tactical and challenging. As for ToeJam & Earl, the game went on to establish itself as a cult classic, receiving positive reviews for its fresh style and compelling gameplay. Despite this, SEGA deemed it a commercial failure due to low sales numbers.
The addition of SEGA games to the Nintendo Switch Online service is a relatively recent development. The feature serves as a part of the Expansion Pack, which grants subscribers acces to a collection of games from the Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive, for a higher annual fee. Clocking it $49.99 USD for 12-months, users can experience classic games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Ecco the Dolphin.
While retro gamers were no doubt excited to play some of Nintendo and SEGA's greatest hits on the Switch, the launch of the Expansion Pack was considered a disaster by many fans. When it was first announced, gamers were skeptical of the price, worrying that the content on offer didn't justify the sharp increase in the subscription fee. These concerns were later justified after launch when it was discovered that the Nintendo 64 games were badly optimized ports that struggled to function on the Switch.
Poor frame rates, badly remapped controls and features incompatible with the Switch were all reported, leaving Nintendo to promise fixes in future updates. Fans were able to find fewer faults with the SEGA catalog, with many insisting that the growing collection of classics was the saving grace of the Expansion Pack.
Source: YouTube