Hello hello, Nintendo nerds and welcome to another weekly Nintendo news recap. There weren't any huge game releases this last week, but some news from industry insiders has gotten the Nintendo community excited. It seems that Game Boy and Game Boy Color games are likely going to be coming to Nintendo Switch Online in the near future. Players have also been experiencing some horrible glitches with Baldo, a game that released on Nintendo Switch the week before. It honestly shows us that the eShop needs to be regulated more to protect both buyers and developers. Let's dive in.
Game Boy games coming to Nintendo Switch Online
A few years back, dataminers like OatmealDome on Twitter looked into the NSO code and discovered four emulator types named Kachikachi, Canoe, Hiyoko, and Count. Kachikachi was identified as an NES Classic emulator while Canoe was an emulator for SNES Classic. So that has left two emulators to be revealed. The question is, what systems are they emulators for? At this point, it could be anything from N64 to 3DS.
| Name | Emulator type |
|---|---|
| Kachikachi | NES Classic |
| Canoe | SNES Classic |
| Hiyoko | Unknown |
| Count | Unknown |
Then, this week podcaster and known gaming insider, Nate the Hate, and his guest, MVG, conjectured that Hiyoko could be a Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulator, with both being "one entity." This does seem to make the most sense given that these systems were often paired together and were the gaming systems after the SNES. They went on to conjecture that Count could be an N64 or Game Boy Advance emulator, but emphasized that they are less sure about what it could be.
Nintendo Life also reached out to their sources who confirmed that "Game Boy Color titles are likely coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service 'really soon.'" Then, Eurogamer stated that they had also been able to confirm Game Boy and Game Boy Color games were coming to Switch and even said "other retro platforms are also on the cards." So if that's all to be believed, which is looking likely, we'll be able to play some handheld classics sometime in the near future.
I personally don't think Pokémon games will be included in this potential emulator.
There are so many awesome games from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color era like Metroid II, Super Mario Land, Golden Sun, Wario Land, and of course the Pokémon games. Bringing adventures like these to Nintendo Switch would allow millions of people to experience them for the first time. However, as we've seen with NES and SNES titles on NSO, several bigger games aren't available through the service. With this in mind, I personally think that Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal probably wouldn't be in this possible emulator and would probably be sold separately if at all.
All this talk is making me want a Game Boy Color Classic, console similar to the NES Classic and SNES Classic that released a few years ago. Heck, I'd love to see an N64 Classic too. If it came down to getting them in physical form versus getting them on NSO I'm not sure which I'd prefer. Physical consoles would turn into amazing collectibles, but then an NSO emulator could be updated over time and bring more games to the system. Both. The answer is I want both.
Baldo's glitchy launch and eShop issues
Many people, including myself, were looking forward to the release of Baldo The Guardian Owls, a Zelda-inspired action-adventure RPG from NAPS Team that employs an art style similar to Studio Ghibli. The game finally came out last Friday, but with a host of bugs and glitches. To the point that people on multiple platforms have been completely frustrated through the experience. The general consensus that I've seen while looking at reviews on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Apple Arcade is that people really want to love this game due to its inherent charm and are hoping for a big update to fix gameplay issues. I myself love the beautiful locations, fun puzzles, and diverse dungeons, but completely agree that it's overall incredibly frustrating and not worth playing unless a big patch releases.
Glitches include dialogue not working properly, Baldo getting stuck in places he should be able to pass through, and items dropping through the ground. One big glitch even empties all items out of your inventory and basically breaks the game. The developers responded on Steam and stated, "We are aware of the bug and fixing it, however, despite being frustrating, this doesn't heavily affect the gameplay." Considering the number of people experiencing these issues this response is frankly insulting and doesn't show promise for a good enough update in the future.
Now, this makes you wonder, how on earth could such a flawed game have made its way onto the Nintendo eShop? Unfortunately, the eShop is notorious for holding tons of shovelware and junk. Nintendo really should regulate it better to prevent glitchy games like this from being purchasable. As it is, the eShop doesn't provide the best experience for players nor does it protect indie developers, whose work can easily be stolen and put on the store again by shady parties.
The end for now
That's all we have for this week's Nintendo news recap. I hope you have a pleasant weekend and are able to play a classic favorite game or discover a new one.
If the NSO emulator does turn out to be for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, I'll be hoping to play Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Duck Tales, and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. What do you think about Game Boy and Game Boy Color games coming to Nintendo Switch? What games would you most like to see on the emulator? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Until next time.
- Rebecca Spear
