Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We just got incredible news that Nintendo has officially dropped a massive new update for the Nintendo Switch Online Classic library! If you are a huge fan of the Nintendo Entertainment System, there is finally something exciting and new to play today. Nintendo has officially added four legendary classic retro games to the NES and Famicom applications for the Nintendo Switch, and these will undoubtedly carry forward to the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console. The newly added NES titles include the classic isometric top-down racing game R.C. Pro-Am II, the intense action-platformer Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, and the legendary top-down run-and-gun arcade classic Ikari Warriors. On top of that, if you have access to the Japanese Famicom app with a Japanese account, they also added Namco's classic action RPG Dragon Buster in place of the R.C. Pro-Am II release!
Let's dive directly into this brand new Nintendo Switch Online update and see exactly how these classic video games hold up today on modern hardware. First up, we take a look at the Japanese Famicom side of things. I noticed they got a totally different update with Dragon Buster instead of R.C. Pro-Am II. At first glance, I honestly thought Dragon Buster was maybe going to be a classic turn-based RPG, but it is actually a pretty early action-adventure game released originally over in Japan for the Famicom. I gave it a quick test run, and honestly, it is absolutely not my cup of tea. It feels incredibly dated and clunky, so we will quickly go back to the game selection screen to check out the heavy hitters on the Western app.
Next up, we loaded into Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. Now, I have openly admitted that I am not always a huge fan of the Ninja Gaiden franchise because of the notorious difficulty spikes, and I honestly do not know that I have ever actually played the third installment before today. I mean, it looks really good visually, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. The 8-bit soundtrack is top-notch! However, the gameplay becomes an absolute enemy hell really quick, doesn't it? It is Ninja Gaiden 3, so you know exactly what to expect from the brutal difficulty. You will either love it or hate it.
After getting destroyed in Ninja Gaiden, we moved on to a retro game I have incredibly fond memories of: Ikari Warriors! I actually used to rent this game all the time from the local video store, especially when I was home sick with the chickenpox! I rented this constantly back in the day, and I eventually beat it. This is specifically one of the games I used to absolutely love playing using the classic NES Max controller because having access to those dedicated turbo buttons made the relentless onslaught of enemies so much easier to deal with. This brings up a massive question for Nintendo: Why on earth have we not gotten a brand new wireless NES Max or NES Advantage arcade stick officially released for these Nintendo Switch Online games? It just seems like an absolute no-brainer to me to release those classic peripheral designs for modern hardware. As for the game itself, this Switch port of Ikari Warriors is a highly faithful recreation of the original NES version.
Finally, let's check and see what we have with R.C. Pro-Am II because that is easily one of my favorite classic games on the NES of all time! Drivers ready, corner marshals ready. We are going racing at the sound of the tone! One of the biggest differences you will immediately notice over the original R.C. Pro-Am game is the fact that you actually have massive jumps and track hazards to go over, and the competing computer-controlled cars can also go ahead and grab the upgrade letters on the track! The vehicle physics and top-down isometric racing feel incredibly accurate. Especially if you were not able to pick up the expensive Retrobit physical cartridge re-release of this game for the NES a while back, having it available right here on the Switch is a fantastic way to go ahead and play. These are genuinely some of my favorite 8-bit racing games of all time. Game preservation is incredibly important, and seeing Rare classics return to Nintendo hardware is always a treat.
Let me know what you guys think of this brand new Nintendo Switch Online update down below in the comments! Are you one of those retro gamers that enjoys these classic NES releases as much as I do? Which of these newly added games is your favorite? Share your thoughts, childhood memories, and high scores down below in the comments!
#NintendoSwitchOnline #NESClassics #RetroGaming #RCProAm2 #IkariWarriors #NinjaGaiden3 #DragonBuster #NintendoSwitch2 #Famicom #8BitGaming #NESGames #NintendoUpdate #GamePreservation #ClassicGaming #VintageGaming #SwitchOnline #NintendoSwitchGames #RetroGames #RetroConsole
We just got incredible news that Nintendo has officially dropped a massive new update for the Nintendo Switch Online Classic library! If you are a huge fan of the Nintendo Entertainment System, there is finally something exciting and new to play today. Nintendo has officially added four legendary classic retro games to the NES and Famicom applications for the Nintendo Switch, and these will undoubtedly carry forward to the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console. The newly added NES titles include the classic isometric top-down racing game R.C. Pro-Am II, the intense action-platformer Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, and the legendary top-down run-and-gun arcade classic Ikari Warriors. On top of that, if you have access to the Japanese Famicom app with a Japanese account, they also added Namco's classic action RPG Dragon Buster in place of the R.C. Pro-Am II release!
Let's dive directly into this brand new Nintendo Switch Online update and see exactly how these classic video games hold up today on modern hardware. First up, we take a look at the Japanese Famicom side of things. I noticed they got a totally different update with Dragon Buster instead of R.C. Pro-Am II. At first glance, I honestly thought Dragon Buster was maybe going to be a classic turn-based RPG, but it is actually a pretty early action-adventure game released originally over in Japan for the Famicom. I gave it a quick test run, and honestly, it is absolutely not my cup of tea. It feels incredibly dated and clunky, so we will quickly go back to the game selection screen to check out the heavy hitters on the Western app.
Next up, we loaded into Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. Now, I have openly admitted that I am not always a huge fan of the Ninja Gaiden franchise because of the notorious difficulty spikes, and I honestly do not know that I have ever actually played the third installment before today. I mean, it looks really good visually, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. The 8-bit soundtrack is top-notch! However, the gameplay becomes an absolute enemy hell really quick, doesn't it? It is Ninja Gaiden 3, so you know exactly what to expect from the brutal difficulty. You will either love it or hate it.
After getting destroyed in Ninja Gaiden, we moved on to a retro game I have incredibly fond memories of: Ikari Warriors! I actually used to rent this game all the time from the local video store, especially when I was home sick with the chickenpox! I rented this constantly back in the day, and I eventually beat it. This is specifically one of the games I used to absolutely love playing using the classic NES Max controller because having access to those dedicated turbo buttons made the relentless onslaught of enemies so much easier to deal with. This brings up a massive question for Nintendo: Why on earth have we not gotten a brand new wireless NES Max or NES Advantage arcade stick officially released for these Nintendo Switch Online games? It just seems like an absolute no-brainer to me to release those classic peripheral designs for modern hardware. As for the game itself, this Switch port of Ikari Warriors is a highly faithful recreation of the original NES version.
Finally, let's check and see what we have with R.C. Pro-Am II because that is easily one of my favorite classic games on the NES of all time! Drivers ready, corner marshals ready. We are going racing at the sound of the tone! One of the biggest differences you will immediately notice over the original R.C. Pro-Am game is the fact that you actually have massive jumps and track hazards to go over, and the competing computer-controlled cars can also go ahead and grab the upgrade letters on the track! The vehicle physics and top-down isometric racing feel incredibly accurate. Especially if you were not able to pick up the expensive Retrobit physical cartridge re-release of this game for the NES a while back, having it available right here on the Switch is a fantastic way to go ahead and play. These are genuinely some of my favorite 8-bit racing games of all time. Game preservation is incredibly important, and seeing Rare classics return to Nintendo hardware is always a treat.
Let me know what you guys think of this brand new Nintendo Switch Online update down below in the comments! Are you one of those retro gamers that enjoys these classic NES releases as much as I do? Which of these newly added games is your favorite? Share your thoughts, childhood memories, and high scores down below in the comments!
#NintendoSwitchOnline #NESClassics #RetroGaming #RCProAm2 #IkariWarriors #NinjaGaiden3 #DragonBuster #NintendoSwitch2 #Famicom #8BitGaming #NESGames #NintendoUpdate #GamePreservation #ClassicGaming #VintageGaming #SwitchOnline #NintendoSwitchGames #RetroGames #RetroConsole
