Nintendo Switch Online adds Punch-Out and The Lost Levels

Nintendo Switch Online has been dribbling out games for its subscription service since its launch last year, but today's lineup announced for April 2019 has some bangers. Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Star Soldier will all be making their way onto the ever-expanding library of games available to Switch owners with online subscriptions.

For players who may not have had a chance to check out these classic 8 bit titles, Nintendo provided a nice breakdown of what to expect in their press release:

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels – Originally released in Japan as Super Mario Bros.^® 2, this game has previously made only brief cameo appearances in the Western Hemisphere. Mario fans will appreciate the familiar look and feel of the game, while finding that its updated gameplay creates an entirely new challenge. In addition to the classic enemies already known to fans worldwide, there are also Poison Mushrooms, backward Warp Zones and the occasional wind gust (which can help or hinder your progress).
Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream – As young boxer Little Mac, players have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to battle the big guys of the World Video Boxing Association circuit. Take them on one by one, starting with skinny Glass Joe. Battle up through King Hippo and all the way to the WVBA Champion himself. Players use their best jabs, hooks and power uppercuts to knock out opponents, but must also dodge jaw-breaking blows by paying attention to subtle changes in their foe’s body position.
Star Soldier – The standard for vertically scrolling shooters, Star Soldier is the original game that spawned all of the titles in the long-running Soldier series. Go inside a floating space station inhabited by a giant computer known as Starbrain. Your mission: to stop Starbrain’s galactic invasion by piloting Caesar, a new compact space fighter, through 16 deadly stages.

These three new games join Nintendo Switch Online's slowly expanding lineup of NES games playable through the sevice. Subscribers also can play Tetris 99, the best battle royale game ever created. The game recently completed its first Maximus Cup online event a few weeks ago.

While Nintendo Switch Online still has some issues, it is great to see some classic games like Punch-Out!!! and The Lost Levels make their way onto the service. Hopefully Nintendo will introduce a SNES app as part of the online service this year and I can play F-Zero on my Switch like God intended.