Nintendo Switch Online Adds Mappy-Land, Earthworm Jim 2
There are times to complain about Nintendo Switch Online, but this isn’t one of them: the service just added three games to its NES / SNES stock, and they aren’t bad at all.
Earthworm Jim 2 is the biggest surprise. Released in early 1996 during the height of the worm’s career, it contains the same zany sensibility and well-animated visuals of the original, though if you ask most people, it’s not an improvement on Earthworm Jim 1. (The series pretty much ended there — a different team created Earthworm Jim 3D and it shows).
No, you don’t need to go back and check because your memories are correct — Earthworm Jim 1 is not there. Why NSO can’t get the first one is a mystery, but when things like this happen, it’s usually due to rights issues. One other example: Japan got this same update today, but with Harvest Moon in place of EWJ2, and while Americans would love to have Harvest Moon, the brand name and the game itself are owned by two different entities now.
Mappy-Land is new on the NES side. This follow-up to the Namco arcade game Mappy stars the same character and a lot of the same gameplay elements, but adds some new things and has a much bigger world to explore. It’s considered one of the better NES games out there and rather addictive to play.
Plus, there’s Dig Dug 2. Did you know Dig Dug had a sequel? Neither did I. All these games are live now and will be added the next time you turn your Switch on, assuming your subscription is active.
Titanium321
April 2, 2022 @ 4:40 am
Earthworm Jim use to be so popular that there was a cartoon series and now kids doesn’t know who he is. I hope this is a way for him to resurface to new generation of players.