It seems GoldenEye 007 and Jet Force Gemini are coming to the N64 library for Nintendo Switch Online.
Update 12:45 PM AEST: Now confirmed for the West.
Original piece follows.
Both games are classics of Rare’s golden age on the Nintendo 64, one much more popular than the other. GoldenEye 007 is, of course, the game that cemented Rare as one of the era’s greatest studios, an accidental masterpiece that reverberates through the industry even now. GoldenEye 007 was re-released on the Switch and the Xbox in January this year. The seminal shooter will now join Nintendo’s emulated N64 library. Because of how recently it made the long-awaited leap to modern platforms, some may find their enthusiasm diminished. Fair enough, but remember that even a year ago, the idea of GoldenEye 007 joining a library like this would have been considered a near-impossibility. A wild reversal of fortune in the story of this game’s long and very interesting life.
Jet Force Gemini is, for me, perhaps the more enticing of the two games, however. JFG was one of Rare’s lesser-heralded titles, a sci-fi-themed third-person shooter about a pair of twins and their trusty space dog battling a race of malevolent ant-like aliens. It’s a weird little game, surprisingly bloody despite its cute aesthetic, and features some of the gnarliest, most cockeyed boss battles Rare ever dreamt up. Jet Force Gemini was renamed Startwins in Japan because Nintendo wasn’t sure its English title would be terribly easy to pronounce in Japanese, and fair enough.
The news of their addition to the NSO library came from Nintendo Japan, with an English-language announcement expected to follow shortly.
And can we talk about how elite that retro Japanese box art is? Magnifique. Frame them and put them on my wall.
You’ll need a sub to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier to access these (and many other) emulated games from classic Nintendo consoles.
Image: Rare, Nintendo, Kotaku Australia
Leave a Reply