Last night, Nintendo announced the latest classic titles coming to Nintendo Switch Online for November 2025. Including a duo of NES and Game Boy games, subscribers to The Big N’s service can now play Battletoads or Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos for the NES. On the handheld side comes Bionic Commando, and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters. It’s a blast from the past with tons of retro pizzaz.
Battletoads is notorious for its high difficulty and extremely punishing design, so having the ability to make save states or rewind mistakes might mean that certain players can finally finish the game. It was a staple of my childhood, though I don’t recall ever finishing it without cheating. Sadly, the only thing we’ve seen from the series since is a reboot in 2020 that was pretty dreadful.
These #NES and #GameBoy games are now available to play for #NintendoSwitchOnline members!
NES:
☑️ Ninja Gaiden II™: The Dark Sword of Chaos
☑️ BATTLETOADS™Game Boy:
☑️ Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
☑️ BIONIC COMMANDO pic.twitter.com/Y6qkIiZcg2— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 26, 2025
Ninja Gaiden 2, on the other hand, is an excellent continuation of the infamous NES original. Doubling down on the cinematic presentation the first game had while introducing new stage gimmicks, NG2 feels particularly well timed considered the new Ninja Gaiden 4 just released. While that game isn’t on Switch 2 (and may never come), fans with access to it might want to look into the series’ past and having the first two entries on NSO is a good way to do so.
As for the Game Boy games, I’m less familiar with them, though I know that Bionic Commando is something of a sequel to the NES game. Weirdly, the NES original is not available to play, but from the brief trailer Nintendo has uploaded, this continuation looks pretty solid. Kid Icarus is… well, it’s Kid Icarus. It’s better than the first game, but I won’t be content with that series until Nintendo does a proper remaster of the 3DS entry Kid Icarus: Uprising.
Check out more Switch Online content
Mario & Wario makes its western debut in Switch Online’s October 2025 update
Virtual Boy returns as a Switch accessory, games coming to Nintendo Switch Online in February 2026
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
