Summary
More Rare-developed games were recently added to theNintendo Switch Onlinesubscription service, but there are still six Nintendo 64 games from the company that have yet to be accounted for. Rare may be owned by Microsoft, but the company isstill closely associated with Nintendothanks to the work it did on producing some of the most popular Nintendo 64 games ever made.
Thankfully, Microsoft and Nintendo seem to have a fairly friendly relationship, and this in turn has allowed some of Rare’s games to come to theNintendo Switch Onlineservice. This collaboration started withBanjo-Kazooiecoming to the Expansion Pack tier of Switch Online, and was followed by the addition of games likeGoldenEye 007andJet Force Gemini. Most recently,Blast Corpsmade its Switch Online Expansion Pack debut, but there are still six Rare-developed games that have yet to be added.
The six Rare Nintendo 64 games that have yet to be added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service areBanjo-Tooie,Conker’s Bad Fur Day,Diddy Kong Racing,Donkey Kong 64,Perfect Dark, andMickey’s Speedway USA. Some of these games stand a realistic shot atcoming to Nintendo Switch Onlineat some point down the road, but others are highly unlikely to ever be added to the service.
Nintendo 64 Rare Games Missing from Switch Online List
Conker’s Bad Fur Dayis another game that’s part ofRare Replay, but whereas it’s possibleBanjo-Tooiewill come to Switch Online, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for Conker.Conker’s Bad Fur Dayis one of the rare M-rated games from Rare, known for its raunchy humor and how it parodies the typical 3D platformer.Conker’s Bad Fur Dayhas become a cult classic, but its highly inappropriate subject matter means it’s almost certainly never coming to Switch Online. Critically-acclaimed first-person shooterPerfect Darkalso has an M rating, which means it’s unlikely to ever come to the Switch Online Expansion Pack either, unfortunately.
Two games that stand a much better shot at coming to Switch Online eventually areDiddy Kong RacingandDonkey Kong 64. Both games were developed by Rare, but are based on Nintendo’sDonkey KongIP.Diddy Kong Racingis a fan favorite kart racerthat can stand toe-to-toe withMario Kart 64in terms of pure fun factor, whileDonkey Kong 64is a big 3D platformer that has plenty of fans of its own. It’s unclear whyDiddy Kong RacingandDonkey Kong 64haven’t been added to Switch Online yet, while games likeGoldenEye 007andJet Force Geminihave, but one possibility is that they aren’t available because versions don’t exist for Xbox. The work was already done for some of the Rare-developed games that have been brought to Switch Online, but the same can’t be said for those particular titles.
Time will tell ifDonkey Kong 64andDiddy Kong Racingever make their much-deserved comebacks. They certainly stand a much better shot thanMickey’s Speedway USA, which was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in the year 2000.Mickey’s Speedway USAhas no problematic content that would keep it from being eligible for Switch Online, but the fact that it’sbased on Disney IPmakes things complicated.
All Nintendo 64 Switch Online Games So Far
While a game likeMickey’s Speedway USAmay never come to the Switch Online subscription service, the other Rare-developed Nintendo 64 games are all possibilities to varying degrees. Even if their M-ratings disqualify games likeConker’s Bad Fur DayandPerfect Dark, there is still at least some hope that Nintendo fans will get to replay the games on their platform of choice eventually, ifrecent moves by Microsoft are any indication.
Microsoft has recently softened its exclusivity stance and has started bringing some of its first-party games to other platforms. As far as the Nintendo Switch goes, Microsoft has confirmed that it is bringing at least two of its games to Nintendo’s home console/handheld hybrid,withGroundedandPentimentboth making the jump. If Microsoft eventually decides to do the same with theRare Replaycollection, which contains all the Rare Nintendo 64 games minusGoldenEye 007andMickey’s Speedway USA, then that would allow Nintendo fans to replay some of the classics that are unlikely to come to Switch Online.
