What is the difference between the European and other versions for Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online?

There's some changes from the Japanese release.

Image via Nintendo

Nostalgic Nintendo fans are in for a treat thanks to the recent addition of a number of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to Nintendo Switch Online. Switch Online subscribers can now download many titles for free, with the first batch released on Feb. 8.

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The selection of games includes the original Tetris game, Super Mario Land 2, and Advance 4, as well as many others from the consoles.

European and North American players are usually given a different treatment than those from Japan, however, and the case is no different this time. The retro games catalog includes other games in Japan. Here are the differences between the European and Japanese versions.

What is the difference between the European and other versions for Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online?

In the Japanese version of the retro gaming catalog, players don’t have access to Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, and instead haveYakuman. It’s the 1989 version of the game that was included. This Mahjong game didn’t get a Western release, which explains why it’s not included in the regions.

Other Japan-exclusive games include one Fire Emblem title, The Binding Blade, as well as the action RPG Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru. Both games are only included in the Japanese catalog because they never had a Western release either.

Here’s the full list of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games now included in the Nintendo Switch Online subscription in the West.

If players want to get games from the Japanese catalog, they’ll need to have a Japanese account and get this version of the app. Obviously, they won’t be able to play those games in English.

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Eva Martinello
Eva is a Staff Writer from Paris. Her part-time job is charging into walls with Reinhardt. She has been covering League of Legends esports and other titles for six years. She still believes in a Moscow Five comeback. She also fell into the MMO pit and covers FFXIV and Genshin.