Beginning next week, subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will have access to the video game Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. The video game in question is the preceding Nintendo 64 classic that is making its way to the service, and it will become accessible on May 20. As was the case with all of the games that came before it for the N64, Kirby 64 will only be accessible to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers who have purchased the Expansion Pack. Due to the launch of Mario Golf on the N64 app a month ago, Kirby 64 will become the 15th game to be made available for the system. Recall that Nintendo acquired studio SRD in February.
On Nintendo’s Twitter account, the company made the announcement, along with a video trailer, which may be viewed in the embedded video below.
Following the launch of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, players can most likely anticipate the arrival of Pokemon Snap during the month of June. The Expansion Pack was unveiled in September of last year during a Nintendo Direct presentation. At that time, the firm demonstrated a variety of titles that were going to be made available in the following weeks and months (though no specific release dates were given). Kirby 64 and Pokemon Snap are the only two games that have been announced to date as being compatible with the service.
There is currently no information available on the games that will come after Pokemon Snap. There are a lot of amazing N64 games that could be ported over to the service, and some of the more popular ones are Super Smash Bros., Mario Party 2, Wave Race, and Donkey Kong 64. Since all four of those titles were previously made available via the Virtual Console for the Wii and the Wii U, it seems like a good bet that they will also be made available for the Switch. Given that Rare and Microsoft collaborated to bring Banjo-Kazooie to the service, it seems plausible that other games like Banjo-Tooie and Diddy Kong Racing will also be available.
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It is our sincere hope that Nintendo will keep pumping out new N64 games regardless of what happens in the future. The monthly releases have provided retro gaming fans with an excellent opportunity to either re-experience these titles or try them out for the first time. The Nintendo 64 was home to a lot of amazing video games, and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is certainly not an exception to that rule. When the game launches the following week, fans will have the opportunity to judge for themselves.